Suzuki GSX400E budget build

[ORourke]

Hello,

I'm new to this forum, but by no means new to biking. I live in the Czech Republic at the moment, which has it's issues when trying to source anything for older bikes. I've had bikes for the past 9 years, and couldn't imagine life without one. Mortgage and imminent family plans have limited my current line up to this:

https://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e130/tyroneorourke/Suzuki%20rebuild/100_4712.jpg

https://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e130/tyroneorourke/Suzuki%20rebuild/100_4706.jpg

https://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e130/tyroneorourke/Suzuki%20rebuild/100_4707.jpg

It's a 1985 Suzuki GSX400E imported from German. I bought it a year ago and since have invested only in new camshafts (to up the power from the restricted state it was in), new handle bars and mini indicators.

The winter plan is to sort out the worst of the cosmetic faults, and bring the bike a bit up to date and remove as much weight as possible - and all this on a very strict budget.



The first thing i'll be doing is fixing the seat cowling. The previous owner attached a top box right onto the fragile plastic seat cowling, rather than using a proper mounting frame - the result being a badly cracked fairing:

https://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e130/tyroneorourke/Suzuki%20rebuild/100_4705.jpg

I've stripped off the graphics ( new plans for the paint job anyway) and prepared everything for a bit of plastic filler and then some sanding in prep for the new paint.

https://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e130/tyroneorourke/Suzuki%20rebuild/100_4728.jpg

While the fairing is off i'll be taking a look at what I can do with the rather large and ugly rear mudguard.

While i'm doing that, i'd like to ask for some opinions as well. The wheels have black inners with alloy rims, they look awful at this point, and i'm in two minds whether to polish up the alloy or whether to paint the entire wheels either white or metallic blue. Let me know what you think.

Hope people will enjoy the rebuild.

Tyrone O'Rourke[/img]

[sniff6]

Looks in quite good nick for an '85,Just needs some spit and polish
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'Great Britain' Love it https://img43.imageshack.us/img43/3967/67004290.gif or Leave it

[blurredman]

Indeed, welcome though.
____________________
CBT: 12/06/10, Theory: 22/09/10, Module 1: 09/11/10, Module 2: 19/01/11
Past: 1991 Honda CG125BR-J, 1992 (1980) Honda XL125S, 1996 Kawasaki GPZ500S, 1979 MZ TS150.
Current: 1973 MZ ES250/2 - 18k, 1979 Suzuki TS185ER - 10k, 1981 Honda CX500B - 91k, 1987 MZ ETZ250 (295cc) - 40k, 1989 MZ ETZ251 - 51k.

[Teflon-Mike]

Welcome, & looks good.
On the question of the wheels; think I'd leave them as is, just polish them up a bit.
End of the day, which would you rather buy, paint or petrol?
Since it's a budget rider, not a show-bike....
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My Webby'Tef's-tQ, loads of stuff about my bikes, my Land-Rovers, and the stuff I do with them!
Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?'

[ORourke]

Thanks for the welcomes and comments.

Yes - she's in a decent nick for a 25 year old - just full of battle scars.

I've bought some plastic filler - so hope to have the tail and redesigned rear mudguard done by next week. That said this will be my first try with plastic filler, and getting the 100:3 ratio just right might be a challenge.

Meanwhile the whole project has become endangered by the lack of tyres available in the sizes I need. In this country the log book of a vehicle has a list of tyre size that you must adhere to if you want to pass an MOT. Since the bike was imported, only the original Suzuki sizes were written into the log book, and in those sizes/speed rating/load ratings one cannot find anything. The closest I can find is a pair of Pirelli City Demons, the rear being the correct 3.75/18 but having a load rating 56 rather than 60 - thats 30kg less than it should be. I would not be to worried about it, after all the bike only weighs 250kg with me on it - but i'll be lucky to find an MOT center that will not make a fuss about that.
There are two options now (as I need new tyres, have a few cracks developing on the side walls of the old bridgestones) Either i'll get the MOT done early next spring with the old tyres, and then fit different ones, which will get me 2 years of peace.
Or i'll wait to see what the local Suzuki HQ can do. If they can send me a letter of approval that wider tyres are acceptable (which they are - i've done that much homework) and get the new tyre sizes added to the log book.

