gs700e front end and rear tire swap! need details please!

[Anonymous]

i see theres alot of guys doing these mods on here and i am one who wants to update my almost 20 yr old burner. i do have some questions though, if i use an 89 750gsxr frontend can i use the bars, gauges, and such? also do i use the brakes and rotors from the gsxr? what do i need to modify from my bike to make this swap happen? and will just fit right up?
now as for the rear tire, i can still use my swing arm correct? can i use the same year rear tire as the front? and is there alot to modify to make this swap work?
i know this is alot of questions but i cant stand the handle bar/postion of the stockers and i cant do anything with them. and the rear tire just doesnt fit me being that im 270 lbs and shoulders like an ox. i got the bike at a real good price and overall its in near perfect cosmetic condition. i would just like to know all this stuff and have all the parts BEFORE i start the project. thank you for any help.

 

[Dink]

Read "Katman's" thread on his Katana 1100 mods almost every question you have asked is answered in it. Do try and get a complete front end, brakes, master cylinder, bars, gauges and all, a little fiddling is required to connect the guages, and you will need to create steering stops, but that is about the worst of it.
Dink

 

[Guest]

If you go up to a 93 front end (I have one) hahahah

you don't have to futs witht the stops. The lower triple on the 93 has the correct stops for an 83gs?? What is yours?

If it is a 84 or 85 your swing arm is way too small for the big meat. It can't be done for that swing arm

it is a big job to convert that peticular bike. Let see a pic>>

 

[Billy Ricks]

You can squeeze a 4.5" wheel in the stock swingarm with a 160 mounted.

 

[Guest]

You can squeeze a 4.5" wheel in the stock swingarm with a 160 mounted.

Here we go again....

Be sure to tell him what year fits...I sold a conversion to a dude and the 4.5 wheel was the same width at the hub as the 5.5. I have a bud here that has an 84 750e and his swing is about 2inches narrower than my 83 1100. We tried a 4.5 but the hubs would not fit. let a lone spacers. Even if we carved the hub and shoe horned it in it couldn't be centered because there is no room to center the wheel.

Many believe that the 4.5 fits because it takes a narrower tire but forget or don'n know that it is the wheel width at the hubs that is the issue.

I know Billy you have done it and I believe you. I would just like to know what year wheel fits. We tried an 88,89 4.5 and no go. it would help me and a couple of other guys out too.

 

[Anonymous]

I did it too, you can check it on my page:
www25.brinkster.com/junakm10/adam/default.html
under `Tuning Suzuki` title.
All writing is polish but pictures are good enough.
The trick I did was to match RF 600 wheel ( which I belive is a copy of the early 17`` GSXR wheel ) with Katana 750 hub, much slimer than oryginal and machining of a proper spacer. This setup fits tight, but without any problems I could center a wheel, and use oryginal rear brake caliper after shortening it`s hanger.
I used RF sprocket ( did 530 chain conversion ) and rear disk, and believe that it is possible to use GS500 hub with this wheel and getting the same result.
Everything was done on GS1150, but I believe its swingarm is very close in size to GS 700 / 750 bikes.

Adam M.

 

[Guest]

That makes sense. I was always checking the gsxr 750/1100 4.5's. They have a far toooo large axle to boot for the swing arm. A 600 would have a smaller one.

I had a set of 2000 katana wheels too and the axle on them was realllllly small. Now that I think of it they may have fit buddies '84. They were 4.5's.

 

[Anonymous]

You are right - these are the best and easy option.
I bought a set from older Katana, and later realized, I want 4.5 wheel with 160 tire. Together with GSXR front end it transfered a bike`s handling and stability in corners.

Adam M.

 

[oldschoolGS]

http://groups.msn.com/SuzukiGSGarage/gs750edbacktolife.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=3336
http://groups.msn.com/SuzukiGSGarage/gs750edbacktolife.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=3335


Rear is a 4.5in wheel off a 2001 Kat 750. 1998 and newer Kats used the wider 3.5 front and 4.5 rear wheels. Sprocket hub and rear caliper are 1993 kat 750 pieces- spacers are a combo of both. Tire mounted is a 180-it came with the rim and will be replaced with a 160, but it does clear the swingarm. Rear caliper torque arm is a single sided modified unit. I have not done the sprocket alignment yet, but have aquired a 520 kit with an offset countershaft to help with this.

front end is 1993 kat 750 as I basically got it for free. Fork stops were extended, steering lock was lost and triples required some modification to fit the stock key unit. Bars have been a roadblock as I am running the ES frame mounted bodywork. The Kat 750 bars will not be used as they are too high. The shorter Kat fork tubes will not extend above the top triple without lowering the front end too much- therefore clipons cannot be mounted on top but must be mounted below the top triple. Clearance on the tank and faring have been a problem but I bought a set of LSL riser clipons (expensive) and believe they will work. I am in the process of fitting them now.

