1979 GS 750 café "Stella Green"

[Cafe Redneck]

Sorry my last post, posted when I didn't want it to. Anyway where did you get the gauges and what ratio are are they. I hate the look of the stock gauges on my bike.

 

[Chimera Moto Works]

Mechanically I see no reason at all on why you couldn't run clip-ons above the upper tree. In fact the fighter i'm building now will be running them above the tree for the same reason, to clean up the forks sticking thru. Otherwise, some could argue you won't have as much "direct leverage/control" running them above the tree, but structurally it makes no difference. IMO.

 

[modifiedamerican]

anxious to see the seat!

 

[gmoore]

I'll have to check on the ratios for you café.

Thanks for the response Chimera, that's kinda what I figured, I'll probably end up trying it both ways to see what looks/feels/performs the best.

I'm looking forward to getting the seat going myself. I need to finish shaping it and laying some plaster of paris on for the final shape and then I will be making a mold so I can make a couple. I figured I'd go the mold route as opposed to 1 off because I have an extra tank that I would & I thought it'd be cool for her to have a couple changes of clothes. depending on how the tail comes out I think I'm going to make a fiberglass tank at some point down the road as well.

 

[Hoosier Daddy]

Found your build linked on another thread, looking good so far, I like the changes. Keep it up!
CafeRedneck: The gauge ratios for our Zooks are Tach = 4:1 and Speedo = 2240:60

 

[gmoore]

A little update. I'm thinking I might move in this direction with my GS 750 build. I'm kinda living in the sticks & as much as I want to full on café it I'm just not sure it makes sense with all the dirt roads I'll be riding.

I think I might even go for the dual sided leg burner exhaust, we'll see though, It's looking like it'll cost me about $200 in mandrel bends & 2 2 into 1 collectors, though I might try and see what I can source from a local motorcycle junkyard. I'll probably get it on the road with the existing exhaust and then start building the other one.

As for the tail, I've been working with some designs and sketches and I think it's going to end up looking like a cross between the kz900 tail section and a flat track tail.

 

[gmoore]

Re: 1979 GS 750 Café Scrappy Tracker "Stella Green"

OK, so this build has taken long enough that it has had many intentions without realizing any one to fruition but I think I've found what I'm going to stick with to finish.

Here is a collage of a bunch of bikes which will be the base for my rendering of the bike.

 

[gmoore]

For tires I think I'm going to use a Conti TKC 80 on the rear and a Kenda Big block on the front. I've decided on the Kenda instead of the matching Conti so I can save $30. It's not set in stone but the tread patterns look nearly Identical & I figure why not save a few bucks?

 

[gmoore]

Re: 1979 GS 750 Café Scrappy Tracker "Stella Green"

brown seat + gum knee pads that I plan to pour myself hopefully it works.

And some more iterations

and all black

 

[gmoore]

I know reality is a bitch when it comes to dreams,but blocky tires on a heavy old road bike are a recipe for disaster.If you actually want a bike to ride,look at fitting a DR650 front end and wheels with proper 20% dirt/80% road tires front and rear.You should use some Omar's or K&N flat tracker bars to have enough leverage to steer the thing around with any sort of control.....A way smaller gas tank would take off a bit of weight and allow you to move around on the thing with a bit more body english.....Your back won't last long without some more padding on that seat you dream of.....Do you realise how much crap those blocky tire will throw all over you and the motor?

Thanks for the input swivel. I understand what you are saying but really the bike will be for ripping dirt roads 40% & pavement 60% & I figures these tires would be really great for that no? You really think the tires will be dangerous? It seems like dudes rock these TKC's on their giant BMW GS 1200's with a decent amount of tarmac time & don't seem to have a problem? I mean I totally understand that my old zook is nowhere near the machine a 1200 GS is but I also don't plan on traversing the Rockies so... hmmmm. I'll definitely take your comment into serious consideration.

What about a tire like the Shinko 705? I see a bunch of people running those around on their midsize Japanese sickles.

Also What about the Triumph "Scramblers"? They aren't(or weren't) much more than a bonnie with blocky tires and a leg burner exhaust, right? I mean I just didn't think that my design decisions were dangerous necessarily & I'm definitely not out to get hurt. My thinking was that since I'd be running a decent amount of dirt roads(because I want to) that knobby tires and a little more upright of a riding position were the way to go. I also like the look of the more aggressive tires but functionality was first on the list.

 

[gmoore]

I just read the specs on the Bonneville & the Scrambler & they are essentially identical including suspension travel distances which is what I would have assumed would be different. I know that just because other people use knobby tires on a certain bike or certain kinds of bikes doesn't make it safe but the Scrambler is literally sold with knobby dual sport tires on the showroom floor & it is a pretty heavy bike in comparison to other dual sport bikes so I imagine that they wouldn't be selling the bike like that if they considered them to be dangerous. The bikes weights are comparable at around 500 pounds & suspension travel is comparable so I don't feel as though I'm being reckless in design intentions.

