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Into the deep end with an 82' gs1100e

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    Into the deep end with an 82' gs1100e

    Good evening everyone! So, this is my first post in what looks to be a long drawn out learning experience that I hope to have wrapped up by mid summer 2019.

    A little backstory: I have been riding on and off since college (about 12 years), and just recently in the last two years, really fell in love with a bike. It is a 2008 Yamaha FZ1. It does everything I want, with power and comfort. Well, I had some space in my basement and got the itch to add another bike as a project. At first, I was hung up on a Honda CW 500, but I am a big guy and as soon as I sat on one, I thought I would crush it. LOL. Anyway, I was perusing craigslist and came across a local guy selling his GS 1100E. One thing lead to another, and one great deal later, I was proud new owner of a running riding vintage piece of cool-as-hell. I threw some new rubber on her, changed the oil, and put on 1500 miles in a few months. I absolutely fell in love! As much fun as I was having, I bought it as a winter project, so I parked it a few weeks ago and started pulling stuff apart. I had a rough idea of where I wanted this to go, but as things shifted in my mind, and I knew what I actually wanted out of the bike, my end game is pretty much solidified.

    I got a great deal on a swing arm from a 98' 1200 Bandit, and a beautiful set of USD forks off of a 92' GSXR 1100, which came with 6 piston Tokicos. Well, the forks came in, as did the rebuild kit for them, and I got the calipers off. UGH!!! They were in TERRIBLE disrepair. Spending about 1.5 hours a night for 4 nights, I got the calipers cleaned up, and awaiting a rebuild kit that a buddy of mine is taking out of the tokicos he just rebuilt about 100 miles ago before he unexpectedly switched over to Nissens on his ZRX. He is giving me pistons, all seals, hardware, titanium bleed nipples, springs, pads, and pins.

    I spontaneously bought a set of wheels and rotors from a 2007 triumph Daytona 675 that I though I was going to use, but after doing the math on the spacers I will have to make for the rotors to center them in the calipers, and all the other bushings and parts I will need to make to get them to work, I am just going to go another direction. I have a source that has a rear 98 bandit wheel with the rotor, and a caliper for it, as well as the cush drive, and sprocket. My swing arm came with the brake arm, axel, and all the other hardware. He also had a 92 gsxr 1100 front wheel with rotors, and a lightly used set of longer Galfer braided lines, which will work well as I am going to machine and weld rises for tubular bars onto the inside of the above the clamp clip on mounts that the forks came with, milling off the factory levers and master cylinder (this may sound confusing, but there will be some detailed and cool pictures of it coming in a few weeks when I finish the machining. I am a machinist by trade, and manage a job shop machine shop, owned by my mother and father in law.

    As far at the finished result... I am going to be going for a minimalist build, getting rid of 70% of all the electronics. I am going to end up with a custom speedo housing, machined from aluminum with carbon fiber inlay, housing the digital readout for a bike computer (speedo and mileage). Hidden start button with kill switch, and staying with a large round headlight but of the HID flavor. Mounting the license plate on a custom mount set in the tail where brake light is now, with double stacked strip LED integrated brake and turn signals. I am going to hang a custom wiring harness of my making as well (which I only know enough about to be dangerous....LIKE I SAID IN THE TITLE...JUMPING RIGHT INTO THE DEEP END)

    I have started compiling other parts. Chain, offset sprocket, wiring, fresh hardware, new stator and rectifier, steering head bearings, fresh fluids, and tons of other odds and ends. And along with my good fortune on getting a great deal on the bike, my wife was kind enough to buy me a motorcycle lift while I was away on a fishing trip. She's the best....even though she hates motorcycles.

    I will also have a bunch of other cool little trick stuff of my own making along the way that will be posted in this thread as it happens. Along the way, you will see me across the forum begging for copious amounts of help from y'all as I can already tell this is going to get WAY more challenging then I though it would, and this forum is a straight wealth of knowledge. Most of you guys know more about GS's in your little finger, then I know from hours and hours of reading and research.

