first project bike...79 GS550 caffinated

[fieroracer87]

well like the title says, this is my first true project bike. i've always loved the look of the early euro cafe' bikes and thought i would give it a shot since i've seem to do everything else. i've had the image in my head of how i want it to turn out and im finally pulling the pieces together...so i decided i should start to make a log of things to keep me motivated and moving....believe me it hard but i spent about 300 dollars in parts tonight alone so im in it now...On To The Pics

This is the bike how i bought it($300 running but barely on full choke)


Then i added the clip ons


in this period i had redone the carbs and now the bike wouldn't start at all (just my luck eh?)
so i put the bike away and didn't touch if for about 3 months.....
Then today i was like "to hell with this" and pulled it out becasue i was working on my other bike. Now this is where i stand today


this is the bike that has been my motivation and basically what i want to achieve(minus the r6 tail lamp...i got a 06 zx6 lamp instead)




hopefully im done before the end of the summer so i can ride it atleast once...but for now i'll hang in there with this


Wish me luck

[fieroracer87]

Update**
tried my hardest to incorperate the zx6 lamp into my plans but the angle that it would have to be placed at to be visible would throw off the balance of the rear. now im on the search for some shotgun tail lamps to piece my puzzle together. frame was cut. waiting for some more parts to come in (filters and such so i can toss my engine back on the frame. starting over on the seat with some more foam saturday....more pictures to follow

[Swagger]

Very fun project.....what can you tell us about the 'inspiration bike'?

[fieroracer87]

Not much really...I do know it is a gs550 just like mine. I knew that I was gonna being getting one so I google searched with different word combos and I stumbled across these on a flickr account. Its still simple without being overwhelming.

[fieroracer87]

I decided to go back to my original layot plan of having my two ^ seat reshaped. I had saw a video of a guy building gs250 in cali for under 500 bucks and his bike got me into cafes. I'll take pictures when I get the seat back and make the mounts for the lights and plate

[fieroracer87]

im told my seat should be done friday afternoon but i won't have it till saturday. decided to spray bomb the bike for this year until i come up with a combo for it but i think im falling for the rebel look(bbq grill flat black and gloss black accents). i did the tank, gas cap, and clutch cover and it looks like it fits me. will have a few pics of the said items when i wake up in the morning.

[fieroracer87]

Pics of the spray Bombed pieces

[fieroracer87]

Got my seat back and had to see how it looks....and im liking it.

Hopefully the engine will be back on it tomorrow and running by sundown

[fieroracer87]

well got the engine in the frame today and most of the wiring finished up . hooked up the battery and nothing sparked or anything so i say im doing fine. just have to finish installing the air filter and controls(have to make a temporary air filter since bikebandit believe that 83 gs550 filters fit).still have to come up with a solution to mount my tail light to the bottom of the seat without interference of the rear tire(most likely just have to flip the plate mount so it tilts to the front of the bike). no updates till the weekend since i work 3pm to 11:30pm every weekday and for the simple fact the bike isn't even at my house because i have no space with all my cars until i clear the garage and build my workshop i want sometime this summer.

[fieroracer87]

i did get a few minutes today to work on something while i was at work so i decided to mount my tail lamp to the seat using the license place mount that comes on the light. just flipped it bent it and tec screwed it into the seat pan and it went perfect. now i just have to find a place to mount my plate

[fieroracer87]

got everything together and the bike runs now but i got some gas on my spray paint job but i don't really care. its a rat bike for this season until i can rip it apart again this winter or convince my friend to let me get his cb750 thats just been sitting in his shed for about 20years under a bike cover.anybody know any good powdercoater in jersey..i want to have my frame done this winter with the rims while i stock pile my parts

[fieroracer87]

and here it is....in beater status for the rest of the riding season until i can clear my garage out and finish my workshop. i think the reshaped seat came out good. next year it'll probably be replaced

[fieroracer87]

Monday I finally get my plates and put insurance on it....gotta figure out what im gonna do for the plate mount.I saw someone with theirs mounted to a plated attached to the axle and i think im going to go this route(sheet metal and cutoff wheels are in my near future) had to order a new electrical contact for the front brake light control...the wheatboard that the two wires mount to broke causing my tails to be constantly illuminated. i've been thinking of the definite route im going to take with the bike when i put it down this summer since by the end of tomorrow i'll finally have my garage back to house all of my side projects(My cars still can't fit in there). i think i want to go with some kinda yellow paint scheme in memory of my corrado that i wish i didn't sell in order to make room for this....Its only right. Not to sure on the seat but i did come across a picture of a simple hooked frame loop seat on a cb that im feeling..ahhh only time will tell riding season is only really just begun.

[JRK5892]

what did you do to the seat? did you recover the stock one? i dig those wheels