1st Gen GSXR upgrade for GS1100ED

[jwhelan65]

OK I have been a little under the radar on my plans for the GS1100ED and since Ray asked, I decided to start a new thread and post a few pics.

So for point of reference, here is my fleet and the garage space I'm trying to work in. I'm not NEAR as organized as jwhelan65

OK so an quick overview of this phase of the project. After much hemming and hawing and research here and looking at other projects and getting an 86 GSXR with 91 GSXR 17" conversion I finally decided to go with a moderate and more subtle upgrade for the ED and go with a 1st Gen Gixxer conversion . It started using the 87 wheels but I got a set of 88 (3 spokes) and so that is where I'm heading now.

Pros/Cons:
* I don't get the fatty 180/55-17 rear I settle for a 160-60-18
* no USD forks but the 1st Gen forks are 41 mm (v.s. 37 stock) the axles are 17 mm v.s. 15 mm stock (although not 20 mm as the ) Slingshot forks (50mm upper and 41 mm lower).
* I get upgraded radials and wider rubber
* I get upgraded brakes (two pot vs single pot on 310 mm rotors v.s. 280 mm)
* forks will look stock to the uninitiated
* wheels will not but they will look like 2nd GEn wheels albeit 18" v.s. 17"
* Not as much chain and wheel clearance issues
* reduced offset on he counter sprocket (3/8" v.s. 5/8")
* improved ground clearance (18" v.s. 17" conversion)
* The reduced squeeze is paying off in that I was able to get the to retain the stock brake master without relocation or having to use rear sets.

Overview summary of the parts

* 88 GSXR 3 spoke wheels (front/rear)
* 87-88 forks with stock triple, fork brace
* modified top triple for handle bar risers, Gage mounts and steering stops (looking for a welder for DIY)
* Katman modified Bandit arm and spacers
* Modified rear brake pivot so I don't have to relocate the brake master.
* 530 gear conversion with 3/8 offset sprocket
* Thinking about doing bracing

Here is a pic doing alignment measurements to determine rear spacers ; been working closely with Katman on that. The 88 18"x4.5" wheels are unique somewhat different to the 17"x5.5"

Here is the modified rear brake pivot knuckle. I cut off the little arms and rewelded them about 5 mm each to provide clearance for both the rear brake plunger rod and the return springs between the frame and the bandit swinger. A 4.5 mm offset to the Bandit arm is required to accomplish this. No other spacers behind the master are required. Basically this allows me to keep the stock pegs, rear brake pedal and master cylinder and no welding on the frame. Here is the finished modified part:

And here is the final clearance achieved.

Continued

Gotta love that garage Jim! you look busy!

 

[750INMASS]

Looks great, thanks for sharing. I am in the middle of a similar project grafting an 86' GSXR750 suspension to a 73' GT750. I ran into the same problem with the gauges & did the same thing but drilled & tapped the GSXR triple tree to accept some 1/4" set screws & bolted the two together. Pic attached.
Keep up the good work.
Bryan

 

[posplayr]

750inmass

750inmass

Hi Bryan,
I'm not familiar with the 73 GT750, but looks like the ignition is not on the triple so that was easier. What you going to do for steering stops?

You going to start a thread to show us what you are doing wheels/swinger etc?

Pos

 

[tone]

Hi pos
First i must appologise for my post about 1st gen gsxr's i was of course COMPLETELY WRONG i've been working on them since they were new so i'll never know how i managed to post something so utterly stupid.

To clarify my previous post i was really just wondering why you'd gone at this project in the way you have & was offering alternatives, your reasons are clear now & although i really do not like drilling a bottom yoke the rest makes sense

cheers tone

 

[posplayr]

Tone

Tone

my post about 1st gen gsxr's i was of course COMPLETELY WRONG i've been working on them since they were new so i'll never know how i managed to post something so utterly stupid.

I think the technical term is "brain fart".

I have had a few myself

I was originally thinking to drill a hole in the lower, stuff a piece of round stock through and have that welded. I talked to Rob and here is how he has done it with some beefy welded stops.

http://www.robwilton.com/triples.html

I might turn those pieces of flat stock on end and have them welded, with a bore from underneath and a "plug" weld through the drilled hole. He does some final finish fit grinding to get the stops just right.

I was going to mount the triple of a set of forks and wheel and have the welder have at it. When I spoke to him he did not think that there would be too much heat going into the forks.

Pos

 

[tone]

I was going to mount the triple of a set of forks and wheel and have the welder have at it. When I spoke to him he did not think that there would be too much heat going into the forks.

Pos

He can use a heat sink to minimise the heat transfered to the forks, if all else fails wadded up wet neswpaper works ok if you keep an eye on it & dont allow water to hit the hot weld, what i'd be more worried about is any weld splatter damaging the hard chrome surface

Another thought would be to use some scrap tube to jig the parts up rather than the forks themselves, obviously laying your hands on some of the right size tube would be the key here
tone

 

[750INMASS]

Pos,
Well here's a pic of my current project: part 73' GT750, water cooled 2 stroke triple & part 86' GSXR. I havent' gotten around to the steering stops as of yet but I was planning on having some welded to the head stock. Hopefully nobody will mind me posting a non-GS here. At least its a Suzuki right... ha, ha. I am really just in mock up stage at this point, plenty of details to sort out as of yet but it is heading in the direction I want it to. Keep up the great work, maybe we'll get these on the road sometime in '09.
Take care,

 

[posplayr]

750inmass

750inmass

What you really need to do is beg, borrow or get a decent camera and take so pics of that project. Then start your own thread. There would be plenty of people interested in that.

