77 GS400 Born again??

77GS400_MAINE

77' GS400
First post here! My senior year of high school I bought a 1977 Suzuki gs400 for $125 bucks. The thing was clapped out, brought it to my small engine class and built my first cafe! Unfortunately the bike has been sitting for two years, I've recently been inspired to build a tracker style bike, I live in Maine and there is plenty of dirt to be had! Any suggestions on things to incorporate on the build? Also what's a good multipurpose tire that's relatively cheap! Thanks!
 

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Welcome to the forum bud. The GS series are great bikes. I would get some MX bars knobbies and make sure you got some good fenders if you're gonna hit the fire roads with it.
 
My first purchase for the new build was a set of Pro Taper bars. When I originally built the bike in high school I installed clip on bars (see pic). Well, after two years of not going near it I seem to have lost the top half to my original bar clamps. Best place to purchase these??
 
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1977-SUZUKI-GS400-X-GS-400-UPPER-HANDLEBAR-CLAMP-OEM-NOS-56211-27200/264173301781?hash=item3d81f4b015:g:3vwAAOSwSxVcU1Ve:rk:17:pf:0
 
Welcome to DTT. I live next door in NB. What part of Maine. I ride there a lot. Your roads are better maintained the ours LOL. Gs ahould make a fun tracker. Shinko makes a good xheap dual tire depending on size you need.
 
Hey Neighbor! I live in southern Maine, Portland area! I use to go to P.E.I for hockey camp, cant wait to ride a bike up there in the near future!
 
Nice, lots of good riding within an hour of you. Love the White mountains area in both Maine and NH. Coast area on rte 1 is nice too. Rte 2 out of Bangor is a nice ride, I live right at the end of it next to Houlton in Woodstock.
 
Partzilla has them for $10.72 each or you can buy universal clamps on ebay for $14-15.
https://www.partzilla.com/product/suzuki/56211-27200-291
 
I would go dirt bars, high pipes, maybe extend the swingarm 1.5-2", beefier looking shocks, maybe slightly longer forks, and good dual sport tires. The ratio on the tires depends on how mixed your riding will be. I went shinko 705s on my bike because they gave the chunky look while being road friendly. But build how you want, there are 1000 ways to do it and none are wrong. Big thing is HAVE FUN!
 
Thanks for the feedback guys, I kinda want to go into this build with no solid plan appearance wise other than the essentials. Id like to gather ideas as I go along, this build is more about me getting back into something I love. Getting my welding back up to par, metal work, wiring, etc. Can't wait, disassembly begins tonight with the assistance of my good buddy pabst.
 
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