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New Member: 81 GS850 Cafe / Tracker style build

  • Thread starter Thread starter Lucky__Lefty
  • Start date Start date
L

Lucky__Lefty

Guest
Been lurking the forums for years, finally decided to sign up. ok so, I purchased a bone stock 1981 GS850 with 3.2k original miles back in 2015. The bike has been a passion project ever since. Below are the mods that have been done up until this point.


FRAME


  • Shock dust boot covers
  • Custom rear hoop section / seat pan
  • 15' Progressive shocks / springs ( Raised the bike 2 inches from stock height )
  • Renthal handle bars
  • Honda CB1000 handle bar switches
  • Custom front brake lines
  • 17 inch rear rim from 1979 GS850 ( 1981 came with a 16 inch rear from factory in the U.S )
  • Dual Sport Knobby tires
  • Custom Headlight bracket for front forks.
  • 7 inch LED headlight ( Not installed yet)
  • Front forks rebuilt and powder coated ( gloss black )
  • Engine painted flat black

Engine

*Dynatek S ignition system
*NGK Plugs / Z1 ENT. Plug wires
*K N pod air filters
*Delkevic 4-1 stainless exhaust
*Clutch

Future mods will include, Motogadget M-Unit blue, 08 GSXR front fork swap, leather seat, digital Tach/speedo combo gauge.
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Nice progress, will be nice to see the completed project. :encouragement:

Just so you know, your '81 850 is actually an 850GL. That "L" is important at times, but you are likely reducing the number of times that will be a matter of concern.

Lucky__Lefty said:
  • 15' Progressive shocks / springs ( Raised the bike 2 inches from stock height )
  • 17 inch rear rim from 1979 GS850 ( 1981 came with a 16 inch rear from factory in the U.S )
Click to expand...
15-foot shocks are a bit extreme, I presume you meant 15-inch (15") shocks. On a chain-driven bike you could get away with that, but with a shaft-driven bike you are changing the angle of the u-joint in the driveshaft. The stock angle is just below level with a single rider and just above level with a passenger aboard. Raising the bike two inches will increase the angle to the point where it might cause problems. In fact, you might be getting close to a mechanical contact point between the frame and swingarm.

The size of the stock rear wheel depended on which model you got. All of the 850G models and the '80 850GL came with 17" rear wheels. The '81-'83 850GL came with 16" wheels. There is no problem swapping them, just that the larger wheel/tire will yields slightly slower engine speeds for a given road speed. Your GL engine had a slightly taller transmission ratio to allow for the 16" wheel, so your engine will be turning a bit slower than most 850s. The difference will only be a couple hundred RPM at 70 mph, so there is no real problem there.

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