1981 GS450E Rebuild

[oohsam]

Oh yeah!!!

[Guest]

Pete, love the look of the paint you used... especially on that brick

Hahaha thanks Dale, looks much better in the sun though, that flash makes it look terrible... mind you I didn't polish that bit

Nice pictures. Did you tie your rope onto something behind the back wheel when you did the alignment?

Cheers Scott. Nope, I stuck it in first so the rear wheel wouldn't rotate and used the chunky tread of the dual sport tyre to hold the rope. I had to have it lower than I would have liked though so it would go under the bar of the centre stand.

This is a method I've seen on here, definitely not my own invention

So damned close now, Pete..

For sure Leigh! Fingers are crossed the seat's ready and I can get out of work early enough to get to the upholsterer's...

We can almost see the smile on his face!

Daniel

Hahaha indeed!

Oh yeah!!!

Oh yeah indeed ... I wanna be where you are with yours... taking it for a spin!

[Flyboy]

All coming together now, on short finals now for sure, I am seriously chuffed for you Pete, the anticipation must be killing you, those little last minute tidy ups just seem to take forever and never ending, don't they.
I am just waiting for the maiden ride video, get on with it already....
You are formally dismissed from your ever patient temprement, mine is finished now.

[Matchless]

Pete mate,
I have not been on the forum much, being busy with various other things and noticed that you have the finishing line in sight!

Your bike looks extremely well and you have done a supreme job! I also give you 10/10 for a very thorough project thread!

After she is on the road you are most likely going to be bored out of your mind and will have to think of a way to spend all the money you are going to have extra every month.

[Leigh]

After she is on the road you are most likely going to be bored out of your mind and will have to think of a way to spend all the money you are going to have extra every month.

Fuel..

Yup, it'll be that simple.

[DrunkenChekhov]

I think you need a cotter pin big guy!


Looking great!

[Guest]

All coming together now, on short finals now for sure, I am seriously chuffed for you Pete, the anticipation must be killing you, those little last minute tidy ups just seem to take forever and never ending, don't they.
I am just waiting for the maiden ride video, get on with it already....
You are formally dismissed from your ever patient temprement, mine is finished now.

Cheers Stan! Yeah it's so close... I'm actually getting a bit nervous now... everything's hanging on the clutch being ok, although I think it is.

My nerves are mainly about the first ride in nearly 10 years... but damn I'm looking forward to it!

I definitely need to get video as I need to show Dynatek their ignition works as well

And don't worry, my patience is just about shot now... hahaha

Pete mate,
I have not been on the forum much, being busy with various other things and noticed that you have the finishing line in sight!

Your bike looks extremely well and you have done a supreme job! I also give you 10/10 for a very thorough project thread!

After she is on the road you are most likely going to be bored out of your mind and will have to think of a way to spend all the money you are going to have extra every month.

Thanks Andre! Good to see you posting, wondered where you'd been lately

It's very close now... mainly just a road test and safety certificate left after a couple of little finishing things. There are still some optional things I'd like to get done but they're not critical for registration...

As for the next project... it's a matter of deciding which one...



Or



Plenty of time before I need to make that decision though, and plenty of riding to be done too

Fuel..

Yup, it'll be that simple.

Yeah baby, now you're talkin!

I think you need a cotter pin big guy!


Looking great!

Thanks mate, I need three to be exact Front and rear axles and the drum brake stabiliser arm...

[Guest]

It was overcast when I got home from picking the seat up but still... me is a happy man right now







Tonight I got all those little fiddly things sorted.

Adjusted the rear brake and gear shift levers, fixed the chain adjustment and aligned the rear wheel again, adjusted the rear brake light switch, and finished cleaning the packing grease off the chain and lubed it for the first time. I also did my best to adjust the headlight height as well.

I also spent a reasonable amount of time sitting on the seat and standing back looking... I'm sure you can understand

All I need to do Sunday is get three split pins, check the tyre pressures, put some fuel in, check the ignition timing, and then I can check the clutch and gear shifting on the centre stand before rolling her out of the garage...

[Guest]

And Scott, just for you, here's some more detail on the rear wheel alignment

Axle stands with rope attached at the same height as you will have it sitting on the rear tyre. The concrete in my garage is a little slippery which is why I use the bricks to give the axle stands extra support in keeping the rope taught.



Rope goes 'round the back tyre, and the centre stand can get in the way if you don't do it right. I'm guessing on some bikes it will be almost impossible.



You can see where on mine it still touches the centre stand cross brace, but it only affects the rope vertically and doesn't impact on the alignment check.



Goes round the rear tyre:



And here's the trick. Get the front wheel centred and make sure the rope comes down each side of the front wheel exactly the same each side and making sure the width between the two ropes is the width of the rear tyre where the rope goes around it.



You can then tell by how close or far away the rope is from the front of the rear tyre if it's in alignment or not.

[cowboyup3371]

Thanks Pete. Looking really good and those pipes really seem to fit now

[Hoosier Daddy]

Fantastic!
In all honesty, I never bashed your front fender. You know the old "If you can't say something nice..." but I never imagined it would look that good finished. Your forward vision skills are top notch.

[SVSooke]

That is quite the bike there.Still can't fathom having it around that long and not doing anything.Made up for it now.Crossed fingers and toes here.

[Guest]

Thanks Pete. Looking really good and those pipes really seem to fit now

Thanks Scott! Definitely happy with how she's turned out, and yeah I love them pipes

Fantastic!
In all honesty, I never bashed your front fender. You know the old "If you can't say something nice..." but I never imagined it would look that good finished. Your forward vision skills are top notch.

Haha mate I did! Ha! I wouldn't call it forward vision... more... let's stick this on coz I can't find anything better and see how it looks...

The paintwork on it is still a bit dodgy but I can cope with that at least for the moment seeing as I should hopefully be able to ride real soon

That is quite the bike there.Still can't fathom having it around that long and not doing anything.Made up for it now.Crossed fingers and toes here.

Thanks Greg!

The first few years I coped with other distractions and I could at least go and start it every now and then. It was always "I can get this on the road again soon when I have the cash" but never had the cash... then it started deteriorating and I didn't have the time either... then it got to that point where I thought I'd best do it properly...

That's where I started wondering why I kept getting grumpy all the time, and I realised exactly why... won't let that happen again!

Once she's done I don't intend to be bike-less for any period of time again

[oohsam]

Pete,
I must say my friend. This build is outstanding. Just wanted to let you know that I constantly refer back to ur old threads to double check im doing certain things 'right'. lol.

I hope it starts and runs perfect first time

Good work my friend. Hoping to see it on the road soon!

[ged]

Very nice and jealous.........