As far as the seat is concerned, yes, I would like it as low profile as possible but I will also try to balance that as much as possible with comfort, Isn't that always the balance that we're trying to strike with custom bikes though? I was going to use 3 different densities of foam with the first being a really dense yoga mat type material followed by a high density seat foam and a thin layer of memory foam on top not counting the pleats form the seat.

I think the Triumph comes stock with Trailwings or something like that which I'm running on the CM250 build that I just finished & those ride great! they Grip the tarmac great, they take the dirt roads good & they look the part & everything I've read about the TKC's(on ADV rider forum) seems to affirm all of those concerns.

I also plan on running a front fender which is not on the pre-renders. I might just use chopped fender for some pics or when I know I won't be riding on dirt.

Anyway, thanks for the heads up, I didn't mean to write a book here haha, they're good things to bring up.

 

[gmoore]

All the reviews I've read about the TKC 80 have been glowing & many of then specifically mention their exceptional on road capability. I mean I think you're right in saying that there is likely a more "practical" tire I could run but I don't think I'm making a "dangerous" choice of tire. The Conti TKC 80 gets run on Triumph scramblers quite frequently without trouble from what I can tell & that is what I'm loosely basing my build on.

I was also considering a set of Trailwings:

or these vintage style Shinko's:

or the Shinko 705's which are comparable to the distanzia's

the Kenda big block were obviously in the running as well & maybe 1 or 2 other tires.

I don't know, I'm still not entirely convinced I'm making a poor tire decision based on my research.

 

[peteGSX]

So my 450 is somewhat smaller and lighter, but I'm lovin' the medium rise motorcross 'bars on it and the Pirelli Scorpion tyres... Trail front and MT90 A/T rear.

The Trail is something like 95/5 road/trail and the MT90 is something like 70/30 but amazingly enough they seem to work well together.

That was the only way I could get dual sports 18" front and rear as noone here imports Shinko 244's. 244's were my preferred option but I couldn't get them, no idea how they handle of course.

 

[gmoore]

Cool, thanks for the input Pete! I'm still swooning over the TKC's though, They get glowing reviews on and off road everywhere I've read and they're exactly the look I'm going for. I'm still not 100% decided & I want to make the right decision based on my intentions for the bike & it's usage.

& then this was on BikeEXIF today, just complicate things & make me drool, haha.

 

[gmoore]

Print out that bikexif Triumph faux dirt bike image and hang it in a prominent place in your abode,and then go back to putting real tires on your GS in the real world.That Triumph IS not a dirt bike,it is a big very heavy low powered road bike pretending to be a dirt bike for a fashion statement to bored euros who live with mother and have way too much disposable income and no dirt to actually ride on.........Listen to what PeteGS says,he rides.....Tires are not fashion statements like shoes.....

I take it you're a fan of Firestones... am I right? haha

I know my original tire choice may not be the "ideal" but I will be working the bike on the fire roads and dirt roads. & I'm also not fully decided one way or another. One nice thing about the Shinko 705's is that they're about 1/2 the price which is nice!

 

[gmoore]

I may well be fitting some Firestones to my next bike because: #1 I'm a contrary thinker & #2 I think I may enjoy a bucking,sliding city bike with little directional stability and lurid barely controllable slides in the wet on the nightly ride to get coffee and donut....And tires impossible to balance,so its like a clowns bicycle wheel in a parade.....Fighting it like a terrier attackling a fox,at 40mph....

HAHA! If you're going to join the circus you gotta put in the time. Ultimately all I'm looking to with those knobbies is chip up my freshly painted engine with knuckle sized rocks & pop out car window or two.

 

[peteGSX]

Hahahaha you're insane! Or maybe you're the sanest man ever? Either way I love it... haha!


See I'm too scared to get on gravel with mine at the moment... really don't wanna chip my paint! Now is that soft or what?


And that Arrow pipe on that Trumpy was one of the inspirations for my pipe, although not quite as pretty...

 

[gmoore]

Ok, so here is what I've gathered. I'm into Shinko 705's but there seems to be a consistent problem w/ tread de-lamination between 2500 mi & 6000 mi which concerns me. People seem to like them though so they are not out of the running.

As for the TKC's, it seems the only drawaback that people consistently bring up is tread life. Other than that there seems to be an overwhelming number of people running these as their main tire on there Srams and give them glowing performance reviews saying that they handle amazingly well on road & off. They also say that they aren't bad in the wet as long as you tone it down & stay cautious. From what it seems they say the TKC is as good if not better than most Dual-sport tires on road & exceptional off and even though the GS is not a dirtbike per say, I still plan on having some fun with it tearing up some mild trail/dirt riding.

Ive gathered this info from 2 threads dedicated to each tire over on Adventure rider & from some Triumph forums.

 

[gmoore]

con·sid·er /kənˈsidər/
Verb:
1) Think carefully about (something), typically before making a decision: "each application is considered".

Not too surprised haha. I'm pretty positive that is what I've been doing for the past week haha "considering" my options.

The rim locks are something that I didn't consider but that is actually a great idea whether you were being facetious or not(I can't entirely tell haha). And now for a genuine thank you! If I end up running the TKC's I will definitely do rim locks!

 

[gmoore]

Rendering of a second set of clothes.