It's a mess I could do without, but everything has a solution....

I'll be posting some more pics of the rear end once I get it sorted.

[ORourke]

Just been doing a bit of experimenting today, don't want to do much until I get the answer about the tyres, might take a few weeks to get.

Earlier this week i removed the rear mudguard in an attempt to clean up the lines of the bike. It looked IMO a lot better without it, but making up a blanking plate under the seat to stop muck flying from the wheel onto the underside of the seat looked like a bit of a challenge.


I attacked the scrap guard this morning, I like the way it looks, though it will need a bit of trimming here and there so it doesn't poke out from underneath the fairing.

https://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e130/tyroneorourke/Suzuki%20rebuild/100_4730.jpg



As a result I'd lost the number plate mounting. Digging around I found an old set of rear 'cat-eye' lights that i'd once bought on the cheap for some other bike. They'd never been used and ended up damaged after a move. The alloy plate they were mounted to was perfect, however, so I cut that to size so that it would bolt up to the rear end with the stock rear light

https://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e130/tyroneorourke/Suzuki%20rebuild/100_4732.jpg

https://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e130/tyroneorourke/Suzuki%20rebuild/100_4731.jpg


All told i'm quite happy with the new look:

https://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e130/tyroneorourke/Suzuki%20rebuild/100_4733.jpg

I also had a crack at the plastic filling, and think I may have added too little hardener to the mix, as it's still not dried 3 hrs after applying it - 45mins is what the can says. I'll leave it till tomorrow and see if it sets.

[ORourke]

Had a day off work today, so I spent the morning in the garage.

Had a second try at the plastic filling - first attempt came to nothing as I hadn't put enough hardener in the mix. Second time it worked a dream, it's now sanded and smooth - considering I've never done any filling, I'm very happy with the results. It's ready for painting - once I find somewhere warm enough to paint it.

https://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e130/tyroneorourke/Suzuki%20rebuild/102_4775int.jpg

Had a go at the front wheel as well

Before treatment:

https://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e130/tyroneorourke/Suzuki%20rebuild/100_4713int.jpg

After a bit of polishing - it's not a mirror finish, but thats not really what i'm looking for. I still have to go over with the buffing wheel, all my buffing paste has gone rock hard, so need to get some more and give it a once over.

https://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e130/tyroneorourke/Suzuki%20rebuild/102_4782int.jpg

Meanwhile still no news about the tyres, so I can't really do much but clean things up.

[blurredman]

I like the progress and the rear look!!
____________________
CBT: 12/06/10, Theory: 22/09/10, Module 1: 09/11/10, Module 2: 19/01/11
Past: 1991 Honda CG125BR-J, 1992 (1980) Honda XL125S, 1996 Kawasaki GPZ500S, 1979 MZ TS150.
Current: 1973 MZ ES250/2 - 18k, 1979 Suzuki TS185ER - 10k, 1981 Honda CX500B - 91k, 1987 MZ ETZ250 (295cc) - 40k, 1989 MZ ETZ251 - 51k.

[hmmmnz]

lookin great, can't beat an old gsx,
keep those pics and progress reports coming
____________________
the humans are dead
I kick arse for the lord
Wiring Diagrams BIDNIP it bitches

[Darth]

Top work so far Always like a reading these low budget show and tells
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Harold_Shand wrote: I suppose it's like anything, you get your fingers burned when you start out, you learn from it and eventually become a complete arsehole about the whole thing.

