Band/Gixer Conversion (week 2)

[jwhelan65]

Getting closer, looks great! That DID ERV3 520 chain is a good choice.

As a rule of thumb, you should have at least as much ground clearance under the header as you have travel in your front forks so you don't ground it out if you hit a big bump. So 5" of travel requires 5" of ground clearance. If you like hard cornering and ground clearance with that 4 into 1 becomes an issue, a oilcooled GSXR 1100/Bandit 1200 header can be an option. I have this setup on my 1000 - the flanges from my 1000 header were welded onto a GSXR 1100 4-2-1 header and have had 0 ground clearance issues since.

Yeah clearance is a bigger issue than I anticipated, I had as heavy of a Race Tech spring installed in the GSXR forks as was available 0.95kg. I would have liked to have had the 1.0kg but from what I have researched they are no longer available and Race Tech has no plans for a replacement. Do you have some pics of your header set up?

Your bike is truly awesome by the way...one of the nicer ones on here, love the new paint scheme

Joe

 

[80GS1000]

Yeah clearance is a bigger issue than I anticipated, I had as heavy of a Race Tech spring installed in the GSXR forks as was available 0.95kg. I would have liked to have had the 1.0kg but from what I have researched they are no longer available and Race Tech has no plans for a replacement. Do you have some pics of your header set up?

Your bike is truly awesome by the way...one of the nicer ones on here, love the new paint scheme

Joe

Here's a pic of the 4-2-1 header setup. It gained back probably 2" of ground clearance over my old V&H 4 into 1 which donated its flanges to the cause. If I were you I'd look into getting a 4-2-1 setup straight away to save yourself the heartache of denting that nice looking V&H you have right now. Even a Bandit 1200 4-1 which routes more directly under the engine will help with cornering ground clearance over the V&H which routes to the right side.

This is the header and midpipe. The header is from a '89 GSXR 1100 and luckily enough provides enough clearance that you don't have to remove it for oil changes.

 

[jwhelan65]

wiring and cable issues

wiring and cable issues

Trying also to get all the wires converted, as you can see in the pic several of the GSXR cables are too short do to the risers being added. I pushed the triples as far up the forks as possible to gain much needed clearance. Also..Does anyone know how the GSXR 1100 brake lines attach behind the rear fender? It looks like I am missing something? .....(the blue painters tape is my fancy labeling system)

 

[jwhelan65]

Great idea

Great idea

Here's a pic of the 4-2-1 header setup. It gained back probably 2" of ground clearance over my old V&H 4 into 1 which donated its flanges to the cause. If I were you I'd look into getting a 4-2-1 setup straight away to save yourself the heartache of denting that nice looking V&H you have right now. Even a Bandit 1200 4-1 which routes more directly under the engine will help with cornering ground clearance over the V&H which routes to the right side.

This is the header and midpipe. The header is from a '89 GSXR 1100 and luckily enough provides enough clearance that you don't have to remove it for oil changes.

Great information...the bandit 4 into 1..are you talking about the stock header on a Bandit? So you have a slip-on with this?

 

[80GS1000]

Great information...the bandit 4 into 1..are you talking about the stock header on a Bandit? So you have a slip-on with this?

Just to be clear, the oilcooled GSXR 1100 and Bandit 1200 exhausts are interchangeable. The stock 4-1 header for a Bandit 12 will have better cornering clearance since it goes right under the center of the motor. The GSXR 1100 pipe spacing was a direct match for the 2 valve 1000 exhaust ports. All I had to do was weld on the V&H flanges from my old 1000 header. On your 16 valve motor it may be a direct bolt-on. A 4-2-1 is even better, although a bit tough to locate. I'm using a slip-on with this header.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2001...cyclesQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories#ebayphotohosting

 

[jwhelan65]

Just to be clear, the oilcooled GSXR 1100 and Bandit 1200 exhausts are interchangeable. The stock 4-1 header for a Bandit 12 will have better cornering clearance since it goes right under the center of the motor. The GSXR 1100 pipe spacing was a direct match for the 2 valve 1000 exhaust ports. All I had to do was weld on the V&H flanges from my old 1000 header. On your 16 valve motor it may be a direct bolt-on. A 4-2-1 is even better, although a bit tough to locate. I'm using a slip-on with this header.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2001...cyclesQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories#ebayphotohosting

So this would bolt up to the 82 GS 1100E?

 

[80GS1000]

So this would bolt up to the 82 GS 1100E?

If it didn't bolt straight on it'd be awfully close and likely minimal work to get it to fit. The port spacing should be fine -GS1000 and GS1100 have the same port spacing. The flanges and collars may need some work.

