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1981 GSX1100 Katana Based Project

Fantastic project! Keep going....

That TI bolt is awesome!
 
Hi Rob, I got a good deal on the Ti bolts. The supplier had a bulk buy promotion as they had just started a titanium parts department and a bulk buy got a 30% discount. I wasn't letting that deal slip past so bought all the bolts/nuts/washers in one lot. Some parts have not been cheap to buy or bargains but there are some parts I wanted new so there was no messing around with old worn out/rusty parts. A new tank, new genuine coils and leads, new reg/rec, new shocks, new forks, new wiring harness, and of course the Ti bolts. However, I did buy carefully and kept the bills within reason. Most of the other parts are used Suzuki items: hollow cam shafts, wheels, triple tree, engine, swing arm, mirrors, switch blocks and lights bought at swap meets or from friends and the net.

Used aftermarket parts were also bought for reasonable money and within the budget, some of these parts included: ally foot pegs, clip-ons, Ti exhaust system, fibreglass front guard, carbon chain guard, aluminium fork brace, aluminium cowl frame, oil cooler and a few other parts.

Where I am able, I modify parts or make parts like the carbon screen and bracket, carbon starter motor cover, carbon shark fins. By making and modifying used parts myself I can keep the cost under control as well as the quality control of the work. And there is that smile you have when you see something you have made solve a problem and do the job.

Things I didn't do, like painting. To help reduce cost with painting I had the frame blasted with another job so blasting was only $60. Post blasting I prepared the frame for painting and made the jig for the frame, delivered the frame to the painter and he did his thing, and a great job he did. He also painted the tank and body work however, I prepared these parts as well so painting cost was very low compared to the painter having to spend many hours doing all the prep work and painting.

The engineering place that made the aluminium spacers have been great to deal with and the interesting thing here is the cost of custom made spacers has been less than the cost of new genuine spacers.

Anodising all the ally parts in gloss black should be less than $100 if the quote is correct. Will know when I pick them up next week.

Cheers.
 
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To allow for chain adjustment the rear brake caliper needs to be able to move and as an 1981 Kat swing arm was not designed to accommodate a 2005 GSXR 1000 K5 rear caliper, that needed to be addressed. Solution was to have a tab welded to the lower section of the swing arm and marry that to a tab welded to the forward section of the K5 caliper bracket. This would secure the bracket to prevent rotation under braking and provide a way to allow for chain adjustment. First step was to make the adjustment tab for the caliper bracket and mod the bracket to house the adjuster tab.

DW caliper 8 by Max Mutarn, on Flickr


DW caliper 9 by Max Mutarn, on Flickr



DW caliper 10 by Max Mutarn, on Flickr

DW caliper 11 by Max Mutarn, on Flickr


DW caliper 13 by Max Mutarn, on Flickr


DW caliper 14 by Max Mutarn, on Flickr




DW caliper 15 by Max Mutarn, on Flickr


DW caliper 16 by Max Mutarn, on Flickr
 
O.K. that is the caliper bracket chain adjustment almost done, still needs to have the locking bolt fitted. With the position of the two plates now established the torque brace can now be made to suit. A short brace from the forward caliper mount bolt welded to the slotted 6000 series ally flat plate will ensure all is well when under braking load.

DW caliper 20 by Max Mutarn, on Flickr


DW caliper 21 by Max Mutarn, on Flickr


DW caliper 24 by Max Mutarn, on Flickr

DW caliper 23 by Max Mutarn, on Flickr
 
I bought a Katana seat and bodywork fibreglass shell for the project, lighter than OEM parts and a fraction of the cost of buying a seat and bodywork. The shell is a bare item and not supplied with brackets or mounting points. Made the front seat bracket from flat aluminium and folded/welded to copy the profile of the OEM steel seat bracket. For the rear used the OEM seat lock, no extra bolts or clips needed to secure the seat shell.

Seat shell 1 by Max Mutarn, on Flickr


Seat shell 2 by Max Mutarn, on Flickr


Seat shell 3 by Max Mutarn, on Flickr

Seat shell front bracket 1 by Max Mutarn, on Flickr


Seat shell front bracket 2 by Max Mutarn, on Flickr


DW seat bracket 1 by Max Mutarn, on Flickr


Seat shell rear OEM lock by Max Mutarn, on Flickr


I used an industrial bonding agent to glue an aluminum flat plate under the seat that engages the front seat bracket in the same way an OEM seat would. This ally flat plate also provides structural support to the seat shell, the shell is pretty thin however, if you want to reduce weight then the thin shell is the trade-off.

The following pic does not show the two locator tabs that have since been welded to the front seat bracket to hold the seat in the correct position.

front seat bracket engaged by Max Mutarn, on Flickr
 
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I want the project to have the appearance of a stock - ish Kat so I had the shell painted in 1981 SZ colours except for the forward seat area. That section is painted black instead of Royal Blue. The black finish is to blend the seat shell with the black foam seat pad. OEM choke decals and automotive black tape to mimic the OEM black plastic sidecover inserts.


​seat shell paint 1 by Max Mutarn, on Flickr


seat shell paint 2 by Max Mutarn, on Flickr


seat shell 4 by Max Mutarn, on Flickr

seat shell 5 by Max Mutarn, on Flickr


Seat bodywork painted by Max Mutarn, on Flickr



seat shell 6 by Max Mutarn, on Flickr
 
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Aftermarket fibreglass front guard, lighter than OEM ABS plastic guard. OEM guard is made to fit a 19" front wheel and when fitted with an 18" wheel the gap between the guard and wheel looks wrong. Blocked off the original bolt holes and raised the new holes to lower the guard position on the forks and hug the 18" front wheel. I also blocked off the speedo cable rubber guide hole, not needed, trims off a few grams and gives the guard a clean look.

The first pic shows how the new guard position looks married to the 18" GSXR750 wheel. The original mount holes for a 19" wheel and the hole for the speedo cable rubber guide have not been blocked out yet.


lowered front guard by Max Mutarn, on Flickr

guard paint 1 by Max Mutarn, on Flickr

guard paint 2 by Max Mutarn, on Flickr
 
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