Lightening the load

[deeje]

Hi all... New to the place.
Found this site after falling for a 83 GS650GS. Love at first site.
Only problem is....
She is 215ish kgs dry weight.... and I am only 60kgs....wringing wet

I want to keep the shape (best looking curves i've seen) and look of the ol girl but does anyone know of how I can lighten the bike up a bit. I am interested more in the top half of the bike.... tank, handle bars, seat.... maybe something else i haven't mentioned.

Are there replacement parts that are the same size / shape as the original ones but maybe a little lighter?

Does anyone know of a place in australia that will make parts... maybe in aluminium that i can interchange?? I am not sure that this can even be done? I am definately willing to ship in from anywhere, if you know of a place that does that sort of thing.

Any ideas of easy mods or part replacements to make my girl shed a few kgs would be greatly appreciated.

[Billy Ricks]

Quickest place to lose weight is the exhaust, not too hard to shed 10 pounds there. Exhausts can be hard to find for these old bikes but with patience they turn up on Ebay. You might even be able to use one from a GSF600. A trip to a boneyard would tell you if a stock one would bolt on. If it does then start scrounging for a lightweight 4 into 1. Ditch the airbox for lighter pods. You'll need a jet kit for the exhaust and intake mods.

After that wheels are usually a place you can save weight, especially if you have the means to do the mods necessary to run radials. You can also cut off every unused tab from the frame. Stock peg arrangements are usually fairly robust. Mounting rearsets on minimal frame plates will save some weight.

[80GS1000]

Some suggestions - I shaved just shy of 100 pounds off the wet weight of the GS1000 by doing these mods.

In terms of saving weight, I tried to maximize weight savings by removing anything not absolutely necessary and by using the lightest components possible. Weight savings IMO is like free HP - less mass that the engine has to accelerate.

Let's see...

Monoshock conversion. All the GSXR parts (swingarm, rim, brake assembly etc etc) are MUCH lighter that their GS counterparts, being made of aluminum instead of steel. A single shock weighs less than two shocks. The whole GSXR 1000 rim/tire/swingarm/rear brake assembly only weighs 50 pounds. I almost throw my back out trying to hoist the stock GS1000 rear wheel.

GSXR 1000 front end. I measured this as being 15 pounds lighter than its GS counterpart - again, all aluminum, no steel.

520 or 530 chain conversion - 520 or 530 weighs less than 630 for the same length chain.

Smaller than stock battery - just make sure it has enough CCA and capacity to start your engine reliably.

Aftermarket 4 into 1 exhaust - almost 30 lbs. saved by ditching the stock exhaust.

GSXR rearsets - the GS footpegs weigh a ton by comparison.

Pod air filters vs. stock airbox. 4 pod filters weigh less than an airbox/big single filter assembly.

Ditching the huge and heavy stock turn signals for Gixxer signals.

Stripping off every single unnecessary tab/piece of metal including the passenger footpeg mounts and stock exhaust mount. Steel is heavy, the less the better. Getting rid of the unused tabs also cleans up the looks as well. I didn't however remove the stock rear shock mounts so that the bike can be returned to dual shock sometime in the future.

[Zooks]

Where in Aus are you? I'm in Sydney and would be glad to help if you need it. I have a workshop at my place and all the tools necessary.

[Steve]

There is probably not a whole lot of weight that you can remove from your 650 that would make it worth it.

If you are that concerned about it, I can think of 60 kg or so that you can remove from the seat area. 8-[

-The tank itself can't be lightened. You can fill it only part-way.
-The seat could be shaved or replaced with a fiberglas pan seat. Save maybe 1/2 kg.
-Replace the handlebar with alloy off-road unit. Save maybe 1/2 kg.

I would suggest practicing slow riding and handling excersizes with it to get comfortable with its handling.
It's really a nicely-balanced bike. \\/


.

[Billy Ricks]

Have you given any thought to trimming the rear fender? I cut off all of the black portion where the license plate sits and it cleaned that up greatly. It would give your bike a more airy look.

[RJ]

Switching to GSXR wheels, front end, GS1100 aluminum swingarm, and 4-1 exhaust would be the easiest and most dramatic loss of weight. Having 17" wheels will also have the added benefit of lowering the center of gravity of the bike which will make it less top heavy.

[80GS1000]

Have you given any thought to trimming the rear fender? I cut off all of the black portion where the license plate sits and it cleaned that up greatly. It would give your bike a more airy look.

Not to hijack this thread, but I completely agree. The fender clutters up the lines in the back. Did you mount your license plate on the swingarm?

[Billy Ricks]

I made a small bracket to hold the plate in about the same location as stock. I'll eventually relocate that. Even with the plate still there it looks cleaner.

[triffecpa]

If the GS650 model is the same as the US version, it'll be a shaft drive. That would make the GSXR wheels and GS1100 swing arm/or mono shock etc a much harder conversion. If it's a chain drive 650, then you can make a lot more improvements.

TR

[Billy Ricks]

If the GS650 model is the same as the US version, it'll be a shaft drive. That would make the GSXR wheels and GS1100 swing arm/or mono shock etc a much harder conversion. If it's a chain drive 650, then you can make a lot more improvements.

TR

Doh, nevermind. You may be able to carve off 30 lbs, not much more.

[Suzukfan78]

Heres some helpful weight info...

Ive been obsessivley stripping weight off my 78 gs1000ec and have come up with some hard numbers by using an accurate digital postal scale at work. Here are some surprizing weight loss facts Ill share:
Front cast wheel=12.85lbs Front spoke wheel=10.4lbs
Rear cast wheel=15.05 Rear spoke wheel=16.20lbs
(wheel weights were rim only with bearings and axle sleeves intact)
EC model twin disc=8.2lbs N model single disc=5.4lbs
(all discs are drilled)
OEM airbox setup to UNI pods -2.05lbs
(4) OEM turn sigs to small aftermarket ones -1.6lbs
630 to 530 chain conv. -1lbs
(0.5 in chain and 0.5 in frnt sprkt; rear sprkt not included)
Chrome fender removal -3.8lbs
OEM Steel swingarm approx. 16lbs to GS1100 al. swingarm approx. 8lbs
(not verified by me, but seen on another post)
Thats all the single parts Ive weighed, however I have a seperate bag full of brackets and non-essential extras that weighs 17 lbs and climbing...some of the heviest pieces in there are the OEM twin horns, license plate/tail bracketry, passenger foot pegs/brackets, and much more...I tried to replace all non load bearing brackets with 1/8" thick al.
Saved 4.45lbs going to an aftermarket batt.
1.5lbs on new rear shocks
I Dont have a accurate wet weight just yet but my guess right now is around 70lbs.
If any one knows what the exact weight of the stock twin pipe exhaust and the centerstand, please let me know, because I dont have these items to weigh...Hope this helps someone out there...

[deeje]

Great Ideas

Just a thanks for all who have given me some great ideas for getting the ol' girls weight down. Just to answer a couple of questions I saw in the posts....
shaft drive bike (are there any after maket shaft drive components? - i am guessing they would be much lighter)
I am in Melbourne, but like I was saying, I would ship from anywhere if available.

Thanks again. If you have any more ideas, i would love to hear them

:-D