1982 Suzuki GS750 Brat Build

[Kendrick]

Hey There!

I've been looking around this sight for a while, finding inspiration for my own build, but I've finally gotten around to starting a thread for my own bike.
This is my first build ever, so been getting help from my brother who's also got some bikes he's working on. I picked up this '82 GS750 last Spring for $500 running. Missing side covers, seat pan was rusted beyond repair, brake lights switches were pretty finicky, slight oil leak (bad gasket), but otherwise was in pretty decent.

Wasn't sure what was going to happen to it at first, mostly just worked on getting it running nicer, and cleaning it up, also getting rid of those ugly bars and mirrors. Eventually decided I really wanted to do something cool with it, needed something to occupy winter time.

At this point, the bike is completely apart, and frame mods are making some good headway. Almost all necessary tabs are gone, and I've cut off the rear fear frame section. I've ended up going with a pointed tail end, with offset tail light/license plate, turn signals aren't going back on. This build is going to go sort of towards the brat style, not I'm not sure it really fits any specific category. Being my only bike for now, it's staying a two seater.

Before tail got welded

The general idea of where it's going, this pic is from a week or so ago, more has happened since then. I'll post pics when I get them. The welds have been ground down, and the taillight bracket is on. Next is the electrical pan which should get done later this week. I think the frame is going to end up getting powder coated a flat darker grey.

I should have started this thread earlier, other stuff that's happened is a new rear tire (Bridgestone Battleaxe), carbs cleaned and rejetted for pod filters. The triple tree handlebar mounts have also started getting ground down (just got clip-ons), but that aluminum is really hard to take care of with the angle grinder. Anybody have any advice as far as grinding down aluminum goes?

Stay tuned, more to come!

 

[Kendrick]

More frame mods completed: Rear tail light mount, and electronics tray. Also took some time to shorten up the wiring harness so it fit the electronics tray better. Frame is getting close to powder coat readiness (Need to finally decide on color scheme), really only seat mounts left to do, and then the bike can start going back together. Also discovered source of oil leak, which was coming from the gear indicator switch.

Close up of the electronics tray

Tail light mount, shortened wiring harness.

 

[SeanGSUK]

Nice to see another GS, they are becoming popular on here now. Bookmarked this thread, good luck! ;D

 

[BLSully]

Glad to see you started a build thread finally

I am 'the brother'. Between K's GS750, my KZ400 and Vulcan, and our dad's TTR250, the garage is full of parts....hopefully they all make it back on the right bikes

If you see any ugly welding, and have some tips, please feel free to give suggestions (And blame me, not K). I am avoiding doing any real structural welding as I just am not /that/ confident in my skills yet, but the few pieces I've tested have passed the bend test (base metal rips before the weld does)

 

[CafeRacer650]

Hey buddy, I'm glad you get around to making a build for your bike. I have the pics I took of it when I was up there that I have to send you. Welcome!!

 

[CafeRacer650]

Being my only bike for now, it's staying a two seater.

It had better stay a two seater for now, there are a lot of ladies out there that need rides! Only us old married men have the single seaters, we've already been there and done that... Our priorities are straight now

 

[Kendrick]

Welp, license plate bracket is done, next is probably going to be building a new gauge bracket, going to pick up those mini speedo/tachs from DCC. In the mean time, here's a pic that sort of shows where the bike is going.

 

[Kendrick]

Jan 27th Update:

First off, here's a picture of the tail light/license plate frame and such mentioned previously:

I put the wiring harness back on the bike and got it almost finished, hooked it up, got the taillight working (required some debugging). It'll need some modifications when new controls go on the bike, mainly by-passing the kill switch, which will just be the ignition.
Also started doing prep work for repainting the tank. I've been using basic automotive stripper, which is either weak, or the paint it just ridiculously well done. Regardless, the paint is being very stubborn, going to try to heat the tank up with the heat gun next time before spraying it.

Edit: Oh ya, forgot about a question I was gonna throw out there: Since I'm redoing the handlebar controls (where the choke adjustment is currently mounted), what options do I have for making the choke usable? Right now there's a throttle-like cable running from the lever on the handlebars, to a plate on the carbs that when pulled, activates the choke on all 4 carbs.

 

[mmaurin]

sweet build so far...
im interested in your electronics tray... is it even with the bottom of the frame rail? does the rectifier stick up at all above the frame rail? will it be powder coated? i didnt see it in later photos...
what's your plan for the seat? is the padding going to go into the V?

 

[Kendrick]

sweet build so far...
im interested in your electronics tray... is it even with the bottom of the frame rail? does the rectifier stick up at all above the frame rail? will it be powder coated? i didnt see it in later photos...
what's your plan for the seat? is the padding going to go into the V?

