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Hillsy's GS 450 cafe build

H

hillsy

Forum Mentor
Hi fellas,

I've been a member here for several years (and have owned a few GS's in my time) but have only recently returned to Suzuki as I have now got a hold of one of these:
LHScomplete.jpg


RHScomplete.jpg


It's an 88 model 450 and I'm looking at a cafe conversion, but this will be over some time. Here's some more (kinda scary) pics:

Oh dear.....
Badmaster.jpg


A bit of wiring to clean up (and a few important bits missing)
WiringMess.jpg
 
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And a box of FZR bits I've had sitting in the shed waiting for a rainy day.....
BoxofFZRbits.jpg


Which includes a serviceable M/C and some neat rearsets..
RearsetsandMC.jpg


A set of clip-ons
FZRbars.jpg


And a set of wheels (not sure if I will use these or try to find spoked ones)
FZRwheels.jpg


I had originally thought that I would get it back on the road as stock, and then cafe it. But after a brief inspection, it's too far gone for that. Which means I'll start the cafe mods straight away.....Well, straight away for me means maybe before Xmas..
 
Not bad. Most of the bits missing or broken you would remove to make a cafe anyway.
Should be a nice little project.
 
Haven't had much time in the garage of late as I fell off my bicycle some weeks back and broke my right collarbone (OUCH!)

Anyway, I've been stripping the bike a little (probably not the best thing to be doing with a busted collarbone but I like to think it is somehow "therepeutic")

And you wouldn't believe it, but the FZR swingarm is EXACTLY the same width at the pivot....
GS450withFZRSwingarm2.jpg


And it looks like this....
GS450withFZRSwingarm.jpg

Now, do I go monoshock or keep the twin shocks?????


Also I got lucky with the FZR rearsets - they line up to the GS mounts....
GS450withFZRRearsets.jpg


And another piece of luck - the stator off the GS was missing, but I kept the FZR stator....which fits! (both are 88 models)

I guess this build was meant to be.....:D
 
very nice, keep it up. i might try to find that rear end if it looks good after its all done
 
i wonder if the 88 frame is the same as the 81 frame? If so, I will have to keep an eye out for some FZR rearsets!
 
Collected a few parts today - nothing too exciting but progress nonetheless...

GS450Podsinbox.jpg

GS450Pods.jpg

GS450Headlight.jpg


Also measured up GSX250F front and rear ends. Here's an example pic of the potential donor:
1989_across_red_china_1.jpg


The FZR wheels have smaller axles and bearings compared to the Suzukis, so this is why I have been scoping this one. I will probably go with the GSX250F rear wheel and use the twin shock swingarm off the 450 (same size axles, axle plate spacing identical). And the front end uses the same headstem bearings as just about every GS, so the complete front end should be a relatively easy swap.
The only problem now is that I have to wait until I'm fit / well enough to be able to take the front and rear ends out of the donor bike by myself before I can continue (my wrecker works alone - and I get the parts at a VERY good price if I can do this).

Have also lined up a cafe tail and a few other things off EvilBay so things are moving forward (albeit tenderly with this broken collarbone.....)

Thanks for your interest - more work and pics soon!
 
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I would keep the fzr swingarm and wheel. Score the Suzuki front and go monoshock. Not really cafe I know but how cool would a small cc fighter be? Light nimble and dead sexy!
 
briyenkieth said:
I would keep the fzr swingarm and wheel. Score the Suzuki front and go monoshock. Not really cafe I know but how cool would a small cc fighter be? Light nimble and dead sexy!
Click to expand...

I had thought about a fighter conversion - but I've already got one...:D

ZX9NewGreen.jpg



Whilst I have all the bits for the FZR rear end, the bearings, bushes and shock are flogged. And the FZR rear wheel is a little narrower than the GSX front (believe it or not), so this might give me some headaches with tyre fitment / sizing.

Cheers....Hillsy
 
Droollll!!!!!! That's sweet. That's hard to believe about the rim width, shows times have changed since the fzr's day.
 
Well it's been a while since my last update....but hey - here's some progress!
Finally got the FZR wheels on (with the GSX250 front end). I gotta tell ya - it was a P.I.T.A. The axles between the FZR and GS were different sizes, so I had to search for new wheel bearings with the inner dia of the GS and outers of the FZR wheels. Which was OK for the rear, but the front was an "odd" size bearing which was going to be about US$50 EACH.....(!!).....so I ended up going for a larger inner diameter bearing (IE cheaper) and made a sleeve for the axle. The only reason I persisted with the swap was because I already had the wheels sitting in my garage.....
GSframeroller.jpg

GSframerollerLHS.jpg


And the front end swap involved a stem swap and swapping the forks around to fit the RHS caliper off the FZR (the GSX caliper was LHS). It all kinda worked out in the end
GSTopTriple.jpg

GSFrontWheelRHS.jpg
 
I found another tank off a GS650 which looked like it might fit - and was more rounder / retro than the boxy 450 tank (on the left). I didn't get any keys with the tank, but I took it to a locksmith who sprung the lock....and the inside had NO rust....
GSTwoTanks.jpg


Also bought a Ducati SS style seat off eBay for a decent price from a local fibreglasser. It's pretty good quality.
DucTail.jpg
 
Oh, and finally for today, I made up a bracket to mount the FZR caliper to the GSX fork. I might trim this down a bit, but I like to err on the side of caution when it comes to this "safety" stuff...:-k
GSCaliperMount.jpg


Next will be to wield the trusty grinder on all the unnecessary brackets, join the rear rails "horse shoe" style, fit the tank and seat, and........Oh God I feel tired just thinking of it.... :D
 
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