84 GR650 frankencycle (2nd time around El Tempter)

[Onion Man]

Where to begin .... Well about ten years ago my dad picked up a beat up and run down 1984 Suzuki GR650 Tempter at a yard sale for $500. He fixed it up and drove it for a few summers until he started long haul truck driving and the Tempter became a dust collector in his garage.. Last year he was nice enough to give the 650 to me and now I am beginning the process of finding the good that I know is under all that bad.... Oh yeah I should also say that this is my first build and I am working with limited mechanical knowledge/money but no lack of determination haha ..... Lucky for me I found DTT!! After a year and a half of obsessively watching nearly all the builds on the site i am ready to build my own and I owe nearly all my ideas and inspiration for this build to this amazing website..Sooo that being said here's where im at so far (did I mention that I want to finish before Spring?? haha)


She started life as a modest/ugly 80's cruiser

Last season my brother and I rattle caned it black, changed the signals. threw clubmans on and drove it for the summer
this was her then

Here are some bikes that inspired where I want to go with the build

Soooo.. I stripped off the airbox, fenders, guages (worst ever!), seat, sidecovers, bars/levers and all the other stuff I am planning to replace and I was left with this skeleton...

Since it is winter and I live in Kelowna BC and I have no garage so i have to work outside and its WINTER and my wife is amazing.. I have moved the bike into my living room to figure out the wiring harness and work on the new soup can guages

Not sure if I'm going to keep the soup cans but I thought I would make them just to see if I could... and they worked but if I keep them I will make a new face plate..

so yeah thats were I am.... once I get the wiring slimmed down to the bare essentials with some new switches and start buttons I will be painting the frame, wheels and engine (except for the polished bolts) satin black.. Then it will be time for seat/exhaust/tires/ect/ect/ect/

 

[CresentSon]

Re: 84 GR650 Frankencycle

Should make a decent cafe. I was surprised to see the very workable frame under all that 80's plastic.

 

[Deviant1]

Re: 84 GR650 Frankencycle

Some clipon bars would look nice on there. +1 on the frame. The bike has some serious potential.

 

[Dale]

Re: 84 GR650 Frankencycle

Well you've got a great base to start out with. That's a great motor. I really liked your rattle can job. Nice and quick, and you got a legit looking bike really quickly, which is awesome. I also really like your "inspiration bikes"! There's a lot of Wrench Monkees influence in there as well, which is always cool.

Also very cool 50's/60's chair in the corner with the guitar!

Good luck with this. Im keen to see what you're going to do with this.

 

[Big R]

Re: 84 GR650 Frankencycle

Of course, you have my attention.

Have you seen DesertRats bar hopper? There's a pic of it on the first page of my build thread.

 

[BigBSBusa]

Re: 84 GR650 Frankencycle

The soup can gauges are interesting.

 

[Erskine]

Re: 84 GR650 Frankencycle

Cool lateral thinking on the guages ........ given me some ideas ............... tidy

It has just taken me approx 3 minutes to completely disassemble my guages beyond return.

 

[Onion Man]

Re: 84 GR650 Frankencycle

Thanks for the good vibes everyone!! I am power stoked to get this build underway..

Big Rich I thought you might like this one since I am aware of how tempted the tempters make you haha

Clip ons are on the way but first I want to test the forks to make sure the seals are good and they are working properly.. The only problem is that I don't know how to do that yet but I'm working on figuring it out..
I am also brainstorming how I want to make the seat.. I want to go without a hump kinda long and flat..I was actualy thinking of making one out of a skateboard deck but I'm not sure how I would mount it if I did... any input is more then welcome at this point

 

[Onion Man]

Re: 84 GR650 Frankencycle

Cool lateral thinking on the guages ........ given me some ideas ............... tidy

It has just taken me approx 3 minutes to completely disassemble my guages beyond return.

haaha well it sounds like your having soup for dinner then

 

[ctluba]

Re: 84 GR650 Frankencycle

Very nice start. To turn that ugly girl into a nice bike will take some talent and vision, you are well on your way.

Now if I could just convince my wife to let me bring the bike inside. 8)

 

[Dale]

Re: 84 GR650 Frankencycle

Now if I could just convince my wife to let me bring the bike inside. 8)

;D My lights in my garage were pretty shitty at one point, and so serviced my MX bike in the entrance hall of our house. (My wife was away at the time). For the purpose of world peace, this remains a secret to this day. She doesnt frequent DoTheTon, so I'm still safe.

 

[Onion Man]

84 GR650 Frankencycle!! Here come the Questions????


Well after lots of trial and error the Wiring Harness is Finished!!! (in theory) And now it's time for the fun to begin...But, first I have some questions that need answering...sorry




First off here is the shopping list... Clip on's, K&N pod's, pingle Petcock, wheel bearings, tires, carbs, seat, pegs, throttle & grips, switches, brakes, levers & master cylinder, fuel filter, shorty muffler, some pipe wrap and a stand


So.. I guess I am wondering where is the best place to gather all the goods?? I was planning on getting most from Dime City Cycles because they seem to have the best selection.. But i am still shopping if anyone knows another shop to check out


Which brings me to my first question, Carbs.. ugh..... Since I am changing the intake and exhaust it only stands to reason that I will need to adjust the carbs to get the right air/fuel mixture and this is something that I have no idea how to do..at all.... I thought about having someone rebuild them for me but it is going to cost nearly as much as getting new ones and they still wont be easily adjustable.. so I guess the question I am getting at is what are my options for after market carbs?? I see that there are some made by Mikuni on DCC but I am not sure if they will be an exact fit or how easy they are to swap. hook up and tune..any help on the subject would be a great help because I want to make a decision sometime this week.. Also I need to replace the petcock and I was wondering if there is much difference between the cheap ones and the pingle ones??