Thanks!

Yes, the tray is even with the bottom of the frame rail. The fuse box is the only part that sticks up above the frame rail, but the tank kind of sits over that. The seat when it's built will curve up a bit in the front to cover the fuse box/tank mount so it shouldn't be that visible. Yes, it will get powder coated since it's part of the frame, and I'm running most of my grounds off of it, going to just sand the powder off a couple of spots.
The seat pan is probably going to be made out of PVC plastic sheet, the padding is going to go into the V, but everything in the V is going to be slightly rounded off to keep it from ripping, and I'll probably double layer the vinyl at the end. Just for cosmetic purposes, I think the seat is going to have blue stitching in a diamond quilt pattern.

 

[Kendrick]

Welp, after waiting 5 months for my parts to be powder coated, I finally got to see a picture of the smaller parts done, and the frame should be done by the end of this week. Pretty excited, I think the blue over black chrome is going to look pretty sweet. Once the frame's back, I'm gonna spend tons of time in the garage trying to get the bike back together, and will probably be posting on here more frequently again.

 

[Kendrick]

While the whole issue with still trying to get my frame back goes on....I have ordered some new items.

- Steering head bearings from All Balls Racing
- Swingarm Needle Bearings from Z1 Ent.
- 4-1 Blacked Out Pipes from Mac Performance (still waiting for them to ship)
- An assortment of jets (hopefully the right dimensions this time), for Mikuni BS30 carbs, the same jets SHOULD fit in the BS32 carbs my bike has. The bike will have pod filters and a 4-1 pipe instead of 4-2, so will have to mess around with tuning for a while.

Will hopefully start building the seat sometime soon (as soon as I get my frame back).

Also: Will start trying to post some pictures of things, even if just parts, to try and keep this somewhat interesting.

 

[Big R]

Ah, another GS build. Good motor in the GSX's too.

If you haven't already, check out the GSResources. Tons of info over there about your bike (and carbs).

 

[Hoosier Daddy]

I can not get over the powder coater still has your frame!

 

[Kendrick]

Frame is...DONE! 7 months sucked, but it's so awesome it was almost worth it. Also got a couple pictures of most recent parts orders. Next few weeks will be spent in garage when I have time, want to get this running by the end of the month.

These pictures don't do it justice, parts looks almost purple from some angles when the light shines on it. Really awesome looking.

Pretty happy with how it turned out, can't wait to get everything back on it. Here's some pics of recent parts I've gotten. The black MAC pipes as well as a jet order from Z1.

 

[CafeRacer650]

Looks great! Can't wait to see the bike come together. Seven months is F-ing ridiculous.

 

[Kendrick]

Alright, it's been a little while since I got around to really making a significant update, but we're finally getting somewhere. I'm counting on having the bike rideable (not necessarily tuned perfectly), in the next 3 weeks, tank might not be finished being painted yet though. I've made some more progress since these photos, but nothing all that significant, mostly some wire mods, and smaller misc parts back on the bike.

This first pic is from about three weeks ago. Engine back in, front/back end both on, new All Balls bearings and races.

Electronics tray, since then I've run an 8 gauge wire directly from the battery to the tray for all the ground to go on, so I didn't have to grind away any of the powder coat.

Parts order

I'll try to get some more recent pictures soon. Right now I'm starting to get ready for painting the tank, ran to a couple different stores today and picked up painting supplies, this is my first real rattle can project, but I've been reading guides/watching videos and am confident I can turn out an at least decent piece. Gonna be doing black all around, with a thick white stripe down the center, and a thinner blue stripe down the center of the white one, and if I feel like it when I go to paint, might keep the knee indents white as well.

These are a two new and unused Mikuni VM34s that I picked up. Since I'm just worried about getting the bike rideable so I can enjoy it for at least the end of the season, these aren't gonna be going on right now, but they're gonna be a small winter project, on top of just cleaning up certain parts a little better, doing a better spray can job on the triple trees, blacking out engine side covers, etc. I can't wait to run it with these though, should be much better than stock BS32s.

 

[CafeRacer650]

Looks great! I'm excited to see how it looks with the black tank. What do you think about a small pinstripe on the outside of your white stripe that matches your frame paint?

 

[Kendrick]

Looks great! I'm excited to see how it looks with the black tank. What do you think about a small pinstripe on the outside of your white stripe that matches your frame paint?

I had thought about trying something like that, but I think the blue I'm using might stand out a little better with the white between it and the black. We'll see though, there's a few other ideas I've been tossing around in my head.

 

[BoJordan]

interesting build! im keen to track your progress