1981 GS 1100 E - first bike ever...

[HatchA74]

Alrighty, so I have yet to post a "hello" thread on the introduction forum and I swear, I'll get 'round to it... Honestly

In the mean-time, I've been posting some questions and pic's around the forum regarding a bike I've been given to bring back to glory.

So far, my main questions have been regarding a replacement fuel tank but I think I've got that one sorted so to start the ball rolling on my "project/rebuild thread" and as I'm yet to actually get the bike to my place to begin stripping it, I asked my friend to drop off the seat so I'd have "something" to do while I wait for the transportation to be sorted.

Here's a pic of the underside of the seat pan...



I'm basically thinking of getting a new one fabricated (or maybe a mold taken from this pan and made from fibreglass?), then using the DIY motorbike seat information to experiment and hopefully come up with something special...

Thoughts...?


Thanks,

Steve.

[Flyboy]

Ooooo, Steve, that is nasty, but I am not sure it is so nasty that it can't be saved, I have seen a lot worse.
It seems like there are only a few places where it has rusted right through, the rest seems to be surface rust, from what I can see.
Strip it down and then you can access it properly, you may find you can patch the holes in that one with some fiberglass from the inside, once it is all back together and painted you won't even see it at all.
Following along for the ride.

[HatchA74]

It's not visible in that pic, so I'll take a couple more but the edge/lip of the pan where the cover wraps around under it is pretty rotten and crumbling

Gonna get to stripping it soon, then we'll see what we shall see...

Will take it down the road to a place that does body work and see what they say.

Thanks,

Steve.

***EDIT***

Some more pics...

[Nessism]

I'd strip it down really well using electrolysis, phosphoric acid, evaporust, something that will remove ALL the rust, not just a wire wheel or similar, and then fab up some patches and go from there. Stan is right about the pan being repairable. We have seen way worse around here fixed up into perfectly serviceable pans. At least, use the old pan and laminate on some glass fiber layers to add reinforcements. It can be done pretty easily that way.

[HatchA74]

The guy up the road (crash repair business) doesn't do the type of thing I was looking for but he recommended two guys that live just across the road from his business (both less than 5 min's from me).

First guy does metal fabrication and I was told he'd probably help me out.

Then I showed the pan to him and he said "oh... You wanna see Dave!"

"Dave" is a guy that lives around the corner from the fabricator and pretty much eats, sleeps, breathes and lives for; motorcycles...

I went up to see him and ended up spending about three hours there as he showed me some of his projects going on at the moment, some of his older ones in photo-albums and then showed me some of the things he's built cos he couldn't get/afford - his own sand blaster, gas-fired oven for curing paint and powder coat, a furnace he built to melt old heads for the aluminium...

The guy's a mechanical and engineering genius and, as you'd expect, a little eccentric to boot!!

He's told me to form a mental image (or actual pic) of what I'm looking for and he'll do whatever needs to be done - for a price, naturally - but man, do I feel absolutely effin' PSYCHED about this bike now!! He seemed happy that I want to do as much of the work needed myself.

The other guy - the fabricator - is another dab-hand at creating stuff... He designed and built his own CNC plasma cutter.....

I've yet to "drop in unannounced" and introduce myself...


I'm four years living here now and I never knew those two guys existed!!

[Flyboy]

Awesome, good to hear you came right, and making good contacts to boot, I see many one off special motorcycle parts in your future.
Ahead full steam then I take it, pass the popcorn please..............

[HatchA74]

Awesome, good to hear you came right, and making good contacts to boot, I see many one off special motorcycle parts in your future.
Ahead full steam then I take it, pass the popcorn please..............

Full steam indeed!! Got the trailer organised for this Thursday evening, so I (desperately) need to make some room in my shed for the bike to take up while I strip it down.

[rustybronco]

Is this what you are looking for?

http://thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=182775

[Flyboy]

need to make some room in my shed for the bike to take up while I strip it down.

Indeed, it is amazing how a motorcycle in pieces can fill a garage.
And don't forget to start collecting coffee cans to put all the various nuts and bolts into sorted by application, i must have 10 cffee cans with spare in of some sort off my bike.