My next question is about Tires.. I like the vintage firestones at DCC but to avoid crazy shipping costs I was wondering if anyone knows of a big bulky looking vintage looking tire I might be able to find/order locally in Canada??


Also, I am trying to find a smooth and clean looking master cylinder and break lever and matching clutch lever.. I looked at the ones offered on Dime City but I didn't see anything that I loved for the price?? I was thinking maybe I could steal one off a wrecked gsxr or something but even then the bottle is still big and ugly..


Lastly, I am cutting off all the extra tabs and mounts that I wont be using off the frame this week and I was wondering about the Tabs on the tank and If they can be cut off without damaging the seal?? It looks like there is lots of room to take them off below the weld with a grinder but if it is going to cause the tank to leak I don't want to risk it.. But, I do REALLY want them gone.. haha


Sorry about all the questions but as I said at the beginning of this build I am working with limited experience so this might not be the last long question filled post.. more photo updates to come soon..


Chris

 

[Big R]

Re: 84 GR650 Frankencycle

Wow.....here goes. I can't help with tires in Canada but I highly recommend against vintage Firestones. They just don't perform like a modern tire should. But that's your choice so I won't hold it over you.....


Carbs: I've been looking into swapping out for some modern VM32's. You will need a new throttle cable (2 into 1), get rid of the stock choke cable, the intake mounts are a little smaller than the original CV carbs (from memory the originals were 42mm and the VM32's are 40mm), and plug the "swirling induction ports" next to the carbs. Oh yeah, and the factory petcock will need replaced since it's a vacuum setup......but you're already doing that so no problem there.


There's a guy on ebay that gives excellent measurements of all his petcocks - I plan on running one from another Suzuki cruiser. Can't remember what model exactly but the mounts of the petcock will need widened a little bit to fit the tank. As far as the tabs on the tank goes.....I believe Hillsy pointed out before that that seam is welded along the tab. So if you do cut them off, your best bet would be to have it re-welded and getting the tank lined.

 

[Onion Man]

84 GR650 Frankencycle the good and the bad

The good news
We finally had a warmer day so I was able to get outside and do some work... I cut off all the tabs and some mounts I wont be needing anymore and started some work on my skateboard seat..

The bad
I was looking at the forks and I noticed they seemed a little soft and when I poped the dust covers off the top one side seemed pretty oxadized and a little wet.. And then when I compressed the shock I could hear a "gurgle sound" from the top of the fork.. Since this is my first build I have no idea what to do about this?? Can be taken apart and re sealed with a gasket set?? or do I need to buy a set of forks?? ahhh!!!advice is needed!!!

I am waiting for a few boxes of parts to arrive from various corners of the world so that should ease the pain of my fork dilemma and if they are leaking I guess it is better to find out now then to find out at 120Km in a corner haha

here are some pics of the limited progress due to the freezing Canadian winter and lack of garage i have been experiencing...

Trimming the fat / burning my hand

Here is a quick mockup of the skateboard seat pan I was thinking of using.. It needs to be cut about an inch shorter and set a little lower into the frame but the basic idea is there

 

[Big R]

Re: 84 GR650 Frankencycle

Wow, that deck fits almost perfectly....


I actually got really lucky with my forks (if you want to call it that). Both times I messed with them, a member on here actually did them for me. I'll pm you the details.

 

[Big R]

Re: 84 GR650 Frankencycle

The GR mags are 19*1.85 front and 16*2.5 rear. And here's the chart from Hagon:

http://www.hagon-shocks.co.uk/WheelTab.htm

And as far as mounting tires front or rear, first thing to look at is the tread pattern (if any direction specific). Not only do they need to disperse water, but I've read that the belts (or cords, whatever they are called) are put into the rubber a certain way for rear and front tires. Running them opposite than what's labeled can rip the tire apart.

Then again, that's what I've found on the internet. Aren't those Avons made to be run front or rear?

 

[Onion Man]

Re: 84 GR650 Frankencycle

After reading up on the Vintage Firestone Deluxe tires ( and listening to Rich" advice) I have Decided to continue looking.. I would like to have something like the AVon SM MK II's but there is no way they are going to fit on the back without extending the swing arm... So If anyone knows of an chunky aggressive looking 16" tire that don't have a insane OD please let me know...

Also, I have moved into my friends HEATED garage to finish this thing off so it can be done when the snow melts!!

 

[Onion Man]

Re: 84 GR650 Frankencycle

The GR mags are 19*1.85 front and 16*2.5 rear. And here's the chart from Hagon:

http://www.hagon-shocks.co.uk/WheelTab.htm

And as far as mounting tires front or rear, first thing to look at is the tread pattern (if any direction specific). Not only do they need to disperse water, but I've read that the belts (or cords, whatever they are called) are put into the rubber a certain way for rear and front tires. Running them opposite than what's labeled can rip the tire apart.

Then again, that's what I've found on the internet. Aren't those Avons made to be run front or rear?

Once again thanks Rich for all the help!! That chart is rad, I'll keep you posted as to which tires I end up with

 

[jackstraw650]

Re: 84 GR650 Frankencycle

This is really an interesting build! Like someone else posted, I never realized the potential under all that plastic cruiser crap. Definitely silk purse material! That engine and pipe combo look really nice for stock now that you can actually see them. Great job so far....keep us posted, please!

 

[chrisf]

Re: 84 GR650 Frankencycle

The skateboard seat looks good. I do think more than 1" could be taken off. Personally, I'd look to take off 3"-4". I like my seats just long enough to fit a small passenger.

--Chris