[LiLBull]

Sub titled: "shout ,shout, let it on out these are the things Im thinking about come on "

looking at pictures of the famed feather bed frame .I recently bought a 81 GS550 frame that has a title ,for a 81 GS550 I have without a title.....unwrapping the frame two things shouted out at me it wasnt very heavey and it looked exactly like a feather bed frame.
Maybe I should just forget the under powered four and put a different jap motor in .British and Harley motors ( i loved that harley engine feather bed bike)are out of the running, due to initial costs.
what might be some ideas for a upgraded motor.( I know about moding)just like to hear some engine choices from you guys .Street not racing ,I hate rules.



Im so far behind ,that I think Im in first.

Edited by - LiLBull on May 18 2007 08:58:09 AM

Edited by - LiLBull on May 18 2007 09:37:18 AM

 

[joe c]

vtr1000



jc

"tex, if your bikes a cheater, its not a very good one"

 

[Geeto67]

Suzuki studied a lot of norton design in the earlier days of making their bikes. A lot of the early TR500 racebikes used frames that were copied from wideline featherbed norton frames. The 1970 on T500 looks very much like a norton when you park the two side by side, the biggest difference being the two stroke parallel twin vs the norton's 4 stroke powerplant.

By the time the GS series came out however suzuki had its own R&D and was well beyond the archaic british designs it had relied upon in the late 60's and early 70's.

can you be more specific as to how this looks like a featherbed frame? Does it have the rear engine cradle loops that are the tademark of the featherbed? How about a pic?

When stripped bare, most motorcycle frames from about the same time period all look very similar.

As long as you are going the small bike route, my suggestion is to keep the GS looking as stock or old timey as you can and stuff a retardedly quick sportbike powerplant in there. R6, CBR600rr, GSXR600, zx636 all are good canidates. Most modern powerplants are a lot smaller than these old aircooled lumps and just as light even with the radiator. plus double the hp isn't bad either.

 

[LiLBull]

ill check into those motors the vtr1000 motor looks expencive for what Im trying to do .Ill see if I can do the picture thing.

Checked all those motors on ebay go around 6-800 bucks not bad at all.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Suzu...ryZ10066QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem

Im so far behind ,that I think Im in first.

Edited by - LiLBull on May 18 2007 11:35:13 AM

Edited by - LiLBull on May 18 2007 11:38:20 AM

Edited by - LiLBull on May 18 2007 11:48:04 AM

 

[joe c]

i just like the vtr, i was bing an idiot, they are awesome sounding motos though. nothing like a real big twin to make you happy!

jc

"tex, if your bikes a cheater, its not a very good one"

 

[Geeto67]

Looks like a standard 70s to early 80's UJM frame to me. It has a closed loop engine cradel which is something the jap mfgs did pirate from the british in motorcycle design.

The biggest differences you'll notice about a featherbed frame and any UJM is that:

1. there are very few braced and gussetted frame connections on the norton as compared with any jap bike. The featherbed gets its strength from bent sections of tubing where as the japanese were happy to just weld to pipe sections together and gusset it (it is lighter with bend tubing but more expensive).

2. Small subframe support. Almost all the norton electrics and such are mounted inside the engine cradle, not in the subframe support like the japanese do it. This allows the support to be as small as possible (saves weight) and also moves the stuff closer to the centerline of the bike (improved handeling)

3) No backbone. The japanese bikes all seem to have a backbone but the featherbed doesn't, instead it uses the two top rails of the engine cradle to do the same job.

Not saying it is not a good design, the japanese are amazing when it comes to innovation, but it isn't as asthetically pleasing as a featherbed frame.

Personally I like the sport bike motor idea myself. If an R6 is too expensive try looking for an fzr600 motor. makes decent power and the motor itself it light. 600cc bikes from the 90's still made close to 100hp which is way better than the gs's 50 or 60. I have a 94 fzr600 motor I got for peanuts when I still owned an fzr.