constructive criticism:
1. you picked the wrong bike.
2. In sensible build there is no strip down phase until much later when everything is sorted and works. Not before.
3. Read more here.

 

Thanks. However, for what I'm looking to do, there is no wrong bike. It happened to come along at a good price, and is in very good shape. Damn near a shame to cut it up. It may not be mainstream, but by the time I'm done with it, it'll be something built by my own hand.

Now I don't know about anyone else, nor do I care, but for any project I start, it begins with a total deconstruct, whether it's a car or bike or even a hot rod lawnmower.

Just because I'm new here, does not mean I don't possess skills. I have considerable fab skills and resources. Please don't dismiss me as being stupid or without a good skillset because of my "newby" status here.

And I will read more here. That's why I signed up!

 

Hi Mike ..Good luck. Keep the pics coming. Oh and take the constructive criticism as it comes. The guys here are very knowledgeable and will give you solid and honest advice. Fell free to check out my XS 1100 build which is also a cafe conversion from a cruiser style bike.

 

Yeaaahhh.. but....

Your set of skills and resources make your project completely plausible.

 

Hi Mike. Your bike looks pretty clean. Unfortunately, you're facing an uphill battle to make it into something resembling a cafe racer. The "L" model GS bikes all had cruiser ergos and styling. They come with 16" rear wheels and different frames from the standard models. In the case of this bike, it doesn't even have front disks (at least you don't have leading axle forks). With a lot of time and effort, you could make it more like a standard bike, but that frame will limit you. Small displacement GS bikes in "E", "S" and even "T" trim make better candidates. I'd look for a GS400 (2 or 4 valve heads are available), GS450 or GR650 if you want a twin, and any of the 550cc and up chain driven in-line fours.

 

We don't know what your skills are. Go check out charlieboys build thread, and see why I have no doubt he can turn whatever into whatever else.

Your skills and resources, we have no clue about.

Good luck!

 

I will check Charlieboy's build thread out. Thanks!
As for my skillset, I reckon you'll just have to wait and see. Then you can judge. The assumption that I have no skills bugged me a bit, but then I reckon a lot of people come on here with grandiose ideas that can't even decide which end of the hammer does what.

 

Nobody assumed you didn't have skills. We have no idea of them, and therefore cannot ascertain what end product may spring forth from Suzukis equivalent of the rebel 450 and your hands.

We just know that 99.99% of the people on the planet would not be able to pull off anything other than a box of parts or some hideous deathtrap.

 

Heres charlies thread: http://www.caferacer.net/forum/project-builds/21268-charlieboy-s-xs-100-build.html

 

Charlieboy's build is ver cool indeed! The man does possess some skills! Nicely done.

I've been working on 4 wheel hot rods over the last couple of decades. The latest is a 1965 VW street legal drag car. It's run a best of 9.85 at 143mph in the quarter mile.

Some would also say I chose the wrong car. But then I always take the path less traveled. Here's a couple links to build projects on that.

The turbo project came out very nice, and was very labor intensive. The goal was to keep the whole enchilada under the stock body work and make about 400HP from 142 cubic inches. Nothing on it was a bolt on deal. The entire exhaust, intake and fuel system, including a throttle body carved from a solid chuck of aluminum was built by my own hand. I didn't hit my horsepoer goal though. I seem to have overshot it by about 100 horses, and now the thing is way faster than I anticipated.

White Knuckle Ride

White Knuckle Ride

 

OK. Officially looking forward to this build thread, then.

 

There is the road less traveled and then there is stacking the deck against yourself.
could you build some sort of clown shoe bike out of you "it was there" pile? Sure, they do it three times a day on pipeburn.
no actual substance will come from it.
work for the sake of work is stupid in my eyes.

- - - Updated - - -

VW is cool as all hell though.

would love to be proved wrong about the base for the bike.

 

Wow, you guys are harsh!
No matter. This isn't gonna be a racer. Just a street bike. As long as I have fun with it, and learn some stuff in the meantime, that's really all that matters. It may not be fast, and it may not handle like a racer, and I'm OK with that....for now.

Besides, would it not be better to learn how NOT to do stuff on this bike as opposed to something more valuable?

If all else fails, it'll turn into a ratted out bobber. Light, loud and obnoxious.

 

I'll send you a six pack of your choice of readily available in the US beer if you make this thing reasonably fast. Like, turbo, or some shit.

 

Put up or shut up.

 

this to me is the clever way of building. All props to charlieboy but this is how an experienced bike guy goes about it:
http://www.caferacer.net/forum/project-builds/19250-8ball-s-winter-project.html

Not because the welds are AA+ or something else. But you can see that he is experienced with bike 8Ball doesn't start by tearing everything apart. Stripping really is not a big job when done like a blind monkey and its always the 1st thing done by total noobies. It makes MUCH MORE SENSE - and this goes double to you if your bike experience is limited - to fix the bike system by system while keeping it intact. Get it tuned up fresh as you can in a stock arrangement. Then ride it. Fix brakes. ride it. Fikx forks. Ride it. Fix handle bars and mock up rearsets. Build em. Ride it. something like that. Instead of tearing it apart, fitting a bump seat after chopping the frame... wait. I will look for an old list of mine - applies somewhat.

