doctorcat
New Member
Hi all.
Transplant from california to upstate NY.
Came into this bike when we rented our house. It was sitting in the garage, in need of some love.
I got the house owner to sell the bike for cheapie, and it was in pretty decent condition all around.
It had been chopped up a bit by a few folks trying to make it less plastic clad. It's not a bad idea, as the frame on these bikes was quite pretty and showing it off is great.
here she is when I first got her, 1983 Kawasaki GPZ550
now the other side...maybe you can see that brownish gunk on the top of the tank? That was rust eating through from inside the tank to the outside
I took the tank to a shop to see if they could weld it, but it was far too rusted. There was a hole in the roof and water and snow just dripped away eating the insides and out (gas cap wasn't sealing up right) The shop was interstellar motors, here in ROC, NY. Great bunch of guys!
I looked for another tank, but to be honest I hated the shape of the stock tank. The lines were wrong on the bike. I noticed a member on here JFarhanbod had done up a GPZ550 really nicely (his is an 84) and he fit the 81 style tank on his.
I had to grind off the tabs for my ignition coils and make a bracket to relocate them, but the tank fit great!
Forgot to mention, the wiring was a mess. Lots of corrosion, lots of stripped wiring that when I drove the bike around at first, it sparked and sputtered. I decided enough was enough, and removed the harness.
I picked up an M-unit and some buttons, plus a domino throttle...
while I wait for those to show up, I started to ponder the seat pan:
I need somewhere to stash a battery, and the electronics.
I also need to mount up a seat somehow, and not the awkwardly shaped stock seat.
I want to have SOME room for storage, so a rear hump is in order (though maybe the battery will eat all that space up.)
Here is the template for the seat I've measured several times and tried a few layups... I had interstellar motors (shameless plug for them again i guess? GREAT shop) weld up the rear frame hoop.
now for the ideas about making an undertray: looks like there isn't much clearance towards the rear of the bike with the tire. I can't follow the triangular plates on the frame where the dual shocks used to mount on the prev year model.
(although I think it would look better this way...)
and then up towards the front, where the factory ignition, and regulator rectifier mounted? Not a bad spot, but totally exposed to the elements.
maybe you can't quite see it, but this is a UNITRAC model suspension and the suspension linkage takes up a lot of that middle area. There's still a teeny bit of space, though. I could probably squeeze an electrics box in there, but I wouldnt fit the M unit I don't think, and I wouldn't want the M unit right next to a boiling hot regulator rectifier.
And then there's the issue of the seat shape: It's going to need to be a taller seat height (a low brat seat makes the bike too small for me)
so I got the idea to build the seat base like earlier, and maybe have that be the electronics tray. Electronics on TOP of the frame rails.
Then somehow build the seat on top of the electronics, and somehow have it swivel or click open so I can take a look at the electronics, and maybe have some storage space in a cafe hump for my gloves when I'm not riding.
well, that's all for now. I'm kind of stuck at an impasse. I don't know what to do next, frozen in indecision.
Where do I stash the electronics and battery?
How do I build a seat over this with a good shape, or get a seat pan build that wont crack when I sit on it.
Do I have the seat pan have a little lip to cover the frame up, or do I have it like pictured just sitting on top of the rails?
little details, and I'm still not sure if I know which one is best.
Thanks for watching/reading!
Transplant from california to upstate NY.
Came into this bike when we rented our house. It was sitting in the garage, in need of some love.
I got the house owner to sell the bike for cheapie, and it was in pretty decent condition all around.
It had been chopped up a bit by a few folks trying to make it less plastic clad. It's not a bad idea, as the frame on these bikes was quite pretty and showing it off is great.
here she is when I first got her, 1983 Kawasaki GPZ550
now the other side...maybe you can see that brownish gunk on the top of the tank? That was rust eating through from inside the tank to the outside
I took the tank to a shop to see if they could weld it, but it was far too rusted. There was a hole in the roof and water and snow just dripped away eating the insides and out (gas cap wasn't sealing up right) The shop was interstellar motors, here in ROC, NY. Great bunch of guys!
I looked for another tank, but to be honest I hated the shape of the stock tank. The lines were wrong on the bike. I noticed a member on here JFarhanbod had done up a GPZ550 really nicely (his is an 84) and he fit the 81 style tank on his.
I had to grind off the tabs for my ignition coils and make a bracket to relocate them, but the tank fit great!
Forgot to mention, the wiring was a mess. Lots of corrosion, lots of stripped wiring that when I drove the bike around at first, it sparked and sputtered. I decided enough was enough, and removed the harness.
I picked up an M-unit and some buttons, plus a domino throttle...
while I wait for those to show up, I started to ponder the seat pan:
I need somewhere to stash a battery, and the electronics.
I also need to mount up a seat somehow, and not the awkwardly shaped stock seat.
I want to have SOME room for storage, so a rear hump is in order (though maybe the battery will eat all that space up.)
Here is the template for the seat I've measured several times and tried a few layups... I had interstellar motors (shameless plug for them again i guess? GREAT shop) weld up the rear frame hoop.
now for the ideas about making an undertray: looks like there isn't much clearance towards the rear of the bike with the tire. I can't follow the triangular plates on the frame where the dual shocks used to mount on the prev year model.
and then up towards the front, where the factory ignition, and regulator rectifier mounted? Not a bad spot, but totally exposed to the elements.
maybe you can't quite see it, but this is a UNITRAC model suspension and the suspension linkage takes up a lot of that middle area. There's still a teeny bit of space, though. I could probably squeeze an electrics box in there, but I wouldnt fit the M unit I don't think, and I wouldn't want the M unit right next to a boiling hot regulator rectifier.
And then there's the issue of the seat shape: It's going to need to be a taller seat height (a low brat seat makes the bike too small for me)
so I got the idea to build the seat base like earlier, and maybe have that be the electronics tray. Electronics on TOP of the frame rails.
Then somehow build the seat on top of the electronics, and somehow have it swivel or click open so I can take a look at the electronics, and maybe have some storage space in a cafe hump for my gloves when I'm not riding.
well, that's all for now. I'm kind of stuck at an impasse. I don't know what to do next, frozen in indecision.
Where do I stash the electronics and battery?
How do I build a seat over this with a good shape, or get a seat pan build that wont crack when I sit on it.
Do I have the seat pan have a little lip to cover the frame up, or do I have it like pictured just sitting on top of the rails?
little details, and I'm still not sure if I know which one is best.
Thanks for watching/reading!