Qckslvr
Been Around the Block
Hard times fell on me a while ago and I was forced to sell my car. With bills paid off I was left with $300 to my name, and no wheels to get to work. I saw an add in CL for a 78 GS750 $250, ride it home. So I borrowed a friends truck and head 100 miles north to pick up my new commuter bike.
I arrive at what appears to be a half way house for recovering addicts. Out front are 6 bikes in various stages of POS. I spotted the GS, and a toothless gentleman comes to greet me. He tells me that the GS is a true runner, has no front brakes, and is built from about 3 other bikes, and best of all current tags. And when he said no front brakes it was no lie, they had no fluid in the system. He asks if I wanted to take it for a test ride, and if so to keep it under 120, it gets a death wobble at 125. I paid him and loaded it into the back of the truck, and with a pink slip I left.
I then rode the bike for about week to work, with no front brakes. Next paycheck yielded some much needed repairs.
Pics of its first day at work
The seat had no pins in it and was held on by a bungee cord. It was (still is) wrapped in an old leather jacket the guy had. The tail light was from a Kawi and duct taped on.
Fuel tank is from the wrong model bike, and doesn't fit right, it was held on with a zip tie.
So with a little work and a lot of scrounging I was able to get the beast road worthy. I sourced alot of parts from a guy in sacramento, some from the GS boards, and a big thanks to Z1. So now the tank fits, the brakes work, the electrical is sound, the carburation is tuned, the forks actually dampen, and it has new tires.
Here are some pictures of the process
The Kirker headers were shot, so I had to fix them
Got some side covers
Just got back from its first trip as a whole
The bike has cost me a total of $800 so far. And most of that was tires, and chain conversion.
I have just sourced a wire rear wheel, and am working a deal on a wire front for the GS. I am not sure what I am doing with the seat yet. I do like the stock tail it has, but I also like a seat pan that Roc City has. My wife has already swore she will never ride with me on it, so might as well shorten it up.
I will be sure to post more as the parts trickle in. With my wife just recently employed I can afford to spend a little on the old girl.
I arrive at what appears to be a half way house for recovering addicts. Out front are 6 bikes in various stages of POS. I spotted the GS, and a toothless gentleman comes to greet me. He tells me that the GS is a true runner, has no front brakes, and is built from about 3 other bikes, and best of all current tags. And when he said no front brakes it was no lie, they had no fluid in the system. He asks if I wanted to take it for a test ride, and if so to keep it under 120, it gets a death wobble at 125. I paid him and loaded it into the back of the truck, and with a pink slip I left.
I then rode the bike for about week to work, with no front brakes. Next paycheck yielded some much needed repairs.
Pics of its first day at work
The seat had no pins in it and was held on by a bungee cord. It was (still is) wrapped in an old leather jacket the guy had. The tail light was from a Kawi and duct taped on.
Fuel tank is from the wrong model bike, and doesn't fit right, it was held on with a zip tie.
So with a little work and a lot of scrounging I was able to get the beast road worthy. I sourced alot of parts from a guy in sacramento, some from the GS boards, and a big thanks to Z1. So now the tank fits, the brakes work, the electrical is sound, the carburation is tuned, the forks actually dampen, and it has new tires.
Here are some pictures of the process
The Kirker headers were shot, so I had to fix them
Got some side covers
Just got back from its first trip as a whole
The bike has cost me a total of $800 so far. And most of that was tires, and chain conversion.
I have just sourced a wire rear wheel, and am working a deal on a wire front for the GS. I am not sure what I am doing with the seat yet. I do like the stock tail it has, but I also like a seat pan that Roc City has. My wife has already swore she will never ride with me on it, so might as well shorten it up.
I will be sure to post more as the parts trickle in. With my wife just recently employed I can afford to spend a little on the old girl.
I didn't have $400 to drop on a new system. I did have a gas welder, some wire coat hangers, and some left over pipe from a previous project. There is a down side, the low pipe keeps me from wearing the chicken stripe off the right side of the tire. But should I really be draggin knee on this old beast?
