1981 Suzuki GS750 Cafe Racer Build

Hey guys, this is my first post and also my first full cafe build. I got half way through a cb750 build and had to let it go due to money issues last year.
I picked up my gs750 a couple weeks ago from an old man. Great guy. All original and he rebuilt the carbs and had the bike in overall good shape so I had to buy it. I took it home and it's completely taken apart now. I really wanted to powder coat everything but I think I'm going to leave it for another time. I have a limited amount of money. What paint do you guys recommend? Hopefully I can have this ready by the time riding season comes along (Chicago) but due to my new job the only time I have the time or energy to work on it is the weekend. Anyways here's my inspiration bike and some picture of what mine looks like so far. Ill be uploading more pictures as the bike moves along.




Engine is pretty dirty on the front side. Planning on getting a full engine gasket kit for it

I want to relocate the battery and hide all the wiring. Battery is probably going to be under the seat towards the back once I build my cafe seat. I also have to shorten the frame and get rid of the unnecessary tabs.

Ok so I removed the tabs on the frame and grinded them down along with the nasty factory welds. I soda blasted the engine but since there was so much grease build up it wasn't working in many areas. I stopped and just let it soak in degreaser all night. Now I'm going to have to brush it down and clean it up as much as possible. This engine clean out is turning out to be a real pain in the ass. Oh and don't soda blast in your garage. It makes a huge mess haha. Learned that the hard way. It's just so damn cold out

Looks good... What are you going to do about all that rust on the engine?

Ahh, the much maligned GS 750"L". That's a damned strong motor, but the frame lines...

Somebody is going to figure out how to cafe mod this bike so it doesn't look like it's collapsing inward...maybe they already have...

The inspiration pic (which I have admired over at The GS Resources) is a "G" model, so the builder had fewer cosmetic obstacles. Still, I'm not trying to discourage you - on the contrary, this is a cool, strong machine with tons of potential. Also, in the good news column, early GSXR forks are pretty much a straight swap for this bike. The rearsets off early GSXR's work real well on these, too.

The "L" is mechanically the same as the "G" or "E", but it's got the weird frame lines, leading axle, and dopey looking tank. Fork swap and the inevitable tank swap fix the second and third issues...

Have a look at some GS 750 L cafe builds, so you can start brainstorming about how to make the tank and seat achieve a pleasing line. I'll be watching this closely. Beat the L out of it.

Cheers,

Buzz

I am also just about to start a GS750 "L" build. I inherited the bike from my dad via my younger brother who completely dismantled it. I got it in boxes but everything is there (at least all that I need for a café build).

I completely agree with Buzznichols.... the lines on the L are shit. I have been wondering for the last year and a half (of owning the bike and looking at what to do with it)... what to do to make that top line look straight and more café-esque??? It's a big question if you are NOT considering cutting the frame and building a straighter one.

I will defo keep this build on my radar. Mine will take a few years to get done. I work as a lawyer and have little time.

Holy Roller

What is this, a bike for ants?

This is my inspiration. A pretty snazzy piece of work.

HR

I am working with the old school wire wheels (which I love) but you even have the same wheels as the Tin Shack bike.. you are set.

Here it is at another angle. In my opinion, this is about the best way to bring out the qualities of a GS750 with its broken café visual line... go with more of a brat build.

Thanks for the replies and help guys. Im about to clean out the engine today and order some new gaskets this weekend. Once I have a painted "roller" then im going to start to look at how im going to do the tank and seat. I want to sit in front of it and spend some time brain storming and visualizing it.

L's don't feel pain so do what you want.
I too was in the same boat when I got mine, studied it for a looooong time trying to come up with a way to improve the "Cruiser" lines with the roto-tiller handle bars Suzuki let it slip out of the factory with. Always like the cafe' look but with the teardrop tank and dropped seating area ofthe frame I wound up going along the Bratstyle lines... but thinking now she need a dose of Street / Drag queen.
The pics posted in my build thread were all lost when the original photo host I was using went belly-up but I still have them on the computer. Let me know if you need any detail, I might still have something to share.

I really like the brat look! You did a great job on that bike and thanks because it actually helps a lot. Haha I was getting worried already.

