my latest build. 2 stroke GT185 cafe racer.

sbaugz

DTT BOTM winner
I took a break from DTT for a while. Haven't really been on the forum for a couple years. Back then, there were a few bad eggs that kinda spoiled it for me. I figure its time to pay a visit again. Don't get me wrong, there were a lot of great people, but there was also a time when negatively seemed to control the atmosphere. Perusing through some recent posts and I have discovered that its worth giving DTT a try again. Enough of that.
 
so my project started out as a pretty rough GT185 that I got for FREE. I really scored on this one. Someone was posting on a suzuki two stroke forum that they were moving and looking to give away a GT185, free to a good home. I convinced his that I was his guy. Drove a trailer down to Illinois (a couple hours away), and met him at his apartment. He was in the process of moving south and needed to get rid of everything

I was excited to see a nearly complete bike, along with four huge totes full of parts. I got nearly three complete motors, a couple extra hubs, a couple extra forks, a T500 hub, and literally boxes full of NOS/ OEM parts. Most of the parts were still in packages and included new wheels bearings, new seals, etc. The motor had been recently rebuilt, including the crankshaft with all new seals and bearings. The pistons were brand new, and the cylinders were bored and honed.

On top of all that, he also gave me his rolling workstand, parts manual, and shop manual. I was excited, and somewhat surprised at the generosity and sheer amount of stuff that he gave me. He didn't ask for any money. I happened to have a nice bottle of Bourbon in my SUV, so i gave him that as a thank you. All he asked was that I kept him updated on the progress.
 

Attachments

  • C7A110C3-963A-4D7D-A25A-8F76538018AC_1_201_a.jpeg
    C7A110C3-963A-4D7D-A25A-8F76538018AC_1_201_a.jpeg
    257.7 KB · Views: 285
  • E64DE83E-A3B9-434B-9061-6281C80A9D87.jpeg
    E64DE83E-A3B9-434B-9061-6281C80A9D87.jpeg
    3.4 MB · Views: 252
before I proceed, I will share some pics of a couple of my favorite builds. I used to be very active here, and some may remember these bikes.

This one started it all. A suzuki savage with a RYCA conversion.

CFC6D168-53E4-4955-8267-00671BD19036.jpeg



My first true build from the ground up. CB200T. The seat was metal and incorporated directly into the frame. Sold this one to fund the next build.

8BA348FF-42C3-4214-9E15-79C0A4224D45.jpeg



This was a XS650 that I built. Sold it to a guy in New Zealand several years ago.

188E5E04-9252-413E-BCB1-938F3BDB3F37.jpeg



here is a honda CM that I built.

0BDCD2D8-0AD2-4341-B421-6AC356E72F0C.jpeg



and a CX500

1FDA5CA4-FA63-456A-BE5D-605781014F63.jpeg



and here is my favorite build, by far. This won BOTM on this forum several years ago. I ended up selling the bike on bringatrailer.

8E20162B-B3DD-445F-843F-C09AD9C34CFD.jpeg



and finally, my most recent build that I am nearly done with. This was a restoration of a suzuki S32-2 . I am just waiting on upholstery.

EEDD2D67-347A-4CAE-9C72-11A197E6F567.jpeg
 
back to my GT185. The guy had rebuilt the motor but it was pretty dirty, the cases were scratched and for some reason- he decided to rebuild the bike without the kickstarter. I wanted to have that as a backup, so I tore the motor apart, all the way down to the cases. I had the crankcase halves vapor honed, along with the jugs and cylinder head. The covers were powder coated black. I dug thru the spares and got a new kickstarter shaft, so I could have a kickstarter. New Brushes on the starter motor and hopefully its good to go.

FC41D7BC-12F7-4C9E-8B76-231AF5BBB3AB.jpeg
560EF321-9C2D-4F01-AB1D-A7B26FBF831F.jpeg
0E32F947-256C-4F43-9327-5D254030B6F9.jpeg
 
Now I had to decide on a seat and tank. The stock tank was decent at first glance. There really aren't any dents but the underside was a mess. It must have leaked at some point, because someone brazed the crap out of it, so there are large globs of brass colored metal all over the bottom.

Instead of using the stock tank, I sourced one on ebay. It was only $75 shipped and is a brand-new, chinese knock-off tank. The overall quality is decent. I had some bungs welded for a pingel style petcock and two additional bungs welded for a crossover tube. The tank had such a large and deep tunnel that 1/3 of the gas would have stayed on one side of the tank, and would have diminished the range significantly.

