Anyone know of a builder or kit for GS1100E hardtail conversion?

[Sojourner]

I bought a GS1100E recently. I had a GS1100L (shafty) years ago, so I knew they were nice scoots. I jumped all over this E since I had been debating building a bobber and knew that a chain drive makes things so much easier.

While I'm still not sold on making it a bobber (I like the look, but it's so damn trendy now), I'm weighing my options. Does anyone know of a decent builder that will convert my frame to a hardtail- and do a decent job of it, or at the very least a kit I can pick up to take to a local shop?

I remember finding one a few weeks back in upper Ohio, but I apparently didn't bookmark their site. That and I think I found it while looking into a KZ1000 I almost bought... :-\\\

In short I don't know what the hell I want to do, at least not 100%. I know I want to customize the bike beyond just paint and whatnot. Maybe a jockey shift... Maybe dropped hardtail with an extra wide rear tire... Old Brit springer front if I can manage... I just don't know yet. Honestly it depends on what I'm listening to. Queue up The Cramps and I'm ready to bob. Joy Division gets me off the bob kick, and then there's Sabbath and The Exploited to consider... Anyway, just trying to stockpile info for when I finally get my act together and put my wallet where my mouth is.

 

[Nessism]

Just go to crackslist and pick up some half finished bobber project. Of course, you may die on the thing when the rear end falls off, but you will go in a blaze of glory and all your friends will talk about you. After all, it's all about being hip and cool so who cares if you crash and burn?

 

[groundshock]

Please don't cut the bike up. If that's your plan, I'll give you what you have in it and pick it up just to save it.

This bobber/cafe/cutting up perfectly good bikes sh*t has to stop.

 

[tkent02]

This bobber/cafe/cutting up perfectly good bikes sh*t has to stop.

Find a nice 550L to ruin. Maybe a 750L.

 

[Sojourner]

All perfectly good points Old_Skool. I've definitely been considering the safety aspect of it all, which is one of the main reasons I've held off for so long. My bike is mainly a commuter (~20 miles round trip) with the occasional long ride to clear my head/de-stress. It's NEVER going to be a bar hopper since I don't drink and ride.

I'm not a fan of the whole cafe thing. It's for some folks, just not me. I like the bobber look overall, but again, it's so wide-spread. Sometimes I wonder if bone-stock is a rarer animal?

As for cutting up perfectly good frames as mentioned above, property and it's modification is generally the sole discretion of it's owner. I won't tell you how to mod your bike, and you don't tell me how to not mod mine. M'kay? :clap: Not trying to start anything, and I don't mean any disrespect. The whole point of this thread was simply to gather some info.

As it stands I have plenty to work on with the Compufire install, the Rick's stator (although it's basically a plug-in replacement), fork gaiters, exhaust wrap, and whatnot. I just tend to window shop a lot and like to know what kind of $$ and time certain projects would take. I do know the bike needs some paint soon, and even that's giving me fits. Part of me wants a rat bike with a suede/primer tank and part of me says that's been overdone to death as well. Too many ideas, and not enough free time.

 

[tkent02]

Sometimes I wonder if bone-stock is a rarer animal?

Now you're getting it. When they are all cut up they will be rarer still.

Your bike is mainly used as a commuter and you want to hard tail it?

 

[Nessism]

As it stands I have plenty to work on with the Compufire install, the Rick's stator (although it's basically a plug-in replacement)

The stator is NOT a direct plug in. You need to rewire the charging system if you want your bike to charge properly.

 

[loud et]

Seriously, the 1100e is a neck breaker with torque and acceleration. Quite honestly the stock brakes and suspension are not even enough to fully handle the engines power. To start taking away from the frames engineering (which helps deal with the power) would be a big mistake, meaning probably dangerous. Its a bike that needs upgrades, not downgrades. If I ever do a cafe, bobber or hardtail I will find a twin.
Like Oldschool said, they are bar hoppers and fun little weekend bikes to go ride around and look cool on. Not bikes to take big trips on and not the best choice for a commuter.
Search dragbike on e bay and you will find mostly GS 1100 motors. Search rigid, cafe, or bobber and you will not.
Best of luck with whatever you decide, but make sure your machine is safe but also comfortable and enjoyable to ride...cause if its not right, you will get sick of it very fast and it will all be for nothing.

 

[7981GS]

I'll just wait for the Craigslist ad when it goes for sale. :-\\\

Eric

 

[tkent02]

How will you find it among all the other unfinished hard tail/bobber/cafe projects that are always for sale?

 

[7981GS]

How will you find it among all the other unfinished hard tail/bobber/cafe projects that are always for sale?

It should be easy to spot with the notation that the PO died on said bike.

Eric

 

[Sojourner]

Now you're getting it. When they are all cut up they will be rarer still.

HAHA! You know, you've got a valid point there!

In the end, I just want to make the bike my own- to put my own signature on it. I kind of have this hang-up about built vs. bought and just want my bike to be unique. Not that it has be different for the sake of being different- not shooting for a pink and chartreuse color scheme or anything. I just like my bike to stand out in the crowd a bit like I tend to do. Oh well, back to the drawing board.

 

[tkent02]

A custom paint job can go a long way without making the bike unrideable.
There are quit a few nice ones done by riders on this forum.

There's a rattle can paint job thread on here now that has some good ones. And you don't need to pay someone else to do it.

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=191660&highlight=rattle

The built vs bought thing is strong with me too, and paying someone to do something is bought.

Now that you're not bent on detsroying one of these few remaining 1100e, welcome to the forum.

