1981 Suzuki GS450...the "GS" stands for "Good Sh!t"

5

504-Ranger

New Member
well this January i purchased a non-titled (i know...) gs450 that had good compression and spark...just a little carb clean and tank job was needed....for 300 i couldnt say no! well here she was when i first got her home, all japanese cruiser-ed out->
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so after a semester of school and cleaning carbs in my dorm room and spilling chemicals all over the carpet messing with the tank this is where it got me, the cowl is not mounted just a general idea->
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and after a couple parts from dime city cycles and an old flat black rattle can heres where im at today->
(Disclaimer: im sorry CAFEPETE for stealing the tape on the headlight idea, i really liked the way it looked on your bike and my headlight and bucket are crap and will be replaced sometime in the future)
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and its not your eyes, the rear tire is crooked
 
Yea I just discovered these little buggers.

Cheap here in the UK compared to honda / Yam equivalents.

My first one is a quickie makeover Flat Tracker as I need to get something on the road until al my other projects are completed !

However, I've decided that I'll also do a 60's style Cafe Racer as soon as I can find another cheap GS donor.

BTW - you can dismantle the instrument binnacle to give you the traditional English Cafe Racer look.

My Tracker will soon be painted satin Black as part of the quickie makover - I'll tear it down for a proper job next winter.

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yea the gauges will need some work...since this is my first bike i was thinking of keeping the dummy lights and gear indicators for a bit then maybe switch to just speedo/tach with the lights on a little display somewhere on the top of the tree
 
OK Ranger - the idiot lights.

Again NO problem - I HATE wiring and always look for the easy way out.

In this case I scored an Aprillia Scooter idiot light housing [ Scooter ] and simply took the bulbs out of the original housing and put them in the Aprillia one - job done.

Ahhaa - where to mount it? underneath the centre of the bars - between the bars and the top Triple Tree. That holds it all neatly in place and you don't even have to make a mounting up !

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Good stuff with those lights man, very clean setup indeed. Only thing I could thing about to improve them is possibly direct them at the riding position a bit more.

Anywho, keep it up, I really like the direction this is going in.

Cheers - boingk
 
Hi Boingk,

They're only there to please the MOT annual test of roadworthiness [ DOT?]. Apart from an oil warning lamp the rest I can do without! After 50+ years of riding I guess I know if I'm in neutral or not !!!
I'm not entirely happy with them, but as stated this one was supposed to be a quickie to get me mobile for the Summer.

In the UK we have a "Daylight MOT", which is for machines driven / ridden ONLY in the hours of daylight. I have located a Benelli Race fairing [ 1960's ] which I will use on the GS Cafe Racer - with NO lights at all - only a brake light for self preservation.

I have a 1970's Moto Guzzi "Flat Back" chrome headlamp which has a single warning lamp in the top for main beam. I might swap that over and change the bulb function for the oil light.

Like I said, I'm trying to resist the temptation to go too far with this one ! Originally I was going to keep it stock and just use it as is - but after nearly 55 years of building specials - it's too late to change now !

Anyway - thanx for the encouragement and kind words.
TJ
 
Nice work man. I just picked up an almost identical bike for the same coin. Wondering if you got her running well on those pods yet? I am about to take the plunge on a set and have heard some horror stories.

Scott
 
Hi Scott,

yes it's running fine - NO mods to carbs required ! Maybe I was just lucky. Quite honestly I can't see that there is much [ if any ] difference between the pods and stock air box in terms of actual airflow.

The rest of the engine is completely stock - like I said, this one's a Summer parts chaser.

I have located some wire spoked wheels for the Cafe Racer - strange, wires are not so common [ GS450 ] here in the UK and command a bit of a cash premium. I just scored a GS250 rolling chassis with excellent wire wheels for $50 !

I'm also replacing the Yamaha XS500 tank with a GS250T [ peanut ]. I had to do so much tin bashing under the Yam tank to get it to clear the frame it now only holds 1.75 gallons [ Imp] that's about 2 galls US.
 
most bikes will need a rejet with pods, cause the pods do infact flow more air than a stock box because the inlet on an airbox is small but pods are free flowing, i just bypassed that by taping up the pods with electrical tape to limit the flow...i need to mess with the clutch to get it to disengage but hopefully within a week ill have her moving in her own power then its time to call the DMV to get this title situation covered
 
well i scored some kz400 wheels for 40 bucks..cant go wrong there
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then i wanted to see what she would look like without the ugly mufflers on it so i took the whole system off for shits and giggles....now im gonna run little slide in baffles i like the way it looked
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bought some rear sets from a member on here and put them in the passenger peg holes and i like the way i sit in the bike so thats where they will remain
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also plan on using the stock little L-bracket for the brake
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and i measured the linkage for the shifter side and its going to need to be 16 inches long, is that ok or will i need to move it closer?
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ill make it out of a tube with tapped ends, should do good

yea rps is a nice place, lot of people left after it crashed but the great info is still there when i need it, might have to post pics of the truck in the cages' truck thread
 
wow, its been a year, ive been at school and now im back working on it!
scored a cl360 tank off here from houlzhouse2 if i remember his name correctly. it fit but i had to cut and rework where the coils mount. heres my solution just have to find someone with a welder to get it on. still have alot more work till i can ride it but im so glad im dont with that ugly pain the the ass of a gs tank. cant stand how it looks and all the work to get the cl tank on was way worth it!

so as of now i have a suzuki bike with a honda tank and kawasaki wheels!

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here's how i cut the coil mounting tabs off to fit the tank on

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and here is where im going to mount the coils, right where the down tube meets the neck

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Keep at it dude! I'm digging it and need someone else to follow that's working on a cafe GS and is a ranger enthusiast! haha. (I'm working on my gs650 cafe project and have only owned ranger)
 
I'm on board. I have an 83 450 and can use all the stolen ideas i can get. Keep the pictures and ideas coming.

Gary
 
504-Ranger said:
most bikes will need a rejet with pods, cause the pods do infact flow more air than a stock box because the inlet on an airbox is small but pods are free flowing, i just bypassed that by taping up the pods with electrical tape to limit the flow...i need to mess with the clutch to get it to disengage but hopefully within a week ill have her moving in her own power then its time to call the DMV to get this title situation covered
Click to expand...

What is the factory jet setting and what do you guys feel they would need to be rejetted to when running pods?
 
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