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'80 GS550L to Cafe Racer

  • Thread starter Thread starter Colorado CJ
  • Start date Start date
really nicely packaged! i never thought there would be THAT much space available under the tank...
 
Wow I will say that I am impressed myself I never thought there was that much room either. When I get my frame back I am going to have to take a look. I like the idea of hiding the electronics package. Nice ingenuity.

Paul
 
Yeah, I was a little surprised at all the room too. A little tight, but I fit everything in including room for the battery.

Finished the rewiring job. All I have left to do is put the battery connector on (will do that when the battery arrives). Here are a few pictures. (I'll have to reroute the one clear wire loom as it is too noticeable there)






Left over bits



Look ma! No electrics showing.

 
I uploaded a video of the bike starting up for the first time since rewiring and installing shorty exhaust.

The bike actually sounds much better than this, The video was shot on my DSLR with the built in mic, so the sound isn't so good. The exhaust note sounds much lower in person.

The air sound is from the inlets. That will be quieter when I install the pod filters. It will also run better/go back to idle faster when I rejet the carbs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHQeOPMHPsI
 
Last edited:
Nice work on the electrics! That is one of things I dislike about a lot of cafe builds. I love being able to see right through the frame under the seat. It looks great! Keep at it.
 
Thanks, yeah that was one of my main design goals for the build, to hide the electrics as much as possible. Trying to get the bike as minimalist looking as I can. That is why I'd like to find a set of wire wheels.
 
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]So, I jerry rigged a battery to the bike (my LiFe battery isn't here yet), to test ride the bike. Throttle response is good with no load, but under any load, the bike really stumbles and can't get up in the medium to high r.p.m. range without coaxing.

I haven't messed with the jets yet, so I knew it would be pretty bad.

What is a decent starting point for rejetting after adding a more open exhaust and pods? It has 92.5 jets in right now, I was thinking going up a couple of sizes to around 100 size. Keep in mind I'm at ~5,000 ft and most of my riding is between 6,000ft-10,000 ft.

I guess I'll buy some numbered drills and drill out the jets a step at a time and test. Once I find the right size, I can buy that size jet and not use the drilled ones.

Any pointers?[/FONT]
 
Colorado CJ said:
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]So, I jerry rigged a battery to the bike (my LiFe battery isn't here yet), to test ride the bike. Throttle response is good with no load, but under any load, the bike really stumbles and can't get up in the medium to high r.p.m. range without coaxing. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]I haven't messed with the jets yet, so I knew it would be pretty bad. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]What is a decent starting point for rejetting after adding a more open exhaust and pods? It has 92.5 jets in right now, I was thinking going up a couple of sizes to around 100 size. Keep in mind I'm at ~5,000 ft and most of my riding is between 6,000ft-10,000 ft. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]I guess I'll buy some numbered drills and drill out the jets a step at a time and test. Once I find the right size, I can buy that size jet and not use the drilled ones. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]Any pointers?[/FONT]
Click to expand...

jets are like 3 bucks a pop id just buy a couple sets personally
 
you're not likely to get good results with just changing the fuel jets as that doesn't address the other relevant issues - the pilot air jet size and the slide lift and the needle shape, so I think best get the dynojet kit.
 
I have a '80 550 that i turned into a bobber/rat bike. i have pod filters and open exhaust. i went up 4 sizes on the main jets (105s), 2 sizes on the pilots (45s), and shimmed the needles. It runs great with that. im not nearly as high of an elevation as you though (only like 1,500).
 
I appreciate all the help guys. I think I got the jetting sorted. I used a set of number drills and kept going up until I thought it was right. I ended up going to a #55 drill, or a Minuki 118 jet size. I also adjusted each pilot screw to about 4.5 turns out and lifted the needles a little.

I can now loft the front wheel through the first three gear changes! So much more power than it had in it's stock configuration. It just keeps pulling to red line. There really are no flat spots, but at 7,000 r.p.m., there is a noticeable horsepower boost, feels like someone kicks you in the pants.

I have my LiFe battery installed and everything is working like it should. I still need to find a tail light (think I might go with flush mount LED's) and fabricate up a license mount. Once that is done, I'll ride it around for a couple of days before breaking it all down.
 
I just received my LED brake light today, so now everything is wired up and mounted in the proper places. I still don't have the Katana forks yet, but for now, I'll ride the bike as is to see if I need to change anything before breaking it down.

Here's a shot of the LiFE battery mounted. It sure is small compared to the stock battery. It only takes 50 amps to crank over the bike, so this battery is plenty powerful at 140 amps max. Cranks over the bike faster than the original battery.

5714729605_de2f37be73_b.jpg
 
Maybe I missed it but where did you get that battery? Got a link?
 
i love how clean your bike looks. what all did you use to eliminate the electronics?
 
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