My 1981 GS650G Thread

[Macguyver]

Rear Tire and Grab Rail

Rear Tire and Grab Rail

After having an insane week, I figured working on the bike would be a good way to wind down the week doing something I actually enjoy, so I painted the rear rim and harware, and installed the grab rail which has been sitting on the work bench for a couple months now.

I picked up my rear tire from the stealership on Thursday, and stripped and sanded the rim the same as the front received, and then primed and painted it using my usual Satin Black method.

I then installed the wheel on the bike, and now I just need to paint the calipers and install them to be done with the back end.

I had previously cleaned and painted the grab rail in preparation for installing it, but had to wait to install it until I had the rear end pretty much finished since once installed, it locks the rear fender lower in place since it passes through it.

I had to cut a hole through the rear fender lower for the grab rail to go through to reach the mounting point under the rear frame. This was accomplished with a rotary cutting bit in a dremel rotary tool. I then put some grey silicone adhesive in the relief on a grommet, and put it in place to keep the hole weather resistant, and to keep any transferred vibration from cracking the fiberglass.

Here is as close to a full bike picture as I can do with the bike in the entranceway, for those who requested one. Soonish I can put her outside and take some better shots.

Well, that's all for now.
I am going to make some supper and try and get the calipers painted tonight so I can get everything assembled sooner rather than later.

 

[Skateguy50]

It will fit through the door all together right?

Just asking :-\\\

had a friend try building wood canoes for a winter project and used his living room as the build area. had to cut the wall to get it out come spring lol

 

[Macguyver]

It will fit through the door all together right?

Just asking :-\\\

Yep, she was wheeled in complete, I just had to lift the front end and move it sideways to get her in the position she is in now. It's barely a two man job, so I'll bribe a buddy with some beer to give me a hand getting her out, no problem, and no chainsaw required.

 

[Skateguy50]

How did you guess he used a chainsaw to cut the hole in the side of his trailer?

This was up in Maine btw

 

[Macguyver]

How did you guess he used a chainsaw to cut the hole in the side of his trailer?

This was up in Maine btw

Psychic.
-or-
http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showpost.php?p=1146412&postcount=41

 

[Macguyver]

Rear Brake Caliper

Rear Brake Caliper

Greetings all,

Tonight I was able to take the time to reinstall some parts in an effort to complete the reassembly of the rear end of my 650. I have the complete rear brake system installed, with new EBC pads, and will be bleeding it tomorrow night after I pick up some more brake fluid.

Here's a pic.

I think maybe I should have painted the calipers grey and the bracket green.
Who knows, it may grow on me. Kind of hard to get a good look at it where it is. Once I get her outside I'll re-evaluate the situation. Until then, my bike is one step closer to being ready for safety inspection!
Either way, a win.

Tomorrow night I need to bleed the rear line, and install and bleed the front calipers. I painted them at the same time, so they are green as well. Still not sure how I feel about that. :-k Maybe it needs a black trim piece to creat a seperation between the two colors similar to the rear fender. :-k:-k

 

[Turtleface]

Maybe it needs a black trim piece to creat a seperation between the two colors similar to the rear fender. :-k:-k

I think the black bolts are enough contrast, at least on the rear caliper. Looking pretty sweet, either way!

 

[Skateguy50]

Coming together great, I think once you get it outside and can step back and look at it together the little things like that wont bother you so much.

 

[Steve]

I think maybe I should have painted the calipers grey and the bracket green. ...
Maybe it needs a black trim piece to creat a seperation between the two colors similar to the rear fender. :-k

I think the black bolts are enough contrast, at least on the rear caliper. Looking pretty sweet, either way!

I tend to agree. On the fender you have green above the gray, same thing on the brake. The black bolts are a nice divider. :clap:

.

 

[Macguyver]

Front Calipers Installed

Front Calipers Installed

I think the black bolts are enough contrast, at least on the rear caliper. Looking pretty sweet, either way!

Coming together great, I think once you get it outside and can step back and look at it together the little things like that wont bother you so much.

I tend to agree. On the fender you have green above the gray, same thing on the brake. The black bolts are a nice divider. :clap:

Thanks for the encouraging words everyone!

I think I will keep the calipers and brackets the way they are, the fronts look pretty sweet now that they are on, must be growing on me.

I cleaned up all of the stainless sliders and guides with a brass wheel, and I must say I love it when a part goes from looking like crud, to looking like new in seconds!
I also cleaned up the little plastic "windows" from the top of the calipers. Turns out they are clear plastic, not black after all, who knew?

Here are a few pics for the image hungry out there.

I am getting anxious to finish everything up, but I still have a long way to go. I connected power up, and it looks like there is still a gremlin hiding in there somewhere, gotta pull out the schematics and flush the bigger out.

I'll update with more soon.

 

[AF_Bill]

Mac, your bike is looking great. Wow. For some reason I thought you were painting the lower fender to match the rest of the bike. Oh well. Thats what I get for thinkin too much lol.

 

[Macguyver]

Mac, your bike is looking great. Wow. For some reason I thought you were painting the lower fender to match the rest of the bike. Oh well. Thats what I get for thinkin too much lol.

Thanks for saying so Bill!

The lower fender does kind of have that primer grey look to it doesn't it?

I considered painted the lower in green to match the body, but it seemed that it would look too bulky hanging off the end of the bike if it were the same color.

I am going for a two tone, anime-esque look, and I still have to make the rest of the panels and fairings, so it won't really come together for a while yet. It does however look fantastic in my head! Does that count? :lol:

 

[AF_Bill]

Of course it counts man. Like right now, I'm in Ocean City MD cruisin up and down the road. But in actuality, I'm thousands of miles away, without my bike .

