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

cierrecart

Been Around the Block
A few years back I made the transition from a modded scooter, to a restored 67 Suzuki K15 "Hillbilly", to a slightly cafe'd RD350.
Well, then I got into triathlon, got obsessed and just had to have an expensive bike, so I sold the bikes that had motors. Still obsessed with triathlon, but after stumbling across the Holiday Customs GN400 brat bike, I knew I had to get another project.
http://www.pipeburn.com/home/2012/10/22/1980-suzuki-gn400-holiday-customs.html

With that bike as my inspiration, I started watching CL, and found one fairly local...and $200 later I had this:
Coming home crammed in my minivan:
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FUGLY!
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The good news was that the bike has been in a storage space for a long time, and its in decent shape. Motor turns over just fine, everything works....but it doesn't run. The guy I bought it from (the original owner) said he had just had carb work done on it 3 months ago and it was running great (dont they all say that?) but that he'd left the petcock on when he put it away those months ago and that the jets were probably clogged. I took a leap of faith and decided to tear it down first, then work on getting it running once I was all done.
The other positive is that it has a clear title. (Definitely a bonus after the hoops I had to jump through with the Hillbilly!)

So, the plan is to go for a cafe/brat hybrid. Keeping the stock tank, ditching the airbox/sidecovers, lowering the tree on the forks to fit clipons above it, cutting the rear frame and adding the DCC rear loop and brat seat. Plan was to get some big ol' Firestones, but the rubber on this bike is in great shape so I'll run them for now. Ditching the tach and center console section and just running the speedo.

Already have a sizeable order in to Dime City. Hoping to have the motor out and frame ready for paint over the weekend.
Budget is the primary concern....I'd like to stay under $1000 when all is said and done. I have very little time to ride, so this will just be an around town errand runner on the weekends kind of bike. I want it to look good and be fun.


Here she is stripped down24 hours later. Forks are up in the trees to see what kind of stance I'd like.
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haha...thats crazy. Tell that little bastard I said hi. :D



So my very first part came in the mail today so I did a quick mockup. Black anodized clipons. They look really nice and fit perfectly. I think I'm gonna really like the different angles I can get with them.
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I've also ordered a few more odds and ends like the tach plug for the motor since I'll be doing without it.
 
Decided I wanted to try shortening the forks internally. This is just a mockup with a 2.5" spacer in there. I think I might do 3" instead just because this bike had such long forks to begin with. There is plenty of room in front of the wheel and no other contact points, so it should be okay.
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All torn town. Also shortened the forks by 3", cleaned them up and painted the lowers. Currently waiting on lots of parts.

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If you don't mind me asking I'd like to get a few bits of information about how you shorten the forks internally.

I just bought a CB450 and am looking to lower it by 2" overall and am wondering if it would be the same as you did here or not. Very broad question I understand.
 
reesea17 said:
If you don't mind me asking I'd like to get a few bits of information about how you shorten the forks internally.

I just bought a CB450 and am looking to lower it by 2" overall and am wondering if it would be the same as you did here or not. Very broad question I understand.

Sure thing. I used this as a guide:
http://www.xs650chopper.com/2009/06/mulligan-machine-lower-your-xs650-forks-low-buck-garage-tech/

Everything was almost exactly the same on my bike, and I think most Japanese bikes from that era are very similar. Hardest part was figuring out how to make the tool to hold the damper rod during disassembly.

I used a 2" and 1" spacer on each side. Found them at Lowes in the bolt drawers.
 
When I took my GN forks apart I just put the springs back in then pressed down from the top with an impact wrench and they came loose. I have a 1980 GN400 as well.
 
Yeah, I'd heard that would work, but I dont have any air tools or impact drivers right now. Using a bunch or extensions and a 17mm bolt head worked well though.
 
Subscribed. Looking forward to seeing the end result.
 
Got my rear Firestone in today, and the wheels are all painted along with the rear sprocket/hub assembly. Just waiting on my new tubes and rim strips to get here so I can take them to get mounted.
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Today I spent some time stripping the tank and de-tabbing and cleaning up the frame for welding and paint. Meeting up with my buddy on monday and he's going to teach me to weld a bit and help me get the rear hoop put on.
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I've decided to not go with the DCC seat and pan. I just didn't like how much moifying of the frame it would take, and it was really too long. I'm going to go this route and utilize the factory kick up to my advantage:
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Tubes also came today so I should have my tires mounted up soon, and my buddy back east is powdercoating a box of parts I sent him.
 
Had a great day with the project today. Started off by getting the tires mounted, sprayed some bedliner on the bottom of the tank, then later this afternoon went over to a buddies house where he not only welded up my rear hoop, but also taught me how to weld. Had a freaking blast!

Wheels and tires:
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Tank:
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Figuring out the length:
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Slugs fitted:
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My buddy Adam at work:
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Here's me learning to stick metal together.
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And grinding it down so it looks decent, lol.
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Next step is to finish cleaning up the frame and I'll be painting tomorrow. Then its assembly time.
 
I'm watching this show.
My buddy has a GN400 that he knows very little about and I may help him get it going after graduation this weekend.
 
She's rollin....
Ordered some new all black shocks that are an inch longer. Front height isn't set yet, but should be pretty close to this.
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This is kewl.......I likey..........!!!

What did you paint the wheels with, pleeeezzz?
 
Duplicolor bedliner. Cheap way of giving a tough finish that hides imperfections. Used it on the frame too. Powder coating just wasnt in the budget for this one.
 
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