Dub-K's 1977 GS750 re-vamp

[Guest]

https://flic.kr/p/D55VhTHi guys, I am finally getting around to posting a build thread for my bike. I bought this 1977 GS750 in December with 14,000 miles on it. All in all it's in great shape but as you know looks can be deceiving. Although I am very excited to personalize the bike and do some fun esthetic enhancements I have to keep reminding myself that this is a 38 year old machine and it's going to needs the basics (safety stuff) first. The firsts thing I did was empty the gas tank and pull the air box and carbs. in doing that I discovered not only were there two missing screws from the float bowls but a leaky fuel petcock. Here we go I thought. Next is to go through the carbs.

[Dub-K113]

Got the carbs out and cleaned.

Pulled the carbs out and gave them a good cleaning. The old owner said he had just cleaned them and to my surprise he was telling the truth. Whew!

[Dub-K113]

Carbs and air box are back in.

Got the carbs and air box back in. I had a little trouble adjusting the throttle cable but I think I will wait until I hear the engine to adjust it further. I also cleaned the engine up a little. I need to degrease it but I can't do any rinsing in my driveway until it gets a little warmer up here. (Whitby...near Toronto). Next up are the brakes. I am going to change the fluid but I think I should replace the brake lines as well. Maybe new levers and rebuild master cylinders......and so on and so on.

[Dub-K113]

Anyone have any suggestions for this tank?

Hey guys, curiosity got the better of me today and I wanted to see how much work it was going to be to strip the tank. As I expected there was maybe one coat of paint. After that I think it's grey primer but then it's yellow. This stuff scratches easily with the cuped wire brush. Is this filler?If so I suppose I am going to have to put a layer of filler on the tank because I found some divets. I can take a pic once it's fully stripped. Anyone have any suggestions? I am think if someone put filler on I should try to keep as much of it on

[CrazyCloud]

That is probably filler. I would likely just fill the scratches in it, prime, and paint. You could try to dig it all out, but if the tank looks clean inside, there would not be a lot to gain by doing all the work to try to pull the dents. Depends of how much time/energy/$$ you want to put into it. I love your bike by the way, very nice!

You should be able to adjust the slack in the throttle cable without it running, per the manual. I would turn the idle adjustment screw about 1 to 1 1/2 turns after it contacts the opposing surface, that should be enough to get it started.

[Dub-K113]

Thanks a lot for the compliments on the bike. As well thanks for the tips on the tank and the throttle cable. I saw you have a 78, that's great. Where can I see some pics!

[CrazyCloud]

I don't have many recent pics; if you look in this thread you will see a shot of mine: http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...t=#post2224172, and another here http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...t=#post2177095.

[Dub-K113]

Beautiful bike. I love the front wheel. I might want to upgrade to a double disc from a single. Where is that from? Are those stock handle bars? If not what are they?, they look great.

Wade

[nvr2old]

Hey guys, curiosity got the better of me today and I wanted to see how much work it was going to be to strip the tank. As I expected there was maybe one coat of paint. After that I think it's grey primer but then it's yellow. This stuff scratches easily with the cuped wire brush. Is this filler?If so I suppose I am going to have to put a layer of filler on the tank because I found some divets. I can take a pic once it's fully stripped. Anyone have any suggestions? I am think if someone put filler on I should try to keep as much of it on

If the tank doesn't need to be stripped, I wouldn't. If you use a chemical stripper it would soften the filler that's already there and it, too, will have to come off down to the bare metal. Looks to me to be a good quality filler on there already. I would sand the red surface really well with 80 grit where the imperfections are and skim coat it with an equally good filler such as Evercoats's "Rage" brand filler, which is what that looks like to me. You don't know what's under it or how thick it is, so if it's not cracking or peeling it would be easier to leave it in and just skim coat it, re-prime and paint followed by clear coats. If you're nervous about what's under it, then by all means strip it bare, but then you'll have to re-do it all from scratch.

[Deuce]

I don't think it's filler, I think it's yellow primer. I haven't personally used it, but it might have better imperfection filling capabilities. Here is a car with the same primer on it.

[Dub-K113]

Ok, Now what?

Ok the stripping went pretty good today. All except some hard to reach places. When I tried the cupped wire brushes they just gouged the bondo or whatever it is. What is the best way to get into these hard to reach areas? Maybe just by hand and some old fashioned elbow grease? Any suggestions would be great. I have a few pics. The close up one will show you the stuff that gets gouged pretty easily.

[CrazyCloud]

Thanks for the kind words! Some models came stock with two front discs. If you want dual discs up front, you will need to get forks from a bike that came with them (like an E model), lots of info on the swap here if you look around. Also, search for the 'Saltymonk brake upgrade', lots of good info there and a big difference in performance. I am using Superbike bars, from Bikemaster.

The tank is looking great. You will have to get into the nooks and crannies by hand with some sandpaper to smooth things out. If there are gouges/low spots left after you're done sanding, just skim some filler over them. If you just have really small sanding scratches you can fill them with 'glazing & spot putty' as a final step. Take your time with this step, it will make a big difference in the finished product. What are your plans for paint?

[Dub-K113]

Jason, thanks for the tips. I really like the super bike bars. I have been trying to decide between those and euro bars myself. It's so hard when you don't have them in your hand. I am gonna try to get the rest of the paint off by hand tomorrow. My plans for the paint are to add a small fairing like the maier or viper (emgo)and go all black. Up the middle will be a thick burnt orange stripe with a small strip on each side. The strip will follow from the front fairing over tank and off the tail piece. On the side of the tank I want to put a number on both sides in a circle. (My firefighting badge #) I will put a pic up but I am no artist by any means. I just wanted to get an idea on paper. The first two would be what I am leaning towards the last one I was toying with.




[URL=http://s1055.photobucket.com/user/wade113/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsbgf8byli.jpg.html]

[CrazyCloud]

I really like your ideas for the colors/theme. Very nice. The superbike bars are a huge change from stock, much lower and a lot less pull back. The euro bars are shorter than superbikes by almost an inch, but they have almost 2 inches more pullback than the superbike's do. Neither are great for longer distances, for me anyway. If I was going to get another set, I would consider Bikemasters GP Touring or Daytona for a little more comfort, while still retaining a more 'performance' riding position.

[Dub-K113]

Primer soon

Getting everything smoothed out for primer. Waiting to get into a warm garage. Maybe at work on Saturday.