1978 GS1000E Project by a Rookie

[erickson_ron]

Anyway to clean out the crud lining or is it better to sell to someone?

 

[Cipher]

SM
I have a gs 750 and am unsire of the bolt spacing and offsets etc. re brake upgrade.
I do know that 83-86 550 calipers bolt spacing is the same.
I was thinking of a four pot tokico oem suzuki set. Hard to take the plunge on a pricy item without knowing if it can even relotely fit.

 

[loud et]

Good thoughts loud et. We are justing cleaning up to inspect welds and start all of our mock ups. Definitely won't go to powder coater until all is fitting to our satisfaction. I have had bad/cracked welds powder coated before because we didn't get a good inspection done first. Are there any weak areas on these frames that people tend to gusset or brace on these bikes?

No, these frames are not known to have bad welds or areas prone to cracks.
They factory welds do tend to be untidy. Sometimes a gap was left here or there in the weld and you could fill some of these neglected areas with some mig. They also have lots of splatter to knock off and sand smooth.

 

[erickson_ron]

Frame and swing arm are back from the blaster and so far all looks really good. Some sloppy welds but everything looks solid with no previous damage. On with the grinding off the un-needed and welding on the needed. Starting to look like Christmas in July as parts start showing up each day. Sonic springs, Racetech emulator, DCC handlebars, All Balls bearings, and lots and lots of goodies from Motogadget.

 

[salty_monk]

SM
I have a gs 750 and am unsire of the bolt spacing and offsets etc. re brake upgrade.
I do know that 83-86 550 calipers bolt spacing is the same.
I was thinking of a four pot tokico oem suzuki set. Hard to take the plunge on a pricy item without knowing if it can even relotely fit.

I don't want to jack this thread. Send me a PM if you want more info.
Essentially the answer is it's a lot of work to get it to fit & when you've finished it won't look very good & the clearances won't be very safe in my opinion. I've done that bit of research. The forks aren't really wide enough for opposed piston calipers.

 

[salty_monk]

Frame and swing arm are back from the blaster and so far all looks really good. Some sloppy welds but everything looks solid with no previous damage. On with the grinding off the un-needed and welding on the needed. Starting to look like Christmas in July as parts start showing up each day. Sonic springs, Racetech emulator, DCC handlebars, All Balls bearings, and lots and lots of goodies from Motogadget.

There is some additional bracing you could add in a couple of areas to stiffen the frame. It's been posted on here a lot. With the S works shocks, 1100 Swinger, the cartridge emulators and better brakes the weakest link is now the frame flexing on my bike.

 

[erickson_ron]

1100E tank cleaned up with citrus stripper real well. A couple of small dents is all to have popped out. Leading candidate for this build right now because of the unknown condition on my skunk tank.

 

[erickson_ron]

The skunk re-paint is not coming off easily at all. Not sure what they used or if all the bond underneath makes it harder. Probably 5 or 6 coats of stripper at least to get to tank.

 

[erickson_ron]

Engine has been disassembled and is at the machine shop getting bored for the 1100 piston kit before rebuilding. Looked pretty good for a 38 year old. Got a NOS stator cover to replace one that had been repaired with JB Weld.

 

[chuck hahn]

That epoxy is a SUMBEOTCH to get off tanks. I gave up on a lot of stripper chems right off. In stead I have a good knife I use like a draw blade the pioneers used to debark logs. I rest the tank against my belly off the bench and systematically start drawing the paint off. I get as much as I can with the blade and then use KLEEN STRIP stripper. Once thats done I run the entire tank on the wire wheel on the bench grinder. lastly its a DA with 400 grit to smooth it all out. Takes a few hrs but its a heck of an awesomely clean and smooth tank when its time to prime.

Im up here in Norman OK if you ever want to get together give me a PM. Maybe I can take a weekend ride and come by too.

 

[erickson_ron]

Look forward to it Chuck. My wife and I ride up your direction quite often. A little hot right now for much.

 

[chuck hahn]

Next time your thinking about heading OKC way by all means give me a shout.

 

[erickson_ron]

It has been awhile as I went through the mock-up stage. Now most everything is back from the powder coaters and painters so the assemble phase begins. Frame is powder coated metallic silver with a powder clear. Tank and front fender were painted by a local painter and all graphics are painted and no stickers. Really turned out beautiful. Now I have to figure out the back cowl. My mock-up is far from done.

 

[Guest]

Was that the original 78 tank you filled the sides in on?:frown-new:

 

[erickson_ron]

No the original '78 is in rough shape and will be a winter project. That tank is off an '80GS.

 

[Guest]

That tank looks assume, more pictures

 

[erickson_ron]

Now have the front end built. Sonic springs, Racetech emulator, powder coated lowers and triple trees black with fork bellows and Dime City headlight mounts. Mocking up the handlebars with where I need to drill for wiring.

 

[erickson_ron]

Profile.

 

[tkent02]

Awesome paint.

 

[steve murdoch]

The "depth" in the checkerboards looks great.