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Redid that seat and rear fender

  • Thread starter Thread starter ChicagoBob
  • Start date Start date
C

ChicagoBob

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I redid the rear fender on my GS550E. It's from an L, and I lowered the profile a little and also lowered the rear of the seat (from an unidentified Yamaha) for a tighter look and more comfort, and moved the turn signals up to the front fender mount bolts. Also, those $75 aftermarket shocks had punishing springs, so I replaced them with my old original Suzuki ones.

Okay, I tried to attach a photo, but it's a mystery. It's on my album, but I don't know how to make that visible, either.
 
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I noticed you stated that your bike came with a "L" rear whel, what is the difference? I, too, have fork gaiters added to my 78 550E. You did a ggod job adding the chrome rear fender. To finish off your look you should consider adding a set of spoked wheels.
 
That looks real good. I've always liked the look you have come up with. To me it looks classic. Job well done.
 
picture.php


To me it is reminiscent of early 70s-era road racers.

Nice.
 
Some resemblance to a mid-sixties Britbike-I like it. Nice trim lines.:)
 
Maddog209 said:
I noticed you stated that your bike came with a "L" rear whel, what is the difference? I, too, have fork gaiters added to my 78 550E. You did a ggod job adding the chrome rear fender. To finish off your look you should consider adding a set of spoked wheels.
Click to expand...
THe L rear wheel is 17" in stead of 18" for the others.
 
nice.

can I see a pic from the back? Id like to see what setup you have for the plate and stuff
 
Another view from the rear

Another view from the rear

It's the basic $14 eBay taillight. Works well, but the plate bolt holes don't match American plates, and the light housing is plastic, so I don't know how durable it will turn out to be.

I'd move the light up toward the seat, but this is what you get when you use the existing 550L bolt holes.

The mini-signals came from Hong Kong, and work well, but require a no-load flasher (another $12). I mounted them with thin aluminum plate from the fender bolts.
 
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cool, thanks!

Im trying to choose what tail light/signal setup to use on mine. Thinking about an intergrated unit that has tail light/brake light/turn signals all in one.
 
Nice! I did the same thing to my 77 550...

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f233/mapball/0319001912.jpg
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f233/mapball/0319001843a.jpg

glad to know im not the only one who desired the look of the chrome rear fender. I was surprised to find that the L fender bolted up pretty much near perfectly. That seat you used looks like the perfect match, A really great job! I am attempting to build a real low profile, minimalist seat but have it remain comfortable and useful. So in other words, i have my work cut out for me! ;)

What did you use to plug the frame tube exposed at the rear? Looks like we cut our rears off at near identical positions.
 
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mapball said:
Nice! I did the same thing to my 77 550...

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f233/mapball/0319001912.jpg
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f233/mapball/0319001843a.jpg

glad to know im not the only one who desired the look of the chrome rear fender. I was surprised to find that the L fender bolted up pretty much near perfectly. That seat you used looks like the perfect match, A really great job! I am attempting to build a real low profile, minimalist seat but have it remain comfortable and useful. So in other words, i have my work cut out for me! ;)

What did you use to plug the frame tube exposed at the rear? Looks like we cut our rears off at near identical positions.
Click to expand...
I plugged he frame ends with plastic plugs/caps from the hardware store. Cost about 79 cents.
 
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thanks for the info.

Out of curiosity, how did you mount the Yamaha seat? Did you use the stock hinges?
 
mapball said:
thanks for the info.

Out of curiosity, how did you mount the Yamaha seat? Did you use the stock hinges?
Click to expand...
It took a lot of thought. I tried to use the hinges, but couldn't get a good fit. The Yamaha seat is a little narrower than the original GS, but fits nicely over the frame, so I cut the hinges and latch off the frame and mounted the seat with a tab under the rear of the tank and a thumb bolt through the rear fender. I centered the front of the seat and blocked the front up 1/2 inch with plywood, and the rear rests on the frame and the rear frame cross brace.
 
A different taillight

A different taillight

Here's the Mike's XS Brit light
 
Nice... thats seems to fit very well and much more visible than your last brake light. Now, its called the brite light... but is that just a name or is it actually brighter than a standard brake light?

What kind of exhaust system are you running?
 
mapball said:
Nice... thats seems to fit very well and much more visible than your last brake light. Now, its called the brite light... but is that just a name or is it actually brighter than a standard brake light?

What kind of exhaust system are you running?
Click to expand...
It's called the Brit Light because it's supposed to look British. I don't know what the exhaust is. It was on there when I bought the bike.
 
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