JohnnyL's 1980 GS550L Cafe Build

[Rich82GS750TZ]

I like the idea of the 9mm valve stem caps, just be aware of galvanic corrosion that may occur between the valve stem and a cap of a different metal.

I have plenty of spent .40 S&W in brass. Aluminum & Steel,maybe. I generally chuck those. Let me know if you need, I can throw some in an envelope and mail to you.

 

[JohnnyL]

I like the idea of the 9mm valve stem caps, just be aware of galvanic corrosion that may occur between the valve stem and a cap of a different metal.

I have plenty of spent .40 S&W in brass. Aluminum & Steel,maybe. I generally chuck those. Let me know if you need, I can throw some in an envelope and mail to you.

I appreciate that. The ones I posted are actually lined with plastic. I have them on my wife's MINI Countryman. I too have plenty of spent 9mm, .44 cal and 5.56. I'm sure I could make something work but the ones on Amazon are cheap. I always put anti-cease on my valve stems when using aluminum caps.

 

[alke46]

Johnny, don't let bwringer know that I told you this, but you are one lucky guy to have him living so close to you. He really knows his way around the shop and bikes in general.
P.S. tell him to stop losing so much weight. In the pic of him mounting your tires, it looks like his arse has dissappeared.

 

[Rich82GS750TZ]

I appreciate that. The ones I posted are actually lined with plastic. I have them on my wife's MINI Countryman. I too have plenty of spent 9mm, .44 cal and 5.56. I'm sure I could make something work but the ones on Amazon are cheap. I always put anti-cease on my valve stems when using aluminum caps.

Funny, I first heard about the galvanic corrosion thing then I was researching stem caps on the North American Motoring Forum for, what else, my MINI Countryman. Go figure.

 

[Cipher]

is it too late to radius the triple top clamp? the harsh angles set against an otherwise soft bacground is jarring

 

[JohnnyL]

is it too late to radius the triple top clamp? the harsh angles set against an otherwise soft bacground is jarring

It'd be easier for me to just cut a new one. I've actually thought about cutting a new one that's not so blocky. I was actually more concerned with everything lining up than the design. Now that I know everything lines up, I think I am going to cut a new design.

 

[JohnnyL]

I officially have a roller. The sun finally came out today so I rolled it outside to get some pics. Ignore the gas tank. That's an old one that I'm not using. The good tank is currently at the bodyshop being prepped for paint before it goes to Corby Concepts. Still waiting on a headlight bracket from Z1 so I can't mount the headlight.

The M-Unit arrived today! Pretty excited about that. I'm hoping Brian and I can get together this weekend and wire this thing up!

Anyway...here's some pics of the roller.

And to get an idea of what it looks like with an actual person on it.

 

[GSXR7ED]

Pretty cool roller you got there!

I could ride a bike like that...now. Last year I was still trying to bend my knees to 140 degrees...had both my knees replaced in 2018 and can bend them both to 142 degrees!

Thanks for the thread with pics and story.

Ed

 

[JohnnyL]

Johnny, don't let bwringer know that I told you this, but you are one lucky guy to have him living so close to you. He really knows his way around the shop and bikes in general.
P.S. tell him to stop losing so much weight. In the pic of him mounting your tires, it looks like his arse has dissappeared.

I realized that the first time I talked to him on the phone. I am VERY lucky to have him right down the road from me and I consider my self VERY lucky that he's willing to help me.

LOL...I'll tell him to stop losing so much weight but I have a feeling he's going to read your comment.

 

[alke46]

nah, he hardly ever gets on here.

 

[JohnnyL]

Getting real close to starting this bike up. The tank won't be done for another two weeks but I plan on firing the bike up before then. I've tried searching for jetting suggestions for air pods and a MAC 4 into 1 exhaust but there are about 8 million threads on jetting. Is anyone that is following this thread able to point me directly to a thread that might be able to get me in the ballpark in regards to what jets I should order? I'd really appreciate it. The carbs currently have the stock jetting installed.

40 Pilot
92.5 Main
150 Pilot Air Jet

 

[steve murdoch]

Passing the milestone of having a roller is always a good feeling in a build.
It might just be the photo but are the rear shocks straight up and down? To my eye it looks like they should be a bit further out at the top?

 

[JohnnyL]

Passing the milestone of having a roller is always a good feeling in a build.
It might just be the photo but are the rear shocks straight up and down? To my eye it looks like they should be a bit further out at the top?

I think it's just the photo. It would be impossible to have the shocks perfectly plumb without the aide of some spacers because the top mounts are narrower than the lower mounts on the swingarm. I actually placed three washers inside the shock mount on the top to get them as close to plumb as possible.

 

[JohnnyL]

I think I've arrived upon a new triple clamp design. Not sure when I'll get around to cutting it but let me know what you guys think of it.

 

[Cipher]

a cup holder, ashtray and cell holder wpuld really set it off,
it a nice design.

 

[adalah]

I officially have a roller. The sun finally came out today so I rolled it outside to get some pics. Ignore the gas tank. That's an old one that I'm not using. The good tank is currently at the bodyshop being prepped for paint before it goes to Corby Concepts. Still waiting on a headlight bracket from Z1 so I can't mount the headlight.

The M-Unit arrived today! Pretty excited about that. I'm hoping Brian and I can get together this weekend and wire this thing up!

Anyway...here's some pics of the roller.

And to get an idea of what it looks like with an actual person on it.

Great looking

 

[bwringer]

nah, he hardly ever gets on here.

LOL!

And yep, I've always suffered from a bad case of noassitol. Still a bit to go around the middle; I might be close to goal weight by June.



Anyhoo, back to the topic at hand, that thing looks great on its wheels, John.

And it looks like the forward lean and overall riding position for your arms might not be too uncomfortable. Your knees are pretty folded up, but IIRC those rearsets are adjustable. Or maybe you'll just take lots of breaks. Or Ibuprofen.

 

[Spyder]

Dude... You're not done yet?!? Dam slacker...

Looks really good man. I agree about the upper triple. It looks good, but I suspect that new design will look a LOT better. Bike is looking great! Can't wait to see it in person come June. Have you decided on colors / scheme yet?

 

[JohnnyL]

Dude... You're not done yet?!? Dam slacker...

Looks really good man. I agree about the upper triple. It looks good, but I suspect that new design will look a LOT better. Bike is looking great! Can't wait to see it in person come June. Have you decided on colors / scheme yet?

Haha! Believe me....I work on this thing every second I get. Brian is coming over Saturday and we'll be wring this thing up. I'm hoping to hear it run before this weekend is over.

The tank, rear cowl and front fender will be white red and black. Haven't quite figured out a design yet but I'm pretty much giving Corby Concepts full discretion on that. He'll come up with something fast looking. Check out some of his work here: https://corbyconcepts.com/our-work He also has tons of pics on his instagram page.

 

[JohnnyL]

When Brian was over last Friday, he did a resistance test on my stator and it showed to be bad. I ordered a new in the box stator from eBay for $33.00 and it arrived today. I have it replaced but in the process of removing the stator cover, I ripped the darn gasket! Grrr....