Thursday, September 30, 2010




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!


Sunday, September 26, 2010

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

Friday, September 24, 2010

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 :)


Wednesday, September 22, 2010

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


Monday, September 20, 2010

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....

Saturday, September 18, 2010

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.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

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.