1983 Suzuki GS750E Cafe/Brat/Tracker? or whatever
- Thread starter dilbone
- Start date
Yesterday I got a ratchet strap out and cranked on the suspension to make sure I had plenty of room above the rear tire to be able to mount the tail light/plate bracket.
I cut a piece out of some 1/8" scrap, got it shaped to fit the curve of the seat hoop, tacked it in place, checked position, and welded it in. I'm not a great welder...but it's on
I went ahead and flipped it over and welded the bottom too....which is why I didn't weld the hoop on yet, I'm not good at welding right side up let alone upside down...
I also went back out and cut another inch off the frame to shorten up the seat a bit more.
Tonight I went out to the barn and just stared at the bike for 45min or so...just looking all over trying to decide about the seat and how I'm going to build it. I need to cut some tabs off and clean things up a bit and make turn signal brackets, but I'm trying to figure out the seat pan design before I do anything else so I have a vision of where I'm going. Trying to use the stock seat locking mechanism and getting the seat pan to be more flat and less up curve like the frame are my challenges to get my mind wrapped around. I've gotten to this point on the other 2 builds where I reach a place that stalls out until I get some inspiration then I get moving again. Hopefully I'm not stalled out for long.
I cut a piece out of some 1/8" scrap, got it shaped to fit the curve of the seat hoop, tacked it in place, checked position, and welded it in. I'm not a great welder...but it's on
I went ahead and flipped it over and welded the bottom too....which is why I didn't weld the hoop on yet, I'm not good at welding right side up let alone upside down...
I also went back out and cut another inch off the frame to shorten up the seat a bit more.
Tonight I went out to the barn and just stared at the bike for 45min or so...just looking all over trying to decide about the seat and how I'm going to build it. I need to cut some tabs off and clean things up a bit and make turn signal brackets, but I'm trying to figure out the seat pan design before I do anything else so I have a vision of where I'm going. Trying to use the stock seat locking mechanism and getting the seat pan to be more flat and less up curve like the frame are my challenges to get my mind wrapped around. I've gotten to this point on the other 2 builds where I reach a place that stalls out until I get some inspiration then I get moving again. Hopefully I'm not stalled out for long.
School was cancelled today...not expecting that, but I'll take it. I fired up the wood pellet stove and got to work.
I cut off a couple tabs and brackets and decided to get the holes drilled in the tail light bracket before I welded the seat hoop on. I drilled the hole in the middle so I could pass the wires through and under the seat pan out of the way
I finally got the seat hoop welded on and had a terrible time getting my welder dialed in. It seemed like my feed speed wasn't steady at all. Like it was getting hung up and all herky jerky...oh well...I finally got it.
Then I started looking at how to get the seat lock mechanism placed so that when I lay out the glass for the pan I can lay it right over the top plate that bolts to the seat. I think it might work, but I've got to come up with a tab and slot in the front that locks the front of the seat down when the back clips in.
I got the rear blinker tabs make and welded on
I think it'll work. For the front blinkers I may just drill an additional hole in the headlight mounting ears so I don't have to mount a bracket on the lower triple pinch bolts. The lower triple gets really close to the tank at the stops, so I don't think a bracket down there would be a good idea.
On to the seat pan work...time to pick up glass and resin
I cut off a couple tabs and brackets and decided to get the holes drilled in the tail light bracket before I welded the seat hoop on. I drilled the hole in the middle so I could pass the wires through and under the seat pan out of the way
I finally got the seat hoop welded on and had a terrible time getting my welder dialed in. It seemed like my feed speed wasn't steady at all. Like it was getting hung up and all herky jerky...oh well...I finally got it.
Then I started looking at how to get the seat lock mechanism placed so that when I lay out the glass for the pan I can lay it right over the top plate that bolts to the seat. I think it might work, but I've got to come up with a tab and slot in the front that locks the front of the seat down when the back clips in.
I got the rear blinker tabs make and welded on
I think it'll work. For the front blinkers I may just drill an additional hole in the headlight mounting ears so I don't have to mount a bracket on the lower triple pinch bolts. The lower triple gets really close to the tank at the stops, so I don't think a bracket down there would be a good idea.
On to the seat pan work...time to pick up glass and resin
finally got the seat locking mechanism where I wanted it and cut to fit so I tacked it in
Got it finished...had a few wire feed issues and for some reason sometimes I just can't see well enough where I am from my welding helmet, but it's done...and will be hidden anyway...
