The 80 gs1000 chopper build

[jmlcolorado]

Okay well ive been working on my first build ever so i figured i would post the pictures in one thread here. bare with me, i have alot of pictures. Here goes.


the day i got the bike.

trying to start it

shortly after. Chopped the back rails off for that bobber look.

 

[jmlcolorado]

the bobber look didnt last long before i got the bug and chose to go all out. Hell, i got the bike for free.



chopped the neck to add 1" on the lower side. My trail now measures at exactly 7".

cut off the whole rear frams section in preperation for the hardtail.

whats left of the frame

 

[jmlcolorado]

rear frame rail placement

shaft side mount

brake side mount

 

[jmlcolorado]

detail of how i reused the origional bolt on the shaft side

the finished rear section ( i was going to use the tank of an 80's model honda at first. it looked okay before i chopped the frame but now the stock looks better.

welding detail

 

[jmlcolorado]

with the added rake and hardtail

trying to figure out how i wanted the seatpan and other body panels

right before i tore it down to prep for paint

 

[jmlcolorado]

Here are some misc pictures through the build.




forks before

before

after

and after

 

[jmlcolorado]

fuel gauge

cutting and reinforcing the front fender to be used on the rear

i was going to use rear fender struts and a formed seat but i scratched that idea. The seat pictures was just a temped up piece to get a visual.

 

[jmlcolorado]

Well there she is. Im clearing the frame now, The fork seals got replace tonight. Still gotta paint all the tins (tank, side covers, fenders) and i can get it back to a rolling chassis.

Then the engine gets some attention. Rebuild carbs, valve adjusting, ect.

Im pretty excited as this is my first build and it has certinly gone alot more into depth then i had EVER expected. I got the bike free from a friend, It hadnt run in nine years and still had 3 gallons of fuel in the tank. NASTY!!

It took me about an hour of staring at the thing in his garage before i finally said i'd take it. Im glad i did now

Hopefully you guys like it. I wanted something a little different.

Any pointers or advice and sudgestions are welcome.

Thanks

 

[nisom512]

Well there she is. Im clearing the frame now, The fork seals got replace tonight. Still gotta paint all the tins (tank, side covers, fenders) and i can get it back to a rolling chassis.

Then the engine gets some attention. Rebuild carbs, valve adjusting, ect.

Im pretty excited as this is my first build and it has certinly gone alot more into depth then i had EVER expected. I got the bike free from a friend, It hadnt run in nine years and still had 3 gallons of fuel in the tank. NASTY!!

It took me about an hour of staring at the thing in his garage before i finally said i'd take it. Im glad i did now

Hopefully you guys like it. I wanted something a little different.

Any pointers or advice and sudgestions are welcome.

Thanks

That is one nasty/sweet lookin fine piece of machinery.

Great work

 

[po-boy]

Lookin good there man...

 

[Steve]

Not much for the hardtail concept myself, but it looks like you have done a fine job so far.

Looking forward to the final pictures.

.

 

[jmlcolorado]

Not much for the hardtail concept myself, but it looks like you have done a fine job so far.

Looking forward to the final pictures.

.

Yeah i wasnt sure if many people would like the idea but i figured i'd toss it out there anyways.


Thanks for the compliments guys

 

[elevatorman71]

i have a question when you rewelded the front end did you have to remove anything from the neck? or did you just do it with everything assembled

 

[jmlcolorado]

i have a question when you rewelded the front end did you have to remove anything from the neck? or did you just do it with everything assembled

I left everything together when i cut the neck. I left an 1/8" attached at the very top to hold it together. Once i found the angle i was looking for, i tack welded it to keep in place then i removed everthing to do the final weld.

Two resons, first to have no obstructions when welding and two to keep the bearings and races from warping. Plus there are dust covers on the upper (plastic) and lower (metal wrapped in rubber) bearings.

You do not want your races in the neck to warp!!! The upper was simple to remove using a brass punch. The lower was a bit tricky because you cant access the bottom with a strait punch cause the neck has a flare at the bottom. Gotta use something bent a little about half an inch from the bottom th clear the flare out.

Hope this helps.

 

[80GS1000]

Looks good! What color is the tank going to be when it's done?

 

[jmlcolorado]

The frame is metallic silver and the tnak, fenders, side covers black parts of the rim and other small parts will all be dark Graphite Metallic. The dark grey color seen on newer dodge trucks.

I think it will have a good contrast.

 

[elevatorman71]

its looking killer i plan on doing the same thing to mine this summer can you send me some pics of the neck and the rear where you removed the frame and replaced it with the new stuff. what kind of pipe did you use? is it schedule 80 or what? anything from you would be incredibly useful

 

[Nessism]

I left everything together when i cut the neck. I left an 1/8" attached at the very top to hold it together. Once i found the angle i was looking for, i tack welded it to keep in place then i removed everthing to do the final weld.

What did you do to fill the gap created on the bottom of the head tube? Fabricate some sort of metal filler plates so the weld wasn't attempting to bridge a 1/4" air gap (please tell me yes)?

Nice looking project by the way. Frame structure looks much stronger than many of the bobbers people have posted here where the frame backbone has been hacked apart and replaced with one skinny tube. Bike looks more in proportion with the stock L tank as well compared to one of those dorky Sportster tanks that so many people used - in my opinion of course.

 

[jmlcolorado]

What did you do to fill the gap created on the bottom of the head tube? Fabricate some sort of metal filler plates so the weld wasn't attempting to bridge a 1/4" air gap (please tell me yes)?

Nice looking project by the way. Frame structure looks much stronger than many of the bobbers people have posted here where the frame backbone has been hacked apart and replaced with one skinny tube. Bike looks more in proportion with the stock L tank as well compared to one of those dorky Sportster tanks that so many people used - in my opinion of course.

Yeah i wanted to keep the two upper tubes. After all, this is a 1000 cc engine. Its got some torque The gap way bore like 3/8" when i cut it. A perfect fot for some 3/8" solid flat stock. There is five pounds of solid steel in the neck of this thing.
Well maybe not that much but never the less, im more then confident in the welding of my front end.

Thanks for the concern.


I dont care for the look of the sporty tanks. Ive seen a few builds that look pretty good with em but im building this bike on a budget so i kept the stock tank.

 

[flyanimator]

Bike is looking awesome, can't wait to see it when it is done. I've always wanted to build a bobber but I don t want to do it to my 1100. I'll probably look for a 550 or similar so I wan do that over the summer. Just want it to go on cruise nights and rollin around town (550 should be more than enough). Keep the updates coming.