Cafe Racer project 79' GS 400 in Vancouver, BC

[Guest]

Hello everyone,

It's a pleasure to be here and hoping to gather some great connections from this first intro.

I would like your input about the bike and hoping for valuable resources.
I'm located in DT Vancouver and would like to meet others with similar projects.

Also if you have more infos about shops, self sandblast, self welding shops if they exist?!
Where did you get your custom CNC and seat stuff done?

I recently purchased an cafe racer project, which was 50% completed.

Project status:
Engine and Carbs. have been rebuilded
Wheels are completed
Engine runs, but needs a bit of love


Outstanding - for first test run

Frame work, welding of hoop
General wiring, and cleaning of cables and batteries
Front brake rebuild

Plan:
custom CNC machined parts, handlebar buttons, rear bars
customize tank with knee dents
sandblast frame, fork and engine for powder coating.
Custom seat
Custom fenders.
Full paint job of fenders, tank, misc parts

[Deuce]

Good luck with your build. Unfortunately, cafes, brats, rat bikes, etc., aren't looked upon very highly by some here. Myself excluded. You will get some help, but you may also get flamed.

[ShadowFocus603]

Can't wait to see your progress.

[BigD_83]

Those are some fat tires you have on there.

Haven't noticed your project around in any form, but I like the 400s for this sort of thing. Light and nimble, and can be pared down to the essentials without looking ungainly.

I haven't done any custom work with my rides, but for seats, you should contact Janice at

Slim's Signature Seats. It'll be up to you to do the basic design, frame and foam work, but she does mean covering work. She used to have more of a Facebook presence, but I just checked and couldn't find an active page for her so she may have moved on to other projects.

There were a couple of guys doing CNC work, but full names escape me. Self-welding space is harder to come by. Places like http://risingsunmotorcycles.ca/ might be worth a call. There is also Motomethod (https://www.facebook.com/Motomethod/); they offer, or used to offer, some kind of membership plan with shop access, storage, and roadside assistance.

[wyly]

looks like an interesting project, I'll be following with interest.

[hillsy]

.....Engine and Carbs. have been rebuilded.......Engine runs, but needs a bit of love.....

These two statements seem at odds to me.

Is there any clearance for the front fender with that oversized tyre?

Dont do knee dents - your tank is not wide enough to warrant them and they will look stupid on such a narrow tank.

Make sure you have enough clearance for your rear tyre when welding on a hoop.

Good luck with it.