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shaft drive to chain

  • Thread starter Thread starter Anonymous
  • Start date Start date
A

Anonymous

Guest
just bought a 1991 GS850G and its shaft drive, i want to know if i can convert it to chain drive so i can extend the rear swing arm????????
 
Where'd you find a "91" 850? Presume that's a typo!! Can't see any economical way of converting to chain short of plugging in a complete 1000 engine, driveline, frame, and rear suspension. In other words, easier to go find a chain-drive GS to start with. But as Marvin, and many, many of us old hot rodders would say, nothing says you can't do it. How about having a longer driveshaft and swing-arm fabbed, along with the necessary brake linkage and sub-frame mods? :?: :?:
 
dodger1 said:
Where'd you find a "91" 850? Presume that's a typo!! Can't see any economical way of converting to chain short of plugging in a complete 1000 engine, driveline, frame, and rear suspension. In other words, easier to go find a chain-drive GS to start with. But as Marvin, and many, many of us old hot rodders would say, nothing says you can't do it. How about having a longer driveshaft and swing-arm fabbed, along with the necessary brake linkage and sub-frame mods? :?: :?:
Click to expand...


yeah, my bad i meant 1981, i justt don't like the way it looks in the back tire area i need to find a way to bring the tire back a inch or 2 just to make it look even, unless, someone has a gs 1000 or bigger for sale or trade, or trade for mine and some money. 8)
 
dodger1 said:
Where'd you find a "91" 850? Presume that's a typo!! Can't see any economical way of converting to chain short of plugging in a complete 1000 engine, driveline, frame, and rear suspension. In other words, easier to go find a chain-drive GS to start with. But as Marvin, and many, many of us old hot rodders would say, nothing says you can't do it. How about having a longer driveshaft and swing-arm fabbed, along with the necessary brake linkage and sub-frame mods? :?: :?:
Click to expand...


yeah, my bad i meant 1981, i justt don't like the way it looks in the back tire area i need to find a way to bring the tire back a inch or 2 just to make it look even, unless, someone has a gs 1000 or bigger for sale or trade, or trade for mine and some money. 8)
 
I, for one, am going to take a stand here and tell you not to commit this atrocity on that poor GS850G.

This is a terrible idea for several reasons:

1) You'd be the first. I'm pretty sure no one has ever done this to a GS shaftie. Therefore you'd be involved in some pretty intricate custom machining and heat treating to make horrifically expensive one-off parts. It's a lot more involved than simply removing the secondary drive gearbox and making a new swingarm. I know there are some brands of bike where the shaft and chain drive models have a lot more in common, but the GS850 engine and frame are all designed around shaft drive.

2) It's utterly pointless. There are far more chain drive GS bikes out there, including many that already have the extended swingarm you crave. You would be far better off the sell the 850 and picking up a 750 or 1000 or 1150 or whatever.

3) It ALREADY looks cool! On what planet does a nasty, greasy chain and sprocket look better than a clean, sleek, shiny gear housing? An 850 is especially striking with a 4/1 exhaust which exposes the left side of the drive housing.

You knew this idea would horrify and offend everyone, right? :twisted: :twisted:
 
bwringer said:
You knew this idea would horrify and offend everyone, right? :twisted: :twisted:
Click to expand...

I think that is his plan.
poor unloved 850 :( :(
 
DMPLATT said:
Ahhh, another one who realizes:



CHAINS RULE. :twisted: 8)
Click to expand...

Rule what?? Your wallet? 8)
 
Jim Kritz,

Where do you live and how much do you want for your 850?
 
dpep said:
Jim Kritz,

Where do you live and how much do you want for your 850?
Click to expand...
\


Well i live in Edgerton Wisconsin, it is about 15 minutes south of madison,i payed 400 for the bike, and put almost a thousand just to get it running and road worthy, carbs have been all rebuilt with stade 3 jets in it, 4 seperate foam air cleaners, new choke cable, new petcock, and a few other items, but i think the reason it was so much is cause i took it to someone to have it all done but u make an offer i mean i would like to have the gs 1000 or bigger WITH chain drive. for the other replies what else can i do about the ass end of it?, bigger tire, take the fender off? lower it a little bit? i mean i am kinda lost for ideas, and i will be damned if i buy a harley 8)
 
well maybe i will keep it the same if i can make up for it in the engine department like got some more power lol it seems like i need ideas for everything cause i am not to familiar with the bike, i was told a different head would give me more power, new carbs (unknown on how much those would be) bigger cams, bored out???? i mean i got alot of ideas but i think a bigger Gs with the chain drive will open up new horizions for what i want to do. then again maybe not does anyone here have souped up or customized gs850G's?????
 
