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Beefing up the front & rear of an old classic

  • Thread starter Thread starter Neveragain55
  • Start date Start date
N

Neveragain55

Guest
Hi Gang,

One of my rides (and my favorite) is my 1979 GS750E that I restored 21 years ago.

I kept it pretty much stock except for ditching the stock air box for individual K&N’s, Bikemaster European bars, more modern rear shocks, Vance & Hines 4 into 1 pipe, and a Meyer front fender to replace the stock metal one.

She’s due for some love & attention and I’m thinking about changing out the stock rear swing arm for a much beefier one to accept a wider rear wheel, and to do the same thing up front with a modern set of beefier forks to accommodate a slightly wider wheel and improve front end stability.

I’ve seen a million projects where people have done this using parts from later 80’s and 90’s Suzuki bikes but most of them are big elaborate jobs with lots of welding and major modifications to make it all work.

All I want to do is find a rear swing arm that will bolt right on (with no pain) and have the rear wheel sprocket line up with the existing drive sprocket without having to use a dished one or perform a major surgery to make it all work – and to also find a set of thicker forks (preferably upside-down forks) that will bolt right on without a ton of pain.

Any and all suggestions are welcome……………………thanks in advance….
 
Can't you be nice?

I too will never again be 55, am not a mechanic (or a welder), and would be interested in such upgrades for my 1100EZ.
 
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80-83 gs1100 swing arm goes in place but needs new sleeves in the bearings to be a bolt in. Lots of front ends will swap with a head bearing change but you will have to do some mods on steering stops and the like. I have a 81 gs 1100e front end and swing arm on my 78 gs750e.
 
Welcome to the forum.
Post some pics of your bike.

Am also not a mechanic. Am reasonably skilled at some tasks & pretty clueless at others.
 
Thanks so much for the feedback guys, I attached some pics of my baby as she is now??











This is the look I'm sort of going for.....


This is my other baby..............




 
Great looking bike...personally i dont love the tail on the sample bike, but it looks really good with the modern suspension.
 
Thanks for the compliment, I put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into her.

She was a $50.00 basket when I bought her years ago, but after lots of money and a two year restoration I got her how I wanted her, and she's been really good to me.

I agree about the sample bike, I love everything else he did to it except for the tail section..........
 
Best bet for the swingarm is to use a bandit 1200 arm, with mounts for twin shock welded on.
 
Well...............I'm torn on that air scoop actually:confused:



I like the way it looks (even though I'm painfully aware that many purist's don't):eek:

I admit that I don't know if I'd like it with a more modern front & rear end bolted to the bike, but it stays for now because I like the way I looks and functionally it really does work..

Believe it or not, it's not just aesthetics; that front scoop (air-dam) truly does help to keep the lower end cool on long runs.

We'll see what the future brings.
 
Silverbullet132:

Cool, as long as I can find one with the mounts already welded on (as I am not a welder) and also the requirement that it can fit and bolt right into the existing pivot space without any major mod work.
 
Thanks 78gs750e................

I've gotten a lot of compliments while stopped at gas stations...(even from the Harley crowd) imagine that....
 
Yes they do, but the Harley guy that gave me the compliment said that it reminded him of the old school racers from the 70?s and his first bike????..an old Suzuki GS.

I?ll use the colors I choose to paint on my canvas, you use yours????no harm, no foul?..
 
Wouldn't think welding shop would charge much to weld on a couple of mounts. terrylee
 
I doubt you can do a Bandit swing arm for less than $250. It cost me $250 just for welding and fabricating the tabs. The swing arm itself was probably another $75 off ebay after shipping.

The problem with these resto mods is that every change results in needing to change something else. You "may" be able to bolt in a swing arm, but will likely be stymied by the resulting changes required to the brake master cylinder and rear sets. No sense in going Bandit if you don't use the 180 rubber. That gets back to alignment issues.

You can "maybe" slot in some modern forks however you'll have to figure out what to do with the head light mounting ears, gauges, and the front fender. Then there's the tach drive cable.

You need to figure everything out up front or you'll waste tons of money and time reversing yourself, or follow someone else's path.

KingofVenus has a very nice resto follow his lead or make him a generous offer on his bike.

The best option at this point would be to ditch your significant other and start dating a machinist/welder. Another option is leave the GS stock and buy a late 1990s FZ750 of Honda 600. A golfer's gotta have an assortment of clubs. A biker needs an assortment of bikes.
 
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