The Punisher GS850G

[loudest143]

Well, after a couple of months of riding this thing, and fussing around with the carbs, I've got it pretty close to done. This bike was in a barn about 14 months ago. The PO said he had a catastrophic oil leak while on his way home. He fixed the gasket, but left the mess and never got back to it. So it had a couple years of baked on oil and grime EVERYWHERE, even inside the brake light switch! This is actually my second paintjob. (see below) Yeah, it's not perfect, and not show quality, but I'm much more into riding than showing. I found that the first silver sparkle paintjob looked sweet, but my chrome was never gonna match up nicely. My goal was to create some contrast between the matte black paint, and the 'chrome', or what little there is left. I'll keep the stocker exhaust until it rusts away completely. (exhaust wrap is hiding the uglyness) The red accents add a bit of color and a nice way to tie in the whole thing. It's been a fun project, and although there is still more polishing and a touch up job on the tank, it's mostly the way I have envisioned it. This is my daily rider, when it's not raining and above 40 degrees.

Exhaust wrap, National Cycle F-15 fairing, H4 headlight, Cal Cycle fork brace, Daystar fork gaitors, custom decals from Swapmeet Louie, Custom rim tape, Shinko rubber, aftermarket mirrors, Dyna wires, NGK caps, Accel coils, aftermarket clear lens turnsignals, bobbed rear fender, new gaskets pretty much everywhere, starter relay mod, 39 LED taillamp, and countless hours of cleaning the oil and crud off this old bike. Still left to do: Polish the peg mounts and rear final drive, clean up the wiring harness, and go LED in the gauges and signals. I hope you enjoy the pictures, this has been an invalueable resource, and I thank each of you for your inspiring creativity and enthusiasm. I also want to personally thank Swapmeet Louie, because without him, this bike would just be a bland black piece of metal.

The original look, factory paint.

The Silver Bullet

The Punisher

Thanks again to everyone, hope you like it.

Loudest143
Columbus, Ohio

 

[JRK5892]

very clean man! i love the mirror! wheel stripe is a nice touch, the grab bar on the back of the seat looks a bit out of place... but sharp rides man! all of them!

 

[CresentSon]

man that's F'n sweeet...

Gotta love a bike carrying that personal touch. Everyone will know it's yours!

 

[loudest143]

very clean man! i love the mirror! wheel stripe is a nice touch, the grab bar on the back of the seat looks a bit out of place... but sharp rides man! all of them!

You are correct on the grab bar. Not quite so streetfighter/cafe, is it? Well, as I progress forward, Hopefully I'll come up with something different or unique. I am planning to re-do the seat at some point. I'm still holding on to the grab bar(pun intended) for its' current function. I attach my cargo net to it, and haul the various bags of whatnot back and forth to work. Function over form at this point. Lashing the net to the plastic trim under the seat will not work, it's to weak to hold any weight. I'm thinkin' of going with a gunslinger style seat, preserving the two up capability narrowing it a bit and lowering it a half an inch at the tail. I've found a guy who can do the work, and may even have him embroider some red checkers and strips on the two up portion to flow into the tailpiece. Maybe. Still just in the idea stage. Either that or a black embroidered punisher skull, so it's there but not there. Who knows.

Gotta love a bike carrying that personal touch. Everyone will know it's yours!

Thanks alot for the kind words! It's fun to see the look on people's faces as they try to figure out what it is. I kinda like that.

loudest143

 

[JRK5892]

i thnk a brat style seat on that scoot woudl be sick but also functional....
hey man got any info on those mirrors? i am building a bobber right not for my girl and her dimond cut mirrors on her bike now SUCK balls, they look good but you can not see out of them for ShiZ!

 

[CresentSon]

i thnk a brat style seat on that scoot woudl be sick but also functional....

+1 But I'd like to see the gunslinger too, sounds cool.

