Black Magick

[ShadowFocus603]

So I decided to finally post up a build thread on my 1981 GS850G That I got for $300. It was in a sorry state when I got it. Pics are from the Craiglist listing where I found it.

As you can see one of the exhaust pipes were off as the PO had stripped the threads. Thankfully he threw in the Heli-Coil kit to repair it. So I brought her home.

Once home the first order of business was the god awful luggage rack/sissy bar combo had to go as well as the windshield. Fiance like the sissy bar for her 750L so it's not a total wash. I pulled the carbs and the rest of the exhaust to do the heli-coil and to check the threads on the rest of the exhaust ports.

I ordered up a new set of OEM intake manifolds on eBay ($123 thanks to a discount voucher I had) and a set of o-rings and stainless cap screws from Robert over at www.cycleorings.com. Also got some generic 1 5/8" exhaust pipe to replace the rotten crossover pipe in the exhaust. After the carbs had spent a couple hours in the sonic cleaner, I got everything reassembled and primed her with fresh gas and she started right up. I couldn't be happier.

 

[ShadowFocus603]

Excuse the turd brown paint. And rust. And rotten master cylinder cup etc etc etc etc. She's a bit ugly but I already have a set of superbike bars coming (in Black) with some new grips and bar-end mirrors. I'm not really trying to go in any particular direction with this project unless you want to call it OEM+. I plan to leave the overall look as is but I want to reshape the seat and recover it then paint and powdercoat everything within reason black. I will prolly leave the edges of the fins on the engine natural aluminum for a little contrast. Alright enough rambling more pics.

 

[ShadowFocus603]

My current to-do list is in order:
Valves
Oil Change
With oil drained inspect and replace clutch springs and possible fibers
Grease Driveshaft splines and change rear oil
Rebuild front and rear master cylinders including replacing the nasty resevoir on the front
Rebuild front and rear caliper
New brake pads front and rear
New stainless brake lines with Dot5 brake fluid
Replace wheel and stem bearings
New battery, stator, and series r/r (going to use the same kit I did on the 750L from www.roadstercycle.com)
Lastly going to run some 12 series progressive rear shocks and springs with some straight rate fork springs from Sonic as suggested by Mr Bwringer here http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showpost.php?p=2068579&postcount=6 as I am gravitationally similar to him. I'll obviously be installing new fork seals as well. Trying to focus purely on the mechanical aspects first but I did the bars, mirrors, and grips up front because mine were totally and utterly shot.

 

[kimjay]

Believe it or not that's in better condition than the one i found and redid last year for $200. Put about 1500 into it and sold it this year to a member here.

 

[ShadowFocus603]

I have no doubt it's better than some. The newest 750L was in about the same condition minus the surface rust so I had no doubt it would be a worthwile venture but it will be a long road to get her cosmetically looking like something I'd be proud of. And vehicles that I buy are mine til they die so it's not like I'll ever be trying to make my money back out of it so if I decide to drop $4000 or whatever in it to bring it up to par then it is what it is.

 

[ShadowFocus603]

Got my new superbike bars, mirrors, and grips installed. Love the way they look. The riding position will take some getting used to but it does inspire a bit more confidence in the twisties. I still need to reroute the cables to accommodate for the extra slack from lower bars.

 

[ShadowFocus603]

Got a whole pile of parts coming in this week so I will be able to make some progress. New wheel bearing front and rear as well as stem bearings. Got the front and rear caliper rebuild kits and pads in as well. Waiting on the stainless brake lines as well as the front and rear master cylinder rebuild kits. Going to install banjo brake light switches while I'm in there. Also replacing the reservoir on the front. Today I got the new fork seals in and the forks filled with 15W fork oil. Also got the secondary and final drive gear oil changed.

 

[Weeksz]

Looking good so far. I was really happy with my purchase of the same bars. Braking, cornering, and just overall control of the bike feels great. It almost keeps you in a "ready" position while riding. I've also gone on a few two hour trips and wasn't bothered.

 

[dorkburger]

Looks like you're off to a good start...what a difference in looks a simple bar and mirror change makes. As long as its brown, may we call it the Brown Hornet? The brown doesn't really bother my BTW.

 

[ShadowFocus603]

This winter it'll be getting pulled apart for fresh Ford Pitch Black (same color as on the Focus in the pics) as well as some fresh powder coating (black of course) on the frame, forks, swinger, etc.