you obviously got the wrong bike.

just sell that 850 and start fresh and get what you really want.

let someone else appreciate the 850 for what it is.
 
dpep said:
DMPLATT said:
Ahhh, another one who realizes:



CHAINS RULE. :twisted: 8)
Click to expand...

Rule what?? Your wallet? 8)
Click to expand...

:P :P

I'm actually a previous Shafty dude. Not too hip on the Chain thing, but Earl and Hoomie have given me some lessons. Hopefully, I've learned. 8)
 
Jim Kritz said:
well maybe i will keep it the same if i can make up for it in the engine department like got some more power lol it seems like i need ideas for everything cause i am not to familiar with the bike, i was told a different head would give me more power, new carbs (unknown on how much those would be) bigger cams, bored out???? i mean i got alot of ideas but i think a bigger Gs with the chain drive will open up new horizions for what i want to do. then again maybe not does anyone here have souped up or customized gs850G's?????
Click to expand...

You have an excellent bike and you don't need anything done to it. It has good performance, handles very well, and I don't know if there is anything more reliable out there.

The 850G is already bored-out from 750 to 850 to provide a bit more torque and accommodate two-up touring folks and it is purpose-built for shaft drive. While performance improvements are possible, they are limited and, apart from carb/exhaust modifications, they are expensive when compared to other available options.

As others have said, if you are looking for something faster, the solution is very simple: buy it in the form of an 1100 or 1150, and let someone else enjoy the qualities of the 850G.
 
Jim,

You are a little far away for me to make you reasonable deal and then pay for shipping. It would make more sense for someone around Chicago who could ride it home. It is middle of riding season, and if it is running well you should not have a hard time selling it.

Whatever difference there is between what you get for your 850 and what you have to pay for an 1100/1150 is going to be way, way less than the cost of the mods you want, even if they were possible. And the result of course is going to be way, way superior.
 
you all are prolly gonna be mad at me and wana slap the SH*T out of me but i havent even gotten the bike back from the shop yet and its my first street bike i have ever owned ( i can hear u all laughing right now) the reason why i had all the questions is cause i looked at everyone elses bikes on here and looking at how much power they have just wanted me to build mine thats why i was wonder about the 850 and u all say its pointless for the 850 so i am just gonna finish it up buy cleaning it the having it painted black and just ride it, the only other thing i need for it is an exhaust system does anyone know where i can order that from???? O and still wondering about a bigger back tire for it and where to get that from too.

thanks for all the input on all my questions, the GS850 will remain in stock condition lol well minus the sissy bar, blinkers, and mirrors.

Jim.
 
Swing arm extension on shaft drive should be pretty easy if you go to hard tail.
There are plenty of automotive shops that can extend and balance the drive shaft.

If you're gonna keep it as a swing arm, it's easiest to fabricate a whole new arm rather than modify the old one. IMO machined Aluminum with lightening holes would be the way to go.

I have a friend who is an aircraft machinist who could do it but you're gonna pay $70/hour chop rate. If you don't want to do your own engineering, I know another guy who's pretty decent ex-general electric mechanical engineer who is not too expensive.

I have a GS1000GT and gave extension a passing thought. It would be fun to be the only guy with one but there are a lot of other things I'd rather spend the $ on. There's a reason I buy cheap, not running, bikes in the first place!

You might have more fun customizing a Yamaha XS650 instead. Easy to work on. Classic Brit styling. Loads of them about. Cheap.
 
This is really a sacrilege. When I decided to buy a used bike, I went right to the GS850 BECAUSE it had a shaft drive. I hate messing with chains and guessing if my wheels are alligned. Besides that, you will be giving up the best feature of the 850 - reliability. Home grown mods of this extent can only hurt the durability of this bike.

Please sell it to someone who wants the 850s' features and get a chain drive bike.

Ace.
 
That's the problem with religion.
One man's fertility sacrifice is another's most abhorrent taboo.
 
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