Yesterday I started the degreasing of the engine and it went really well. I used gunk degreaser a couple days ago and let it sit since the grease was so thick. I grabbed a toothbrush and a painters brush and just went at it. After doing that I also used WD40. Works wonders on grease. There are still some spots that need some more work and im going to do those today. I need to buy some water based degreaser and make sure it can be ready to be painted. Today? Let's hope. Once the engine is painted I need to get started on the frame. I need to weld a box for all the electronics and then paint.

Make sure you get every last bit of wd40 off as it will cause the paint to fish eye.
Use a decent wax and grease remover and you should be right.

Finished cleaning the engine today with some water based degreaser i bought at home depot. It looks great. I just ordered new gaskets along with some new screws and bolts. Once everything is on I'll be able to paint everything. I decided to chemically remove the paint off the frame and tank. Sand blasting is a pain in the a**. Hopefully I can get that done next weekend. Thanks again for the replies guys. Every comment helps

Brodie is right on the WD-40. Make sure you got ever last remainder of it off. It is Water Disperding so a bath in Rubbing Alcohol might do the trick.

Hey guys! Thanks for the reminders on removing the wd40. It took me a about 10 hours yesterday to clean everything out, sand, put in the new gaskets and paint. I have to say I am extremely happy with how it turned out. Im very proud of myself, honestly wasn't sure if it would come out like i pictured it. Im letting it dry and I plan on sanding and buffing the parts that are tapped off maybe next weekend. It was about 50 degrees here in Chicago the other day and it felt like summer. Then it snowed last night and it's cold again today. This winter is really fighting back, it sucks. At least it gives me more time to work on the bike




I went over to home depot and a hobby shop to get some fiberglass, bondo, paint stripper, new hammer, foam and adhesive spray. I want to make the knee indents on the tank today and maybe get started on the seat. I also want to remove the paint of the frame. Not sure homework much I will be able to get done but we'll see. I'm pretty scared to do the tank because I don't want to screw it up but I don't want to spend $400 on a cafe tank.... Wish me luck.

Well as soon as I took the paint off I realized that this tank had been either dropped or had a crash. It was welded and had a ton of bondo on it. So I had my work cut out. After sanding it for a while I got to hammering the tank. I finished that and put the bondo on it and I'm almost done sanding it. I think I'm going to have put some extra in certain areas and sand again but it shouldn't be too bad. I realized that the badge mounts on the side of the tank are not lined up. Really makes no sense to me why it would be like that, especially knowing this it's a factory tank. And it's not just off but a little, it's off by at least an inch. This caused issues because the dent on the left of the tank runs into the mount and the one on the right does not. It's been pretty hard to try and hide the mount since I had to hammer it and bend it.

Im hoping that next weekend I can have it at least primed. I also started the seat. I just put up the foam on the frame and glued all together so it's ready for an outline and then some cutting and sanding. I tried using paint stripper on the frame but for some reason it wasn't working very well. Not sure what was going on. Anyways, here's a picture of the tank right after hammering and before the bondo. I'm really happy with how it turned out.

I painted the forks and sprockets this weekend. That's all I really had time for. I might upload some pictures of them later on. I'm picking up my frame today from my dad's friend who was welding it for me. Next weekend I should be able to paint it.

Frame is painted and waiting on it to dry so I can put the engine in it this weekend. Wheels are also painted. I got my new mufflers and they are installed and ready for heat wrap. I made the seat and I've been doing some bondo work to it along with the tank that's almost done. Just a couple more touches before paint. I cut down the triple tree and I'm in the process of buffing it. It's looking really good so far. I also need to drill out a couple screws that broke in the valve cover and re thread them so I can put it my new bolts I ordered. Clip-ons came in along with right side controls, throttle, petcock, fuel line, gaiters, and a couple small things. Plan for this week is to do the threads on the valve cover and put the engine back on the frame. Then I'll start to put things back together and should have a roller pretty soon.

Ill Upload pictures once people respond so I know the thread is not dead haha.

Literally the only mag wheel bike I like. Love those wheels. And I'm a suzuki man at heart. Following this one.