Back at it....this time with an 81 Suzuki GN400.

massey65 said:
Did you keep it 6 volt? I always have problems with my battery not having enough juice to run my lights.

Yeah, it's still 6v. I'm waiting on my 6v H4 retrofit to get here, so I'm not sure what effect the headlight will have on it, but it powers the tail and signals just fine. I'm not going to be doing a whole lot of night riding on this, and when I do ride they will be short, so I have no problem keeping it on a trickle charge in the garage.

So is the gas tank clearcoated at all? How did you brush it? What keeps it from rusting?

No, there is nothing on the tank at all. I used an 80 grit sanding sponge to get the look I wanted. A scotchbrite with some Simple Green takes off any patina that forms after a couple weeks. I've hear a wipe with WD40 will do the same thing. I may clear it someday, but its not a priority right now.

Came out nice. Big fan of this one. I'd throw some tracker bars on that but that's my 2 cents. Looks like a fun bike.
Thank man....it's been a blast seeing it come to fruition. I thought of doing trackers, but I really like having a nice low front end on this thing. It fits my 5'7 frame perfectly.


Only thing I might change is to swap out the K70 up front for a 4.5 Firestone ANS to match the 5.0 in the rear.
 
hillsy said:
Bike looks good ;)

Idle sounds pretty high in your video - how's the jetting??

It was...I hadn't adjusted it yet. Jetting appears to be close, if not spot on. I don't feel any flat spots in the throttle. Once I put some more miles on her I'll do a plug chop and see if I can perfect it at all.

One step closer to being done, had a painful visit to the DMV this morning to get the paperwork started for the pink slip/plates. $166 fees and first year registration, but I have to go to the highway patrol to get the VIN verified. Basically they run the numbers through the stolen vehicle databases to make sure it's not stolen. They usually have a month backlog, but I got a temp permit that allows me to ride legally till then. :woot:


Oh, and I know I did a good job on it when I had my first mustached hipster taking pics of it from his car as we're riding down the road.
 
Chris you know Im going to give you shit for the vinyl stickers when you couldve sent that tank out here for some proper pin striping. wanker! haha

However this build was awesome! It really made me want to get a second bike but I havent been on mine enough to justify a second.
 
whats the lenght and width of the seat pan? Id like to do that to mine I just wonder how big a piece of steel I will need. Thanks.
 
OK Sorry just read through your post a little bit more and saw you had it upholstered at a shop so that answers that but where did you get the rear loop?
 
I just had it upholstered there, I built the pan and glued/shaped the foam myself. I used an off-the-shelf piece of 16g steel from Lowes. I believe it was 8x24. The rear section of the frame is 8 1/2 center to center, so the large rear hoop from DCC works pefectly. The 8" wide sheet gives a nice reveal of the frame/hoop, and you only have to cut and shape the rear half circle and the front section where it narrows down to the tank.


Oh, and it's mounted to the frame via two holes I drilled in the crossbrace. I used threadserts (threaded inserts installed with a riveter) in the seatpan, then ran two bolts through the holes in the crtossbrace and into the seat pan. When I bent the pan, I left the bend s a little shallower than they needed to be, which means the screws force it down flush with the frame and rear hoop so no other mounting points are needed.
Hope that helps.
 
Yeah that helps alot thanks. Im in PA we need rear fenders here to pass inspection. Where are you from?
 
I can't figure out if I want a rear cowl on my bike or not...I have a GN400 as well.

I photoshopped the "stiletto" from DCC onto your bike but idk if I like it or not...

almekg.jpg
 
massey65 said:
Yeah that helps alot thanks. Im in PA we need rear fenders here to pass inspection. Where are you from?

I'm in Long Beach, CA. Our bikes don't require any sort of inspection, so that's a bonus.

That cowl looks pretty badass. I'd love to make something similar but removeable.



We had some epically awesome weather this afternoon, so I was able to take her out on her first real ride. All I can say is that it was awesome. Rode great, ran great and got lots of looks. Put about 20 miles on her, and it was a blast. Took some pictures around the hood.

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Any exhaust vids with the emgo shorty on it?

Also, how did you use your frame slugs from DCC? I bought some with my rear hoop and IDK what they're for..?
 
I'll have to take a new video with the muffler. I repacked it and it quieted the bike down quite a bit, but it's still loud in a good way.

I didn't use the DCC slugs, I made my own but they're used the same way. Basically one end goes in the frame, and the other end slides in the seat hoop. It's acting as a splice to strengthen the joint where you weld them together.
 
When you did your forks what seals did you use?

I ordered All Balls fork seals and I believe they were 35X48X11 and they were too tall for my forks. It's almost like I need a 35X48X8 or something...Did you have this issue?
 
StryfeS13 said:
When you did your forks what seals did you use?

I ordered All Balls fork seals and I believe they were 35X48X11 and they were too tall for my forks. It's almost like I need a 35X48X8 or something...Did you have this issue?

Sorry, cant help you man. My seals were in fine shape so I didn't change them.
 
Ah damn. Well thanks anyway.

I might have never caught it but which clip ons did you use? And those are 35MM right?
 
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