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1984 GS1150ef rebuild!!! renew!!

The panels have always been a problem, the attachment pins break, panels crack, just a pain in the butt to remove and put on. Then I can across some other bike builders on the net who were building their own fairings from aluminum. As I had already polished the tank and fork brace because I was fed up with repainting, something part always seems to be getting scratched. With polished steel or aluminum you can polish the scratch out. A buddy who at one time put the skins on commercial Jets offered me his english wheel as he'd gone into different work. I know nothing about metal fabrication. I started with the easy panels and worked my way up to the harder pieces, the front cowl is gonna be tough to do in one piece.
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Panel under the tail cowl.
I've no idea how to make the photos bigger, sorry.
 
Annoying middle panel that got me started. Two previous pieces ended up in the recycle bin, they were closer to the oem appearance but required welding, I'm hopeless at welding aluminum, you can burn a hole through it in a second. I did. So ended up with a simpler design that works. I still haven't worked out the best points to attach them as yet and may still alter the design when the upper cowl is done.

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Lower cowl was a challenge. A lot measuring to get two halves to meet up. Compound curves and curved flanges. It took a couple weeks, not perfect but I'm pleased since I don't know what I'm doing. I ask my buddy for advice and he just sends me thumbsup emojis, "your doing good". Youtube has helped
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I expected the panel under the seat would be difficult and it was first attempt end up in the bin. I was quite successful in copying the oem lines but another attempt at brazing destroyed it. So back to a simpler design, still difficult but I can see progress in my learning, the 2nd panel took half the time of the first. I buggered up the panel in the picture, I cracked it on a stress point caused by a strecherwhen I was polishing and will need to make another. The three quick release pins solved the mounting issues.The panels are shorter than the oems and the electrical is exposed but I'll be most likely moving the electrics components under the tail cowl. My other thought was to make the tail cowl and auxiliary fuel tank.


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I went on a 300km+ ride through the rockies. Performed perfectly, a few vibration issues with the panels but nothing serious, I track down the problems as they arise on each ride.

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I was planning to do a front end swap but after a good chat with my mechanic we decided on a RaceTeck fork conversion. With front end changes it can become a money pit finding all the parts and time consuming tracking them down, plus it's simpler staying close to the original geometry(the efe forks are longer than other suitable forks). I've installed RaceTeck myself in my CBX but this time I let a real expert do it. I wasn't disappointed, he has a couple decades experience in WSBK tuning for factory and privateer racers. There are no handling issues even with the 16" front wheel, he attributed that to the Raceteck emulator, eliminating the anti-dive feature and better tires than were available back in the mid 80's. I no longer feel I need to change to a larger 17" front wheel but I still may just to reduce un-sprung weight, it will turn a wee bit slower with a 17 and be more stable on rough pavement.
 
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steve murdoch said:
Nice work on the bike, Robert.
Sorry to hear about all the nasty things you've had to go through this year.
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Yeah it's been difficult and it could very likely get much, much worse, I try to remain optimistic. I gotta buy some 3003 aluminum for the cowl and get back in the garage and focus on something I can actually control.
 
Rich82GS750TZ said:
I’ve written instructions on using Imgur. In my signature.
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Imagur :rolleyes: I found nothing but more even complexity than there is here, couldn't find your account either.

I don't get why some websites have the process down to a simple "browse files" "click n paste" and others it's like signing up for an IT class. I'm a dinosaur and never grew up with this technology, one of my kids is a website designer and understands the issue. She says websites are designed by younger generations who don't think like me, they fail to design for different demographics.

Millennial's will roll their eyes at my ineptness just as I do when I meet some younger motorcycle owners who can't tell me how many cylinders their bike has. We've grown up in different technological worlds. There are days when I feel really old :(
 
Grimly said:
Upload to imgur or https://imgbb.com/ and copy/paste the photo url to here. Ten per post I think is the limit.
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;)I must be terribly inept, got all the photos loaded much simpler process than Imagr, but Gs resources will still only allow loading one image per post...well I did try, a single clickable thumbnail it'll have to be.
 
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dorkburger said:
Following.....

Losing the passenger pegs / hangers also cleans up the overall look. But you’ll need to make a muffler hanger, which I’m assuming you already know.
There are loads of 1150s modified in many ways over at Old Skool Suzuki. You can find plenty of suspension / wheel swap info there as well.
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I joined the OSI forum but prying info out of them is like pulling teeth from a chicken, they're a crusty bunch and can be very harsh with newbies. They do some incredible work however, lots of projects to follow and learn from.
 
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Gas tank polish, I restored a vintage Maico440 race condition back in the day Maico paint peeled off the aluminum tanks very quickly so it became the norm to leave them raw or polish them.

I figured I could do the same with the 1150, I knew the PO so I knew it had never been damage and bondo and if there were no dents I could clear coat it.
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There were two very tiny dents from the factory, my vintage buddies spotted them right away but the average person wouldn't. I may try pull them out later with a glue stick but I'm okay if they remain.
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yeah there's another issue with posting photos here, no obvious ways to manipulate the orientation.
 
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