• Required reading for all forum users!!!

    Welcome!
    Register to access the full functionality of the GSResources forum. Until you register and activate your account you will not have full forum access, nor will you be able to post or reply to messages.

    A note to new registrants...
    All new forum registrations must be activated via email before you have full access to the forum.

    A Special Note about Email accounts!
    DO NOT SIGN UP USING hotmail, outlook, gmx, sbcglobal, att, bellsouth or email.com. They delete our forum signup emails.

    A note to old forum members...
    I receive numerous requests from people who can no longer log in because their accounts were deleted. As mentioned in the forum FAQ, user accounts are deleted if you haven't logged in for the past 6 months. If you can't log in, then create a new forum account. If you don't get an error message, then check your email account for an activation message. If you get a message stating that the email address is already in use, then your account still exists so follow the instructions in the forum FAQ for resetting your password.

    Have you forgotten your password or have a new email address? Then read the forum FAQ for details on how to reset it.

    Any email requests for "can't log in anymore" problems or "lost my password" problems will be deleted. Read the forum FAQ and follow the instructions there - that's what we have one for...

  • Returning Visitors

    If you are a returning visitor who never received your confirmation email, then odds are your email provider is blockinig emails from our server. The only thing that can be done to get around this is you will have to try creating another forum account using an email address from another domain.

    If you are a returning visitor to the forum and can't log in using your old forum name and password but used to be able to then chances are your account is deleted. Purges of the databases are done regularly. You will have to create a new forum account and you should be all set.

GS550mz Katana transformed to GS550 bobber?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Shaun23a11en
  • Start date Start date
S

Shaun23a11en

Guest
I have an 82 gs550mz katana. had it for about a week. Ive never owned a bike before. Story is, the bike belonged to my neighbor who bought it as a parts bike for his original owner 82 550mz he bought from the dealer a few miles away. the bike is very neglected but is complete. Im not really into the sportbike look, but more into the chopper/bobber look. Now, if I cut the frame, its going to be after the shock mounts so it would remain a softtail so i can mount a single short seat pan. everything else will stay the same on the frame as far as i know. I would like to put a regular gs550 tank on it and fabricate my own seat and exhaust pipes plus give the front end a slight drop if possible. what are your guys thoughts on this? here are a few pictures of the bike as it sits now. also, will a regular gs550 tank from around the same year mount on my katana frame or are the frames different?
 
yea was thinking if im going to do it i should just get a different bike, not this katana since its a valuable bike and in decent enough shape
 
Personally, I would not chop it up. Your first bike? Fix it up and ride it. Then when you feel comfortable, sell it and get the bike that is better suited for a bobber build. How about an L model?
 
i'm all about cutting up bikes and creating unique custom monstrosities... the world needs a little more variety... but im going to have to agree with flaming chainsaws on this one...

fix up that bike, properly abuse it, learn more about working on bikes, and then later on down the road get a bike better suited for a bobber build.

Nice bike though!

~Nate
 
Yep, Katanas are hard to come by around my way - even if the little ones aren't as valuable. That one could be very pricey to restore to pristine appearance though. The tank doesn't look so bad (haven't seen the inside, but that's the easier part to take care of), though the side covers are missing and the seat is in rough shape. That's some of the more expensive stuff there. How's the exhaust?
 
The exhaust is in very nice shape as are the guages. Tank has surface rust on top and no dents. Cant see inside I havnt got the cap off its locked. I think im going to just cut right past the shock mounts and leave it a soft tail but change the seat and tank out. probably put shorter rear shock on and different bars. Plus 4 k/n air filters and a different paint scheme. if im going to ride it it has to be what I want. Looks and performace. dont plan on selling it
 
Chop it up! Learn on this rough bike and buy a nicer one to restore.:cool:
 
Really, really rare bike. They are very difficult to find...which...makes the parts valuable.

OR

Since it is complete, fix it up, give it some orginal paint and have a nice rare bike to tool around on......:)
 
If you chop this bike I will hunt you down and...

Ah, nevermind. SoCal is too far away.

I know I can't stop you from chopping that bike. But, I will join some of the others in nicely asking you to part it out and use the money to buy a more common bike to chop. Granted the 550MZ isn't worth big money like it's big brother but those who have them need parts.

Besides, for what you want that bike is the wrong canvas to start with. You want low and chopped. The frame is all wrong. Really. Sell the parts.

:D Did it work?

Chris
 
I love bobbers, rat bikes, cafe bikes etc but I am not sure that a real good bobber could come out of this. Wrong frame, wrong tank, wrong motor for me.

I would however get to work on making that one hell of a nice cafe bike.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top