Cafe'ing a GS550L

[ameen]

I bought a 1982 GS550l not to long ago and have always wanted a cafe bike. Right now, it is stock ( no pics yet, sorry). I am stripping it down to the frame this weekend and painting it so i decided that i will try and cafe it at the same time.

As of now, my plans are throw a clubman bar on, paint the bike a nice black with a checker stripe or something down the middle, and make a new seat and kind of let the project evolve on its own as i go.

Somthing i really wanted to add is knee dents. Im not sure if they would look good with the stock teardrop tank or not. What do you guys think?
If not, what tank do you think i could use that would suit the purpose better?

My buddy is hanging plastic in his garage next week to set up as a paint room, so im trying to prep everything by then. Anything frame/tank modifications i should do before hand? This is my first time doing this, any im going to try and do any metal work done now so I can paint it next week.

Also, lets hear any good suggestions for color schemes besides black that would go well with this bike.

Thanks

[ameen]

maybe something like this guy's bike:

http://dotheton.com/index.php?PHPSESSID=299dbd40a6860bfd164bace9407d186f&topic=3440.0

anyone know what tank he is using?

[salty_monk]

Looks to me like a stock tank that someone has formed their own knee pockets in... someone on here did that with lots of pics. Do a search & you should be able to find it!

Dan

[yaddy]

Hey buddy,

My advice would be to NOT rush into the paint on the frame. I plastic coated mine a bit too early and had to cut out some design ideas as i'd already gone to coat.
Just shoot some primer on there and you can add and remove as the build progresses. Many people on here are running cafe's so do a search and you will find a lot of inspiration as i have done, it's helped me immensely with my ongoing cafe build.

I personally like the electrics under the seat but it can be a little tricky to pull off cleanly, take your time instead of running to paint. As your build progresses, it will take you down many paths, be totally sure of the direction before applying finished coverings. Above all though, enjoy it and take those darn pics, i might want some of your ideas for my own!

[Dreef1999]

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=104862&page=8&highlight=scud

He used a stock 550E tank. Check the thread for more.

[Rein]

zerofreeze used a 650l with the teardrop tank for a cafe build. Looks wonderful, search spokes on a shaftie and I'm pretty sure it'll be the first thread.

The thread:

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=138923&highlight=spokes+shaftie

[ameen]

wow, you guys are great. Ok, ill hold off on the paint for now.

i was thinking about putting the electronics under the seat, but im not ready for headers and pods so i didn't see the point right now (since i will still need my air box).


On another note.....i was testing my compression last night and must have cross threaded the adapter in the spark plug hole. Well i couldn't get it out and ended up snapping it off. I have one of those grabber bits but to no avail, i cant get it out. Any ideas short of removing the head and drilling it out and putting in a helicoil?

Thanks
Ameen

[yaddy]

Any ideas short of removing the head and drilling it out and putting in a helicoil?

eBay a motor?


Oooops, that's a bum move buddy. Good luck with that. I don't know how you would do it without removing the head, if it's crossed in there, you will need to drill for a heli-coil and i wouldn't risk it on the motor. I'd think about larger thread plugs as opposed to heli-coils anyway? I don't know if it's at all possible with the GS, but it's a trick i used on an old Red Rocket 250 i had with a stripped plug. Worked a treat and much more reliable than the heli-coil if you plan to be a frequent plug swapper. You don't have much option about leaving plugs in for too long on the 2 strokers, lol.

You could always go the "coke can" route as well, does work..........sometimes....

[Colorado85gs550]

my advice is to not make anything too permanent during your build........it will change as you go.......I have gone from cafe build, to custom crotch rocket with fairings, back to cafe numerous times....currently I'm running without the fairings in a cafe setup utilizing the GSXR 750 SRAD tail as my cafe tail

[Colorado85gs550]

On another note.....i was testing my compression last night and must have cross threaded the adapter in the spark plug hole. Well i couldn't get it out and ended up snapping it off. I have one of those grabber bits but to no avail, i cant get it out. Any ideas short of removing the head and drilling it out and putting in a helicoil?

Should have waited for everything to cool down before removing the adapter......

You could remove the head and see if you can twist it from underneath to loosen it and slowly work it back out

[TheCafeKid]

maybe something like this guy's bike:

http://dotheton.com/index.php?PHPSESSID=299dbd40a6860bfd164bace9407d186f&topic=3440.0

anyone know what tank he is using?

thats byrdmans' bike. And yes, he hammered his own knee indents...Ive done it to a few tanks myself...which, i might add, i have a couple available that will need the bondo work finished if you're interested....

At any rate, its not TOO tough to do, but you must have some idea about whats going on, where you want to go with it, and how to go about it.

[ameen]

what is the coke can route?