Fab guy with his first Japanese bike

[BeefCakeScout]

So, I guess this is the place to introduce myself. My name is Ryan. I'm a sergeant in the Ca. Army National Guard and a fabricator/gearhead. I have plenty of experience RIDING bikes, but not owning or working on,save for my old mans Fat Boy. I'm one of those "dare to be different" guys, so I wanna build something other than the usual Vtwin chopper.
Now down to the nitty gritty. I picked up a FREE '82 GS650 project with a partially seized motor. I haven't opened it up to see why it only rotates 90? but thats on the list of TTD. The wiring is all there, but disconnected. Its a shaft drive so I need to figure out a way to lengthen the shaft or switch to chain. I almost bought a 1000 motor but was unsure about it so that deal fell through. I can also get a 750 motor with some miles on it. Pretty sure thats a Chain drive from what I've seen. As I said before, I can fab. I have built numerous cars and rockcrawlers so making things fit where they don't belong is not an issue. I want to make it a hard tail(shaft or chain) so I think drive issues will be solved there. I'm not worried about having an uber fast bike, just a good runner that looks cool and starts when I want it to. So thats BCS in a nutshell.
What kind of issues am I gonna face with my plans? Where can I get rebuild parts?
Thanks in Advance.

 

[BeefCakeScout]

I almost forgot. The reason I wanna lengthen it is because i'm 6'3" 250# and I think its kinda small for me.

 

[Steve]

I almost forgot. The reason I wanna lengthen it is because i'm 6'3" 250# and I think its kinda small for me.

Should have started with a larger (chain-driven) bike.

Yeah, some have managed to hard-tail a shafty, and have done it in various ways. Just be aware that the cast casing of the final drive is probably not strong enough to handle the severe shock loads of a solid strut on the shock mount.

It will be difficult, but not necessarily impossible, to change to chain drive. The easiest way would be to get a chain-driven engine and adapt the frame and swing arm to it. There is a chain-drive model of the 650, but the engine is totally different than the shafty version. And, they are rather rare, so please don't chop one of them up. ray:

My son has an '82 650L, and I have ridden it a bit. Yeah, it's a bit small, but not really that bad. I am a couple inches taller than you, so should have a pretty good perspective on the fit. Would not be too bad solo, but definitely not enough room for two-up.

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[BeefCakeScout]

Should have started with a larger (chain-driven) bike.

Yeah, some have managed to hard-tail a shafty, and have done it in various ways. Just be aware that the cast casing of the final drive is probably not strong enough to handle the severe shock loads of a solid strut on the shock mount.

It will be difficult, but not necessarily impossible, to change to chain drive. The easiest way would be to get a chain-driven engine and adapt the frame and swing arm to it. There is a chain-drive model of the 650, but the engine is totally different than the shafty version. And, they are rather rare, so please don't chop one of them up. ray:

My son has an '82 650L, and I have ridden it a bit. Yeah, it's a bit small, but not really that bad. I am a couple inches taller than you, so should have a pretty good perspective on the fit. Would not be too bad solo, but definitely not enough room for two-up.

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I know....but it was FREE!
Maybe I got myself in over my head eh?

 

[Steve]

Fix it up so it works well, sell it, get a bike that will be easier to modify.

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[BeefCakeScout]

Fix it up so it works well, sell it, get a bike that will be easier to modify.

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Thinkin its gonna be a prts bike. I found a chain drive 550 for $50. That should make life easier for a guythat wants a fairly long bike.

 

[TPL]

Welcome. :clap:

Free is free until you start dumping $ in to it.

Steve offers good advice, I'd sell it too if it was to small for me.

 

[Smokinapankake]

At first glance I thought the title was "Fat guy with his first Japanese bike".
Funny.

 

[Skateguy50]

do some searches and read up on people doing 550 lower with 650 top end. You could use the two together and have your hardtail with a 650 top end and the 550's 6 speed transmission and chain drive.

Got any pictures of the bikes as they sit?

 

[Rudeman]

I almost forgot. The reason I wanna lengthen it is because i'm 6'3" 250# and I think its kinda small for me.

It's not like you're 6'8"; the 650 should be fine as is. But, if you really want a longer wheelbase sell the GS and get a Harley or one of several psuedo-Harley offerings. Just my opinion.