winter triple build.. or, why ill be penniless and tired/drunk for the winter...

[slinds9]

im starting this to kind of keep track of what the shit im doing with my projects, and also get some much needed input when i start to lose track and do something stupid..

the first bike is my huge pos 78 suzuki gs 1000e.. picked it up for $200 about a year ago from some guys back yard.. had been sitting outside for the last 10 years, missing parts, flat tires, shredded seat, and of course the massive windjammer, highway/crash bar/ massive king/queen seat all "thrown in.."
i dont have any before pics, but this is how she sits now..
ive cut the shit out of the rear frame and seat pan to get the tail cowl to sit up where i wanted it, cleared out the triangle but mounting all electrics to the under or back side of the seat pan, rebuilt the carbs and bought new boots, bought a stainless bolt kit to replace all the junk and get the bolts that were missing, removed center stand and all unneeded braskets/tabs, brazed the rust holes in the tank and sealed it (in retrospect i should have bought a new one, but the stripes are what keeps it an "e" and theyre expensive as shit..)

need to buy a stator, build a battery box, clean and possibly polish covers, chain, bars obviously, rebuild forks, make come sort of seat pad, etc..

next up is my 74 cb750. i bought this and started riding the shit out of it.. its since turned 40k miles, carbs and petcock are fucked, fork seals shot, rear brake is hanging up, clutch is starting to slip, has a bad wobble anywhere above 35, electrical gremlins trying to kill me (randomly main fuse will blow, had to ride home at 11pm with no headlight or brake light was the only way to keep it going), seat is a disaster, chain and gears are junk.. its pretty angry.. i was planning on turning it into a cafe until i picked up the next bike.. now im not sure which direction i want to go..
shortly after i got her..

as she sits now..

my homemade exhaust tip out of an old sachs scooter exhaust.. a megaphone on the street is a horrible idea, i hit it in almost every corner i took..

playing around with the idea of making a solo cowl out of an old zuki tank i had lying around..

and finally is the 72 cl350 i picked up a couple weeks ago. 1600 miles, all orig down to cables, tires, and owners manual under the seat.. ran rough when i picked it up and found out why shortly after.. this will be the cafe bike. plan on ripping it down to frame and starting from there..

carbs...

someone apparently thought it would be a good idea to stab the floats..

repaired floats, soaked everything, cleaned everything. bike runs now.

started cleaning up forks and other parts.. prepping the early 70's hooker header 2-1 exhaust ive been holding on to for years..

a little more work and itll be ready to go on..

so thats what im going to be doing for the rest of winter.. hopefully ill have something rideable by the time the snow goes away..
i appreciate any input and/or ideas on what to do next to my pieces of shit.. haha

 

[thirsty 1]

I agree you'll be drunk keeping track of all that. ;D Looks good dude let the drinking begin!

 

[Jared]

Awesome use of a liscense plate!!!!

 

[slinds9]

thanks thirsty1, once i get the issue of no heat sorted out ill be doing alot of work/drinking and start posting some more random progress/destruction pics..

Awesome use of a liscense plate!!!!

thanks man, i have somewhere around 200 of the things lying around, it seemed like the perfect solution to the gap in the seat.. i love the way it looks, hate to cover it up..

 

[Frankenfe]

The Zuki is screaming "Make me a Rat Cafe!"

 

[slinds9]

The Zuki is screaming "Make me a Rat Cafe!"

thats been the plan from the moment i saw it.. some cafe styling cues and alot of ugly..

 

[slinds9]

had no cars to work on today, so i sat on my stool and started sanding down the sprocket covers for the gs and cb and the cb's new rear drum.. still need to finish with some 2000 or so, not looking for completely polished, but theres alot of scratches right now.. theyre starting to look decent.. also drilled a couple holes in the drum for the hell of it..

 

[slinds9]

found some time to rip the 750 apart after building a work bench and putting up some more lights.. ive been here a year and a half and just finally just got around to this shit.. hah.

got the cb down to bare frame, found a whole mess of problems i wasnt exactly expecting, but not entirely surprised..
like rust water pouring out of the fork boots.. and also found out that the neck bearings were completely fucked.. without the wheel and forks on it gets stuck at dead center, and if i moved it slightly it would snap back to center.. just one more thing to add to the list.

got the motor out, took the valve cover off and this is where the problems started showing up..
im assuming that the milky build up it just from the motor running hot and not breathing properly from the vents..

found out that someone has been through the motor before, anti seize on all of the v/c bolts, which is cool i suppose..
actually looks fairly clean inside for a 40k mile motor..

theeennnnn i find this. apparently the head has been off before, and apparently whomever assembled it didnt feel like checking the torque on the head studs..

so it appears that ill be pulling the motor apart to replace a head gasket that was already replaced because some "mechanic" out there is a jackass. which sounds alot like what i have to deal with at work half the time..

so can anyone recommend a manual that will cover all the specs im going to want to check while inside this beast?
also, what could i do to this motor to sort of hype it up without dropping a million dollars? i have another motor that runs great, and has low miles that i can pick up for very cheap with another set of carbs, should i just throw that in and build this motor up a bit?

