New front end coming...

I have decided after much thought that I really need to put a different front end on this bike. I really believe that the stock front end is just too bulky for the bobber look that I am trying to achieve. So I am going to build myself a leafer front end. I've got the plans, now all I need to do is secure the rest of the material and I will be off and running.

Hmmm...

I threw one of the carbs in temporarily tonight just to get a look at the colors. On the engine anything that is now black will remain black. Anything that is aluminum will be painted orange and all relief work such as the honda lettering will be painted white. The colors should go very well. I have come up with two options so far for a name for the bike which are 'tangerine dream' and 'creamsicle swirl'.

A little of this...a little of that...

So I've been puttering around trying to get little things done on the bike. I don't have any money to spend on it so I'm just doing little things with what I already have. I do have some more to do on the seat before I commit to putting the leather on.

Today I worked on my painting skills, or should I say the lack there of. I prepped and painted a few smaller items including carb bowls, caps, headlight can and battery box lid. My painting needs some work. I think that the biggest problem is that I don't have a very good setup and it is hard to see due to shadows and getting the backside of things is difficult.

Cheers,

JW

We have been making progress. Not much, but progress. And when I say we I mean my youngest daughter Madeline, my fiancée Christie and I. Madeline and Christie are more moral support, but they are an integral part of the build regardless. Madeline is seen here taking the seat that we have been working on together for a test drive. She is a great little helper.

Freebies are good :)

Well I scored at work today. The ironworkers are just about done on my jobsite so I have been scrounging for materials. Today they hooked me up with two pieces of flatstock 1/4" x 10" x 32". I'm sure I can fabricate many goodies for many projects with this. I also got two pieces of 6" C-channel at about 6' long each, which I will eventually be building a jig with for making swingarms :)

Seat getting comfy

I have only made some minor progress in the last day. I'm kind of tired tonight and don't really feel like doing a whole lot. Either way I have done some more work on the seat and it is taking shape. Keep in mind that there is some more 'finesse' shaping to come before the leather is applied, but I thought I would share a few more pics of my progress.

Cheers,

JW

Minor progress

This weekend I finally got myself onto a few things. I got the seat pan cut out and bent. My helper and I did a bit more today getting the bolts in the seat pan. I am now waiting for the glue to set up some on the base layer of foam. Another thing I attempted today was painting. I managed to get some primer on my headlight can and battery box lid. It worked out well and I am now way more confident about painting. The only problem is I didn't take enough time on prep.

And one more thing before I go. I started an online photobucket account to follow this build. It can be found here.

Cheers,

JW

Battery box

So I am starting to look at mocking up my battery box. I am using a Canadian military ammunition box. I will be painting it up with the bike colors of orange and white. There appears to be enough room inside to put a few of the electronic components. And I just had an idea -- cut a hole and put the ignition key out the end or side or something. Hmmm.....

Cheers,

JW

Carbs

I got adventurous on the weekend and disassemble my carburetors. They are now soaking in pine sol. Yes I know, 'Pine Sol'!!!! I found this method of degreasing and cleaning carbs on one of the Nighthawk forums. When they are done soaking in a day or two I will blow them off and rinse thoroughly with water. Then it is time to prep them for painting.

I was in Hamilton yesterday and was close enough to Ottawa street to go and check out the foam store in the textile district. To make a long story short I now have the majority of the foam necessary to make the seat. And I also have a line on a local vendor of hides so that I can get the necessary leather. So hopefully today I will get at making the pan. My youngest daughter is pumped, she wants to help me design and build the seat. It should be an interesting project with the help of a 9 year old. :)

Well I have started to piece things together. I have not really gotten all that far but considering I have months to do the bit that I want to do I think I should be fine. I have sorted out a mount for the speedometer, although I am thinking it is a bit high. I have also fabricated brackets for mounting the headlight. Unfortunately I need to re-fabricate the headlight brackets a bit longer. I didn't get it quite right the first time. I have also secured a piece of material for fabricate the seat pan out of. On top of all that I went have sorted out a few things for disassembling the carbs and engine for cleaning and painting. I have been quite busy, although it does not show with the bike. Unfortunately the basement is low, crowded and dark. It's very hard to get a decent picture down there. But I am putting some up here of the speedo / headlight mockup. And I almost forgot, you will notice in the one picture I have an old ammunition box for the battery box!

