Hillsy's GS450 project
- Thread starter hillsy
- Start date
dentedvw said:
Thanks for the comments - I had someone else say they liked the look of the original tank too, but it was never going to work with the Duc seat as the rear of the tank dips down to meet the original sidepanels....which was just going to look awkward.
Cheers lads
OK - did some more work this weekend.
First up, trimmed up the caliper mount and painted (matt black of course)
Next, "de-lugged" the frame. Man there were HEAPS of lugs
Then welded the rear frame rails together to suit the seat unit
The original headlight ears were too small for the new forks, and they stuck out too far anyway, so I made up a new pair out of some old bicycle frame tubing and a set of bolt on clamps I had laying around. I might lower the headlight a bit :-\
Starting to look like a motorbike now ;D
First up, trimmed up the caliper mount and painted (matt black of course
)
Next, "de-lugged" the frame. Man there were HEAPS of lugs
Then welded the rear frame rails together to suit the seat unit
The original headlight ears were too small for the new forks, and they stuck out too far anyway, so I made up a new pair out of some old bicycle frame tubing and a set of bolt on clamps I had laying around. I might lower the headlight a bit :-\
Starting to look like a motorbike now ;D
Well........I think I must be in the running for the record for longest time between updates :
Got the rearsets and rear brake sorted - I'd pissed around with different ideas including welding a plate on the side of the frame tube and just running the pegs, but I ended up mounting them like this:
Here's some close ups of my welds. Not the tidiest, but not too bad considering it's from a gasless MIG
And finally a side shot with the mufflers
The mufflers are not sitting as "upswept" as I would have liked, but the rearset position dictated where they had to go
Next up is mounting the tank and seat.......maybe don't hold your breath on these considering my track record ;D
Got the rearsets and rear brake sorted - I'd pissed around with different ideas including welding a plate on the side of the frame tube and just running the pegs, but I ended up mounting them like this:
Here's some close ups of my welds. Not the tidiest, but not too bad considering it's from a gasless MIG
And finally a side shot with the mufflers
The mufflers are not sitting as "upswept" as I would have liked, but the rearset position dictated where they had to go
Next up is mounting the tank and seat.......maybe don't hold your breath on these considering my track record ;D
sharperdill
Been Around the Block
I think your rearset mounting turned out way better this way than what you previously planned. The angle for folding up in the event of a lay down is better than before.
thompsonmx100
Over 1,000 Posts
Looks good Hillsy. I like the tank and seat combo. The whole bike just looks right.
So I had to move the fuel tap forward to clear the frame (GS650 tank on 450 frame ).
So I pulled out the big old soldering iron that I inherited from my dad:
To get some perspective of the size of the thing, that's the fuel tap near the bottom of the pic
And it's got a great name ;D
So anyway, I didn't get any before pics (sorry :-[), but here's the end result:
I basically made up a new mounting plate (with nuts welded in) and a cover for the old tap hole. I cut a new hole for the re-postioned mounting plate and soldered both of them in. I'd considered getting out the propane torch, but I was a bit wary that the tank still had some fumes in there, so the soldering iron did the trick safely
And the tap just clears the carbs now (but clear is clear):
I've started making a "frame" to mount the seat unit to (and then mount to the frame), but it turned out a bit....awkward :... so I'm considering mounting the seat unit with some hinges and some sort of clasp (I want easy access to the underseat electrical area). Hmmm - going to think a bit more about that one :
Cheers ;D
).So I pulled out the big old soldering iron that I inherited from my dad:
To get some perspective of the size of the thing, that's the fuel tap near the bottom of the pic
And it's got a great name ;D
So anyway, I didn't get any before pics (sorry :-[), but here's the end result:
I basically made up a new mounting plate (with nuts welded in) and a cover for the old tap hole. I cut a new hole for the re-postioned mounting plate and soldered both of them in. I'd considered getting out the propane torch, but I was a bit wary that the tank still had some fumes in there, so the soldering iron did the trick safely
And the tap just clears the carbs now (but clear is clear
):
I've started making a "frame" to mount the seat unit to (and then mount to the frame), but it turned out a bit....awkward :
... so I'm considering mounting the seat unit with some hinges and some sort of clasp (I want easy access to the underseat electrical area). Hmmm - going to think a bit more about that one :Cheers ;D
thompsonmx100
Over 1,000 Posts
Not bad nice mod. Did you just use regular ol solder. keep it up.
Peace Travis
Peace Travis
Swapmeet Louie
Put some metal in yer eye....
Bike is looking Awesome....
One thing though, your rear-sets look like they are going to put your ankles in a really uncomfortable position when you shift or brake. The shift and brake lever should be hanging lower (not parallel to the ground).
One thing though, your rear-sets look like they are going to put your ankles in a really uncomfortable position when you shift or brake. The shift and brake lever should be hanging lower (not parallel to the ground).
sabideefoo
New Member
Wonderful build Hillsy, I will be watching closely, seeing how I will be modifying my gs quite a bit also. May I ask why you choose to go with FZR items instead of Gixxer items? Please dont take it the wrong way. I am wondering because I would like to go with Gixxer swingarm and wheel combo with my GS. But did you say that the FZR swingarm bolted up nicely? Are there any other options for direct swap to swap front forks?
Thanks, Sabideefoo
PS: My GS 450s is a 81
Thanks, Sabideefoo
PS: My GS 450s is a 81
sabideefoo said:
Thanks for the props Sabideefoo - I was going to start a new thread on this build when I finally get back to it seeing it's so old ;D
Anyway, I used FZR wheels because I already had them collecting dust in the garage (if I was doing it again and had to buy wheels then DEFINITELY Suzuki rims).
As for front ends, the 450 runs the same head bearings as all the bigger GS's (550, 650, 750, 1000, 1100, 1150) and the early GSXR's. Also the GS500 twin is a direct swap too if you want the 3 spoke mag look (and the GS500 rear wheel should slot in the rear pretty easily too). You can kinda make any front end work, but the Suzuki ones will be less work.
And yes - the FZR swingarm was the same width as the GS, but the pivot bolt was a different diameter and I wanted to retain the "old" style round tube GS swingarm with the twin shocks, so that's the reasoning there.
Cheers
