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1980 GS450 "Sport" - Resto / Mod

  • Thread starter Thread starter Big Rich
  • Start date Start date
Sorry Crow, I need to make an official update here soon...... But so far the Bandit 400 wheel looks like an absolute win over a GS500 rear wheel. From memory, I used the 400 wheel, GS500 caliper and spacers on the right side, GS500 sprocket carrier and spacer on the left side, along with 3 washers on the left side. Everything looks good by eying it up, but I haven't made any accurate measurements yet.
 
Got the wheels polished and painted:



And the GS500 fender got a fresh coat of red:

 
Ordered some .85kg Sonic Springs and some 15w fork oil:



Tore apart the GS500 forks:

 
The 110/80-17 Avon got mounted up to the rebuilt forks. I'm in the process tonight of bleeding the rebuilt master cylinder and twinpot caliper. The fender and fork brace are getting a little work tonight too:





That's pretty much it for now. I'll be mounting up the rear tire in a couple weeks, and finishing up the rear end shortly after.
 
Looking good Rich! The profile of that 17" looks like you're gonna have a good bit of rubber on the road...
 
Big Rich said:
Sorry Crow, I need to make an official update here soon...... But so far the Bandit 400 wheel looks like an absolute win over a GS500 rear wheel. From memory, I used the 400 wheel, GS500 caliper and spacers on the right side, GS500 sprocket carrier and spacer on the left side, along with 3 washers on the left side. Everything looks good by eying it up, but I haven't made any accurate measurements yet.
Click to expand...

Brilliant. Any modifications to the swingarm? Keep the updates coming!
 
Thanks man! The swingarm does need a brake stay welded to the top surface for the GS500 caliper (the original brake stay is welded to the bottom). The other thing I want to mention is the master cylinder for the rear brake: I haven't figured out exactly how to actuate it yet. It won't be complicated, I just haven't really dedicated any time into looking into it. Once I get the rear tire mounted (within a week or two) I'll be making more progress on the entire rear end.
 
So after a little hiatus on updates, I have this crummy cell phone pic to show for it:



The rear luggage rack is welded to the passenger grab rail, painted, and installed. Rear Bandit 400 wheel is setup with GS500 caliper and master cylinder (much more "grabby" than the stock drum!). Got the 520 chain conversion done with a GS500F front sprocket. Wired in some GS500 hand controls on both sides, and installed some universal hand guards (thanks again Pete!).

Still need to fine tune how everything is setup along with mounting the quarter fairing. But it's coming along. Once I'm on an actual computer and not my phone, I'll give more pictures with better details as how everything was done.
 
I like it Rich, good job! Did the hand guards go on easy enough? How hard was it to keep the 'bar end mirrors with the guards as well? I'd love some 'bar end weights to get rid of some tingles but I haven't seen any with long enough inserts to cope with holding the guards on as well.

I've seen a carry rack idea like that somewhere before too :p

Looking forward to the better pic's and details, especially of the rear disc setup!
 
Ya know Pete, there was a little bit of messing around with the guards, but nothing too bothersome. I cut off the inner most mounting hole on the guard itself in order to angle them upwards a tad (the aluminum bar was touching the instrument cluster). The bar end mirrors I have actually clamp to the bars, so I just had to move the grips & controls in about 5mm to make room. And I hear you about the bar end weights - that was the first thing I noticed when I grabbed the bars with the engine running. I might have to experiment with cutting a solid steel bar and using silicone to anchor it inside the handlebars......
 
Ah ok got ya'... interesting you had to trim them down although that may be due to the narrower ones on yours perhaps.

Yeah I haven't worked out what to do about end weights... the motorcross 'bars on mine are only lightweight ones, so probably even more susceptible than something like Renthals... haven't put a lot of thought into it yet...
 
Took a few more pics recently. First, the chain side:



Nothing really exciting to see here. I had to trim down the plastic chain guard a little since the 17" tire was rubbing. And on this side of the axle I had to add 3 washers to center the Bandit 400 wheel.
 
And the right side:



I had a professional welder add the brake stay mount on the swingarm. The braided line had to be custom made (found a guy on eBay to do it for about $35 shipped though). I welded the mounting plate for the master cylinder, and the reservoir is mounted to the original tool tray under the plastic side cover.
 
Here's what I thought would be the tricky part but turned out pretty simple - converting the brake lever to work with a hydraulic master cylinder:



I flipped the picture before editing, so don't let the angle fool you..... this is the part that the brake lever attaches to (as viewed from inside the swingarm looking out). The drum brake actuator was attached to the larger tab and was pulled forward, and I needed the tab to push upward on the master cylinder. I simply cut off the smaller tab that hooks to the brake light switch and welded it at a different angle (I also had to remove the limiting bolt on the frame to allow for the new travel). So now when I press on the brake pedal, it twists the larger tab up to activate the master cylinder piston, and the smaller tab still pulls down on the brake light switch.

More details soon.......
 
Very neat Rich, very neat indeed!

Glad to see you could easily modify the brake actuator setup too, makes it a lot more simple.

Now I must've missed this earlier... a Bandit 400 rear wheel? Any particular reason you didn't use the GS500 rear?
 
I must've left that out - sorry.

The B4 wheel is identical to the GS5 wheel with 2 exceptions: it has a wider rim width (4" instead of 3.5") and the hub width is more narrow on the sprocket side. With the GS5 wheel, the rear sprocket needs to be moved 12mm in towards the center to align with the front sprocket. The Bandit wheel is 8mm narrower but all on the sprocket side. And since it takes a GS5 sprocket carrier / rotor / bearings / etc, it makes everything that much easier.

It should be very possible to use a GS500 wheel, but I found a B4 wheel for a great price.
 
I thought this was interesting so figured I'd share: the stock GS450 E/S rear wheel compared to the Bandit 400 wheel.

 
Ah ok gotcha Rich! And yeah, that B4 wheel is just a touch wider! Must give a much better rubber selection though I would think...
 
It's been a while since I compared sizes and tire availability, but I think anything that was available for the wider rim was going to be pushing the limits elsewhere. Fitting the 130/70-17 already meant trimming the plastic chain guard (maybe a chrome chain guard from an L model would clear ok?) so going any sizes larger might lead to more troubles....... like the tire rubbing the swingarm, possibly rubbing on the chain, etc. The 520 chain I installed is a little bit longer than stock (I think 2 or 4 links) to pull the tire away from the swingarm.

I might look into a 140/70 in the future, but I'm happy with the 130/70 so far. Other good news: it's supposed to stay above freezing tonight so I get to take the bike into work!
 
Good point on the width... looking at my 110/90-18 I can see where there might be an issue!
 
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