Got a piece of cardboard cut to fit
drilled some holes in the cardboard to get the seat side of the locking bracket to be able to clamp in...perfect
Got it finished...had a few wire feed issues and for some reason sometimes I just can't see well enough where I am from my welding helmet, but it's done...and will be hidden anyway...
Got a piece of cardboard cut to fit
drilled some holes in the cardboard to get the seat side of the locking bracket to be able to clamp in...perfect
I built up the front of the pan with some cardboard and wooden blocks so the pan would clear and cover the rear tank mounts along with giving me enough room to build a mounting tab for the front of the seat. Lots of tape...
Didn't take as long as I thought it would
After waxing up the tape with a couple of liberal coats of turtle wax I mixed up about 12ish oz of resin and added what I hoped was about the right amount of hardner. I know most info I've seen show guys using aluminum tape over the blue but I wasn't too concerned. I mixed well and brushed quite a bit directly onto the tape and laid the first piece of 12"x24" cloth on it...I had enough resin for 4 layers and let it go for a few hours.
Didn't take as long as I thought it would
After waxing up the tape with a couple of liberal coats of turtle wax I mixed up about 12ish oz of resin and added what I hoped was about the right amount of hardner. I know most info I've seen show guys using aluminum tape over the blue but I wasn't too concerned. I mixed well and brushed quite a bit directly onto the tape and laid the first piece of 12"x24" cloth on it...I had enough resin for 4 layers and let it go for a few hours.
After a few hours I got back to the barn and was impressed with the strength I was seeing from just 4 layers although I didn't think 4 would probably be enough.
I hit it with some 120 grit and scuffed it all up so I could do round 2
I mixed up another 12ish oz of resin and had 4 more pieces cut and ready. I wasn't sure if I should do just 2 or what so I ended up settling on 3 and use some of the extra resin to really load the top layer. Here it is with all 7 layers and plenty of resin on top
I let is sit overnight since I got the last 3 layers on just before bed and when I went out this morning it was looking great. I started to tug at the back of the pan to see if I could get it to lift off of the tape. It was a little slow, partly because it was pretty tight to the frame, but I was able to finally get it to work loose
Not too much stuck, probably another coat of wax may have helped
A few minutes to grab some edges of tape and it cleaned up nicely
I cut off some excess cloth and it is definitely a tight fit snapping down onto the frame
The fit won't eventually be so tight, I need to cut most of the "wrap around" bottom edge off of the pan and clean it up so I drew a guide line on it
I think it will work out ok
I'm just thoroughly impressed with this fiberglass. I haven't used fiberglass since probably 1994 on an old chevy cavalier I had that had a huge hole behind the driver's door above the rocker panel. I used the resin jelly on it and it worked great at that time, but I really had forgotten the level of ease of use and the strength it had. Looking forward to picking up my upholstery stuff and getting this finished up. My xs650 hard tail has an 1/8" steel pan I made, the GS750 brat bike has a plywood pan, so this is going to be nice I think.
I hit it with some 120 grit and scuffed it all up so I could do round 2
I mixed up another 12ish oz of resin and had 4 more pieces cut and ready. I wasn't sure if I should do just 2 or what so I ended up settling on 3 and use some of the extra resin to really load the top layer. Here it is with all 7 layers and plenty of resin on top
I let is sit overnight since I got the last 3 layers on just before bed and when I went out this morning it was looking great. I started to tug at the back of the pan to see if I could get it to lift off of the tape. It was a little slow, partly because it was pretty tight to the frame, but I was able to finally get it to work loose
Not too much stuck, probably another coat of wax may have helped
A few minutes to grab some edges of tape and it cleaned up nicely
I cut off some excess cloth and it is definitely a tight fit snapping down onto the frame
The fit won't eventually be so tight, I need to cut most of the "wrap around" bottom edge off of the pan and clean it up so I drew a guide line on it
I think it will work out ok
I'm just thoroughly impressed with this fiberglass. I haven't used fiberglass since probably 1994 on an old chevy cavalier I had that had a huge hole behind the driver's door above the rocker panel. I used the resin jelly on it and it worked great at that time, but I really had forgotten the level of ease of use and the strength it had. Looking forward to picking up my upholstery stuff and getting this finished up. My xs650 hard tail has an 1/8" steel pan I made, the GS750 brat bike has a plywood pan, so this is going to be nice I think.