 

[johnny gaijin]

someone apparently thought it would be a good idea to stab the floats..

yeah that's taking drilling speed holes a little too far. ;D

 

[bikeboy]

you're a brave man indeed to take on three projects :-\

Love those zooks. Here's one I prepare earlier:

resto for a friend. We put a big bore kits in it, but these things pull like a truck, and will handle (marginally) better than the CB.

Have fun with 'em. I'll keep an eye on your progress.

cheers
ian

 

[crazypj]

got the motor out, took the valve cover off and this is where the problems started showing up..
im assuming that the milky build up it just from the motor running hot and not breathing properly from the vents..

That's emulsified oil, it means engine wasn't getting hot enough to boil the water out.
Used to be a common problem, particularly with Castrol GTX (back when it was OK to use in bikes)

 

[slinds9]

hey thanks crazypj, that makes a little more sense. im used to seeing milky residue and immediately trying to find where the coolant is coming from..
im fairly sure that the po hadnt actually changed the oil like he thought, and with the massive amount of fuel i was dumping im surprised that this motor hasnt grenaded yet.. when i drained the oil is was more like gas water..

after reading through a couple of your insane builds i was hoping that maybe you could give me a little insight into whether or not it would be worthwile to bore this motor and possibly throw a cam in it. im not exactly looking for a monster (i think the gs will cover that base fairly well) maybe just a little bit more than what its doing currently.. i would also like to try to keep the cb as a daily rider of sorts..

 

[slinds9]

Just pulled the fork seals out and drained the "oil." the right fork had water in it, and the left fork had what appears to be gear oil of some sort.. The upper tubes are rotted where the stock covers sat and I can't separate the tubes for some reason. Looks like I may be in the market for a new front end.. It would be nice to find something with a clean upper tree, dual discs, and run some clip ons I suppose..

 

[slinds9]

finally did some work to the gs tonight..
while i was searching for a set of forks for the cb i came across a guy selling a complete front end from an 03 katana 600 for damn near nothing.. so i had to pick it up, and it came with all sorts of extra junk.

so i test fitted it up and it appears that the bearings are exactly the same, neck size is the same, and everything fits perfectly!
had to cut the steering stop off to get the new trees on, so ill have to figure something out for that..

since it seemed to be going so well i figured id slap it all together to see what it looks like..

it looks a little goofy with the little wheel up front so im gonna have to try to fit the old wheel with the new rotors in the new forks, or try to fit a newer gsx rim in the old swingarm.. i dont think either one is gonna go very well, but it wouldnt be right if everything went smoothly..

 

[slinds9]

you're a brave man indeed to take on three projects :-\

Love those zooks. Here's one I prepare earlier:

resto for a friend. We put a big bore kits in it, but these things pull like a truck, and will handle (marginally) better than the CB.

Have fun with 'em. I'll keep an eye on your progress.

cheers
ian

you sir are doing some amazing work on that cb900, it looks absolutely sick, amazing attention to detail.. i can only hope one of my projects turns out as nice.
thanks alot man, i fell in love with my old neighbors gs1100 and had to find one..
what exhaust is that? it looks awesome and really low key, not the usual kerker massive megaphone you usually see on these.

 

[bikeboy]

you sir are doing some amazing work on that cb900, it looks absolutely sick, amazing attention to detail.. i can only hope one of my projects turns out as nice.
thanks alot man, i fell in love with my old neighbors gs1100 and had to find one..
what exhaust is that? it looks awesome and really low key, not the usual kerker massive megaphone you usually see on these.

thanks

That exhaust has lost all means of identification over the years, so I'm afraid I can't help you there.

I really like that new front en.

cheers
iand on yours. Any chance you could find a matching rear to balance them out? You won't regret going smaller with all the newer tyre options.

Things seem to be moving along nicely

 

[slinds9]

thanks

That exhaust has lost all means of identification over the years, so I'm afraid I can't help you there.

I really like that new front en.

cheers
iand on yours. Any chance you could find a matching rear to balance them out? You won't regret going smaller with all the newer tyre options.

Things seem to be moving along nicely

damn.. i guess the hunt for a decent exhaust will continue.. haha

thanks ian, its feels alot better than the stock air set up, and seems to suit the bike really well. im really pleased with the setup thus far, maybe throw some different clip ons on it, but for now it at least has bars and a functional suspension. haha
i have to wait for the guy that i purchased the parts from to give me a call in the next couple weeks so i can go pick the rear wheel from the kat, not sure if i can squeeze it in there yet, but i did get the swingarm so im sure i can make something work.. the more i think about im pretty sure im going to use the updated wheels just for that reason, finding a decent tire for an 18" rear is kind of a pita, and with a wider rear i will be able to make more use of the power the bike is supposed to have. annnd hopefully be able to throw it though the turns like it isnt a 32 year old mammoth..

 

[slinds9]

Picking up a 17" rear Kat wheel tomorrow and possibly a 00 kat rear brake setup for the gs.. Pics after I get it all mocked up, hopefully it'll all work out..

 

[slinds9]

Well.. Kat wheel doesn't fit. Needs a different kush drive, axle, spacers, etc.. Figured as much.

Builds are all coming to screeching halt as I have to move into a smaller place fairly quickly, with the possibility of no garage.. Gonna make both bikes rollers and figure out where I'm gonna live..

 

[midnightcafe]

I like where you're going with the GS1000 seat. The Suzuki GS E tail cowl is a hidden gem in terms of reusing it as a cafe tail.