[ORourke]

More pics to come - i'm actually planning to see this one through

Meanwhile had a great email from Suzuki that they are going to send me the letter I need to get the wider (90/90-18F and 110/90-18R) tyres approved at the MOT. Wonderful, all that extra wideness. And best of all, it means I can go full steam ahead with the project.

Meanwhile, has anyone here had any good/bad experiences with the following brands/models of tyres:

Bridgestone BT45
Metzler ME77
Pirelli City Demon

And now that I have a green light, the basis for the rest of the projects is:

-New tyres (I know it's getting boring, I won't mention them much anymore)
-New sprocket kit, the bike is now on the original set up, but it revs to high while cruising for my liking, so i'll be dropping a few teeth to the set up that was on the bike when I bought it- drops revs at 80km/h from 3500 to a much more pleasing 2900. The engine can pull it no problem, and with the ratios so close, acceleration isn't really harmed.
-New headlight- thinking of a clear lens, and playing around with the position, maybe lower it a bit.
-Make/find some rear sets, or get the pegs a bit further back somehow, and replace those comfy looking rubber pegs with something a bit more stylish
-lots of polishing
-recover the seat
- do something with the handlebars, they are a bit wide in pracitice, so might take a few cm off them.
-find some mirrors that will actually show more than my shoulders - maybe some bar end mirrors.
-Do something with the clocks - i really want a Koso digital, but at 220gbp, it's not exactly a budget buy... we'll see...
- Loose as much weight as I can ( I've already saved about a kilo with the rear mudguard, so I'm hoping that something more will give

Apart from that I'll see where it takes me, might have more ideas on the way.

[Darth]

BT45
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Harold_Shand wrote: I suppose it's like anything, you get your fingers burned when you start out, you learn from it and eventually become a complete arsehole about the whole thing.

[Moo.]

+1 BT45
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A2 Passed 18/6/10

[ncrn]

BT45 without a doubt.
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Past: 55 Sym Jet, 91 ZZR250, 03 NSR125R. Present: 97 ER-5.
https://www.nsr125.co.uk - NSR Owners forum.

[ORourke]

Looks like BT45 are the popular vote. I'll keep that in mind when I go shopping.

Meanwhile I managed to get to the garage this morning, and got a few things done.

Rear wheel cleaned - it still needs a going over with polish, but the black inserts are so dirty from chain grease etc that I'll wait till the wheel is out and then give it a proper clean.
https://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e130/tyroneorourke/Suzuki%20rebuild/102_4796int.jpg

The bottom cover of the clocks will need some treatment, this chrome strip isn't everything it should be and will be repainted in metalic blue.

https://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e130/tyroneorourke/Suzuki%20rebuild/102_4797int.jpg

I also had the front wheel out again. The mudguard had never been mounted very straight, and I decided to see what was wrong.
https://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e130/tyroneorourke/Suzuki%20rebuild/102_4798int.jpg

Turns out the metal mounting bracket/fork brace was a bit out of shape. A bit of heating it up and tactical bending was all that it took to get this back in shape, and the result was a mudguard in line with the wheel. This probably had a negative effect on the handling, so i'm glad it's done.

https://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e130/tyroneorourke/Suzuki%20rebuild/102_4799int.jpg

https://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e130/tyroneorourke/Suzuki%20rebuild/102_4800int.jpg

Oh, and last night I ripped off the old seat cover. I cannot find any staples, so I'll have to go to the hardware store before putting a new cover on.

https://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e130/tyroneorourke/Suzuki%20rebuild/102_4794int.jpg

https://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e130/tyroneorourke/Suzuki%20rebuild/102_4795int.jpg

I've more or less just taken a piece of leather and cut it to shape. If this turns out ok, i'll keep it, otherwise i'll be looking for other cover options.

The time has come to start shopping for those parts that I wanted, but my guess is that they won't start arriving until January, in the mean time I'll be doing a bit of cleaning and polishing.