 

[Sojourner]

Haha- Was never bent on destroying anything, just kind of teetering on the edge. Dark thoughts and dark deeds are two still different animals...

I planned on shooting my own via one of those "nicer" HF guns (yes, that's sort of a joke). It's not just the paint though. And to show you I'm not totally nuts, I'm not even considering a jockey shift! Maybe once I mount up the new slip-on and wrap the exhaust I'll start feeling a little bit better about things. That and ripping off that horrendous checkerboard tape the PO ran down the entire length on the bike's centerline. Even the fairing!

 

[Tim Tom]

Sometimes I wonder if bone-stock is a rarer animal?

I just like my bike to stand out in the crowd a bit like I tend to do. Oh well, back to the drawing board.

When was the last time you saw a nice GS1100E at the local biker hangout? Whether it's that nice overlook in the twisty road, that gas station that is always full of bikes, or the local bar. When was the last time you saw a nice clean stock(ish) GS1100E?

I'd guess not for a while. They are getting rarer, and chopping it up to look like every other Tom, Dick, and Harry bobber isn't unique.


You want a cool and unique ride? Take your GS. Upgrade the suspension, throw some modern rubber on there, modernize the brakes a bit, and SMOKE every other biker out there. All the while on a 30 year old machine.

That is cool.


PS every time I take my GS somewhere I always get compliments on it. And mine is a rough around the edges rider. You spend some time with paint, and some polish, your bike WILL stand out.

EDIT: Just saw the picture, ditch that awful fairing and put some low suberbike bars on. Grab some side covers. DONE.

 

[Sojourner]

chopping it up to look like every other Tom, Dick, and Harry bobber isn't unique.

And if you read the whole thread, aside from the safety concerns, the clone syndrome is the other thing that turns me off the idea. But then I'll see one done up fairly decently and so begins the cycle all over again (no pun intended). As for smoking anyone, the section of Cincinnati I live in looks like a smaller scale version of San Francisco with all of it's hills and twists. I'm not interested in racing anyone. Actually I'm more interested in not getting side-swiped on the way into work.

The first thing is to replace that slip-on. If you look real close you'll see the section the PO cut out of it to stuff it full of something that looks like fake animal fur he skinned from a teddy bear. The worst part is that about 25% the exhaust is exiting the rear, and the other 75% is shooting straight up at me. I reek of exhaust even after only a 10 minute ride. Between that and the header I know I've got some rejetting to do once the new muffler goes on.

 

[MAJikMARCer]

I just like my bike to stand out in the crowd a bit like I tend to do.

Funny that you mention that because that's exactly why I got my GS. When I first started shopping around all I saw were Harleys and Sport bikes. Both fine bikes, but not what I wanted. I wanted classic cool. While the GS isn't super classic, that's not all bad. Personally I think your bike would look very nice cleaned up, maybe some fresh paint.

As Tim Tom mentioned, there aren't that many well kept 30 year old bikes, especially 1100s. I see a lot of old bikes with Vetters and the like or they are beat to snot. Clean ones are rare and stand out in a great way.

Of course I'm also biased. The only hardtail my butt is going to sit on has pedals and made by Trek.

 

[Pendulum]

Until the summer heat hit, I would commute 20+ each way daily on a hard-tailed bike. Both of my bikes are hardtails. I've put 500+ miles in a weekend on my GS550 which has solid "struts" with the seat mounted directly to the frame (no springs or anything). Is it as comfortable as a stock bike? No. But it's a lot more fun to ride and looks a lot better too. And really, the only time I dislike to fact that it's hardtailed/strutted is either huge dips in the road or long distances (more than an hour ride). I don't experience either of those on my GS, and my XS650 (the other hardtailed bike) is comfortable for trips up to 3 hrs. As far as handling... My bikes handle well enough for the way I ride.

A properly built frame will not be a safety issue, and if you ride within your skill level and respect the fact that your 33 year old motorcycle isn't a 2012 CBR600RR or GSXR600, you'll be fine. I've ridden some pretty gnarly roads on my hardtailed bikes and I'm always the 1st to the end of the road. My XS650 was built in my friends garage, and he hadn't welded in like 4 years when we did my frame. It's been ridden hard, crashed, ridden some more, and the frame is fine.

 

[7981GS]

I've ridden some pretty gnarly roads on my hardtailed bikes and I'm always the 1st to the end of the road.

Have any riding buddies that don't ride mopeds/Vespa's?
Or do they break-down/crash trying to keep up?

Eric

 

[Sojourner]

Ok, so I was going to just hope this thread died but now I'm jumping back in a bit.

Contrary to some popular opinions, I actually liked the L model. I think some of the appeal of the "bobber" look for me is the upside down V shape ( /\ ). So here's an interesting question for those of you that know these E bikes better than me...

Rather than cutting the frame, could I swap the rear shocks for something a bit shorter? The thought being is that the end effect would be a bit of a lowering in the rear, and that's part of the appeal for me. This of course leads me to the next question- how adversely would this affect the ability of the bike to maintain traction in pothole-ville Cincinnati? Actually it's not the potholes as much as it is the odd sort of speed humps from the asphault shifting, but I digress. Is there a set of shorter rear shocks that would drop the tail end a couple of inches, but maintain some suspension without bottoming out? I suppose I could adjust the dampeners, but at 6'3" and 230lbs I don't want anything breaking. Of course tire clearance is another concern as well.

Then it's simply a matter of finding/fab'ing a custom seat to get what I want all the while maintaining bike (frame) purity for future generations.