Motocrossx23's GS750 Cafe Build

[Motocrossx23]

Hey GS'ers,

I've finally compiled some of my progress as I rebuild my 1981 GS750L on my blog. I'd love any comments or suggestions as I move along in my frame up restoration of this bike. It's my first project bike so I am fully willing to take in as much information and advice as possible.

Well, I've always loved these vintage cruisers, and they scoot pretty well for what they are. The styling and reliability sold me, as did the price.

My plans for the bike are:

-Strip/disassemble the entire bike
-Powdercoat frame and swingarm
-Paint tank, front and rear fenders
-Powdercoat wheels
-Restore any parts that need it
-Rebuild carbs
-4 into 1 Vance and Hines exhaust
-SS brake lines?
-Redo gauges
-Re-cover the seat if possible
-Sodablast the motor, paint black

So, here's where I start...

The day I brought it home:

Starting to disassemble:

Exhaust comes off, broken header bolts suck though...ughh.

Not even close

Update: Time to get into some detail work. I decided to redo the badges on the bike...

Sprayed the down with a black enamel base coat, and then went ahead with a white enamel for the detail paint, let me tell you...hands of a surgeon for this lol. Ended up finishing both and sprayed a clear enamel over them. All in all, 3 hours of work total for a very nice finished product I think.

 

[Flaming Chainsaws]

I really like what you did with the tank emblems. And I never noticed the "FORNT" thingy. It's on mine too

Looking good. Keep it up.

 

[Motocrossx23]

Got some goodies in the mail from eBay, OEM original airbox covers (for a steal too, $15 for both)

The gauges were old and in need of repair, so I decided it would be my next detail project to tackle.

The gauges:

Torn apart:

Broken fuel gauge, not anymore!

Black base coat:

Silver trim coat:

 

[Motocrossx23]

Gauges together:

Finished:
(Crappy picture, but they look much better in person. Also I replaced the Lexan plastic windows so it now looks brand new)

Chrome...not a huge fan, but nice when added in small amounts IMO. I decided to attempt cleaning up some of the chrome on the bike, I used a product by Eagle One called Nevr-Dull. I'll let the pictures do the talking...

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

 

[Motocrossx23]

Beer? Umm...yes?

Goodbye airbox:

And now...time to get into the wiring...ugh.

The bad:

It's not too bad, and I expected it to some extent for being a 30 year old bike. I'm not very good with electronics so I will definitely require some help in this department when the time comes.

 

[Motocrossx23]

LOL @ Suzuki spelling "Fornt" wrong on all their rear fender tags!!

Looking a little better, progress at least...

Box-o-parts:

New lift from Harbor Freight, sweet. I do miss having paddock and rear stands, so much easier to use:

 

[Motocrossx23]

Now, here's where I ran into my first issue. And admittedly, I let it get the best of me for almost 1-1/2 weeks. The ****ing center stand sits in two mounts under the bike. There are two bolts, both with a bushing that sit in each of the mounts. The left side bolt and bushing came out without an issue, the right side...all hell broke loose.

I used heat, PB buster, mini sledge...everything, trying to salvage the center stand before using my angle grinder and saying **** it to the damn thing...

The culprit...the bushing had rust welded to the bolt. There was no way I would've ever been able to get this apart, oh well.

Eff you center stand!

 

[Motocrossx23]

A little organization, as the parts keep piling up every night I work on it. I'm labeling literally EVERY SINGLE bolt and part that comes off the bike, as well as taking pictures of EVERY SINGLE bolt and part that comes off the bike. Hopefully this will make assembly much easier when the time comes.

As she sits tonight:

 

[Motocrossx23]

So here where I stand right now, I have the bike down to the frame + motor with a few exceptions (gotta take off the wire harness, rear master cylinder)

It's sat like this for about a week now as I have had ZERO time to work on it. My plan is to get this bike stripped down to the frame by end of October, so I can beat the colddddd.

I'm ready for paint though, which is good. But I think I'm going to wait until the powdercoated parts are ready as well, so I can package and send everything out at the same time.

 

[Nessism]

Project is looking good. Keep going.

Cringing a little about that balky center stand bolt, a little late now but you would have been better off cutting the center stand in half instead of cutting the frame. Stands can be found on ebay for cheap, but the frame will have to be weld repaired now if you want the stand back on the bike. Oh well.

 

[Motocrossx23]

I considered that option, but really for as often as I use the center stand it wasn't too bad.

 

[John Mellencamp]

My 450 is hard to get on the centerstand I couldn`t imagine trying with a 750 . Also I might try some of that nevr-dull as my chrome is very sad .

 

[Motocrossx23]

The Nevr-Dull works fantastic, definitely give it a go.

 

[Hoosier Daddy]

SUBSCRIBED!
Good job so far, your attention to detail is great. Keep the updates coming...

 

[Testarossa]

Looks like the "L" guys are getting it done around here. Nice work. I'm watching.

 

[Motocrossx23]

Sorry for the lack of progress, it's currently....7 degrees outside here, and without a heated garage a lot of my work is halted.

Hopefully once it warms up a bit I will be able to get more done. As of right now I'm focusing on my new track bike (2004 SV650), so this kind of got put on the back-burner until warmer weather.

 

[Motocrossx23]

Bump for some updates!

I let this project sit over winter as I built my track bike and purchased another Suzuki...SV650 lol.

I decided to scrap the restoration project and do what I wanted to do initially...build a cafe racer.

So, I realized first that this was an L model. Time to "un-L" the "L".

Everytime I see a 750L cafe, I hate the gap from the subframe to the tank, so I made the decision to cut the frame and extend up the subframe to where it should be.

Where it should be:

Where she sits now:

More to come soon, just collecting parts right now so I can knock out a few things at a time.

-Chris

 

[Flaming Chainsaws]

I like cafe's so I'm in. If you haven't already, look up coastiepete and his GS750L.

 

[Hoosier Daddy]

Interest in where this change of direction takes us!

 

[Motocrossx23]

Coastiepetes cafe is actually what a lot of my decision towards thecae build was based off. I just didn't like the gap from his seat to the tank, hence the cutting.