JohnnyL's 1980 GS550L Cafe Build

[steve murdoch]

The spots of blood on the brake rotor are a nice touch. Safety wire always seems to demand sacrifice...

I thought the same thing. Helped a buddy wire a CB350 track bike a couple years ago and we were both leaking.

Fantastic attention to detail, Johnny.

[JohnnyL]

Athough there is plenty of blood and sweat in/on this bike, I don't think that is blood on the rotor. I checked my extremities and didn't find one cut. LOL.

Bwringer saw that I was going to have a motorcycle shop mount my tires for me so he offered to have me over last night to help and show me how to mount them myself. Brian has an ingenious setup for making this an easier process. An old car wheel from a junkyard bolted to the workbench and some cutouts from a milk jug as rim protectors make wrestling the wheel on the floor a thing of the past. The photos below also show us checking the balance on the wheels/tires and both were pretty well balanced. Within 1/2 to 3/4 of an ounce. Thanks to Brian, I should have a roller today!

Unfortunately, work is going to get in the way this morning. I hate it when that happens. I will post pics of the bike with the wheels on as soon as I get there.









The safety wire on the front rotor looks much better after practicing on the rear.



Received the bar ends yesterday and stuck them on to see if I like them. I actually do kind of like them but I am going to explore the shotgun shell idea further. I just think that would be the cats pajamas.

[JohnnyL]

For any gadget geeks...here are some links to the M-Unit Blue YouTube videos. This thing is pretty insane. I'm extremely excited to install this on the bike with the help of Bwringer. It arrives via UPS today.


MotoGadget App


MotoGadget overview on an actual motorcycle


MotoGadget Details


Wiring a MotoGadget

[Spyder]

Yeah, can't say I'm a fan of the bar ends. I will add, if you were to machine them down to the same diameter. That would make it aesthetically pleasing on the eyes. Of course, they wouldn't be red anymore. I would like to see the shotgun shell experimentation. I do really like how the black caps just make it disappear from the overall visual.

[JohnnyL]

Yeah, can't say I'm a fan of the bar ends. I will add, if you were to machine them down to the same diameter. That would make it aesthetically pleasing on the eyes. Of course, they wouldn't be red anymore. I would like to see the shotgun shell experimentation. I do really like how the black caps just make it disappear from the overall visual.

Yeah...the different diameters is bothering me. My neighbor has a small engine lathe that I may turn something down that resembles a rocket point. If I decide to move away from the black caps, I want something that gives it a more badass look. That's either going to be shotgun shells or something pointy. If I go with the shotgun shells, of course I'm going to need some 9mm valve stem caps on the rims. Really...it's the least of my concerns at this point. I'm going to circle back to it later.

[Rich82GS750TZ]

I like the idea of the 9mm valve stem caps, just be aware of galvanic corrosion that may occur between the valve stem and a cap of a different metal.

I have plenty of spent .40 S&W in brass. Aluminum & Steel,maybe. I generally chuck those. Let me know if you need, I can throw some in an envelope and mail to you.

[JohnnyL]

I like the idea of the 9mm valve stem caps, just be aware of galvanic corrosion that may occur between the valve stem and a cap of a different metal.

I have plenty of spent .40 S&W in brass. Aluminum & Steel,maybe. I generally chuck those. Let me know if you need, I can throw some in an envelope and mail to you.

I appreciate that. The ones I posted are actually lined with plastic. I have them on my wife's MINI Countryman. I too have plenty of spent 9mm, .44 cal and 5.56. I'm sure I could make something work but the ones on Amazon are cheap. I always put anti-cease on my valve stems when using aluminum caps.

[alke46]

Johnny, don't let bwringer know that I told you this, but you are one lucky guy to have him living so close to you. He really knows his way around the shop and bikes in general.
P.S. tell him to stop losing so much weight. In the pic of him mounting your tires, it looks like his arse has dissappeared.

[Rich82GS750TZ]

I appreciate that. The ones I posted are actually lined with plastic. I have them on my wife's MINI Countryman. I too have plenty of spent 9mm, .44 cal and 5.56. I'm sure I could make something work but the ones on Amazon are cheap. I always put anti-cease on my valve stems when using aluminum caps.

Funny, I first heard about the galvanic corrosion thing then I was researching stem caps on the North American Motoring Forum for, what else, my MINI Countryman. Go figure.

[Cipher]

is it too late to radius the triple top clamp? the harsh angles set against an otherwise soft bacground is jarring

[JohnnyL]

is it too late to radius the triple top clamp? the harsh angles set against an otherwise soft bacground is jarring

It'd be easier for me to just cut a new one. I've actually thought about cutting a new one that's not so blocky. I was actually more concerned with everything lining up than the design. Now that I know everything lines up, I think I am going to cut a new design.

[JohnnyL]

I officially have a roller. The sun finally came out today so I rolled it outside to get some pics. Ignore the gas tank. That's an old one that I'm not using. The good tank is currently at the bodyshop being prepped for paint before it goes to Corby Concepts. Still waiting on a headlight bracket from Z1 so I can't mount the headlight.

The M-Unit arrived today! Pretty excited about that. I'm hoping Brian and I can get together this weekend and wire this thing up!

Anyway...here's some pics of the roller.







And to get an idea of what it looks like with an actual person on it.

[GSXR7ED]

Pretty cool roller you got there!

I could ride a bike like that...now. Last year I was still trying to bend my knees to 140 degrees...had both my knees replaced in 2018 and can bend them both to 142 degrees!

Thanks for the thread with pics and story.

Ed

[JohnnyL]

Johnny, don't let bwringer know that I told you this, but you are one lucky guy to have him living so close to you. He really knows his way around the shop and bikes in general.
P.S. tell him to stop losing so much weight. In the pic of him mounting your tires, it looks like his arse has dissappeared.

I realized that the first time I talked to him on the phone. I am VERY lucky to have him right down the road from me and I consider my self VERY lucky that he's willing to help me.

LOL...I'll tell him to stop losing so much weight but I have a feeling he's going to read your comment.

[alke46]

nah, he hardly ever gets on here.