1982 GS1100EZ Winter Project

[solo suzuki]

good work there kevin! very nice :-D

 

[outofcontrol]

That last picture

That last picture

I had to stop working on the bike to go to my indoor soccer game, and I came home to post the pictures. The camera was in the garage, and I snapped that last picture in my slippers at midnight. I thought it was a bad picture because of the light shining in the lens, but everyone seems to like that one the best. funny. -KM

Dude, that looks sweet! I loved the last picture of the bike decending from the heavens. I got to come over and take a look at it.
-DC

Wow! That is sweet Kevin! I especially liked the last picture, with the dark background and a bit of a haze showing under the shop light, makes me want to start a winter project. Very cool!
-JS

i especially like the last picture in which the heaven's are casting an ethereal glow on that angelic creation of yours.
you're my hero.
btw, i love that new tire feeling. I've ridden into work every day since i got my Kevin Special on the rear.
Thanks Again!
-dB

 

[xDUKEx]

out of control we need to get my red and your black together for some pics !!!!!

 

[xDUKEx]

your bike is lookin totally awesome man keep up the good work and keep us posted.

 

[outofcontrol]

Thanks. I've been watching your bike. It looks really good.

 

[RacingJake]

I'm waiting to see some red tire's next.

 

[Guest]

OutofControl,

I'm studying you swingarm pics and notice that you have welded the shock mounting points quite a bit farther forward than Duke and Katman. Is yours a 1200 bandit arm? I have my 1200 bandit arm welded in the Katman location which places the shock mounting hole just above the vertical weld of the swingarms end piece. I think that further out location may make more sense for a Katana than a GS but I'm not sure.

Your location looks closer to the Suzuki Inazuma http://www.suzukicycles.org/GSX-series/GSX1200-Inazuma.shtml
which is a dual shock version of the Bandit. It appears you will gain some ride height and quicker steering from your location. How did you choose your location? I'll be interested when both you and Duke can report on handling characteristics. Keep moving the ball forward guys, I'm right behind you.

Isleoman

 

[solo suzuki]

OutofControl,

I'm studying you swingarm pics and notice that you have welded the shock mounting points quite a bit farther forward than Duke and Katman. Is yours a 1200 bandit arm? I have my 1200 bandit arm welded in the Katman location which places the shock mounting hole just above the vertical weld of the swingarms end piece. I think that further out location may make more sense for a Katana than a GS but I'm not sure.

Your location looks closer to the Suzuki Inazuma http://www.suzukicycles.org/GSX-series/GSX1200-Inazuma.shtml
which is a dual shock version of the Bandit. It appears you will gain some ride height and quicker steering from your location. How did you choose your location? I'll be interested when both you and Duke can report on handling characteristics. Keep moving the ball forward guys, I'm right behind you.

Isleoman

don't want to hijack here but here's my 2 cents:
i think everyone's got the mounting holes more or less at the same distance from the swingarm pivot point as the original. they just look different 'cause people are using different lenght swingers ie mine's from a gsxR 1100, 3in longer than the 750 swinger from the same year

 

[outofcontrol]

Well said Solo. Except I think I remember 3.5 inches longer, or did I eyeball 4"? I can't remember. Anyway, it's longer than a bandit arm.

Isleoman,
I used the stock geometry. I contacted Solo and asked him what he did, and followed suit. I even used the same year/model swingarm. I think it was 18 or 19 inches from the pivot to the shock mount point. These mounts put the shock mounting bolt a little higher, or further from a line drawn from the wheel axle to pivot axle, but it really doesn't make much of a difference. The stock geometry is so relaxed (read: more cruiser-like than sport bike-like)

I even started a conversation with some of my roadrace buddies about the geometry, one is a syspension engineer, and he gave me all sorts of graphs, charts, formulas, etc.. when you change the mounting point, make the swingarm longer/shorter, change the ride hight, change the chain/swingarm angle ratio, blah de blah blah, you change everything. And sometimes what I was changing had the opposite effect of what I thought it would do. For instance: If I wanted to increase the ride height by moving the shock mounting point forward on the swingarm, you are at the same time increasing the leverage force on the shock (compressing the spring harder) and the net result could be a lower suspension with less range, and it will bottom out sooner.

All said and done, stick as close as possible to the stock geometry, and don't worry about it. You also can be off by several mm, and you will never know. Ex: as your chain stretches, you increase your wheelbase. If this was a mono shock right near the swingarm pivot, the measurements have to be exponentially more accurate.

-Kevin

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the quick answers guys. Didn't realize you had extended arms.
I thought about the increased leverage issue and it is a concern. My Ohlins are pretty much maxed out right now with the stock springs.

Guess I'll wrap things up and ride it a little this spring before I make any expensive adjustments.

 

[outofcontrol]

Before and After

Before and After

I'm getting real close now. Just a few odds and ends.

-Kevin

 

[outofcontrol]

Well it's not all clear sailing.
I've made some stupid mistakes.