More progress

Okay, so today my wonderful finace and I finished tearing down the bike. We basically got it torn down to a roller with the engine still in. It didn't take too long and was quite and enjoyable experience. I thought that removing the exhaust header would have been a nightmare. I was imagining broken studs, ton's of wd-40 and lots of swearing. It came off like a dream. I spent no more than 5 minutes on it. I don't know how I got so lucky. Either way, part way through I thought I should set the camera up on a tripod and take pictures as each piece came off. I put it together in a short video clip. I wish I had thought of it earlier. Oh well, such is life.

I was smart enough to make tags for marking all of the electrical connections. So I now have a wiring harness with tags everywhere describing what parts the connections go to.

Now is the fun part. We managed to get the beast into the basement. So we get to start the mockup. I will keep posting as we progress.

Cheers,

JW

Another step down

Well, I finally brought her inside. Christie and I tried the other night to bring the bike in the side door to the basement with no luck. So I went with plan 'B'... straight in the front door to the dining room. So there she sits. Proud as can be. Now over the course of this weekend she will be dismantled piece by piece. When i have her apart she will be heading for the basement. Then the fun will begin :)

Paint

Alright, here's the deal, I've decided on the paint for the project. I am going with orange and white. Yeah, I know you think I'm nuts! But I can see the bike in my minds eye with those colors and it looks great. Anyway, believe it or not I found the paint I want to use at Canadian Tire. Of all place, who would have thought? Anyway they sell Dupli-Color Paintshop Finish System. This sure saves me alot of research and running around. Luckily my father has a couple of spray guns, and I have a compressor. So I am one step further to painting. Now I just need to make some space in the basement to bring the bike in and tear it down. I suppose I need to find a way to make a makeshift paint booth as well.

I'm quite happy with how quickly this project is coming along. Now that I have a functioning bike, it should be a breeze. At least compared to starting with just a roller.

Either way I'm posting a few more pics.

Cheers,

Meatface

Update 2

Wow, I can't believe how things are coming along. For one thing I acquired another bike today. I came across a deal that I just could not refuse. I purchased a Honda cb 650 s for $100. Yes that's right $100. And it had half a tank of gas and starts and runs with no trouble. It is in amazingly good shape. No rust, no dings, scratches or dents. It does have a cracked headlight, one non functioning turn signal and one missing mirror. It also needs to either have the valves done, or the lifters. I will need to investigate further to determine which. But for the price, who could refuse. And considering I have a financial backer that was willing to put up the money...whew, what a deal. I just love Kijiji. I even took it for a short ride down the sidewalk to get it from the trailer to the backyard.

Now the dilemma is what to do with it. Unfortunately it is shaft drive with a short wheelbase. I really wanted to bob it, but I'm unsure if it will work out with the shaft drive. Regardless, this bike will be on the road in the spring. Yee-haw....

Update 1

Alright, I seem to have come to a few conclusions. One is that I want to paint the frame orange. Two is that I want to replace the stock 13" shocks with 10" shocks to lower the bike down about 2 1/2". The third isn't really a conclusion but more of a consideration. I am considering making a new swingarm and lengthening it. I'm not sure how much, but whenever I see pictures of these Suzuki's Bobbed I find that they look disproportionately large in the front. Another way to combat this proportion issue is to put on a smaller gas tank. The stock tanks are bloody well massive. And considering the fact that it didn't come with a tank, I think it is a good option for me.

If anyone has any comments or ideas, please do tell.

The Beginning

Okay, here is the deal. I managed to aquire this 1982 Suzuki GS400 off of Kijiji for the grand sum of $40. Now one would think, $40...what a steal. Well in reality they probably should have paid me to take it away. This bike is missing more parts than it has. But this is exactly what I wanted. I just needed the backbone of a reasonable bike to build from. At this point I have decided that I am going to try to build a bobber. It should be interesting as I have absolutely no bike building experience and have never owned a bike. But one has to start somewhere. And at the very least it will be a learning experience for me.

I am guessing that I should unveil the beast before I go on too much about what my plans are. The pictures below are of the bike as I saw it advertised on Kijiji and then the progress of me taking it apart.