my 1980 GSX250

J

jiggas

New Member
G'Day All,

Well here goes. I had this old Suzuki GSX250 end up with me. It was my brother in law's bike.
He broke it, I got it to run, then parked it for several years in a lonely spot down the side of the house.
I have been in need of a project that will keep me busy on quiet days at home. I work shift and often find myself
home during the week whilst all the " normal" people are at work. seeing as its winter here in OZ at the moment
the weather hasn't lent itself to ride my other bike as much as I'd like so, I found out about the cafe racer phenomena!

So that got me thinking... so down the side of the house I went and dragged this crusty old thing out. I forgot it was there!
oldsuzi.jpg


Down to the garage we went

P1010170.jpg


By the end of the day, this is what I ended up with

P1010178.jpg

P1010176.jpg


First stage was to start grinding all the unnecessary tags off the frame including the pillion pegs and the centre stand brackets.

P1010179.jpg


Then I got stuck in with the paint stripper and ended up with this

P1010251.jpg


Now I'm at a crossroads. Do I go the final step and get rid of that whole pillion support section of the frame?

P1010252.jpg


I want clipons and rearsets. If I remove that last part of the frame I'm going to have to find a way of making up some bracketry
to attach the rears sets. I have the idea of how to do this but I'm concerned about getting some rearsets that will provide the right leverage or pull on the rear drum brake rod without too much flex etc. If I take the plunge and cut it off, I no longer have the option of using the original brake lever arm and mounting point... better sleep on it.

hope you like
 
I want clipons and rearsets. If I remove that last part of the frame I'm going to have to find a way of making up some bracketry
to attach the rears sets. I have the idea of how to do this but I'm concerned about getting some rearsets that will provide the right leverage or pull on the rear drum brake rod without too much flex etc. If I take the plunge and cut it off, I no longer have the option of using the original brake lever arm and mounting point... better sleep on it
Click to expand...

Yeah, chop that off; that is a huge structure. You can just weld on some appropriate supports and mount your rear controls there. Getting the leverage ratio right isn't too hard.

--Thanks, Chris
 
I see the rear rm support you are talking about and you would lose it if you cut it off,so I would just shorten the rear loop a whole bunch so they don't look so gaudy and use them as your rear set mounts. Shorten it to where they are equal on both sides and the reach to the shifter is correct. That is the fastest and easiest route as you already have everything there to essentially make up your rear sets.


Most people turn their shifters around and lengthen or shorten them to order. Get the rear sets where you want them first,worry about the shift lever later as it's easier to modify after everything is said and done. It's best to have the handle bars on that you are going to use so you can set the riding position you want/need.

On my Hodaka my brake pivot hole is on the bracket themselves,so it is placed where ever the rear sets are mounted(pics in the link below) I used KZ550LTD rear passenger peg/bracket for my set up and its turning out very well.
You can go that route is you chose,but keeping your set up and shortening the rear brackets would be far easier and your brake pivot would not change from the stock location.

Note that you will have to move the brake rod to the opposite side from where it is if you turn you brake pedal around and shorten it to work. So,if the rod is connected on top now,you'll have to place it on the bottom(maybe have to turn the pivot piece upside down?) That's what I have to do to get the same push down on the rear brake pedal and pull the brake rod. I also have to shorten my turned around brake lever to a very short 3-4" where as before it was about a foot long.
 
coolatula said:
I see the rear rm support you are talking about and you would lose it if you cut it off,so I would just shorten the rear loop a whole bunch so they don't look so gaudy and use them as your rear set mounts. Shorten it to where they are equal on both sides and the reach to the shifter is correct. That is the fastest and easiest route as you already have everything there to essentially make up your rear sets.


Most people turn their shifters around and lengthen or shorten them to order. Get the rear sets where you want them first,worry about the shift lever later as it's easier to modify after everything is said and done. It's best to have the handle bars on that you are going to use so you can set the riding position you want/need.

On my Hodaka my brake pivot hole is on the bracket themselves,so it is placed where ever the rear sets are mounted(pics in the link below) I used KZ550LTD rear passenger peg/bracket for my set up and its turning out very well.
You can go that route is you chose,but keeping your set up and shortening the rear brackets would be far easier and your brake pivot would not change from the stock location.