 

[Macguyver]

Passenger Pegs

Passenger Pegs

I decided to paint the passenger peg arms and exhaust brackets to keep the overall look of my bike consistent, and in doing so, embarked on an exercise in annoyance.

I removed the offending pieces, and stripped them down and primed them in preparation for my usual satin finish, and that's when the fun began.

Everything was going well until I had the first coat of paint on them. Then Murphy struck! I accidentally bumped the rack I hang parts from for painting, and wouldn't you know it, the hanger with the peg arms on it, fell!

In order to remove the marks in the fresh paint, I had bake the parts and then strip the parts down again to repaint them. I was then back on track, and had the second to last coat of paint on them, when I grabbed the wrong rattle-can.(my bad) The contents of which happened to be satin black high heat header paint, and not the flat black engine enamel I thought it was.

Guess what happens when you wet-coat engine enamel with ceramic header paint? It goes wrinkly of course. So with me looking on in horror, the chemistry of the two paints met and battled in an unholy war to destroy my work, and they succeeded. So I had to bake the parts and strip them down again.

I finally got everything painted up nice and installed, and I learned to keep my paints with non-compatible chemistry in a seperate milk crate.

This brings the major work on the rear of my bike to a close, I still have a few minor details to sort out, but nothing major. I am also going to have to remove the exhaust for painting, but I can't do that until I can run the engine to cure the paint. At least I know the rattle can of header paint I plan on using works!

 

[Skateguy50]

Looks great, has the snow melted up there yet?

You must be ready to ride soon.

 

[Macguyver]

Looks great, has the snow melted up there yet?

You must be ready to ride soon.

Thanks, and yes, the snow is all gone. We had a warm spell for a week that took it all away. Made me want to ride. Now we are getting wet-ish weather. (foggy in the morning, and overcast all day, short and intermittent light rain)

Unfortunately, the county seems to be taking their time to clean all of the sand and gravel off of the roads. I am guessing they think the rain will take care of it eventually. Too bad we've only had one good rain since the snow went away.

My ignitor showed up today (Thanks Mike!), so I can hopefully have her running again in the near future.

I am definitely feeling the itch to get on the road! Maybe I can now finish the electrical, and get the required for safety stuff taken care of.

 

[Skateguy50]

Updates!

Is it together, is it outside, is it running?

 

[Macguyver]

Update

Update

Well, since you asked.

I have been super busy at work lately, and bike-time is in scarce supply, but I have been working on her as much as I can. I have also been helping a friend get his Yamaha 400 Maxim running. Unfortunately, his bike is in Toronto, so it pretty much kills an entire weekend going down to help him, and it really takes time when the dealership sends us the wrong parts.

So far, I have spent 3 weekends down there, plus one weekend at home soda blasting parts for his bike, so it leaves little time for my projects.

Recently I have replaced a lot of the original bolts with stainless, including all of the bolts on the engine case covers, and the carburetors. I have also repaired the clutch cable, and finished a few other minor details only I would be bothered by. I have also replaced the front signal bulbs with LED ones.

I have also mostly evicted the electrical gremlins from the bike, and am at the point that I need to address the headlight issue. Specifically, what am I going to use for it? I have been unsatisfied with way the projector light I built fits into the grand scheme of the bike. So I am exploring other options, namely, I have reconditioned an oval running light left over from another project, and altered a 9004 High Output bulb to fit in the casing of the light.

I have tried a few ideas for fabricating a front fairing, and that is what led me to believe the modified oval running light would be best, since the projector makes the nose of the bike look waaay too long. Kind of like the bike in the old TV show Streethawk, but less cool.

So right now I am in the doldrums of indecision, trying to make a decision one way or the other on the headlight, and I am going to move the bike outside so I can get the rest of the mechanical done, then paint and cure the exhaust pipes. Hopefully by then I will have come to a conclusion on which way to go on the headlight, then I can fabricate the front fairing.

Thankfully, there is a few hours of daylight left when I get home from work now, so I should be able to make some headway once I get the bike outside, which will likely be tonight or tomorrow night if I can find someone willing to give me a hand for 5 minutes to move it.

Why does it always seem like I always make time for others in need, but whenever I need a hand for literally 5 minutes, no one is available? Frustrating to say the least.

I will update with pics once I get her outside.

 

[Macguyver]

Outside and loving it!

Outside and loving it!

I finally found someone to give me a hand for two minutes to move my bike outside, and I am glad I did. This might just be the kick in the pants I need to get her done.

As promised, here are some pics for the image hungry.

My list of things left to do is as follows:
-strip and paint case guards
-fab and install battery box
-finish up electrical
-mount headlight
-strip and paint exhaust
-fab and install front fairing
-fab and install chin scoop/bellypan
-fab and install rear fender
-install new grips
-finish mounting bar end signals
-refoam and recover seat
-touch up a few spots with paint
-strip and repaint/decal/clearcoat tank
Plus a few other things I can't remember right now.

I have this weekend free to work on the bike before going to Toronto next week for a training course/finishing reassembly of my friends' Yamaha.

Hopefully I can check at least one or two things off of the list before then. I have a long way to go, but it will be worth it in the end!

 

[AF_Bill]

Mac its looking good!!!! Just to let ya know, Imma steal a few of your ideas and incorporate them into mine. Also, I was bored at work today and was just checkin out some places to ride when I get back. Its lil over 10 hours (non stop) from my place to Formosa, Ontario. My buddies said they wanna plan a road trip with me when I'm home lol.