1980 GS450 "Sport" - Resto / Mod

[Big Rich]

I figured it's about time I contribute a build around here.....and this little 450 is an ongoing project. I found the ad on Craigslist and the owner said it was a "non running bike for $250". Naturally I assumed the worst......but here's what I found when I looked at it:



Not too shabby at all! It was missing a couple small-ish parts, but nothing that wasn't going to get replaced anyway. All the hard to find stuff was there (including the stock quarter fairing) so I paid the guy and brought it home.

 

[Big Rich]

Here's the bike once I got it home and sorted thru the boxes of parts. Turn signals, stock mirrors, quarter fairing, GN400 front wheel (identical to the 18" GS wheel except it's wider at 1.85"), stock grips, etc, etc.....



The signals and mirrors (also the great condition of the seat):

 

[Big Rich]

I started out by swapping out the front end. The stock 450 front end has 33mm forks, and the 18" mag is only drilled and tapped for one brake rotor. I happened to have a GR650 front end laying around so I bolted it up. Perfect fit (surprise, surprise.....) except that the forks are 1.5" longer than stock. No big deal. And the knobby tire is definitely not permanent.



While cleaning up the motor, I stripped one of the screws that holds down the chrome cam covers. Not wanting to mess with it, I just cut off the mounts all together:



Motor cleaned up, painted, and installed. I also sandblasted and painted the frame while everything was out:

 

[Big Rich]

As far as the motor goes, I knew the stator was bad to begin with. I got a great deal on one from a GS500:



New clutch plates and springs (used 3 of the original springs, 3 aftermarket). Here's the stock springs compared to the new ones:

 

[Big Rich]

Working....... the motor was put back together and painted since it was in great shape (only 5900 miles at the time). One thing that bothered me was the stock exhaust - I think it's silly to mess with the exhaust any time you need to get to the rear axle.



So I had some friends come out and weld on some shorter reverse megaphones:

 

[Big Rich]

Bought a 19" wheel from a GS550:



And installed new bearings:



Using the stock 18" rear wheel. Cleaned and painted both wheels:



Tires mounted:

 

[Big Rich]

Headers painted silver (this is getting redone soon btw.....)

 

[Big Rich]

Replaced the stock R/R with one from a GS500 (since the stator is from a GS500, it basically bolted in and wired right up):



All the wiring was cleaned up in general, which includes a common ground by the battery box and a blade type fuse:



Started putting everything else back together:

 

[Big Rich]

One minor problem with the plastic side cover: the left one was cracked around the mount but hadn't broken completely off yet:



I cut a small square piece of aluminum and used rivets to hold the plastic together:



Another major upgrade: ditched the stock carbs for a set from a first generation GS500. These are slingshot carbs (flat slides), weigh about 3 pounds less than the stock carbs, and all you need is a GS500 throttle cable and pod filters:



Also bought some crash bars on ebay:



I sandblasted any chrome and rust off, and painted them with black appliance epoxy. Here they are after blasting:

 

[Big Rich]

At this point, the bike was very much on the road. Everything had been cleaned up / replaced so it was safe to ride, but I was still working on some small stuff here and there:

 

[Big Rich]

Got a GREAT deal on some Hagon shocks to replace the 33 year old originals:



With some 3 piece frame clamps, I added some universal saddle bag mounts:



Did a quick scuff and paint on the quarter fairing (also being redone right now btw....):



Wired in a running light that attached to the left crash bar:



Along with a headlight from a GS500E, it provides plenty of light compared to the stock sealed beam:

 

[Big Rich]

After painting the original timing cover to match the wheels, it was reinstalled:



New front fender from ebay (somewhere in all this work the front end got upgraded to dual disc brakes):

 

[Big Rich]

Had some baffles welded into the exhaust, so the end caps got painted:



Drilled some holes in the new fender to add an extension from a GS500:

 

[Big Rich]

Bought some new turn signals for a GS500F. Here are the originals:



And the new ones installed:

 

[Big Rich]

It was never apparent in any of the pics I took, but the original paint was scratched up in a couple places. So I started repainting all the red paint:





That paint is the newest update for the most part. I'll be updating this as much as possible. I did skip a lot of other stuff that wasn't mentioned, but if somebody has a question feel free to ask!

 

[Big Rich]

Thanks to BarnbikeTom, I have a spare rear hub. After lacing up and painting the rest of the wheel assembly, I got some Kenda dual sports mounted up. I'll need them towards the end of July, but it's always nice to have a spare set of wheels / tires around "just in case".

 

[jeffasaurus2]

Awesome bike! Looks fantastic!

I was wondering what forks you're using to have the dual disc set-up? My hub has the holes to mount a rotor on the other side but the fork lacks the mounts for the caliper, I couldn't just buy a second set and switch one around, I'd lose the fender mounts.

 

[Big Rich]

Thanks Jeff! I have it written down somewhere, but off the top of my head I want to say they are from a GS650. Couldn't say what year or model though.

I used the triple tree from a GR, and the forks from that GS650.....which I advise against. I had to mess around with the wheel spacers along with spacing the calipers out from the forks. It works fine now, but it would be easier to just get a complete front end to swap out.

 

[Guest]

You're right Rich, about time!

Good stuff though, still lovin' your work and a dual disc front is very nice... still finding my single enough for the moment but good to know it's an easy swap!

 

[Big Rich]

Cheers Pete! If I wasn't doing a lot of highway miles (and didn't have all the parts for the swap laying around), I probably would have kept the single caliper. Rebuild it with stainless lines of course.....

Paint progress this week. After stripping the tank down to bare steel, I sprayed etching primer first:



Wet sanded it down, then applied the metallic primer (sorry about the dark pics - I work mostly at night):



More wet sanding before the metallic red was sprayed:



I'm doing all the plastics in the same red, but here is a pic of the quarter fairing in the same stage:



I'm also working on a custom airbox for the GS500 carbs. I want to make sure I'm heading in the correct direction before posting a bunch of pics....