GS500F

Just picked up a 2005 Suzuki GS500F. I'm going to use it as a learner and as I go plan to turn it into a cafe style bike. One issue I have found so far is what appears to be minor surface rust in a couple of spots. It has been dropped a couple of times by the first owner and a foot peg got bent. I plan to pull the pegs for something new. The chain looks rusty so I'm just going to swap it too.

I was thinking of pressure washing it with the fairings off, then using the por 15 prep spray on everything rusty I can see, then paint the semi gloss black por 15 on as much as I can get to.

Any other ways without a total tear down?

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Do you have any pictures of the bike ?

All I have for now.

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I'm not sure that a GS500 would be a good place to start. It is a 21st century sport bike in terms of style and chassis design and they don't lend themselves well to the sixties cafe racer transformation.

Cafe racer styling from that era is based on frame of the time and they typically had a long flat top for the seat and tank to literally sit on. That "table top" look is not impossible to create on your GS frame, but will take some wicked fab skills to pull it off. You would need to fabricate a new subframe to hold a cafe style seat and a new flat bottom tank - maybe like a Ducati 999 or Honda RS250 race bike where the front of the tank matches the sloping frame sections but the rest of the tank floor is flat to get that look.

I could see ways to do that but so much work to make it look the part. If it's your first bike, I would focus on making sure that it is clean and runs like a watch and then ride the wheels off it. Clean up any rust and scratches and fit new tires/cables/chain and sprockets as required. Give it a full service and enjoy riding it.

I have built a few custom/race bikes and I usually start with a wreck or basket case because I can never bring myself to take a good running clean bike and spend hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars to make it worth less than when I started. Clean stock bikes I rebuild and maybe improve where I feel they need it and then ride them or sell them and move on to the next one.

The bike I ride on the streets is an old RZ350 with very few modifications - pipes, seat and jets and that's about it. The period look of a cafe racer is easiest to achieve on a period bike. Bikes are fun to ride and fun to change and you have all the time in the world to ride that bike and enjoy it and plan the changes for next winter or for a different bike to base the project around.

That's my opinion YMMV.

That's a nice looking Suzuki G.Rossman 8)

What teazer stated.....

I'd be wary of slapping on some paint to the frame as it could end up looking like you just slapped on some paint....most of the frame is on show as well.

The bike looks like it's been left outside or neglected....now you own it, lube it well and change/clean up fittings like the handlebar bolts etc. Removing the fairing to powerwash it is OK but remember to protect electrics or you'll have ongoing problems with water ingress to connections etc.

Changing the style to old skool 'cafe'racer' will be tricky, you have a new skool cafe racer right there.

Ride it and love it

Pretty much decided to keep fairings for now. I am going to swap those screws with stainless, got a source for good ones? Maybe going wider rear tire as well. Got it apart to check valve shims, oil, air filter, may do brake and fork fluid too. Went and got my plates ordered for it yesterday. Waiting for my manual and shim tool now. May change gauges out and want to upgrade brake and turn signals to led.

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Check out the GStwins forum - there's good info there on rear wheel swaps. I think you can slot a Katana 750 rear rim in there to run a 160 tyre without too many hassles.

G.Rossman said:

Pretty much decided to keep fairings for now. I am going to swap those screws with stainless, got a source for good ones? Maybe going wider rear tire as well. Got it apart to check valve shims, oil, air filter, may do brake and fork fluid too. Went and got my plates ordered for it yesterday. Waiting for my manual and shim tool now. May change gauges out and want to upgrade brake and turn signals to led.

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Click to expand...

Maybe check out your local engineering supplies co....they hold nut/bolts/fixings in various types, sizes and materials, stainless can be weather resistant but careful where you use them as they aren't as tensile/strong ie: don't use them to hold brake calipers.

Good to hear you're getting a manual, they help a lot but can't do the jobs for you haha!.

Definitely need some that won't get rusty looking.

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You could also look at aluminum hardware for your side covers from a few places on line like ProBolt and Lockhardt Phillips and the Chinese are starting to get into that market. Whatever screws you get, they do not need to very very tight but they do need some sort of lube to stop galvanic corrosion.

I use copperslip as an assembly/anti-seize lube.....ie: the brakes on the CBX were done 20 years ago, mechanic used the same and when I stripped the old girl down for my project they all, every single one of them, came undone smoothly.

My son just picked up one of these a few months ago. This winter we're planning on removing the fairing to make it more of a street fighter, which lends itself more easily to the modern design of the bike. They even came from the factory naked...

This is the basic look we'll be going for. Pretty simple to accomplish as well.


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