Another one… ‘83 GS1100E Restomod

[Guest]

So I already have another project going on, a 1977 GS750, which is quite close to completion. You can see some progress on that one here.
https://www.thegsresources.com/_foru...-gs750-project


But I happened to pick up not one but two GS1100E’s.

The blue 1983 is the nice one. And that’s the one I’m building. The red is also a 1983 and while the red does run and ride, it seems to have some electrical and transmission issues so I’m pretty much using that as a parts bike for now. One crazy thing is that I used to own the red one years ago, I may still have the build thread on here…

Heres more of the blue.

Together.

Been riding the blue for a lot of summer 2021.

This is a Canadian model, as you can tell by the speedometer. 64,000 km. Runs and rides great.

 

[Guest]

And then I started to take it all apart for paint. Here’s some pics as it was.

The right side tank sticker is mostly gone.

Left side better but not great.

Both side covers and front fender has been repainted at some point.

You can kind of see the top of the tank. Clear coat is cracked. Also you can see the new color for the bike! I’m painting it the same color as the Z, midnight blue metallic.

All the body work off.

Its current state.

I’ve already started the whole sanding process but no progress pics of that just yet. Hopefully soon!

 

[Guest]

Setting the paint stuff aside real quick, I took a look at all the maintenance stuff. First thing I noticed was the valve cover gasket leaked. I checked and adjusted the valves before putting a new gasket on.

I looked over at my tires next. They weren’t terrible. Still soft and sticky but they are from 2013. And then I looked at the brake lines. They looked and felt fine but those are original 1983 brake lines. The chain and sprockets looked fine but while I’m in there… Hmm… Keep it stock and just replace with new? Or upgrade?

I chose to upgrade. First round of parts.

Second round of parts.

All of these parts were removed from a 1997 Suzuki Bandit GSF1200. The Bandit had 17,000 miles. Nothing wrong with it, they just let it sit.

I did get a Suzuki RF900 lower triple tree as that is the correct length for this old GS1100E and fits onto Bandit forks.

I have new tires coming, new front and rear wheel bearings, steering head bearings, 4 pot Nissin front brake calipers, bandit swingarm conversion kit.

I’ve done a lot of research on this topic but I’ll likely still have questions.

 

[rphillips]

Just for info. sake, I had my "83"1100E side covers painted with a Chrysler paint, sorry I don't have the name nor code, but is the exact color of the blue. In bright sunlight you can see the metallic is a slightly different shade. If complete bike was painted, not just a part, I guarantee nobody could ever know...Great find, Congrats.

 

[Rob S.]

Very nice. I was looking for a "240" or whatever, to go in front of that Z, but it says..."Fairlady", correct? Please tell me it's a 240Z, and please, please tell me it has a clutch pedal.

 

[trevor]

Awesome find!
Tell me, the blue one...did you happen to buy it from Bob? I had a blue one that ended up with him in Washington some years ago. It was a Canadian model too. Cheers

 

[Guest]

Awesome find!
Tell me, the blue one...did you happen to buy it from Bob? I had a blue one that ended up with him in Washington some years ago. It was a Canadian model too. Cheers

Yes sir! I got both bikes from Bob.

 

[trevor]

Yes sir! I got both bikes from Bob.

Nice! I’ll have to find some pics I have of it. Believe it or not I got it for free.

 

[Guest]

Nice! I’ll have to find some pics I have of it. Believe it or not I got it for free.

Wow free? That’s awesome! If you can find pics, please send them my way.


Got some work done. I’ve been working on sanding but I don’t have any progress pictures of that.

But here it is in 3 coats of primer.

Notice that there’s no front fender here. That’s because I’ll be using a Bandit 1200 front fender which is on the way.

Mocked it up on the bike.

Looking good so far.

I’m going to let the primer cure for a few days then I’ll sand it smooth. I plan to lay down base coat and clear coat next weekend!

 

[Guest]

Very nice. I was looking for a "240" or whatever, to go in front of that Z, but it says..."Fairlady", correct? Please tell me it's a 240Z, and please, please tell me it has a clutch pedal.

It’s a 1977 Datsun 280z. In Japan, it’s called a Nissan Fairlady Z. We just put the Japanese badges on. Yes, they are both 5 speed manual

The blue one is my brothers. The white one is mine. We painted the blue one by ourselves in the garage!

 

[Rob S.]

It’s a 1977 Datsun 280z. In Japan, it’s called a Nissan Fairlady Z. We just put the Japanese badges on. Yes, they are both 5 speed manual

The blue one is my brothers. The white one is mine. We painted the blue one by ourselves in the garage!

NICE! You've got a nice pair.

