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Kichigai GS1100ESD

  • Thread starter Thread starter kichigai
  • Start date Start date
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kichigai

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I have seen other members post pixs of their other bike so I thought I share with you some pics of my latest project. It is my 1983 GS1100esd which I have been riding for over 20 years. I thought I mod it up a bit and have a little fun. I wanted to upgrade the suspension by putting fatter tires and rims on it, changing out the front end from a GSXR ,installing a newer rear swingarm and upgrade the front and rear brakes. My plan is to keep it looking old school yet having some modern improvements. It has been a work in progress and is coming along nicely thanks to some help from Katman and Gmansyz.

Here is the bike in stock form.

gs.jpg

gs1.jpg


Here are some of my goodies that will be going on this bike.
The wheels and forks and front brakes and handle bars are off of a Suzuki GSXR 750
The front fender is off of a Suzuki GSXR 750
The swingarm is from a Suzuki Bandit 1200 (Provided by Katman)
The rear brake is off of a Suzuki Hayabusa 1300
The triple tree is from a Honda CB954
gs11.jpg


Here is the assembled rear suspension.
gs12.jpg



I will post up updated picture of the progress.
 
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Here is the fat tire look with the 180 tire!
gs13.jpg

gs3.jpg



Billet swingarm bushings and rear shock mounts were fabricated by Katman
gsbushing.jpg

gsshock.jpg
 
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Thank you for showing the pics of the upgrades.
I like the look of it, even in mock-up mode.
Having seen some of Katmans parts before, they are first class.
Please show us the completed project.
 
Looks great, and you'll be stunned at the improvement in handling/braking. My only concern would be if those GSXR 750 forks have the correct spring rate for the weight of your 1100...? What year GSXR 750 did they come from? You might already know this but you'll need to use an offset front sprocket to clear your new wider rear tire.
 
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I got the forks on ebay and I think it idicated that it came off of a 93-95 GXSR 750. Do you think it will be ok? Yes I am aware that I need a offset front sprocket. I posted up a thead a while back inquiring about offset sprockets for this project. Check it out!
http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=115688&highlight=offset+sprocket.

I actually already have most of the parts already installed and have taken a lot of pictures along the way which I will post up. I did run into a snag with the chain rubbing the inside of the frame when I used the 5/8 offset sprocket. I think I got it cleared now but it is still close. The other snag is with the rear brake master brake cylender. After I installed the Bandit swingarm, I noticed that the actuator arm to the rear brake master no longer clear between the frame and swingarm. I think I have a fix but have to try it out. I sure could use some technical advice along the way. I will try to post some more pictures soon.
 
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Wet weight of the 83 GS1100 is 549 pounds, wet weight of the 93 Gixxer 750 is 527. You might want to consider revalving/respringing the 750 forks you've got to account for the extra weight especially if you're over 180 pounds or so yourself. The other thing to consider is ride height - how long are the new forks compared to your GS forks?
 
How do you revalving/respringing the 750 forks? Do I have to find a stiffer spring made for a 750 or use a set for a 1100? I do know that I lost some clearance with the inverted forks but dont have the exact measurements yet. Even with the new ride height, all I can say is that I still cant flat foot the bike with the new suspension and still can only get the palm of my foot on the ground with both feet. I guess this means that it must not have gone down too much which is a good thing.
 
Unless you're a total animal with your bike the stock spring rates and ride height should be fine. As far as the offset sprocket/chain and frame clearance issue, you will need to grind the inside of the frame where the passenger footpegs bolt in but that's not a big deal since there is a ton metal in that one spot and grinding won't compromise anything. A 530 chain conversion will be necessary to complete your upgrade however. Use the GS sprocket carrier and you will only have to grind off about 1/8" of material to allow the chain to clear.
 
Thanks RJ! I will try the front forks as is and will see how they work out. I gathered from the forum that I will need to do a chain conversion so I already got the 530 chain/ sprocket and used the GS sprocket carrier and have grounded the inner frame by the peg mount bolt hole.
 
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OK, so here we go!

I started with the back end first by removing the rear suspension.
gs2.jpg

gs21.jpg


I then removed the swingarm, rear brake assembly, the linkage to the rear brake pedel, rear master cylinder and swaped in the new suspension into place. Thanks to Katmans bushings, the Bandit 1200 swingarm fell into place nicely using the stock swingarm hardware and without having modifying the stock frame.
Note: I installed the new rear suspension with the new rear rim and brake assembly already assembled on the swingarm. Sweet!
gs23.jpg

gs22.jpg
 
I installed the stock shocks and rolled the bike out of the garage for a few more pictures. If you look closely, you will also notice that I also installed the new 530 O-ring type chain, new rear sprocket using the original GS sprocket carrier and new PMFR 5/8 couterweight front sprocket and a Bandit 1200 chain guide. Look even closer and you will see that I had ditched the stock rear turn signal and has replaced them with a new set of Lockhart Phillips alluminum marker lights with clear lenses and installed a new chrome LED licence plate frame.
The rear master brake assembly still needed to be installed but wanted to get a good look of the bike with the new rear suspension. So far I was happy with the overall look and progress.
gs4.jpg

gs5.jpg
 
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What are you going to do about handlebars, clipons or a tubular bar on top of the top triple tree?
 
I did not like the ride position of the clip-ons and wanted to retain the original look so I decided to stick with the stock bars. I ran into another snag with trying to mount the stock bars and using the Honda 954 tripple trees so I oped not to go this route. Instead I decided to use the tripple trees from that came with the GSXR 750 forks and found a set of riser from a SV650 which can be mounted on the top tree.
 
Make sure that the bars are installed in such a way that they don't interfere with being able to adjust the suspension at the top of the forks. I wound up using Virago risers that allow me to mount them in the middle of the top triple tree, but angle the bars back towards me to allow access to the suspension adjustments.
 
Wow talk about timing! I was just about to drill the top tree yesterday and decided to check to see if the bars would block access to the fork adjustment after your post. Sure enough, it did! I can clear it if I drill the hold just a little bit below center. Thanks for the valuable tip!
 
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Glad I was able to help! The other issue is mounting the gauges. You'll need to reserve some space on the top triple for them. If for some reason you screw up and drill it wrong you can get another top triple for not too much cash. I used a Vortex top triple and it cost me like $50 or so on eBay. Plus it's brand new and looks nicer than the stock one. If you look at my post under "Non stock gauges/instrument pics" in Appearance Mods, page 5 there's a pretty good shot of my setup. Sorry the website wouldn't allow me to upload the pic into this post for some reason. I use the bolts that mount the ignition switch to secure the gauge mount bracket from underneath of the triple.
 
I had started tearing appart the front end to prepare for the new GSXR 750 front end.

First I took off the fairing and fairing support from the frame and head light assembly.
gsfront1.jpg

gsfront2.jpg


Next, I took off the gas tank, handle bars, gauges and controls. I also took some photo of the electrical connections for future reference.

gsfront3.jpg

gsfront4.jpg
 
looks killer. I love those blue wheels.

Kich, those are 929 triples not 954. At least they look flat on top in the picture. Duke here on the site put risers on his 11E and also did the bandit upgrade. Check out his thread. Ithink he has pics of his solution to the brake actuator.

cheers,
 
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