1978 GS1000 cafe racer

[Davsie]

Hey folks, I'm pretty new to the forum although I've been helped by it many a time in the past 6 months already.
Anyhow I'm undertaking a cafe racer project of sorts with emphasis on the racer part haha. I`m a mechanical engineering student full time and love building stuff on the side so I figured why not take on this monster. I figured the folks around here might as well know about the project as I'm sure many will have similar difficulties as I have already noticed most of mine turn up on here.

The build so far (On a budget so its been very difficult haha, school won't pay for itself):

I have a stock 1978 GS I've been accumulating parts for and here's the plan as of now

I found an aluminum kerker k-series system on ebay for a steal from a z1 however I have not fitted it yet since it is rare for a bike to pass safety here with a system as open as this.
I have a front end from a 1998 cbr600 with cartridge type dampers and the 41 mm stanchions which is not quite those like the 43mm off a vtr1000 but I think they should stiffen up the front end enough.
The brakes and wheels I'm also pulling from the cbr and will be doing a 525 chain conversion likely with an offset sprocket. However I wanted to keep the twin shocks in the rear and eventually dream of finding some factory fox shocks, maybe when I'm out of school, but anyhow I did some research and found an alternative swingarm convert to the gs11000 that I love the look of, which is from a zr750. So I found a swingarm and had to put a stainless sleeve on the axle in order to fit the 17mm rear axle to the wheel and spacers from the cbr. This seems to be near perfect but if I notice problems I`ll probably find some different bearings and get a brake bracket cnced. The tank I used vinegar on and that seemed to do the trick but anyhow lots on the go!

Pictures to come...

Also if anyone has info regarding how much to take off either side of the zr750 swingarm that would be rad.
And if anyone is interested I`m going to run sock type ram air filters over billet velocity stacks so jetting tips would be amazing!

 

[Davsie]

Oh if anyone is looking for a full set of the functioning windjammer fairings let me know haha

 

[nvr2old]

Nice to see someone that's as young as yourself showing the interest you have in these bikes. You've laid out an enthusiastic build. You'll probably get the same negative response from a group of nay-sayers on this site concerning "ruining" your GS, but pay no attention..it's your bike, and you do what you want. There are some very talented and knowledgeable people around here that will also help if they can. I'll look forward to seeing your project unfold, but prepare yourself for some intimidating times making the parts you want, work.

May I also suggest visiting this site for inspiration and help.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1440193869604433/

 

[Davsie]

Yeah already i`ve found even something as small as swapping out my rear master cylinder to something newer took longer than expected haha. And I`ve been learning patience by making rearsets from billet aluminum I got from the formula sae team I`m on in school. I love the look of those older muscle bikes, really into the racefit builds.

 

[Davsie]

Well, some time has passed, I still don't have decent photos with school being busy. Anyhow I replaced the original fork seals and brake pads to pass a safety and then began the tear down. I'm hoping to get it going in the next month. This past week I swapped the front end off the cbr onto the bike so it is now sporting a beefier front end. This wasn't overly difficult aside from getting the original bearing races out of the gs. I ended up welding a beat on them to shrink them enough to come out. The cbr bearings were in great condition so I repacked them with grease and seated them in the gs and then mounted the fork. The headlight is definitely something different and I'm liking it haha. Anyhow, problem of the week is fitting the "zr750" swingarm. I write "zr750" because it seems my swingarm may be from a zr1100. The needle bearings are 34mm od and 28mm id rather than 33 od 25 id which the zr750 had, correct me if I'm wrong? Now I am trying to figure out a way to fit the swingarm??? Any suggestions?

 

[bobgroger]

I fitted a Bandit 1200 swingarm to my GS1100e. Had a buddy machine some new bushings with a thicker flange and the correct for mine 16mm pivot bolt diameter. If your swingarm has needle bearings spacer and bushing length is critical as that sets endplay. Mine is at ~.005, I have no idea what it should be but that is my starting point. Hacked out some shock mounts from 6061 bar stock and my local welder nicely attached them for $40. Rear brake linkage clearance is a problem with the Bandit arm, I ended up making some adapter plates for Gen 1 Busa rearsets to move the entire braking system outside the frame. I am posting some pictures of the conversion later this week as it nears completion.

 

[Davsie]

Thanks bobgroger! Yeah I reckon I may need to just get a set of bushings as well. Do you think I would have an issue with a sleeve in the swingarm if I just used a thin gauge hardened steel?

 

[Davsie]

I'm going to send a few photos of what I'm working on.

 

[Davsie]

Here is the front end on

 

[Davsie]

And the side.

 

[thebrandonbeezy]

I really like that bike

 

[Davsie]

Well it's upside down but the swingarm is fitted. Next I will be trying to figure out what spacers I'm going to need to turn on the lathe to centre my wheel

 

[Davsie]

Just a random question, The gs1000's from 78 had a drain plug in the oil filter cover, would it work to use this for an oil return line from an oil cooler? I saw the adapter plate how to on the forum but it looks as though the return line is quite cramped on the plate.