 

[Guest]

Todays project is replacing all the bearings!

Let’s start with this. This a lower triple tree from a 1995 Suzuki RF900. The bearings pretty much exploded as soon as I looked at them.

A vice, hammer, and chisel makes quick work of removing the rest of the bottom triple tree bearing.

New steering bearings on. On the left is a 1997 Suzuki Bandit 1200 triple tree. And the one that’s installed on the forks is 1995 Suzuki RF900. The RF900 is the correct length to fit into the GS1100E steering head. They will be greased before install along with new races pressed in.

Next up is the rear sprocket carrier? I don’t know the name for it. Left is original, right is All Balls.

Sprocket carrier and rear wheel bearings done with new seals.

Working on pressing the front wheel bearings in. A flat tire makes a nice cushion.

All of the old bearings and seals. Two of them are missing a ball bearing???

All done. Yes, I know the tires are old. New ones will be here Saturday. Front calipers also arrived so I wanted to mock it all up. Looks good!

I thought about doing the Tokico 6 pot from the 2000+ Bandit 1200 but after researching, found lots of bad reviews. People seem to like the Nissin 4 pots better so that’s what I got.

 

[Grimly]

I thought about doing the Tokico 6 pot from the 2000+ Bandit 1200 but after researching, found lots of bad reviews. People seem to like the Nissin 4 pots better so that’s what I got.

The 6-pot Tokico is notorious for seizing up after one winter (or sooner), but the 6-pot Nissin isn't. The 4-pot Nissins are pretty good.

 

[Guest]

The 6-pot Tokico is notorious for seizing up after one winter (or sooner), but the 6-pot Nissin isn't. The 4-pot Nissins are pretty good.

What are the Nissin 6 pots from and would it bolt up to Bandit 1200 forks? I think I’ll be plenty happy with the Nissin 4 pots but never hurts to know more.

Tires are here! I went with the original Michelin Pilot Power. Good reviews and it was on sale. I do know it is an older model but the tires are recently made in 2021.

Next to the factory installed Metzeler made in 1997

I went with stock Bandit 1200 sizes. 120/70/17 front and 180/55/17 rear.

Or so I thought… The rear tire is actually 190/55/17. It was mis labeled

Think there would be any problems running one size up for the rear tire? I will be using the Bandit 1200 swingarm. Dealing with returns is kind of a pain. And I just found out that this seller has very bad customer service haha.

 

[Grimly]

What are the Nissin 6 pots from and would it bolt up to Bandit 1200 forks? I think I’ll be plenty happy with the Nissin 4 pots but never hurts to know more.

Iirc, they were an option on ZX7Rs, but also fitted to other things. You'll probably be pretty happy with the 4-pots, though.

Depends how much you want to spend - they are available new...
http://www.hardracing.com/Brakes/Ferodo.htm near the bottom of the page.

 

[Guest]

Iirc, they were an option on ZX7Rs, but also fitted to other things. You'll probably be pretty happy with the 4-pots, though.

Depends how much you want to spend - they are available new...
http://www.hardracing.com/Brakes/Ferodo.htm near the bottom of the page.

Ouch. Those brakes are pricey. Yeah, I’m sure I’ll be happy with the 4 pot Nissin then

Made some good progress. I wet sanded the primer earlier in the week. Got it nice and smooth! Ready for paint.

Midnight blue pearl. I added a little blue flake to the clear coat as well.

It’s quite sunny in this picture. You’ll notice at some angles, it appears almost black.

I do have the decals. But first, I’m going to let the clear coat cure and then wet sand. After that, I will apply the decal, wait for a day, and then more clear coat.

And under the LED shop lighting.

I’m happy with how the paint turned out so far. A little bit of dust in there but what do you expect from a backyard paint job. All of that can be wet sanded out anyways.

 

[Guest]

Wow, this color pops.

 

[steve murdoch]

It sure does. Very nice!

 

[Guest]

Got the Bandit 1200 front end fitted up. Easy “bolt on.”

Now I need to figure out steering stops, ignition cylinder, and gauge cluster mounts.

The Bandit swingarm is getting worked on right now by my fab guy. He’s cutting the original mono shock mount off. I’ve also just received the swingarm conversion kit from Suzuki-katana.com.

 

[rphillips]

Pictures in post 16 look almost OEM, dark & drab looking, pictures in post [NODE="17"]Featured Forums[/NODE] look way better, a lot prettier blue, not near as dank looking. # 17 looks really good...Just my opinion...Congrats. (edited later) Hey wait, how did that Featured Forums thing get in there, I certainly didn't type it in??? I've never seen that before...What the heck is going on???