So are all those 86 750 or 1100 gixer parts? Including the swinger? I see your moded the swinger for twin shocks? How are you doing alighnments?

Start a NEW thread :dancing:; it doesnt take that long.

You might find out something. Look at this tread

http://www.gixxer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=210004

Looks at the mono shock on this one.

http://www.ozebook.com/compendium/gt750/davegt750.htm

More here

http://www.ozebook.com/compendium/gt750/gt750.htm



Pos

 

[Ogri]

Pos,
Well here's a pic of my current project: part 73' GT750, water cooled 2 stroke triple & part 86' GSXR. I havent' gotten around to the steering stops as of yet but I was planning on having some welded to the head stock. Hopefully nobody will mind me posting a non-GS here. At least its a Suzuki right... ha, ha. I am really just in mock up stage at this point, plenty of details to sort out as of yet but it is heading in the direction I want it to. Keep up the great work, maybe we'll get these on the road sometime in '09.
Take care,

Hey Bryan, good to see you here. Here's what I did for steering stops, I simply had two 1/2" thick aluminum blocks welded to the lower triple where I needed them to be for my bars and switches to clear the tank.

 

[posplayr]

Ogri

Ogri

Here's what I did for steering stops, I simply had two 1/2" thick aluminum blocks welded to the lower triple where I needed them to be for my bars and switches to clear the tank.

That is my current plan as well. I dropped the stuff off to the welder and expect to pick it up by tomorrow.

To get the tank clearance, I did it indirectly. The manual say that steering stops are +/- 0 deg.

I used a framing square, set to 40 degrees and aligned it beween the upper triple (across) and the frame center tube.

I then scribed a line onto the lower triple where a block would hit the frame at the 40 degree mark.

Pretty simple and did not require the tank mounted or measuring any distances between the frame and forks. It takes about 10 minutes including all double checking.

I will check tank clearance before doing any tank slappers.

 

[posplayr]

Custom Triple Clamp

Custom Triple Clamp

OK here are the pics of the new converted triple clamp assembly. As described before, I cut the bar risers and Gauge/ignition switch mounts off of a stock ED triple and had them welded to a 1st gen GSXR triple. See the result below.

I just picked it up so have not done any work to it other than stick it into the steering stem. I plan to polish the welds a little so that the weld marks are not as noticeable and then paint with Por-15 hardnose paint.

You can see that the steering stops were simple pieces of square stock which also have a plug weld installed from the bottom for additional strength. The handlebar risers have the same.

All in all the spare triple total cost about $30 plus $100 in welding/fab cost along with some hand work cutting/filing and fitting the ED parts to fit the GSXR parts. But that is much cheaper than a new triple and I have retained stock look , ignition key and Guage mounts.

There is still some final fit to trim the square block steering stops and longer screws/spacers required to lower the ignition key (1/4") so the locking block contacts the lock tab welded to the upper part of the steering tube.

All in all I really like the way this is turning out.

Pos

P.S. a little tip if anyone is going to do this. Do not remove the lower bearing until you have done all of the adjustments to the steering stops then cut it off. I'm going to have to find enough rollers and the plastic cage to reinstall the lower bearing for fitting.

 

[posplayr]

Did a little cleanup

Did a little cleanup

on the triple. Used 180 grit to sand the welds (by hand) to get rid of some of the slag. Reinstalled the lower roller bearings, did final finish filing on the stops for +/-40 degree steering. Rounded the stops to look more factory. Used Dremal cutter to remove the lower race. Media blasted for additonal cleaning.
Ready to paint Hardnose black from Por -15.
It fits real nice.

Pos

 

[posplayr]

Got new offset spacer from Rob (Katman)

Got new offset spacer from Rob (Katman)

Here are pics of the Bandit swinger installed with a 4.5mm offset to allow space for the stock rear brake master.

thicker side after painting

thinner side

bandit chain guard takes a lot of trimming to fit.

Close up off difference in swinger bushings.

Here is a shot showing the overall clearance with a 170ZR60-18" rear tire. This is a Pirelli that seems about the same size as a 160ZR60-18".

Notice I'm trying to use the stock Bandit chain guard. Will need to move the tabs on the swinger to get a better fit. Looks like enough room I might even try a 17" wheel

Pos

 

[Bad Kaw]

I'm diggin' it. Good progress pics.

 

[Guest]

Look away. I get to ride it.
Got room for three more Jim?

 

[posplayr]

Bill

Bill

more pictures

 

[Guest]

Looks like thing are coming together nicely, Jim!

 

[groundshock]

Simply Awesome.

 

[jwhelan65]

Very cool Jim!!

Turned out really nice, probably the most challenging mod on these conversions..I'm still a little unsure of exactly how Im going to mount the clocks...you gonna polish or powder coat?

 

[posplayr]

Hi was out last nite

Hi was out last nite

Thanks for the comments.

Joe:
Yea I did not want to have to try and futz too much with guage and lock placement as well as keep the think looking stock. As far as colors, for now I'm going to do Por-15 hardnose black. It is a very hard paint with a nice smooth finish. I debated powder coating and still might but I dont want to have to pressout every bearing/bushing (like in swing arm).

My current swinger is gold, I might go black like you since those fully polished 3 spoke rims needs some contrast. Will do some photochopping before doing anything.

Jim