I finally got my new headlight in...I like it
I think I am going to go ahead and drill holes in the mounting ears for the front signals...it'll be easy and they're black anyway so it will all just blend in together
I needed to cut a bit more off the edges of the seat pan. I think I got it about at symmetrical as I could get it. It feels good sitting on it too. Now I'll have to head to the upholstery shop and see if I can buy some scraps of high density foam and sew foam for the ribbing
I think I am going to go ahead and drill holes in the mounting ears for the front signals...it'll be easy and they're black anyway so it will all just blend in together
I needed to cut a bit more off the edges of the seat pan. I think I got it about at symmetrical as I could get it. It feels good sitting on it too. Now I'll have to head to the upholstery shop and see if I can buy some scraps of high density foam and sew foam for the ribbing
The past few days I was getting the oil pan ready to bolt back on. The PO said all the oil leaked out while the motor sat on his garage floor and he didn't know why. The pan was missing 2 bolts(one had been broken off in the cases) most of the rest of them were loose as well as the drain plug being loose...not to mention the cork gasket that was in terrible shape. After I got all of that sorted out and picked up a couple new bolts the motor was ready to go in the frame.
I was driving down the road coming back to my house after a stop at the hardware store for some odds and ends for the rear gas tank mount(that also had a bolt broken off in the frame) and seat mounting hardware when I saw a piece of blue foam near the ditch. I've been meaning to pick up some foam to use as a form to glass some side covers for this bike...perfect...and free...
I drilled some holes and squared them off for some short carriage bolts to attach the rear seat lock bracket
I needed to come up with some way to hold down the front of the seat so this is what I came up with
I also had a buddy come over to help me get the motor in the frame. What a PITA that was. The long 10" bolt on the upper back of the motor had the threads all boogered up by a strange mishap. I was actually missing 2 parts from the mounts. An acorn nut for one of the long bolts and one of the tear drop shaped nuts for the mounts on the bottom of the motor. I ended up running a 3/8" die down the 10mm bolt and that worked out. For the lower mount I just used a 3/8" bolt and nut on the left side because there was easier access to it unlike the right side.
I checked with an upholstery shop down the road from me that I got sew foam from for my last seat and they had nothing at all in the way of scrap. After some searching online I finally decided to check into carpet pad for my seat foam. I'm still not sure what to do about the sew foam for the ribbed panel in the center, but at any rate the seat is now ready for it. I'm thinking I should probably use some epoxy to secure the carriage bolts in the pan from the top side.
Now that the motor is in I'll get the rest of the carbs broken down and soak the jets/needle valves, then I'll have to tackle the wiring harness and try and get it put into place.
I was driving down the road coming back to my house after a stop at the hardware store for some odds and ends for the rear gas tank mount(that also had a bolt broken off in the frame) and seat mounting hardware when I saw a piece of blue foam near the ditch. I've been meaning to pick up some foam to use as a form to glass some side covers for this bike...perfect...and free...
I drilled some holes and squared them off for some short carriage bolts to attach the rear seat lock bracket
I needed to come up with some way to hold down the front of the seat so this is what I came up with
I also had a buddy come over to help me get the motor in the frame. What a PITA that was. The long 10" bolt on the upper back of the motor had the threads all boogered up by a strange mishap. I was actually missing 2 parts from the mounts. An acorn nut for one of the long bolts and one of the tear drop shaped nuts for the mounts on the bottom of the motor. I ended up running a 3/8" die down the 10mm bolt and that worked out. For the lower mount I just used a 3/8" bolt and nut on the left side because there was easier access to it unlike the right side.
I checked with an upholstery shop down the road from me that I got sew foam from for my last seat and they had nothing at all in the way of scrap. After some searching online I finally decided to check into carpet pad for my seat foam. I'm still not sure what to do about the sew foam for the ribbed panel in the center, but at any rate the seat is now ready for it. I'm thinking I should probably use some epoxy to secure the carriage bolts in the pan from the top side.
Now that the motor is in I'll get the rest of the carbs broken down and soak the jets/needle valves, then I'll have to tackle the wiring harness and try and get it put into place.