I was putting gas in it last night (I had to drain 3 dirt bike tanks to get enough fuel) and I spilled gas all over the bike. when it ran down all over the motor it started to melt the engine paint that hasn't fully cured because I haven't ran the motor.

I most likely bent several valves when I tried to start the motor. I turned the motor by hand about a month ago with out the cam chain tensioner (I was painting it). I didn't do it on purpose. I'm just putting the story back together in my head today while I'm trying to figure out why my exhaust is sucking air.

I guess I'm not going to be riding this weekend.

I purposely didn't want to touch the engine (except paint it) because it was running so well when I took the bike apart to do the final paint. I know better, and I was so excited to get the bike running, I skipped a fundamental step in starting a motor.

It's hard to admit mistakes, but I seem to learn a lot with this method. I tend to remember better when I get really burned. Hopefully some of you can learn from my mistakes and not take the beating I have.

-Kevin

 

[xDUKEx]

sorry to hear that i took mine out for its maiden voyage today. wow it is a totally different bike. keep at it and you will get it. good luck man !!!!! buy the way its lookin swwwwww eeeee tttttt !!!!

 

[oldschoolGS]

The bike looks great, the wheels and ES bars are a drastic improvement over the stock 1100 pieces. Also really like the color, it looks all business. I was thinking of doing my 750 in all black also.

Don't sweat your mistake, we all fu*k up from time to time. Get it fixed and press on.

Ride On, Ed.
1983 GS750ED
2005 GSF1200SZ

 

[Ogri]

Well said Solo. Except I think I remember 3.5 inches longer, or did I eyeball 4"? I can't remember. Anyway, it's longer than a bandit arm.

Isleoman,
I used the stock geometry. I contacted Solo and asked him what he did, and followed suit. I even used the same year/model swingarm. I think it was 18 or 19 inches from the pivot to the shock mount point. These mounts put the shock mounting bolt a little higher, or further from a line drawn from the wheel axle to pivot axle, but it really doesn't make much of a difference. The stock geometry is so relaxed (read: more cruiser-like than sport bike-like)

I even started a conversation with some of my roadrace buddies about the geometry, one is a syspension engineer, and he gave me all sorts of graphs, charts, formulas, etc.. when you change the mounting point, make the swingarm longer/shorter, change the ride hight, change the chain/swingarm angle ratio, blah de blah blah, you change everything. And sometimes what I was changing had the opposite effect of what I thought it would do. For instance: If I wanted to increase the ride height by moving the shock mounting point forward on the swingarm, you are at the same time increasing the leverage force on the shock (compressing the spring harder) and the net result could be a lower suspension with less range, and it will bottom out sooner.

All said and done, stick as close as possible to the stock geometry, and don't worry about it. You also can be off by several mm, and you will never know. Ex: as your chain stretches, you increase your wheelbase. If this was a mono shock right near the swingarm pivot, the measurements have to be exponentially more accurate.

-Kevin

Hey Kevin, What is the posibility of me getting a copy of the suspension information you received from the engineer? I'd be interested in taking a look at what they presented to you.
My origional plan was to copy the geometry of the ZRX since that is where I go my shocks from. But, now I am having second thoughts.....


Your bike is looking fantastic!!!! It's a shame you have ran into this roadblock with the engine. It sounds like something I would have done being a person who tends to learn from hard knocks.
Keep pluggin' along, you have done a great job on this project! Your bike looks great!

 

[rosco15]

Learning can be expensive. Thats just the way it is. The bike came out sweet. Is that just blue tape on the starter cover?

 

[outofcontrol]

Learning can be expensive. Thats just the way it is. The bike came out sweet. Is that just blue tape on the starter cover?

Yes, that's blue masking tape. It's off now, and my shiny c/s cover is on. I kind of wish I could run an open c/s; I like the look of the black c/s.
Well, I might have just gotten lucky on the valves. None of them leak, and the bike runs. I took her out for a trip around the block last night, and it ran like crap. I was still stoked. My mechanic is coming over tonight to do some fine tuning. with the re-jet, new pipes, and all my tinkering it's no surprise that things are not tuned perfectly.

Yesterday and today are the first clear days that we've had in about 2 months. Portland had over 10 inches of rain in Jan. I will be so excited if I can ride this bike to work tomorrow!!!!\\/

-Thanks for all your support-

-Kevin

 

[Guest]

Close one huh? Glad to hear it wasn't fatal. Good looking machine. Ray

 

[outofcontrol]

Well, I took her out for a couple stumbling rides the last two days. I had to use the choke to get rolling then trick it into the main jetting.

I finally got it to come off idle with 6 turns out on the mixture screw. I believe that means my pilot jets are too small.

What a fun bike to ride once you get it right. I was freezing my butt off, but I didn't want to stop. I'm going to ride her to work tomorrow if it's nice; I'll take some pictures for y'all.

Thanks to all that helped me!!!

-Kevin

 

[AOD]

Great looking bike! Very nice job on the conversion and the little odds and ends...

Who ended up doing your seat for you? It looks really nice too.

~Adam