Zagg's Project: '78 GS750E

[Zagg]

Wow, it has been awhile! I got a few more things accomplished late Winter / early Spring... Here are some pics....


Airbox cleaned up and painted. I left the covers raw until I finalize my color scheme. I thought I was positive on it, but it continues to bounce between three different ideas. I tried the weatherstripping to seal the airbox but it seemed like more trouble than it was worth. I will likely sell or trade this and use pods.

[Zagg]

Vinegar did a great job on the rust...


Right side was in vinegar for a day or two..


before...


This is after 24 hours of vinegar and a wire brush

[Zagg]

Paint station... Not proud of it but it works well for the small stuff.

[Zagg]

I have the front calipers broken down and paint stripped. I will post pics of those soon. Just scored stainless brake pistons from CrazyCloud so when I get those I can begin re-assembly. Still on the fence about paint. I wanted to go with a copper because one of the totes of parts had handlebar mirrors that were that color so I thought it would be neat, but I like the classic gloss black a lot. There is also this bike...

http://www.pipeburn.com/home/2012/11/04/1977-suzuki-gs750-rusty-bitch.html

I don't like everything he's done with it, but I like the tank and the leather accents a lot. I would love to hear advice on color schemes.

[Zagg]

I really like the brown leather handgrips and seats I see on bobber style cruiser bikes so the conflict is that if I go with leather it will mess up the copper scheme so then I bounce to either exposed metal with clear coat and brown seat / handgrips etc., or copper tank / calipers, black grips / seat.

Here are a few other reference bikes I like... This one is cool in gloss black, black rims, and white frame....

http://caferace.com/wordpress/wp-content/gallery/cafe-girls-aug-2012/shopgirlhair.jpg

This one is really nice and simple but I like the clean look of the gloss black without accents. I really like the seat and tail also...

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?130532-Post-a-picture-of-your-custom-GS/page72

This site has some really cool scramblers... I not going to point out everything that stands out here just take a look...

http://www.sometimesnothingisarealcoolhand.com/tag/custom-motorcycle/

My sense of "cool" for a bike does not include taking a 40 year old bike and adding $10k worth of modern parts. If it was born in 1978 then I feel like it should still look that way for the most part (paint, upgraded brakes and tires aside). This is simply my opinion and not meant to be a discussion starter.

[Zagg]

Will post pics this week. Painting front brake calipers, tank. Waiting on parts for caliper reassembly. Recent purchases: AGM battery, caliper rubber, new petcock.

[Weasel]

Looking good. Now that my fair weather obligations are winding down, I'm looking forward to checking in here more often & getting back on my winter(s) project.

[Weasel]

That pic of the bike you posted reminds me of the one in the movie Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man.

[Zagg]

That pic of the bike you posted reminds me of the one in the movie Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man.

Hey man! Glad to see you are back! I have been tinkering here and there, but have been spending more time working on the bike lately. Money has been my hang-up more than time.

[Zagg]

Ordered the connectors for the SH-775 and the PC-8 fuse box from Eastern Beaver... Wiring will be next to try to get my beast runnin' before moving on to rebuilding the forks, rear brakes piston and master.

[Zagg]

Picked these up from Frankenzuki...

[Zagg]

I can't seem to find any pics of the finished brake calipers. I am currently working on the tank and then sadly my OCD is taking me in the direction of making my own wiring harness from new but we will see.

[1978GS750E]

Interesting build you got going on there. I'm in the disassembly stage of my 1978 GS750 right now. Waiting on a friend to help lift the engine out and then I will sandblast and paint the frame. Then I can start putting it back together. Been trying to clean up, re-plate and rebuild parts as they come off so "hopefully" the rebuild goes fast. Can't wait to see how yours turns out. Keep up the good work!

[Weasel]

Rear

[Weasel]

Front