1977 GS750 Brat/Cafe Build

jaykay914

jaykay914

New Member
Hey Everyone,

I have been lurking around this site for quite a while now. I figured its about time to post some pics and get a build thread going.

I am not going for the full on cafe bike style, but I am certainly taking some cues. The bike started out in pretty bad shape and had been sitting for a long time. I started this build in July of 2012. The following is a list of everything I have done so far:

- powder coated hoops and hubs of wheels and laced them with new spokes, along with new bearings/dust covers
- new Michelin pilot sport tires
- 630 to 530 chain conversion with RK gold chain
- powder coated rear sprocket
- complete rebuild on front shocks - new seals, oil, cleaned up rust on uppers and powder coated lowers satin black to match wheels. Also had to have a friend straighten out the tubes because they were bent pretty good
- lowered the front end about 1.5 inches by slipping the tubes through the triple tree a bit
- grind off tabs for stock instrument panel and factory handle bar mounts, painted triple tree satin black
- complete cleaning and rebuild of carbs, including re-jetting
- new carb intake boots, o-rings and harware
- K&N Pod air filters
- 4-1 Vance and Hines header
- clean and re-seal of gas tank. Had quite a bit of rust and varnish
- rebuild petcock
- rebuild and clean up of rear stock suspension
- new battery
- slight re-wire
- welded rear loop primed and ready for paint

What I am currently in the process of:

- rebuild of brakes with steel braided lines
- modified rear sets from a gsxr
- various paint including swing arm and recently welded/grinded parts
- fabricating seat pan for custum "tuck and roll" style seat
- wiring for integrated rear brake/turn signal light
- chop and powder coat front fender for stability (cutting down to about 3 inches long)
- valve lash adjustment
- carb sync
- Dyna S ignition system and coils
- updated R/R system from a honda
 
Just love freshly built wheels. Could look at them all day, especially when it's clear they've been done right.

Glad you sorted out the pics - looking forward to seeing more. You'll have to make the trip down to Alabama in October. I'm in Toronto myself, and we head South for the Barber Vintage Festival every year.
 
Thanks, Tim. I've been interested in checking out Barber. Good to know theres some people on here just north of the border from me. I'm up in TO fairly regularly for this and that.

I've made quite a bit of progress on the bike since the last pic - that was about 2 weeks ago. I will surely have some more pics up on here after this weekend.
 
Just a few random photos from before summer started. Going to resume this build when the weather turns cold and riding season is officially over. Looking forward to powder coating frame, new paint and some engine work during the cold months.

I painted the engine covers satin black to match the powder coated wheels, forks and other parts. I am going to have them powder coated over the winter.


IMG_3919[1] by JayKay914, on Flickr
 
I lowered the front end by sliding the forks through the triple tree by about 2 1/4 inches. I liked the way the stock headlight ears looked compared to any aftermarket ones, so I had to chop a couple inches off them and re-weld the pieces back together - they turned out great. I painted them satin black to match the rest of the reworked pieces on the bike.


IMG_3921[1] by JayKay914, on Flickr
 
The GS's are well known for having terrible electrical and charging systems. I replaced the stator with a new one from caltric. I also replaced the stock regulator and rectifier with a modern single unit from caltric. I have about 1,200 miles on the bike since the swap and it has performed flawlessly. I have also partially rewired the bike. Full rewire to come this winter.


IMG_3866[1] by JayKay914, on Flickr
 
I replaced the rusted out old stock exhaust with a 4 into 1 from vance and hines. I sold the muffler and have been running it without a baffle. I think it sounds awesome. And its not as obnoxiously loud as you might think - although my neighbors might not agree.

I added pipe wrap (I know...) strictly for looks. Love the vintage brat look it gives and the gold chain (630 to 530 swap) together with the goldish shine of the pipe wrap look great together. I believe the pipe wrap is supposed to be "titanium look" but it looks more gold in my opinion.


IMG_4034[1] by JayKay914, on Flickr
 
Had an issue with a stubborn bolt when I replaced the clutch discs and springs. Nothing a little tapping and some RVT couldnt solve. Has not leaked a drop of oil.


IMG_3912[1] by JayKay914, on Flickr

You can see in the next pic that the frame is in desperate need of attention. This bike was pretty rough when I first picked it up.


photo (2) by JayKay914, on Flickr
 
I am going to try to put together a new thread or blog that shows all the aspects of my build in better order and detail. I have been working on it for over a year (not done yet) and have done an okay job of documenting the progress and pitfalls with my camera - gotta love your iphone.

Here are some midway glamour shots. Couldnt resist.

This one was taken at a local art gallery - The Albright Knox in Buffalo, New York. This is an art installation in front of the gallery on their lawn. Local law enforcement was not impressed with the concept and cut the photo shoot short.


IMG_4212[1] by JayKay914, on Flickr

Just a quick picture after a ride.


IMG_4079[1] by JayKay914, on Flickr
 
SONICJK said:
Looks great man!
What are you going to do muffler wise?
Click to expand...

Thanks SONIC! I have it jetted for the pods and the unrestricted exhaust right now, so I might just leave it. But I was thinking of getting a shorty pipe from cone engineering.
 
Jetting or not it will run much better with a longer pipe. A nice megaphone would really finish it off IMO.
And after you out a few thousand miles on it that open exhaust right underneath you won't sound so badass, it's a lot more annoying haha
 
Nice work Jay, you can see that quite a bit of work has gone in to this bike. I will watch this as there are a few things you have done that I plan on doing. Such as the rear peg mount cut.
 
ILoveThumpers said:
Where did you get that pipe wrap? I've never seen anything other than black and "natural".

-Deek
Click to expand...

Pipewrap is "Titanium look" wrap made by DEI. I think I bought it off amazon.com. it looks more gold than anything, to me.
 
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