For the seat, I found a guy on the east coast who made me an aluminum seat pan to my specifications. I could not be more pleased with the outcome. The seat pan was shipped to Ginger at New Church Moto for upholstery.

42756251-A526-41B3-B847-75150B3AA5E5.jpeg
BD54C894-E261-4499-AD43-4D3AE5E0BD7E.jpeg
90097391-6002-4400-9CA5-DDAC0ABBFC69.jpeg




and here is the preliminary mock up that I made prior to having the seat made.

99489CAE-073F-4A2D-AC92-C0F7ABF609B5_1_201_a.jpeg
 
next up was the suspension. In the spare parts that came with the bike, there was a complete T500 front end. I decided against using that because it was too large for this bike. The proportions just would not have worked. I toyed with the idea of using USD, modern forks. In particular, I had seen a bike that used an inverted front end from a honda Grom. It looked pretty bad-ass, but I ultimately decided to stick with stock. I am trying to go for a more period style build with this one.

I rebuilt the forks, had the lowers powder coated grey. The rear shocks are JBS shocks from Australia. They were pretty reasonable and seems to be very high quality. I am using clip-ons (I forgot to mention that the bike came with brand new Apex clip-ons as part of the deal). The wheels were also powder coated, re-laced with brand new stainless spokes and the hubs were also powder coated. Avon tires are waiting to be installed next week.
 
The bike did not have a title, so I used the Vermont loophole to get a registration.
Speaking of registration, I also fabricated a shock mounted license bracket and had that powder coated.
One of my old contacts made me a custom electronics tray and oil tank to my specs as well.

ACC6E7CE-C139-49E1-AB82-44A6ED29B944.jpeg
05373733-EA75-4B4F-A17D-23B4DE99F7FC.jpeg
9C51CFA5-5BF9-40FD-B381-47076B311087.jpeg
 
next update- my Higgspeed expansion chambers arrived after a two month wait. They came from the UK. They are very well made and look stunning. I decided to go with GP style tips this time around. I am currently have some fitment issues that I need to work out, but overall I am pleased.

37CB5E04-5136-4BBF-BAF3-CCC6611E55DC.jpeg
D84B7AE3-2BF8-4B02-828A-0352BE2FFA1D.jpeg
07A8C2A6-8F75-4387-91D8-52D92418E99D.jpeg
 
Welcome back - that has to be one of the coolest looking motorcycle engines of all time. Ram Air


Sent from my iPhone using DO THE TON
 
First off, absolutely stunning bike! Having seen what you've done in the past, though,I'm not surprised. Nice work so far.

I took a break from DTT for a while. Haven't really been on the forum for a couple years. Back then, there were a few bad eggs that kinda spoiled it for me. I figure its time to pay a visit again. Don't get me wrong, there were a lot of great people, but there was also a time when negatively seemed to control the atmosphere. Perusing through some recent posts and I have discovered that its worth giving DTT a try again. Enough of that.

Glad you are back. Yes, things were dicy, to say the least, for a while there. Most, if not all of that seems to be gone now and things are much more positive and healthy. Sure hope it stays that way.
 
Awesome lookiing build......not too many Suzuki GTs getting the 'chopped n styled' treatment these days.

I'm sure I voted for your BOTM winner :)

Just had my GT200 engine rebuilt (not overdoing the clean, going for a utility look) for the Suzonda flat tracker project....:)
 

Attachments

  • 20200222_112247.jpg
    20200222_112247.jpg
    3.6 MB · Views: 217
Nice work as always. Those tanks look great but as you pointed out are a PIA to fit and are not good with a single tap. On an RD Yamaha, or CB160 frame the fuel tap set up fouls the frame rails and has to be moved.

Would you mind sharing what modifications you had to make? We often see things that people have done and want to copy the idea and have no idea how to actually pull it off. It might be both educational and inspirational for people to learn how things are done.
 
Keen to follow along here, being a bit of a Suzuki nut and all :)

I gotta say one thing I love with your previous builds is how you integrate the seat and tank. Too many builds I've seen over the years that haven't done that and either just don't look right with gaps or (worse still) leave testicle tearing bolts and metal edges between the seat and tank. I wince just looking at them!

Love your previous builds you've posted, really looking forward to seeing this one come to life!
 
Jeez!! You always do amazing stuff. Glad to see you are back. (I also took some time off and am now back with another project.) I’ll impatiently be waiting for updates.
 
Back
Top Bottom