I got bored this weekend......

[erock]

I got bored so figured I'd do some more work on the bike.

I modified the stock seat....still have some work to finish on that after I get some stuff from work tomorrow.

I manufactured my own set of clip ons, lowered the instrument cluster, ignition switch and the headlight..then trimmed up the stock fairing to cover everything.....

I took the turn signals I bought to replace the rear set and moved them to the front.....

Then moved the rear signals inside the stock tail light and made little reflectors so it only lights up the side of the lens the lamp is blinking on......

I still want to get a set of bar end mirrors for it. I am also tossing around the idea of a dual round headlight set up. Just not sure if I like the stock headlight yet...some days I do and others I don't......I am also thinking about exhaust options. Somedays I want to take the stock mufflers off and replace them with a set of turndowns...other days I like the mufflers..... This is my first bike and I am still rather naive when it comes to the engine. I don't want to mess anything up by taking the mufflers off since a guy at work said I'd prolly have to re-jet the carbs and whatnot. So until I learn a little more about it.....I don't wanna mess with it.

 

[posplayr]

Nice Work

Nice Work

Sometimes I think of removing my fairing, but it helps to protect/hide the guages

I manufactured my own set of clip ons

Did you do your own aluminum welding? Wish I could.

Pos

 

[erock]

I made the bars at work with some scraps from the metal dumpster and a tig welder during my lunch break. I was surfing the net in search of handlebar ideas and discovered "clip ons"......but couldn't see spending money on something I can make.

 

[jwhelan65]

Looks good

Looks good

I like your build, very original..........Is that Vance & Hines exhaust?

 

[erock]

Thanks for the kudos. I have been surfing these pages since I found this site a few weeks ago and have found it to be very informational and inspiring. Alot of you have some extremely nice bikes. This is my first....and my first attempt at modding one. She's an 85 GS550E. I have been reading and learning about it and so far I love it. Just gotta pick up on the lingo and I still wish I knew what the tscc on the valve cover stands for.....I get help from some friends who ride when I get stuck on things. I purchased a fix it yourself manual which I'm surprised is honestly helpful and makes for great reading material when I'm meditating on the throne........What has started as a cheaper means to get to work...has began to blossom into a full scale love affair. I believe the wifes getting jealous....which isn't always a good thing I suppose. But I drug it home in the back of my truck one day...the instrument cluster lens was shattered, all the fairings were cracked with pieces of them missing....I patched up that headlight cover with some jb weld and sanded it down and painted it. But the tail was smashed and the turn signals were hanging off of it, two flat tires, and years of filth covered it. The guy who formerly owned it left it for dead when he couldn't get it running and it sat in his garage for over ten years. A friend of mine picked it up for scrap and knew I was looking for a bike and gave me the call. It had just a tick over 7000 miles on the clock when I got it. Just needed a little love to get er up n running again. Now I ride it just about every day and work on it on the weekends.

 

[jwhelan65]

Familiar story

Familiar story

A buddy of mine was getting ready to move and believe it or not was going to leave this (82 GS1100E) in a parking lot because he was tired of moving it. He told me I could have it if I came and got it. No brainer....I took a day off work jumped in my truck and drove my arse 8 hours to Lubbock Texas to pick it up. I spent some time cleaning it up, had the carbs cleaned and replaced the battery and it fired up first try! Well the rest is history.... I discovered this site and have found myself chin deep in a complete re-build, Bandit rear, GSXR front end, Ohlin shocks, 180 rear........yada yada.....you know the drill...damn its fun though!!!
Good luck with yours its really cool!....keep turnin wrenches
Here's a couple of Pics.......

 

[Loki388]

riding position

riding position

I have the same bike, and I was thinking about clip-on's, but it seems like the move forward of the body would make the foot controls uncomfortable. Have you found this to be the case?

 

[erock]

J, that bike is dead sexy.....I would of taken a sick day and made the trip too. Loki....I sort of had the same apprehensions. I wear a size 14 steel toe boots to work....I really don't think they are uncomfy at all. Of course everyone has their own idea of what comfy really is. But I expected to be messing up shifts and my feet getting hung up and whatnot......surprisingly when I took it out for a test rip.....things were good.

 

[drhermanstein]

Thanks for the kudos. I have been surfing these pages since I found this site a few weeks ago and have found it to be very informational and inspiring. Alot of you have some extremely nice bikes. This is my first....and my first attempt at modding one. She's an 85 GS550E. I have been reading and learning about it and so far I love it. Just gotta pick up on the lingo and I still wish I knew what the tscc on the valve cover stands for.....I get help from some friends who ride when I get stuck on things. I purchased a fix it yourself manual which I'm surprised is honestly helpful and makes for great reading material when I'm meditating on the throne........What has started as a cheaper means to get to work...has began to blossom into a full scale love affair. I believe the wifes getting jealous....which isn't always a good thing I suppose. But I drug it home in the back of my truck one day...the instrument cluster lens was shattered, all the fairings were cracked with pieces of them missing....I patched up that headlight cover with some jb weld and sanded it down and painted it. But the tail was smashed and the turn signals were hanging off of it, two flat tires, and years of filth covered it. The guy who formerly owned it left it for dead when he couldn't get it running and it sat in his garage for over ten years. A friend of mine picked it up for scrap and knew I was looking for a bike and gave me the call. It had just a tick over 7000 miles on the clock when I got it. Just needed a little love to get er up n running again. Now I ride it just about every day and work on it on the weekends.

I like where you're going with this bike. I also hate to buy what I can make. Twin swirl combustion chamber is what I believe the TSCC stands for.