It is absolutely best to use the complete front end- brakes, wheels, fender ect all off the same bike-this simplifies the swap greatly.

good luck, Ed
1983 GS750ED

 

[Anonymous]

sorry guys i didnt put what kind of bike i have, well its a 85 gs700e. soory about that.

 

[sidd]

I recently installed an '89 gsxr 750 front end on my '83 750, and it works excellent. One difference that you will find is that the clip on's mount below the triple tree, to maximize fork length. I don't know if your bike has a fairing, but if it does, the lower bars would most likely interfere with it. While I somewhat like this because I get more "tucked in", I'm going to be mounting some renthal pro taper dirtbike bars because the gsxr clipons are woefully uncomfortable(plus I'm a fan of the "streetfighter" look) . You won't be able to use the stock gauges, unless you can fashon some sort of mount, though the stock speedo would be off with the different tire size. Ideally you would get the ignition for the gsxr along with the complete front end (wheel, forks, tt, brakes, rotors etc.) and relocate the steering stop to allow clearance for the gsxr unit and to fit with the gsxr steering stops. I myself just shaved some metal off of the ignition module with a file to make it clear, though I now have no steering stops (much to the dismay of my thumbs).

As for the rear end, I can't say because I havn't mounted it yet, though if you can make it fit, the '89 gsxr 750 rear wheel (17 x 4.5 inch) would be great because it provides a wide selection of rubber.

you might find this link helpful:
http://www.tidepool.com/~tetrault/trivialtech.htm
and here is a picture of my bike with the '89 750 front end:

 

[Anonymous]

Front end looks good, but what kind of unbelivable exhaust system do you have there ?

Adam M.

 

[oldschoolGS]

Got the bars mounted. After much grinding and cutting they clear the bodywork nicely- I have brackets to mount the instrument cluster to the bottom of the top triple clamp. Fork brace was fabricated by a local machine shop. Going slow but well, Ed.
1983 GS750ED

http://groups.msn.com/SuzukiGSGarage/gs750edbacktolife.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=4171
http://groups.msn.com/SuzukiGSGarage/gs750edbacktolife.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=4172
http://groups.msn.com/SuzukiGSGarage/gs750edbacktolife.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=4173

 

[Billy Ricks]

Here we go again....

Be sure to tell him what year fits...I sold a conversion to a dude and the 4.5 wheel was the same width at the hub as the 5.5. I have a bud here that has an 84 750e and his swing is about 2inches narrower than my 83 1100. We tried a 4.5 but the hubs would not fit. let a lone spacers. Even if we carved the hub and shoe horned it in it couldn't be centered because there is no room to center the wheel.

Many believe that the 4.5 fits because it takes a narrower tire but forget or don'n know that it is the wheel width at the hubs that is the issue.

I know Billy you have done it and I believe you. I would just like to know what year wheel fits. We tried an 88,89 4.5 and no go. it would help me and a couple of other guys out too.

The '88 or '89 GSXR wheels are 4.5". On my 700 I had to knock out the GSXR bearings and use stock size GS bearings. I used a Katana 600 bearing support inside the sprocket carrier. I used the GS hub bearing support which had to be lengthened to match the length of the GSXR support. A katana caliper hanger to match the GS axle size. I did some grinding on the caliper hanger where the axle slides through to narrow it down a bit. The grinding has to be done on the outboard surface to keep the caliper aligned. Both the Katana and GSXR sprocket carriers are identical so either can be used. I also used a hydraulic jack to spread the swingarm a by about 1/4" to make the wheel mount easier.

With a 160 mounted I have a little over 1/4" to spare between the swingarm and the sidewall.

 

[Guest]

coming along nicely Ed,

Bars look great.

 

[oldschoolGS]

Thanks, Katman- considering your project, I surely take that as a compliment.
Don't forget guys, the 1998 and newer Katana 600/750's use the 3.5/4.5 wheel combo and are a lot easier to find and less expensive than late 1980's GSXR parts. My front end swap cost nothing in parts- I found a complete rolling chasis from a 1993 Kat 750 for $300. After selling the instrument cluster, rear subframe, and misc pieces on ebay, I broke even. The 41mm forks, 17in front, and floating discs will be a definite improvement over stock. I am going to use the 1993 17x3in front with a seperatly purchased 2001 17x4.5in rear, both stock Kat 750 parts. The older pre-98 Kat wheels (17x3.0 front and 17x3.5 rear) should be an easy upgrade for GS750/1000/1100. Weight saving alone would warrant the swap. Ride On, Ed.