 

[loudest143]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/SIDE-MIRROR-Chopper-Cruiser-Motorcycle-8mm-10mm-Silver_W0QQitemZ220415111643QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotorcycles_Parts_Accessories?hash=item3351c3b1db&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245&_trkparms=72%3A1171|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318

Well, these are the chrome version of my mirrors. I think I bought them from this guy, too. He's got the black ones for twice the price. Notice that the auction includes EVERY POSSIBLE FASTENER that you might need! +1! They're all metal construction, and they have teeth that lock everything in place as you rotate them around to the proper angle for your bike, and are spring loaded to help lock them in place. The polarized blue glass does help in bright sunlight. I have no complaints. Glad I could help! ** edit ** I forgot to mention, I'm using the stock 'anti vibration' mounts that sit on top of the lever mounts. So I've got those mirrors up a good inch or more than where they might sit on your bike. Look again at the pics.

Oh yeah, I LOVE BRAT STYLE! Totally dig all of that stuff, but just can't go that route on this bike. Guess it makes perfect sense to buy another fixer upper, and go brat style on that one! ;D I wanna get a little low CC Suzi or Honda and do something simple and light. Gunslinger keeps two up intact, but 'imitates' a cafe butt bump. Plus my stock rear cowl can stay, and that would be a plus. They are really hard to find.

loudest143

loudest143

 

[JRK5892]

NICE! i just sent her the pic of them... if she like them i will get them and melt out the mirror, lay some candy cranberry to match the rest of her powder work and glue back in the glass... thanks pal those are great!!!

 

[loudest143]

Great! I hope she likes them, the price is certainly right. Glad I could help.

loudest143
*ebay king

 

[boingk]

Very nice indeed, love the black and red theme...and skulls! No-one does skulls around here, especially since the ominous new biker laws. Anyway, looks like I might be joining the GS club as I just lined up a junker for myself. Hopefully all goes smooth. If it ends up looking half as schmick as yours I'll be happy!

Nice work - boingk

 

[loudest143]

Very nice indeed, love the black and red theme...and skulls! No-one does skulls around here, especially since the ominous new biker laws. Anyway, looks like I might be joining the GS club as I just lined up a junker for myself. Hopefully all goes smooth. If it ends up looking half as schmick as yours I'll be happy!

Nice work - boingk

Hmmmm.... New biker laws? What got changed? Will I get pulled over for scaring small children? ;D So what kind of GS didja get? Make sure you check out GSResoucesDOTcom for the research. Hit me up if you have any questions, I'll help out any way I can.

loudest143

 

[boingk]

This kind:

The rat kind. Its an 85 GS850GF, looks to be alright underneath an uninviting exterior. Had a chat to the fellow who basically wants rid of it, surplus project taking up space etc, I offered $600 (app. US$400) and its mine. Mileage is 55,000 kilometers, but its missing its sidecovers and needs a bit of work to get it running properly. I envisage a minimum of a carby clean, total fluid & filter change, tank electrolysis to remove rust and maybe a bit of minor electrical work. I don't really mind, I've got 12 months to fix it up before I can legally ride it due to our licence system. I got in just before the length of restrictions was increased by 2 years, too! I'll be picking the bike up in the next few weeks.

The new biker laws are aimed at outlaw clubs that exist on drug trading and other general misdoings. Basically, if you're using a biker club as a front for drug running etc then it'll get broken up and you won't be able to hang with your members anymore, as well as police being able to get related warrants and so on a bit more easily. Not an issue for 99% of clubs, but there were a few initial hassles with it (legit clubs being stopped on rides etc) that were probably just to get the public taking the law seriously. Its really pulled the 'big four' into line here, they're setting up an elders council and everything to deal with disputes. Overall, I don't see a problem...if you knew a club that existed to deal drugs, commit violent acts and steal property then you'd be up for it getting shut down, right? No matter if they rode bikes or not.

Anyways, don't mean to hijack the thread so carry on! Cheers for the link, too - boingk

 

[loudest143]

You have a steal at 400 american! I will warn you that the electrical is a bit tricky, so get your diagram and proceed cautiously. You'll scratch your head at a couple of the routings and goofy concepts in the headlight. (which I noticed is missing. yikes) Motor is bulletproof, even I can't screw it up! Parts are plentiful for the GS here, dunno about there..... Can't wait to follow along, you going streetfighter?

loudest143

 

[boingk]

Scene for parts looks ok, we've always been keen on larger tourers because of the distances involved in getting around the country. Much like you guys...except theres nothing in the middle of ours except deserts, a salt lake or two, and a really big rock right in the middle. Not much exaggeration there, either.