 

[Guest]

I've got 7000 miles now on my GSXR1100 front end with Bandit swing arm. I haven't touched down the headers yet however, I do pay attention to speed bumps and either go over them very slow or better yet go around the outside of them. I also haven't taken any passengers. Ground clearance was a big concern for me going into this build but the GSXR front end has much less travel. You could probably just increase the length of your fork spring spacers to get the same results as a heavier spring.

I don't think your header will be the issue in cornering. Unless you have size five girly feet the first thing to touch down is going to be your boots (even with the 1" higher ZX12R rear sets), The next thing is going to be your engine cases. The corner I would be worried about would be one with a decreasing radius and a crest or hump in the road, where the front and rear tire would be momentarily lower than the center of the bike while your leaned over.

80GS1000 has an elegant solution to the problem but you may want to run what you have for a while an see if it works. I suspect/recommend that if you really want to push the limits in Texas hill country you'll take the FZ1. To para-phrase Clint "A Bike has gotta know it's limits." We can vastly improve the handling of these old classics but they will really never equal the cornering of modern sport bikes. If you start chasing R1s or even SV650s it could be problematic

I think my Yosh now has 3.5" of clearance on flat ground. PS, I'm no feather weight.

 

[Guest]

Trying also to get all the wires converted, as you can see in the pic several of the GSXR cables are too short do to the risers being added. I pushed the triples as far up the forks as possible to gain much needed clearance. Also..Does anyone know how the GSXR 1100 brake lines attach behind the rear fender? It looks like I am missing something? .....(the blue painters tape is my fancy labeling system)

Just my opinion but the stock GS bars are going to look fugly on your conversion. FZ1 Gen 1 or Gen 2 bars or Superbike bars should look more appropriate and help to solve some of your distance problems. Would also be closer to the riding position your use too on the Gen 2. Even with the lower bars it looks like your going to need longer brake line(s). Bandit brake lines might be about right. I re-used my stainless brake lines from my original GS front end. They are a little too long but I tucked the excess up behind the bucket.

Where are you going to mount your gauges with that top triple? Are there any mounting points you can bolt to underneath it?

 

[80GS1000]

I've got 7000 miles now on my GSXR1100 front end with Bandit swing arm. I haven't touched down the headers yet however, I do pay attention to speed bumps and either go over them very slow or better yet go around the outside of them. I also haven't taken any passengers. Ground clearance was a big concern for me going into this build but the GSXR front end has much less travel. You could probably just increase the length of your fork spring spacers to get the same results as a heavier spring.

I don't think your header will be the issue in cornering. Unless you have size five girly feet the first thing to touch down is going to be your boots (even with the 1" higher ZX12R rear sets), The next thing is going to be your engine cases. The corner I would be worried about would be one with a decreasing radius and a crest or hump in the road, where the front and rear tire would be momentarily lower than the center of the bike while your leaned over.

80GS1000 has an elegant solution to the problem but you may want to run what you have for a while an see if it works. I suspect/recommend that if you really want to push the limits in Texas hill country you'll take the FZ1. To para-phrase Clint "A Bike has gotta know it's limits." We can vastly improve the handling of these old classics but they will really never equal the cornering of modern sport bikes. If you start chasing R1s or even SV650s it could be problematic

I think my Yosh now has 3.5" of clearance on flat ground. PS, I'm no feather weight.

Let me preface this by stating that the comments below are just in the interest of safety and not for the sake of argument. Any time you start doing modifications like the three of us have done you have to keep in mind that the whole bike and all its parts have to work well together and safely as a package.

jwhelan65- Are you planning on using rearsets? As Isleofman mentioned, you may find that you'll be dragging your pegs/feet more easily now that the bike's lower and much more stable at high lean angles. Wide radial tires make it very easy to hang out on the edge of the tire as they feel rock solid at these angles. If you're the type of rider that likes to go edge to edge on your tires, you might find that the stock rear brake pedal will drag and become somewhat dangerous and it can lever the rear tire off the ground. Properly placed rearsets will cure this.

Isleofman- I agree that we can dramatically improve the handling on these classics with new suspension components. However, dragging hard parts in corners IMO is costly and dangerous. Before I went with a 4-2-1 exhaust and resprung the front end, the first hard part to touch down in hard right corners was the #3 header pipe on the V&H 4-1. This wrecked a $300 pipe and could have levered the rear tire off the ground. The 4-2-1 solves this by snugging up the header more tightly under the motor. I can literally drag knee with this setup and have never touched down the header, the pegs, or an engine case. A 4-1 that routes more centrally under the motor should help as the pipe will be more on the high side of the bike in the bends.