We had a delay this morning for fog... :-\
But while I was laying there trying to catch a few more Zzzz, I remembered that when we replaced our carpet in the living room a few years ago we had quite a bit of pad leftover. I wasn't sure what to do with it at the time so I put it upstairs in our barn in what would have been a haymow. This is right above the shop area with my wood pellet stove so I was trying to slow down some of the heat loss between the boards in the haymow floor without stacking up a thick layer of fiberglass....long story short...
I have carpet padding already...I'll see what I can do with it. I know it's at least 6lb pad, so 2" of it stacked for the thin seat section should be comfy enough and keep me from bottoming out.
But while I was laying there trying to catch a few more Zzzz, I remembered that when we replaced our carpet in the living room a few years ago we had quite a bit of pad leftover. I wasn't sure what to do with it at the time so I put it upstairs in our barn in what would have been a haymow. This is right above the shop area with my wood pellet stove so I was trying to slow down some of the heat loss between the boards in the haymow floor without stacking up a thick layer of fiberglass....long story short...
I have carpet padding already...I'll see what I can do with it. I know it's at least 6lb pad, so 2" of it stacked for the thin seat section should be comfy enough and keep me from bottoming out.
Tune-A-Fish
BOTM LOSER Proudly Deplorable
Always put the frame on the motor when no removable cradle exists
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
I had to do a bit more trimming on the back of the seat pan...I'm glad I checked, I installed the tail light to check clearance with getting the pan in and out of the locking mechanism. I needed a smidge more room, hopefully I've taken off enough.
When I got home though I went straight up to the barn and kinda forgot exactly how much pad I had up there. Over a hundred square feet...
I cut a nice sized section and cut it into 24"x12" pieces...I think 5 will work
I've got a lot of shaping ahead of me, but this stuff is extremely firm. I'm thinking I didn't need quite so many layers. I've got 4 over the main seating area and that 2" of foam barely even moved when I sat on it. I've got a shape in my head that I'd like to hit, I just hope I can make it show up as I get the electric knife out.
When I got home though I went straight up to the barn and kinda forgot exactly how much pad I had up there. Over a hundred square feet...
I cut a nice sized section and cut it into 24"x12" pieces...I think 5 will work
I've got a lot of shaping ahead of me, but this stuff is extremely firm. I'm thinking I didn't need quite so many layers. I've got 4 over the main seating area and that 2" of foam barely even moved when I sat on it. I've got a shape in my head that I'd like to hit, I just hope I can make it show up as I get the electric knife out.
Tune-A-Fish
BOTM LOSER Proudly Deplorable
That spot in the hay mow would make a sweet shop, all you need is a winch lift elevator to elevate bikes up.
I never even thought about an elevator for a 2nd story shop. My shop right now is the same size and directly below the hay mow. Problem is that it's full of wood working equipment and misc junk. I build guitars as a hobby too and so this space doubles as a wood shop and now a metal shop haha. If I would just clean out the space I have now I'd be in much better shape.Tune-A-Fish said:
I think this convo may have just motivated me to do some much needed cleanup!!!!!!!
After the seat and all of the spray adhesive dried for 24hrs I started cutting off everything that didn't look like a seat...
Which got me here...starting to look a bit like a seat
and very rough around the edges...
After some thought I ended up taking off most of the foam on the back of the seat that I had built up, Not sure exactly what I was trying to do...I had an image in my head and I missed it...
Then I ended up with a minor "bump" on the back end...I'm still not sure if I like this at all. I need to think about it some more and may end up adding foam back to the rear and reworking it. I will say that the flap disc does very little to remove and shape this foam. Nothing like the foam I've worked with before...this carpet pad is tough as nails
I'll have to see if I can get some inspiration going for this seat, I'm just not feeling it right now...
Which got me here...starting to look a bit like a seat
and very rough around the edges...
After some thought I ended up taking off most of the foam on the back of the seat that I had built up, Not sure exactly what I was trying to do...I had an image in my head and I missed it...
Then I ended up with a minor "bump" on the back end...I'm still not sure if I like this at all. I need to think about it some more and may end up adding foam back to the rear and reworking it. I will say that the flap disc does very little to remove and shape this foam. Nothing like the foam I've worked with before...this carpet pad is tough as nails
I'll have to see if I can get some inspiration going for this seat, I'm just not feeling it right now...