The fellow mentioned it did come with the headlamp assembly but that it wasn't fitted. I'm up for electric goofing, probably end up junking and bypassing stuff that gets in my way like idiot lights and other weird stuff (gear position indicator...WTF?). Sell the stuff I don't need and make a go of it on eBay, haha. I'm planning on going cafe, looking for something interesting with a bit of individuality. One idea I had was black with a matt white serial number on the side of the tank, give it a quasi industrial/utilitarian look. Definitely up for a lightening project to help with handling, too, can't say how I'd go about it without getting to know the bike though.

How do you find the weight of yours, and is there anything you'd do different next time?

 

[loudest143]

Yeah, the weight of this bike is a bit daunting at first. Odd thing is, it's balanced REALLY well front to back. I've become accustomed to the weight in less than a year. I'm really liking this bike.... It's not a cruiser, and not a sport bike, it's a little of both. Agile as well as comfortable, quick but not scary fast. Couple of things.... Good rubber of course makes a world of difference. Also, my bike was always a bit 'wiggly' at highway speeds. FORK BRACE. Dude, my wiggles are GONE. Night and day difference on my bike. I'm pretty tall, so I've got risers under my bars. Makes my back a little happier. But if you're going full cafe, then those wouldn't help much. ;D In my humble opinion the brakes are fine, but not outstanding. No stoppies on this bike. Yet. I'm going with braided stainless lines soon, so it should help bring this behemoth to a stop much faster. I've had a couple of moments where I've wished for a stronger grab that's just not there with the stock lines. It's pretty well documented that switching up to stainless makes a big improvement. Finding an exhaust may be a task. Like you mentioned, your continent loves sport touring, so maybe you've got more choices to find one to fit the 85. I literally have two choices, both that are outdated technology. I'm still looking to find the right 4 into 1 header to build the super cool cannister exhaust that I'm dreaming of. Yoshimura would sound so nice on this bike! You won't be racing an 850, but you sure will be loving the twisties and streetfighting on this mother... At least I do.

loudest143

 

[boingk]

Awesome, just the kinda stuff I wanted to find out, thanks a bunch. Anything I sit on at the moment will feel comfy, coming from my current ride, so going to clubmans and rearsets won't hurt at all. I'll definitely look into the fork brace. The bike already has a 4-1 'zorst on it. No idea of origin but I like the lines so it'll probably stay. You mention outdated technology on uprated setups...you mean flow characteristics, or more along the materials line of thought?

As for not racing an 850...well...why not? Theres a track 10 minutes away from me and the GS series is covered by racing classifications here in Australia, as are most motorcycles for that matter. I definitely want to try my hand at a track day sometime, and would like to make a superlight-category racer.

- boingk

 

[loudest143]

You mention outdated technology on uprated setups...you mean flow characteristics, or more along the materials line of thought?

Mostly materials... Big heavy steel. Ugh. My current theory is to mate up the correct set of headers, to a midpipe with a stocker GSXR flange at the end. You can pick up late model GSXR mufflers for 20 bucks american on ebay regularly. It's just an idea at the moment, as I'm still trying to figure out where to get a header that will fit.

As for not racing an 850...well...why not? Theres a track 10 minutes away from me and the GS series is covered by racing classifications here in Australia, as are most motorcycles for that matter. I definitely want to try my hand at a track day sometime, and would like to make a superlight-category racer.

- boingk

Okay, if you have a track that close, and the patience to lighten up your GS, shoot, run it into the redline!! ;D

loudest143

 

[monteboy84]

Nice work. I'm sour on skulls most of the time, but you did it clean and managed to only put 1 skull per side on the bike, so hat's off to you. It's a very clean bike, you obviously know what you're doing.

-matt

 

[loudest143]

Matt, thanks for the kind words. I really like The Punisher's politics, I guess you might say. "It's not Revenge, it's Punishment.". It's kinda fun pulling up and wagging a cautionary finger at the soccer mom that just cut into your lane while fumbling for the cupholder in her Lexus to hold her Iced Crappacino. Sometimes, it's worth tapping on their mirror just to see the look on their faces. hahahaha

loudest143

 

[boingk]

^ Hahaha! Gnarly man, thats ace! Please tell me you were wearing something quasi-threatening looking. ;D