 

[saffa]

Got the front and rear sprockets lined up today. As you can see from the pic the 520 conversion solves a lot of issues. Clears the 180 Bridgestone tire, clears the shock and most importantly no gouging of the frame....many thanks to Katman for all his hardwork and late night mathematic skills!! :clap: BRAVO!!

cmon ...dish the goss.....what you got for a front sprocket ...how much machined of the rear carrier and is that an O/X ring chain .

important info this ...then i can upgrade from my 170 to a 180

 

[posplayr]

80gs1000

80gs1000

PJ,
As i recall you ended up doing a mono shock in order to solve ground clearance problems as well. You could not get the amount of rear height adjustment to compensate for the 17" GSXR suspension conversion without going mono (as I recall). lease elaborate.
Pos

 

[80GS1000]

PJ,
As i recall you ended up doing a mono shock in order to solve ground clearance problems as well. You could not get the amount of rear height adjustment to compensate for the 17" GSXR suspension conversion without going mono (as I recall). lease elaborate.
Pos

Yeah, with the 2004 GSXR 1000 forks the monoshock was pretty much a requirement since the forks are so short. Jwhelan65's bike is using longer GSXR 1100 forks which will partially alleviate the ground clearance issues.

 

[jwhelan65]

Clearance issues

Clearance issues

I agree with both of you, as I get deeper into this build, I have realized this is not one project but a sequence of numerous small projects that split and become more projects. So for now I will move forward with the VH and and look into 80gs1000's mod if it becomes an issue. However I will say that 80GS's modification is well engineered and taken with great consideration, another great mod, its why this forum exists. 80GS 1000 regarding the rear sets I am going with the same build out as Isleomans
(zx12r) which eliminates the stock sets. I have all the specs with and step by step photos to create the plates needed to install them (many thanks Isleo!!).

I agree on the handle bars, I do not like them, they look a little to 80 retro. I bolted them on just to see how things would look , I like the Gen II's , probably because I am used to them, considering replacing all the lines with stainless anyway, so one less issue.

 

[jwhelan65]

cmon ...dish the goss.....what you got for a front sprocket ...how much machined of the rear carrier and is that an O/X ring chain .

important info this ...then i can upgrade from my 170 to a 180

Katman machined the front offset, I actually need to add .160" spacer to the front to make it perfect, the rear is the stock GS hub with a 10mm spacer on the shifter side and the stock Bandit on the brake side. The chain is a DID ERV3 520 and a supersprox

 

[jwhelan65]

Mountin bolts

Mountin bolts

Trying also to get all the wires converted, as you can see in the pic several of the GSXR cables are too short do to the risers being added. I pushed the triples as far up the forks as possible to gain much needed clearance. Also..Does anyone know how the GSXR 1100 brake lines attach behind the rear fender? It looks like I am missing something? .....(the blue painters tape is my fancy labeling system)

Just my opinion but the stock GS bars are going to look fugly on your conversion. FZ1 Gen 1 or Gen 2 bars or Superbike bars should look more appropriate and help to solve some of your distance problems. Would also be closer to the riding position your use too on the Gen 2. Even with the lower bars it looks like your going to need longer brake line(s). Bandit brake lines might be about right. I re-used my stainless brake lines from my original GS front end. They are a little too long but I tucked the excess up behind the bucket.

Where are you going to mount your gauges with that top triple? Are there any mounting points you can bolt to underneath it?

Here is the underside of the top triple and the mounting hardware for the gauges

 

[ironsheik]

Hey J, what's the width of that chain? I guess the master link rivets are the widest? I have an RK x-ring 530 chain that I'd like to keep and I'd like to compare widths. Maybe I should go 520 if the 530 is significantly wider. Thanks!

Josh

 

[jwhelan65]

Chain

Chain

Hey J, what's the width of that chain? I guess the master link rivets are the widest? I have an RK x-ring 530 chain that I'd like to keep and I'd like to compare widths. Maybe I should go 520 if the 530 is significantly wider. Thanks!

Josh

The DID ERV3 520 is 18.5 mm or .7285"

I have a DID 530 on another bike it measures 24.8 mm or .9785"

A difference of 6.3 mm or .2500", this is crucial when converting to a 180 rear.

 

[tone]

[quote
A difference of 6.3 mm or .2500", this is crucial when converting to a 180 rear.[/quote]

Well ive doen more than a few of these conversions & dissagree as ive always used DID 530 chains with no problems, not knocking it as it works for you but as ive said its not essensial to change over

cheers tone

 

[ironsheik]

I think I'd like as much wiggle room as possible and a 520 chain with less mass is even cooler. Guess I have a gs1100 530 chain and sprocket conversion with 2500 miles on it available if anyone wants!

On another note, J: that top triple is aftermarket from Spiegel right? It cost a pretty penny? I think I've seen them for close to $300! Nice setup though.

Josh