 

Mike, here is my old rant. I get that you have skills in garage and ability to take on and finish big projects. Major props for the turbo Ghia. That being said some of this is still relevant and worth considering as bikes are not like cars.

But yeah OP read a bit here. What you are talking about with "ripping into it and tearing it apart" is total idiocy and nonsense. That's what happens in the TV shows where they build a bike in 3 weeks and say lots of cool words (and typically smash removed parts into pieces - at least on the car resto shows you NEED to use hammer for the old windshield if you are replacing it).

The actual smart way is to:
1. Do a full tune up and basic maintenance, get it running, don't disassemble any system.
2. Ride it. Learn what it needs what is wrong with it.
3. Fix "a system". Lets say front brake is not satisfactory, fix it.
4. Ride it.
5. Fix/improve a system.
6. Ride it.
7. Fix improve a system.
8. Ride it.
9. Think its pretty good? NOW take it apart, sanblast, paint/powder whatever. Put it back together.
10 Be happy.

the far more common way is:

1. Buy a non runner with vague or no paperwork.
2. Tear motor, all wires, wheels, gauges
3. Despite trying to label and document displace some parts.
4. Polish the engine cases, sparybomb the whole engine (without knowing if/how it runs)
5. Cut frame from behind the seat.
6. Cut all "useless" brackets.
****
7. paint frame, add bump seat
9. Try to put it together (see #3)
****
10. Try to start it. Whine when its so complicated to get it running right (dirty carbs, changed exhaust and intake on a bike that you never had running (at least well) in the 1st place).
****
11. Realize that the powder coated frame would need a tab welded for the new exhaust or some other small mod done to it. You can't without ruining the paintjob.
12. Try to get the bike registered only to realize its near impossible. Some states suck if you don't have tittle and in many places you need to show the bike (meaning DOT everything needs to be there) if the papers are unclear.
****
12. Call the bike done and post it on forums to get praise
13. get pissy because people tell you that you have turned a fine motorcycle to badly working poserish cliche piece of shit.

**** = common points to give up.

Now, you have a sloped cruiser frame that you want to turn into a racer. That is what Jaguar means by stacking the deck against yourself. I don't think the bike is terribly common, its a small cc cruiser. Nothing about it breathes cafe racer. So you have the skills, time and determination to make it on. Well what are you going to keep? I mean if you will redo frame, swap forks, tank, change pegs, fenders, brakes etc. to make it perform (and look) like a cafe racer what are you planning on keeping. The awesome 350 engine?

Cheap bikes are pricey. Its being said here over and over again with practical examples. And it means also that crappy bikes are expensive if they are transformed into something nice. Its almost always better to start with a better base.

 

Ok so you could have picked a better bike to start with, but you could have picked worse too. Right or wrong I want to see what you can do with it...not enough people posting builds on here. Rest assured, if you do something really stupid and post it you will find out about it real quick and some people will even point you in a better direction.
Get on with it, keep us posted and show us what you got

 

The GS twin frames aren't that different in L guise to the standard models, so you aren't as bad off as if you were starting with an LTD or C model CB.

Seems like you have the fab skills to do some stuff to the frame, so I would suggest modding the rear subframe to have more horizontal lines as opposed to the "scooped out" shape to suit the cruiser seat.

Also, you would want to do a front end swap to something bit more modern (something like SV650 forks with a GS550 spoke wheel to keep the "look"). And the rear 16" would need to go as well (you could probably get a GS250 spoked wheel and lace up an Akront rim).

All depends on how far / how much money you want to throw into it, but you appear to have the skills to make something that doesn't walk down the same path as the average new age cafe douchebag dress-up hipster.

Now get to it

 

dude doesn't want our help - just wants to talk big about skills and how any bike would have done...yadda yadda yadda so again I say PUT UP or SHUT UP. Talk is cheap, internet talk is really cheap, let's see if he even posts anything again. Let's do an experiment - let's not try to help these ...ahem....would be "builders" and see what shape comes out the end. don't encourage him, don't discourage him - let's see if the bike even gets back together.

 

Actually you're wrong about just my talking big about my fab skills Geeto. You are VERY wrong. But you are right about internet talk being cheap. In fact you have proven that yourself.
Now Hillsy, you put the kind of stuff out there I was looking for. And yeah, the stuff you talked about was in the plan. The frame work, wheels....forks....good info, and I appreciate that.

The bike runs, there's no major defects, clear title. No, it's not the coolest. Maybe I can make it into something cool. Maybe not. Maybe some of the stuff I learn on this project could be applied to the next.

But I really enjoy doing the fab work. And yeah, just for the sake of doing it.