 

[martyman]

NICE job on the Clip ons EROCK...I'm in search of a way to change my bars and I think I will have to pay the $$$ for some Aftermarket Clip-ons. How was it to re-route or change your cables?

 

[Loki388]

So, if you wear a size 14, you're probably a lot taller than I am. (5'8" with my "tall Shoes" on) I would have to stretch forward a lot if I moved my bars down, and that's what I 'm woried about. You do know you can move the postition of the shift pedal right? might give you a little better clearance for the steel toe. Also, like the previous poster, I'm interested in how difficult the clutch cable was to reroute.

 

[erock]

Twin Swirl Combustion Chamber....sounds kinky! Nice. Hey thanks Drhermanstien / Marty Man. I really dig the compliments. As for me Loki, I am 6' minus 2" yet 2" taller then you. My father is a tall man at 6'3" and my mother is a short woman at 5'4"......somehow I settled here. Its rough when your kid sister is taller then you are. All I managed to get were freakishly long arms and fingers..then big feet with as my wife puts it monkey toes since they double as fingers too......I sort of built things to accomodate me. I figured from looking at it that the shifter was adjustable...I haven't touched it at all tho...well adjustment wise...but its nice to know that it is adjustable, so thank you for clearing that up for me....honestly. Mebbe I'll play with that later and see if theres a different position I like better. Here are a couple picssort of showing how I wound up routing the cables. Wiring, brackets and things still need cleaned up a bit. Since I haven't quite decided on a headlight setup, I haven't taken the time.

Yeah my clutch handle is cracked....I'll replace it eventually...it was like that when I got it. I also scratched up the paint a little so you can see the primer on the handlebars there a tad...it was a rush paint job to see how it would look. After everything is all sussed out I'll tear it all apart and make things purdy. If I stick with this headlight I am going to modify the bracket so I can get all four bolts in instead of just two. I just made sure that there were no hard turns and everything worked free and proper.

This is the part I was the most worried about. The front brake hose. It goes through here and then does an "s" shape and into the distribution block. I am going to need a shorter brake hose here for sure eventually. I want to upgrade to stainless hoses. There are no kinks and I even made sure that from lock to lock turning the bars nothing binds up or kinks. One thing I did notice was I need to limit the turning so the ignition switch and the choke lever arent hitting my tank. I didn't loose a great amount of travel...if I turn the switches straight up it doesn't hit. But the cable routing more or less fell into place. Would be easier if I had left the headlight, cover, and instrument cluster in the original location...but even after lowering them to "drop" front end....it still wasn't a big deal.

 

[erock]

I dunno about the rest of you. But I suffer from an anxiety dissorder. There are nights where I wake up 3 hours after going to bed and I'm wired. So last night after doing the dishes, scrubbing the bathroom, folding the laundry, throwing some orange glo on my wood floors, and admiring the flames in my burner barrel at 2:27 this am.....I proceeded to the garage. Here are some pics taken after my nap this morning.......

Decided to make a license plate holder for down on the swing arm.....This one is made of lexan....tomorrow it will turn itself into some sort of metal at work.

Wasn't really happy with the seat. So I decided to start over. This is some of the foam on it. I widdled this out with a bread knife from the original seat foam.....I didn't butcher a perfectly good seat...This pan was sort of melted from what appears to be a r/r that burst into flames. Some of the foam was burnt too and there were chunks taken out of the top of it.

Heres just the pan.....

And here is whats left of the stock pan. To cover the gap in the sides. I was going to go spend money on some fiberglass...then I remembered I had about a half sheet of 1/8" lexan......so I cut out some squares and heated it up with a mapp gas torch.....then when it was really bendy n stretchy.....I ran over to the seat and threw it on there and worked it into shape....then trimmed off the excess with my dremel. Now all I need to do is cut up some more foam.....spray some adhesive on there and make it all stick...then cover it. Unfortunately I couldn't save the seat fabric I had already bought......but it was cheap so I'll run and get more.

 

[erock]

So its been a spell since I put anything in here. I have been working on the bike when I haven't been desiphering the german under the hood of the bimmer. Heres what she looks like at the moment.

Made a completely different seat, trimmed the rear of the frame a tad, and a couple other odds n ends. Want to get me one of them thar 7-1/2" round headlights instead of the stock square deal........

 

[jed.only]

kudos, sir. welcome to the sickness.

 

[briyenkieth]

nice seat! The back of your bike is looking tidy! Definitly a round light, headlights are meant to be round.

 

[GQROD]

Trimming the rear and the new seat shape has made a world of difference on your ride, looks great.

 

[erock]

Thanks for the kind words fellas. Now I am tryign to sort out a tail/brake light and turn signals.... Went to radio shack and bought a bunch of led lights. I also picked up a set of led license plate lights at of all places wal-mart in their "custom add-ons" section. Noticed them when I was looking for a fuel filter for the car. 3 bux n some change and I can modify them to light up my plate down on the swing arm.

I am trying to keep this project on the cheap. We are expecting the arrival of our son within the next week or so.

 

[erock]

Things have been crazy with the arrival of our son. He came into the world Dec. 23rd.

But I managed to finally spend some time out in the garage last weekend.

Fabbed up a new tail light idea. I like it. Not bad for a set of marker lights from a tractor trailer. Had to tear them apart and weld a set of sockets in from a couple automotive lights I had in the garage so they would work as tail/brake lights. Still a little more work to be done....painting and such, but these pics give the jist of it. I used a couple super bright led's inserted via rubber bushings I made into the end of the frame tubes. The anticipation of temps back above 40 is killing me.

 

[GQROD]

The tail lights are cool, i have the same set as signal lights, though i have not torn into them yet to put brighter bulbs. They are dirt cheap which is great.