1979 Suzuki GS550 Rookie Brat Build

Paydan

Been Around the Block
I got an amazing deal on a damn nice Suzuki GS 550 a couple of weeks ago and have finally decided to go for a "Brat" style build instead of a more traditional cafe. I have never really known about the Brat genre but when introduced to them I instantly fell in love. Let me tell everyone right off the bat that I am no mechanic, just a guy with a semi-good idea and a Craftsman welder. I am sure that I will have plenty of questions down the road so please feel free to chime in with any and all comments. Thanks again you guys.
 

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Some of my insiration.
 

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@ Danejurrous - Thanks Dane.

@Clinedesign - Nice project you got there Cline. I am interested in running a 4 into 1 exhast as well. I also see that you removed the battery and electronics. Did you relocate the wiring under the tank?
 
Removed the seat and rear section to get a good look at the frame. At first I was just going to shorten it and just modify the stock seat pan but I immediately scrapped that idea. Too much work to modify it so I am just going to build one from scratch.

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Chop and bob time. Okay, I cheated a little bit. I was going to bent a piece of DOM tubing when I notied that the frame sliders down by the foot controls were the exact diameter that I needed and damn near the circumference. With a little bit of modification you get this.

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I think that it turned out pretty damn good. :)
 
I had some 1/4 inch oak veneer left over from another project and thought that it might be perfect for a seat base so I broke out some cardboard and started making a template.

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Because I have an upsweep in the tail I had to cut two little reliefe channels so that it would bend and conforn to the frame.

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I also had to figure out how I was going to mount the seat. I welded a crossbar between the frame.

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I mounted some bolts on the seat base and added a front clip.

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After drilling some mounting holes in the crossmember this is what I got.

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Okay, so my first attempt at making a seat didn't turn out quite as good as I had originally hoped. There goes 4 hours of my life that I will never get back. As you can see in the pictures I couldn't cut and shape the foam that great and it made ripples that really show through the vinyl. I also didn't like the lines of the seat and how it didn't follow the lines of the upsweep tail.

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I really hated it so I scrapped it altogether. After watching more than a few youtube videos I think that I finally got it. As sugessted I bought a sleeping mat from Walmart to use as a base and it seemed to do the trick. After a few stitch details and stretching the hell out of the vinyl, this is what I ended up with.

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I like it.
 
Nice, simple, and clean seat solution. Keep at it and this little Brat will be done before you know it. Our family specializes in only GS bikes, we have almost a dozen, including an all factory 78 GS550. If I can be any help as far as fabricating parts or just questions and answers regarding the 550, feel free to ask.

-Will
 
Paydan said:
@ Danejurrous - Thanks Dane.

@Clinedesign - Nice project you got there Cline. I am interested in running a 4 into 1 exhast as well. I also see that you removed the battery and electronics. Did you relocate the wiring under the tank?

Photo of electrics work in progress. Working on mounting a little Shorai Lithium Iron battery as soon as the budget allows.

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See my sig for the build.
 
Let me know how it goes with that lithium iron battery, my buddy works for a battery distributor here and has been wanting me to get one for my bike but I have heard some stories about longevity on them. I am extremely interested in them solely because they are extremely small compared to the behemoth I have now.
 
Thanks Will. I am sure I will have some questions in the near future.

Hey thanks for the picture Cline. I checked out your build. Looking good man.
 
I wanted to lower the headlight a couple of inches so I ordered a universal headlight mounting kit. After placing the order I noticed that it said that it would take a good 7 business days to deliver. Being the patient person that I am I decided to go ahead and modify the stock mount a bit. I cut out about an inch and a half from the stock mounts.
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I rewelded it back and it is as good as new. It actually welded up pretty nicely and is as strong as it ever was before.
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I finally got my renthal bars and speedo gauge from DCC. Couple that with the mini cats eye tail light that I got from Niche Motors and this thing is starting to coming together.

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I spent a little time today cleaning up the frame. I reworked the rear suspension mounts and closed them up after I cut off the rear section.
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Okay, some are going to like this and some are going to hate it but I was looking to get some sort of 4 into 1 exhaust. I couldn't find one less than $350 and most were not exactly what I wanted anyway. For the lack of anything better to do I broke out the old cutting wheel and hacked off about a foot of length from the stock exhaust. Surprisingly it not nearly as loud as I thought that it would be. I like it.
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I got some of the fiberglass heat wrap in the other day. I don't have enought to do all 4 pipes but at least is gives me a good idea of what the finished product will be.

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