So, how about giving me the benefit of the doubt and see where it goes?

 

We have given you all the benefit of the doubt you are gonna get. From here on out you want the benefit of the doubt you have to put up or shut up. Lets see it. Lets see what masterful work come out of this.

 

Fair enough

 

I don't see a problem with this project. I really don't need to see another cafe triumph or honda 750-4 or CB350. It's different, it's small and it's a challenge and that makes it interesting for me. It's a basic motorcycle with no major design flaws aside from it's styling. Can't wait to see the progress.

 

Thanks drgonzo.
I've just started the dis-assembly, and once I get it down to a certain point, I'll begin to assess what needs to be done to get to where I wanna be. Then I will begin asking questions and try to ignore the haters. I'm old enough to know that the only one who needs to be happy is me. And buying something already cool and bolting a few cool bits on it just won't cut it.

There will be challenges. But, all things considered, it only metal. Metal can be formed anyway one wants, given the desire.

I think the first thing I wanna look at is the ass end of the frame. There's a lot going on back there that's pretty clunky. Eliminate the unnecessary, then proceed with to planning, and then execution. Figure out what do for a seat. I'm not gonna buy something pre-made. I'm just gonna build it from scratch.

 

Like I said, I'm totally looking forward to this build thread.

Seriously, get to work. We need pics of progress.

 

Mike, please don't count me in the haters.
I really don't like the way this ended. Geeto ended the discussion to a "there will be no discourse". Maybe he is right and you have no interest to listen to but maybe not.
I sincerely think that you will end up with a better bike if you work on it while/in between you ride it. Get the basics right, fix the rest in a chain of events and only after that do the final finish. If you do a show style build where everything is decided standing next to the bike vs. having been on the bike it will be what some of us have feared here. Your skills I have no doubts about. World has enough choppers and hipster-bikes that perform worse than stock - pretty or not.

 

Kerosene, believe me when I say that I absolutely do have a desire to listen and learn. I am seeking as I said, CONSTRUCTIVE criticism. I don't think anyone responds favorably to being dismissed out of hand because the bike is not "cool" enough or one doesn't have a high enough post count to be taken seriously. I've seen that in the 4 wheel racing world, and the would be racer simply says screw it, and ends up with an unfinished project. Over on the drag race site YellowBullet, the haters will eat you alive.

Based on that, let's hit the reset button. This will be my course of action. The bike runs great as is. It is rust free and only has 6600 miles on the clock. I'll modify the rear of the frame and build a seat, relocate the battery and electrics, along with looking at springs and shocks. I'll be looking for spoked wheels. Then I'll ride it and refine that. Move one to the next section. ride it. refine it. When it's pretty much done, then I'll tear it down and do the finish work. Hows that?

That's not how i normally do things, but then the VW was a rotting hulk I dragged out of someone's backyard. It had a 40 HP motor in it with a broken crank. With that, I started with a plan and a goal. It was completely disassembled down to the last nut and bolt. Admittedly, this is different because the bike is a decent ride as is. So, I can see your point.

Anyway, nothing picture worthy yet. Just a partially disassembled ass end. I need to get a chunk of tubing bent in a "U" shape for the back section of the frame which will be cut off just to the rear of the upper shock mounts. Then I can build the seat pan to fit.

 

Anyway, nothing picture worthy yet. Just a partially disassembled ass end. I need to get a chunk of tubing bent in a "U" shape for the back section of the frame which will be cut off just to the rear of the upper shock mounts. Then I can build the seat pan to fit.

You can get prebent frame loops from DCC and lots of other cafe parts suppliers. Before you chop it though, I'd give some thought to comfort. A short bubble tail is common on race bikes (though the "bubble" is usually much bigger) for aero reasons but it might not be the best for just tooling around on the street or soaking up highway miles. A standard length flat seat gives you the ability to change up positions depending on riding conditions. You can scoot up to the tank to keep your head up in traffic, use the middle of the seat for all-around riding or scoot back with your feet on the passenger pegs and your chin on the tank for cruising. You can still keep it "cafe" with just a tad more function. Maybe something like a Dunstall-style seat with an integrated fender if you want the "rocker" look. No frame chopping needed:

 

If you don't mind spending 300 bucks on shocks, take a look at the hagon 2810's.

When ya call em to order them, they ask about your weight, the bikes weight, and intended riding style. Then you tell them what length you want them. They'll send you the shocks setup for what you've told em. The 2810's have 10 position dampening control and if I remember correctly, 3 position preload settings. Might be 5, can't remember offhand.

If you change out the front end, they prolly have fork springs for ya too.

 

Hey Mike...I loved your VW build. That thing is radical. I am also a total vw nut and have built and restored many Beetles through the years. Both my daughters first cars were beetles that I restored and they drove them for about 8 years before selling. I never modified engines at all though everything stock standard.
Keep the pics of your bike build coming. I am keen to see what you do with it.