 

[dorkburger]

Aaah, the Dark Lord

 

[ShadowFocus603]

Lol you got it. That license plate garners a load of looks wherever I go, and there are an equal mix of dirty looks thrown in. As for the current brown I've been referring to it as the Turd interchangeably with calling it "the 850" lol. I've yet to see a pic of another one in the same color that actually looked good.

 

[Dogma]

Nice work so far. That seat doesn't look quite stock. I don't think it should have that little spoiler at the rear.

 

[ShadowFocus603]

All I know for sure is that it has been recovered. I despise the duck bill on the rear of the foam hence the plans to reshape it. Looking at it the whole seat seems to be off center some and I may try to find another pan and foam to build from.

 

[ShadowFocus603]

Got the front MC rebuilt last night with new reservoir and painted it. Went ahead and installed it and bleeding it as you can see in pics. New brake lines will be here before long but I wanted to be able to ride in the meantime. Came out great overall. A damn sight better than it looked before at any rate.

A quick memory refresher of old reservoir.

 

[Dogma]

All I know for sure is that it has been recovered. I despise the duck bill on the rear of the foam hence the plans to reshape it. Looking at it the whole seat seems to be off center some and I may try to find another pan and foam to build from.

I wandered past mine in the garage the other day, and whaddya know? Mine has it too. Sure enough, it's plainly visible on the parts diagram. I guess I need to spend more time sitting on it backwards while I ride so I know these things.

That master sure looks a ton better. When they look like they do in your "before" picture, they're surprisingly brittle.

 

[ShadowFocus603]

Update: Just ordered a set of APE Super Pro pods along with a Jardine 4 to 1 and a Dynojet stage 3 kit. The Jardine is coming off ebay, the pods are coming from Pingel, and the Dynojet kit is coming from Z1. Kudos to Z1 for having the absolute cheapest prices on Dynojet kits I have found anywhere. $96. Just wow.

 

[huntb]

Where did you get the grips and bar end mirrors (and what brand)? I'm looking to put superbike bars on my 650 and really like your setup

 

[ShadowFocus603]

Bars
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0050HC39E/ref=oh_details_o07_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Mirrors
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E156YDM/ref=oh_details_o08_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Grips
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BP5Q5PS/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i02?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I like them both really well. The only nitpick is that the powder coat on the right end has to be thinned (ie sanded) to allow free spin of the throttle tube. I just slammed them on at first even though the bars had reviews stating as much and had bad bind upon throttle release. I pulled the tube back off and sanded it with 180 grit evenly around maybe 8-10 times and all was good. As far as the grips go you will have to cut the ends off if you plan to run the bar end mirrors for obvious reasons. When you remove the metal cap in the pic there is still a rubber plug under it. It took all of 30 seconds per grip with an xacto knife (brand new slim blade) to prep them up right. I never plan to change this setup and even if I do for the price of the grips I can simply buy a new set if needed. One last hint is that in the last pic I posted to show the before shot of the master you can see I had to sand off the ridges on the throttle tube to get the grips on and even then they are tight which is good. I have to really torque it to get the grip to slip any if at all.

 

[ShadowFocus603]

Got the SS brake lines in so am in the process of totally refurbishing front brakes. MC is already done. Lines are installed with a banjo brake light switch. All that's left now is to clean and paint calipers then rebuild and install. Calipers are in sonic cleaner for round 2 so that should be done in the next day or so. I also received my APE Super Pro pod filters from Pingel and thought I'd share some side by side comparisons with a legit K&N pod that is on the 750L. Link to pods here.
http://www.pingelonline.com/carburetion/005-121-ape-super-pro-air-filters-34mm-up.asp
The reason I decided to do the side by side was to a) correlate a review from another user here that installed them on his 650 and b) dispel a bit of a misconception I ran into when I suggested these to another member. As can be seen in the photos, the overall fit and finish on these is right on par with the K&N. And remember we are talking a set of filters that run $60 for the set vs $150. That's a 250% difference in price for near identical filters. The filtration materials look identical under 10x magnification aside from their color and appear to be similar thicknesses. Installation will happen this weekend when I receive my Jardine 4:1 but I have zero qualms riding with these filters. The one difference I noted, which is especially clear in the last photo, is the difference in the mounting boots. Not entirely sure what, if any, difference it will make as far as mounting security etc but I figured I'd point it out to be objective. Overall though these filters appear to be top notch quality for far, far less than K&N products.