1982 GS1100E dragbike

[jareness]

Bought a 1982 GS1100E for $600. Barely ran and looked like hell. I'm already half done with it. If you guys want to come along for the second half of this project let me know. The end game of this thread will (hopefully) be a video link of me doing a nine second pass.

Jerry

[Agemax]

looks like it needs a hell of a lot of work to pull a 9 second pass, whats done to the motor? suspension mods? standard swingarm?

[rapidray]

Just so you know, the tire on the stock 19 inch front wheel WILL hit the pipe. You can help this problem by getting an 18 inch star pattern wheel just like you have from an early 80s 425 or 450. You will be able to put the 18 inch Goodyear or Mickey Thompson front slick on it & gain a LOT of exhaust clearance + it will lower the front of the bike. I dragrace, build these engines & do chassis work too. If I can help, give me a call at 714-356-7845. You aren't as far from the 9s as some people may try to make you think. Especially if you are below 175 lbs. in weight. Ray.

[jareness]

GS dragbike

No doubt. Current setup is:

• stock swingarm with 5.5" Goodyear slick
• 1166 10.25:1 Wiseco's
• Stage 1 porting from S & K
• 3 angle valve job
• Head shaved 0.035"
• Dyna-S w/ 3 ohm coils
• Solid rear struts
• wheelie bars

What's coming:

• taking it to S & K to have the cams degreed, Dynojet kit installed, main jet tuning
• smaller front end with drag tire and spoked aluminum rim.

That should all be good for at least a low 10. Stock bike ran a low 11. We'll see.

[jareness]

Hi Ray. Thanks for the tip on the front tire. You're right, there isn't enough clearance for the front wheel. Fortunately I have another bike I bought with a smaller front end. Unfortunately I weigh 190 lbs. Just have ta keep stuffing parts in it till I reach my goal, eh? And thanks for the phone number.

Jerry

[Agemax]

No doubt. Current setup is:

• stock swingarm with 5.5" Goodyear slick
• 1166 10.25:1 Wiseco's
• Stage 1 porting from S & K
• 3 angle valve job
• Head shaved 0.035"
• Dyna-S w/ 3 ohm coils
• Solid rear struts
• wheelie bars

What's coming:

• taking it to S & K to have the cams degreed, Dynojet kit installed, main jet tuning
• smaller front end with drag tire and spoked aluminum rim.

That should all be good for at least a low 10. Stock bike ran a low 11. We'll see.

you cant possibly have any use for wheelie bars on a bike with that much horsepower. you gotta be looking at prostock at least before you need the wheelie prevention, or better clutch control

[rapidray]

you cant possibly have any use for wheelie bars on a bike with that much horsepower. you gotta be looking at prostock at least before you need the wheelie prevention, or better clutch control

And you own how many dragbikes?

On a stock wheelbase 1100 with a rear slick, like he has, the best ets will come from throwing the clutch away & will NEED a wheelie bar to keep from flipping the thing! Please ignore people that have no experience with this stuff Jerry. Also, keep on the lookout for a lockup clutch & RBD clutch cover. The RBD cover will make it MUCH easier to install the pipe than just a lockup spacer. A lockup will make it much easier for you to tune the bike for the launch. You will also need to be looking for a 2 step, for the ignition & clutch lever, also to be used for tuning the launch. Call me if you want advise that comes from a lot experience & won't get you HURT! Ray.

[rapidray]

Does that engine have a welded crank in it Jerry? If not, things can go south pretty quick with a slick & non welded crank! Ray.

[rapidray]

Also, just so you know, I did an 1166 for a friend's bike & it runs 9.30 @146. You aren't far off that with the parts you have! Ray.

[jareness]

Thanks again Ray. Not sure what's up with agemax. It's true the bike can be ridden without a wheelie bar (a lot of fun, for sure) but there's no way to launch a stock wheel based bike with this kind of power at or near WOT without tossing it. Anyway, I'm hoping the bike survives this season with the stock crank. I ran a GS1000 for five years with no worries, but I know the 1100 cranks aren't as tough. But I only have two choices with my resources: wait till next year or hope I don't grenade this year. If you thought the chances of spinning it were greater than 50/50 I'd probably wait. Either way, the next two priorities will be the crank and the tranny, hopefully after the end of the season. Tom Sudman recommended John Pierce (?) (Ohio I think) for the crank. Know these guys?

Jerry

[Baatfam]

Or you could just buy my old school, KPM built bar bike and save yours for a spare motor...

Just sayin'

[jareness]

Forgot to mention, have an airshifter, rev limiter, and shift minder, but not real confident about how to string it all together. I'm sure to be asking for advice on all that.
And this: took the bike out on the road in front of my house about an hour ago (I live in the country). Spit and popped until 5000, then holy hell broke loose. After Scott (S & K) gets done with it it'll be a terror. Sweeet.

Jerry

[jareness]

Seriously Bob, I trust you guys. What are the chances I'm gonna spin the crank this year if I try to run it without getting it welded?
J

[Baatfam]

Seriously Bob, I trust you guys. What are the chances I'm gonna spin the crank this year if I try to run it without getting it welded?
J

Seriously? I don't know...I would trust Ray to tell ya the straight story...
But when a Zuk 1100 blows, it takes out the cases generally...

Not trying to scare ya, but when I decided to go racing back in '04, I found a running, known bike...
It was cheaper than building one and I could concentrate on racing...
Over the years I updated and learned how to set a slider up, rebuild the trans, etc...but I never regretted buying a ready to go bike...

And if you don't want mine, there is bunch out there for sale...there always is...

Just my $.02

[jareness]

Well, I see plenty of bikes I'd love to own on Dragbike.com, but as I've gotten older I've become less averse to actually working on these things. Twenty years ago I couldn't stand wrenching on my own machines, because it meant they weren't ready to go. Mebbe I get this 1100 straightened out, sell it and the 750 NOS bike, then buy one all set up. There's something else though. When setting up a bike like this a certain tension is created as the process unwinds. I'm enjoying it!

Jerry