1979 Suzuki GS750 Café Build

stephentcandrews

New Member
Hey folks,

I picked up a 1979 GS750 a few weeks ago for a pretty decent price. The bike was in excellent condition, with a few aftermarket parts and only 21,000km on the odometer. It's my first street bike, so I'm glad to have come across this one, as I feel it'll make a great donor bike. I viewed a few early 80s CB750s but wasn't as fussy of the frame lines. The GS750 is a much straighter shot from the bottom edge of the tank through to the end of the frame, it seems. No bikes in my area could come close to the mileage on the GS, either. Most were pushing around 60k to 70k.

At this stage of the build, most superfluous pieces have been removed from the frame and I've sourced the majority of my parts from eBay, apart from my grips which are coming from FortNine. So far, I've order an axle-mount license plate holder, a taillight to fit into the plate holder, all 4 indicators, zero drag handlebars, Biltwell Torker grips, and bar end mirrors.There's a couple chips on the tank's paint, so I'm exploring my options with that. My plan right now is to strip the tank to bare metal and see what kind of condition it's in. if all looks good, it'll get clear-coated. If it's looking a bit gnarly, it'll be sprayed black.

I've included a few pictures of the bike in its stock state and will continue to send along photos as the build progresses. I welcome your suggestions and tips for the conversion.

Cheers,
Steve
 

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I agree. Really pleased with the bike and how smoothly the conversion is going. I was hoping to snag an 80s version of the bike, but with the '79 being in the condition it is, and with that low of mileage, I can't complain.

A few more photos included showing the disassembled arse end and cut frame. Also missing are the seat, muffler, front indicators, and passenger foot pegs & brackets. The front fender has been removed but I'm chopping it into a 16" long one. I estimate it was around 28"-30" stock. Going to restore that to the original black.
 

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Yeah, that thing is pretty loud now that the muffler has been removed and with the 4-into-1 system. However, my buddy's Harley 1600 in the background puts it to shame. With both idling, mine's inaudible, which has been great for helping me justify the extra noise caused by removing the muffler. :)
 
Quick update on the handlebars and license plate. I've replaced the stock bars with a set of zero drag ones and am really digging the look and stance. They're a ~$40 set from eBay (Krator brand). I've found the diameter to be slightly smaller than 7/8". I had to sand down my clutch and brake brackets so that they could be cinched down tight enough, but everything else was great.

When I cut off the stock grips, the throttle tube was cracked and taped together with electrical tape. I was finding the throttle to be stiff, but just chalked that up to the cable having to pull open 4 carbs. However, I'm hoping a fresh tube will restore its snapiness.

The grips are Biltwell Torker, purchased from FortNine for $20. Love the no flange design and the colour is bang on. Not quite tan, not quite chocolate. Only thing left for the bars are the bar end mirrors, which I'm excited to see installed.

As for the license plate mount, that's a simple ~$25 unit from eBay and it works great. Hoping to get the tail light wired and mounted to it in the next couple weeks.
 

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Finally got a chance to do a bit more work on the bike last night. As you'll notice, the axle-mounted plate and brake light are installed and waiting to be wired. Bar-end mirrors and Biltwell Thruster grips are also on and I'm digging the overall look: low profile, but still good visibility from the mirrors.

Last night's happenings involved an angle grinder and my frame lost a few more inches off of it. Next up is securing my hoop and then on to the seat pan. I've attached a picture of the hoop, which I bought from Sault City Builds on eBay. I live in Canada, so finding a seller nationally was a big plus for me.

Had some issues recently with getting the bike to fire. Plugs were good and battery had been on tender, so no issues there. Shagged around with a bunch of different things, but finally stumbled on what the problem was. A loose ignition coil connector whose wire was also frayed. Fiddled with it and it fired. Gonna replace all of them while I'm at it.
 

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Steve,

That loop is way too short. The rear tire will come up and smack it. Move it back behind the center of the tire to get some clearance. And Please put that muffler back on.
 
The hoop still hasn't been cut yet, so final length is still being decided. The seat that was on the bike when I purchased it sat at the same height and had no issues with clearance, but I will still do some tests at full spring compression to make sure.

As for the muffler, I'm currently on the fence over what to do there. It actually sounds quite good without it IMO (I like loud bikes), but I also don't want to become a nuisance to my neighbours (one of them clears my driveway for me in the winter, so he's the last guy I want to piss off). The muffler that was on it isn't bad, but I'm currently searching for something new, as well. Just not sure which direction I want to go. If you have any suggestions teazer, that'd be great.
 
I also have fork covers en route from a local bike shop. I have no other reason right now to disassemble the forks of my bike other than to put them on.

Anyone have any tips on the easiest way to do this and some things to look out for when removing your forks?

Sent from my Nexus 6P using DO THE TON mobile app
 

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Bikes coming along great Bud just about to start my own build on my 1977 Gs750 had to be an early one for me so i could still use the kickstart do away with the bigger battery used for cranking.
 
dowser81 said:
Bikes coming along great Bud just about to start my own build on my 1977 Gs750 had to be an early one for me so i could still use the kickstart do away with the bigger battery used for cranking.
Thanks man. Sounds like that'll be a great project. Hope everything with your build goes well! Gotta love those old kickstarts.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using DO THE TON mobile app
 
Nice! I just picked up a '79 of my own and planning out where I want to start on it. I'll be posting it in the introduction area shortly, but wanted to ask what rear shocks you have on the bike, and the eye to eye length if you don't mind me asking?
 
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