[ORourke]

Covered the seat this week, I think it turned out quite well. Hopefully it will last a while.

https://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e130/tyroneorourke/Suzuki%20rebuild/102_4804int.jpg

[ORourke]

Decided to get the dirty work over with, and did the valve clearances today. It's not hard as such, just a pain what with having to remove so much to get the valve cover off. All the valves were, happily though rather annoyingly given the time spent getting to them in spec. I was also happy to see the new cams I put in earlier in the year were looking good- you never know seeing as I fit them myself.

https://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e130/tyroneorourke/102_4817int.jpg

https://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e130/tyroneorourke/102_4819int.jpg

https://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e130/tyroneorourke/102_4818int.jpg

The only things to go wrong were the above hoses, which had gone a bit hard over the years and wouldn't come free from the tap. New hoses will be used. Also the tacho drive retaining bolt sheared while I was tightening it in the head. Fortunately I felt the shear happening and was able to withdraw the bolt fully - when I got it out it was in two piece but for a mm thick strip holding them together. Talk about luck.

[rob_scott92]

Really liking these old suzukis in the show and tell section. keep up the good work

So, whats next? More engine stuff, or is it just a bit of a clean up?
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First bike: 1982 Suzuki Gs 125 'The beast MK1' > 1988 Honda Cb 350's' FOR SPORT! (Good ol' oil burner!) > 2001 Suzuki Sv 650 's' Made it out of the 80's! > 1997 Honda Cbr 600f :p

[ORourke]

[CHR15]

are you english then?

Czech Republic seems an interesting place to end up..
____________________
Turbocharged drag thing / project death weapon / GK73A
Ste: I'm not entirely sure how you'd go about verbally abusing someone with a potato but I'm sure it's possible.

[ORourke]

[ORourke]

Hope everyones had a good Christmas. I got to the garage today and came across a problem I hadn't though of when modifying the rear mudguard. The rear indicator mounts were rather large, and a good part of them was visible below the mini indicators i'd fitted. While this hadn't been an issue with the original mudguard, it looked ridiculous with the new design.

The original brackets

https://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e130/tyroneorourke/Suzuki%20rebuild/102_4855int.jpg

Below the yellow wire is the piece that hangs in the air below the fairing - so I decided to get rid of it

https://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e130/tyroneorourke/Suzuki%20rebuild/102_4856int.jpg

And this is what it looks like now, took off the bottom part of the bracket and drilled a hole for the indicator.

https://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e130/tyroneorourke/Suzuki%20rebuild/102_4857int.jpg

A bit of paint will follow.

I am thinking of getting an LED rear light with integrated indicators to clean up the lines, but so far I've not been impressed with the brightness in daylight of these lights.

I've placed a few orders for new parts, but it seems the entire bike part world is on holiday and then taking inventory till the 10th of Jan, so I'm going to have to wait a while for the new chain and sprockets, headlight, hoses and sundry bits.

[nowhere.elysium]

[ORourke]

Got a package today, my new headlight and fuel hoses turned up. I fit the hoses, but didn't take any pics.

I also fit the new headlight, and I think it looks very nice. A question of taste, but i'm really liking it

https://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e130/tyroneorourke/Suzuki%20rebuild/102_4930int-1.jpg

https://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e130/tyroneorourke/Suzuki%20rebuild/102_4934int.jpg

And a pic of what the bike looks like now. I've also removed the red pinstripes on the tank.

https://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e130/tyroneorourke/Suzuki%20rebuild/102_4933int.jpg

I'm still waiting for the other orders to come through, so meanwhile I'll be starting on the whole cleaning and polishing (not looking forwards to getting to the engine.) I'm still not able to find any place to paint the plastics I need to but I'm hoping to find somewhere soon, or for the weather to warm up for a day or two so I can do it in my garage.

[Digitalize]

Bikes looking really good.

Are you keeping the classic paint scheme or going for something different? I really like the white and blue
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1998 CB600F Hornet