    As for the mechanical shape of the bike, it runs great, but has an oil leak around the auto cam chain tensioner, a small seep at one of the bolts securing the gasket where the lower case splits (so minor I don't even care, and may be the bolt needs to be torqued), and what appears to be a very leaky oil pan gasket, as the bottom stays wet, and I can smell it burning off wile sitting stopped. I find it weird though that the oil level hasn't dropped a noticeable amount. I will also be pulling apart the fuel system, and rebuilding the carbs. Long term, after everything comes together, I plan to ride it for a season to make sure everything is to my liking, then pull it all back apart for paint and powder coat.

    Now onto the fun part, THE PICTURES!

    Day before tear down started


    Tear down begins


    Tear down continues, removed gauges, headlight, and labeled wiring (which is coming out anyway)




    New swing arm while machining single shock mount off, and after clean up




    New forks, and some before/after of the Tokicos




    When this is all said and done, and all along the way, I will have some killer deals on OEM take off parts!
    Thank y'all for reading!
    Last edited by Guest; 10-22-2018, 08:44 PM.

    #2
    Subscribed. Good luck, I'll be watching with interest.
    sigpic
    When consulting the magic 8 ball for advice, one must first ask it "will your answers be accurate?"

    Glen
    -85 1150 es - Plus size supermodel.
    -Rusty old scooter.
    Other things I like to photograph.....instagram.com/gs_junkie
    https://www.instagram.com/glen_brenner/
    https://www.flickr.com/photos/152267...7713345317771/

    Comment


      #3
      Thanks, I will need the luck. Figure if I just take my time, and think everything through, and walk away when frustrated, everything should work out.

      Originally posted by dorkburger View Post
      Subscribed. Good luck, I'll be watching with interest.

      Comment


        #4
        I plan on watching as well. Might pick up some good ideas for one of my '82s.
        :cool:GSRick
        No God, no peace. Know God, know peace.

        Eric Bang RIP 9/5/2018
        Have some bikes ready for us when we meet up.

        Comment


          #5
          "walk away when frustrated"?.....now you tell me.
          I have many well used hammers for just these occasions.

          Lots of info on the site about using Gixxer front ends.
          2@ \'78 GS1000

          Comment


            #6
            Oooh, finally, another proper build thread. Subbed.
            #1: 1979 GS 550 EC "Red" – Very first Bike / Overhaul thread        New here? ☛ Read the Top 10 Newbie mistakes thread
            #2: 1978 GS 550 EC "Blue" – Can't make it a donor / "Rebuild" thread     Manuals (and much more): See Cliff's homepage here
            #3: 2014 Moto Guzzi V7 II Racer – One needs a runner while wrenching
            #4: 1980 Moto Guzzi V65C – Something to chill

            Comment


              #7
              So, I got back to wrenching on the bike this past weekend. Got the old swingarm off, took some measurements and will be making my reduced bushings for the swingarm pivot near the end of this week. I will also be relocating the rear master cylinder and fluid reservoir, as well as fabbing up my new bracketry and relocating extensions for the return springs and plunger. In the photo, the new swingarm is laying up under the bike. I also got the old forks and triples off, and man.....they are in GREAT shape. I am almost positive that I will be able to find someone who needs them, so I can recoup some of the cost of my upgrades. The new forks bolted right up, and fit exactly as I expected, but dang they are surprisingly short. Oh well, it will work out when its all said and done. I pulled them back off and will be having them reworked locally (resprung, seals, fluid). I was going to attempt this myself, but with all the other little projects, I thought I would farm this out. I also have my new brake pistons, and rebuild kit for the tokicos, so I will be posting pics of that process Thursday night when I tear into that. There will also be a compiled list of all parts and work that I will be doing and replacing by the end of this build. Here are just a few pictures of where I got to this past weekend. Enjoy, and please comment if you see that I am getting ready to do something dumb. Thanks!!!









              MY OTHER BABY

              Comment


                #8
                What spring rate are you going with for the forks? I find that 1.0 kg/mm springs give my GS1000 with a K4 GSXR 1000 front end a nice balance of plushness and firmness. The stock K4 GSXR 1000 forks at .85 kg/mm were too soft for the weight of the GS.
                Bikes:

                1980 GS1000 restomod
                2006 GSXR 750

                Comment


                  #9
                  I am not exactly sure yet. I am going to talk with the guy that is rebuilding them. He specializes in retro-modern hybrids, and I think he will be able to point me in the right direction. I wish I had a better answer, but literally everything I run into with this build is completely new to me.