Note that you will have to move the brake rod to the opposite side from where it is if you turn you brake pedal around and shorten it to work. So,if the rod is connected on top now,you'll have to place it on the bottom(maybe have to turn the pivot piece upside down?) That's what I have to do to get the same push down on the rear brake pedal and pull the brake rod. I also have to shorten my turned around brake lever to a very short 3-4" where as before it was about a foot long.
Click to expand...

I considered what you said. I thought about that myself but looking at those sections of the frame from behind, it's all offset on the LH side for the chain etc and looks bad. I have started the removal but I have cut the brackets off in such a way that I can re-weld them back on if necessary. I'm off to the motorcycle dismantlers today and see what sort of rearsets I could adapt and then I'll get to making a custom bracket to weld to the downtube to support them. I sat on the bike prior to ripping it apart to ascertain the peg position so I have a good idea where I need them to be. stay tuned..
 
jiggas said:
I considered what you said. I thought about that myself but looking at those sections of the frame from behind, it's all offset on the LH side for the chain etc and looks bad. I have started the removal but I have cut the brackets off in such a way that I can re-weld them back on if necessary. I'm off to the motorcycle dismantlers today and see what sort of rearsets I could adapt and then I'll get to making a custom bracket to weld to the downtube to support them. I sat on the bike prior to ripping it apart to ascertain the peg position so I have a good idea where I need them to be. stay tuned..
Click to expand...

Good luck and remember to keep it as simple and straight forward as possible. While rear brakes are not as critical as the fronts when you need them you need them to function flawlessly. Some people try to out think themselves and come up with some really suspect shifting and braking contraptions that don't work properly or safely,especially in a panic situation.
 
well...I'm somewhat annoyed now. I went to the dismantlers to see what I could see. found a set of clipons from what I think was an RD. they had 32mm fork tubes. the chap wanted $100 for them! I walked.
must be a cheaper way out than that. As for the rearsets, I was having a look at an old Yamaha race bike (probably an RD too) That fella had a homemade looking set of rearsets that had a straight pull from the lever to the drum. he reckons it works fine. looks like I'm gonna have to work out a way of making some of this stuff myself. That is after all what this project is about
 
last nights progress on the frame
framechop.jpg


you can see the bits left over and how off set they were making mounting rears sets to these a bit wonky

leftovers.jpg


until next time
 
jiggas said:
well...I'm somewhat annoyed now. I went to the dismantlers to see what I could see. found a set of clipons from what I think was an RD. they had 32mm fork tubes. the chap wanted $100 for them! I walked.
must be a cheaper way out than that. As for the rearsets, I was having a look at an old Yamaha race bike (probably an RD too) That fella had a homemade looking set of rearsets that had a straight pull from the lever to the drum. he reckons it works fine. looks like I'm gonna have to work out a way of making some of this stuff myself. That is after all what this project is about
Click to expand...

$100 is a good price. a lot goes into making cliip-ons (figuring out angles, the machining, etc)
they're well worth the cost.
 
go! said:
$100 is a good price. a lot goes into making cliip-ons (figuring out angles, the machining, etc)
they're well worth the cost.
Click to expand...

If you saw them, you wouldn't have thought so. they weren't really clipons in the true sense either, more like a riser bar that attached to the fork above the top clamp if you know what I mean?
I'd rather pay similar if not more money for exactly what I want. Cant say it's a bad idea to try and make them myself though.
 
jiggas said:
If you saw them, you wouldn't have thought so. they weren't really clipons in the true sense either, more like a riser bar that attached to the fork above the top clamp if you know what I mean?
I'd rather pay similar if not more money for exactly what I want. Cant say it's a bad idea to try and make them myself though.
Click to expand...


i didn't mean $100 for those clip-ons necessarily, as i didn't see them. i'm saying clip-ons from somewhere like roc city seem to be worth the $100.
i guess it's a good idea, depending on your skill level.
 
VonYinzer said:
really anything RocCity sells is worth the $.. High quality all the way.
Click to expand...

i drool over those adjustable clip-ons. someday!
 
Oh yeah, the Roc city stuff is cool. I happened to check that gear out after my last post and now you guys mention it 8). I'd pay for that but being in OZ the exchange rate plus freight would make it considerably more expensive. At least if I fail in my manufcaturing skills I have a fall back.
Go!, had you seen the units i was referring to from the wreckers, you'd have been concerned to . they were 20 + year old corroded bits of junk with bent tubes. I'm surpirsed the chap kept a straight face when he told me the price. I wouldn't have paid more than $20 if I was in a good mood..
Anyway, onwards and upwards. I'll be into it more next week
 
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