                  Originally posted by 80GS1000 View Post
                  What spring rate are you going with for the forks? I find that 1.0 kg/mm springs give my GS1000 with a K4 GSXR 1000 front end a nice balance of plushness and firmness. The stock K4 GSXR 1000 forks at .85 kg/mm were too soft for the weight of the GS.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Looks like its going to be a great project! You might regret the choice of 6 pots though! Unless you keep on top of the maintenance rigorously, they're not up to much. Four pots are a better, (in my opinion) bet!
                    GS750EC, GS1100E, GS1150EG, Harris Magnum 2 (GS1170E motor), GSXR750F, Mk1 GSF1200, and finally Mk1 GSF600.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      If I had to buy brakes separately, I would have gone with Nissen 4 pots, but these came free with the forks, and my buddy has a brand new rebuild kit, and pistons that he generously donated to the cause. I googled "bleeding tokico 6 pistons" and felt my blood pressure jump a little. Lol. I guess I will just see how it goes.

                      Originally posted by MaurieG View Post
                      Looks like its going to be a great project! You might regret the choice of 6 pots though! Unless you keep on top of the maintenance rigorously, they're not up to much. Four pots are a better, (in my opinion) bet!

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Well....I guess it's funny you brought this up. I started stripping my buddy's tokicos....and they are different than mine. Both 6 piston, but mine used all the same size pistons (earlier version), and his had 2 larger and 1 smaller per half. Since I was going to have to buy a full rebuild kit, and possibly 5 new pistons, I bit the bullet and scooped up a pair of 4 pot nissins that look to be in good shape. 70 bucks for the set, and it came with the rear caliper from a 91 gsxr 750 which I think I can get to work with my rear wheel and rotor. Why would i ever expect for anything to go my way..... but i don't think 70 was too bad. Probably be in them another 100 after rebuild and pads. Still cheaper than fixing the tokicos, and avoiding the problems people seem to experience trying to bleed them down. Looks like I took your advice after all!!!!

                        Originally posted by MaurieG View Post
                        Looks like its going to be a great project! You might regret the choice of 6 pots though! Unless you keep on top of the maintenance rigorously, they're not up to much. Four pots are a better, (in my opinion) bet!

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Your setup looks great! Any chance I can see a picture of the whole bike?

                          Originally posted by isleoman
                          Your project is coming along very quickly, great work.

                          I bought a complete 95 1100 front end that came with the six pots. They worked, but I don't think with all my trying, I was ever able to really lock up the front with the GSXR master cylinder. Eventually switched to 4-pot. Same stopping power, much better feel. Paid similar money for the 4-pot Tokico brakes but they are no where near as Manly looking as the six pots. I just tell myself I'm freeing un-sprung weight and that size doesn't matter.





                          Note that the rain dispersion holes on the rotors are mounted backwards. Mistake on my part.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            The bike is an 82 frame, and you're correct, the centers have been cut out. Good eye! I actually picked the cam caps up at the flea market and replaced them myself. I am going to machine a custom speedo housing to house a digital readout for a bike computer, and will be mating it with an 8" hid headlight. Good call on the mounting plate idea as well. I hadn't really considered that fully. I love this forum!

                            Originally posted by isleoman
                            NC,

                            Is the bike frame an 82 or 83? If it's an 82 did the previous owner cut away the centers of the rear peg mounting bracket? I ask because the open center 83 style brackets don't typically fit an 82 frame.

                            I noticed the cam caps are from an 81 engine, but I've seen several owners switch those out of visual preference.

                            You've got some mad skills and machinery, keep up the good work.

                            Do you plan to keep the stock tach/speedo cluster?

                            I found it easier to use complete brake lever and shift assys from a semi modern bike and just make mounting plates. As you know from looking at your Gen 2 modern brake lever assys have the rear master cylinder integrated.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Started making my new swing arm bushings this afternoon. Got about half way through and will post more pictures when they are done. The ones I saw online for reducing the size actually slid inside the current bushings making the swing arm even wider, and it's already too wide to begin with (frame bushing mods coming later), so I am just making new single bushings to minimize the width.

                              Cleaning up the pivot shaft


                              Cleaned up pretty well


                              Raw stock for bushings


                              Coming along nicely


                              The original and one new blank


                              Two roughed out


                              Half way done


                              Cleaned up

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