GSX sleeper. Further works.

[lilredmachine]

Those of you that took a peek may remember my GSX sleeper.

https://i.imgur.com/ieKSf88.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/I4XKutD.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/5VjKtln.jpg

The bike was an utterly stock GSX600F with a bandit 1200 motor strapped into it. The clutch was converted to cable, the bodywork was completely stock, the airbox was retained and the suspension and brakes were the same twenty something year old basic components. This made it brutal to ride, huge (comparatively) power and skinny tyres on soft suspension with so-so calipers was an interesting mix. It was also running on the original motad 600 headers and Nexxus replacement pipe, which made it choke up and cough when the throttle was opened.

So after much agonising over pipe choice, a Delkevic 1200 header set was ordered. These have a 35mm internal bore, up from the 28mm of the 600 headers, but are single skinned so they take up less space. Standard Bandit 1200 headers aren't much less restrictive than the 600 pipes but use up a huge amount of space as they are double skinned. The fairings encroach on the exhausts on a GSX600F so space is at a premium. Wanting a nicely made, loud, light and non-restrictive tail pipe, I ordered a Danmoto Titanium GP pipe and slip on for the late model GSX750F. Fortunately this all fitted together and gave the motor the ability to breathe properly. I have a baffle but have never fitted it, I like a bark! The pipes required the removal of the centre stand and notching of the centre stand mount, though not to the point where it cannot be refitted. Had to lose the bottom front section of the belly pan to fit, but it is only a small section of plastic and full fairings are still worn. The bike runs so much better with the new exhaust, it will hold off my mate's 09' blade through second and third... Once it has finished wheelying and spinning through first. One of the things that is not obvious about these bikes is that they were actually several kilos lighter than a GSXR of the same age, despite having a steel frame. Having a B12 or an 1127 motor in one of these is a bit like riding a lit firework.

https://s30.postimg.org/b9by28a8h/20161001_221004.jpg

https://s23.postimg.org/p85is19i3/20161003_125828.jpg

So recently made my first handling mods. I am trying to keep the look of the machine so at first glance it is not obviously a breathed on monster. I sourced a late model GSX750F back end, which has a similar designed swing arm, but is around 2 inches longer than stock, and most importantly allows fitment of a later model Suzuki rim. I have 2 SV650s in the workshop and the Curvy model gave up it's rear wheel and underslung caliper for the cause. Looking about, I needed a heftier rear shock, ideally with a bit of adjustment and a heavier rear spring rate to better deal with the squat under acceleration from the torque of the 1200 motor. I found that an RF900 rear shock would bolt straight in, jack the rear an inch, had a remote reservoir with compression adjustment and also a heavier spring rate, found one on E-gay.

I only had to swap the swing arm bushings as the arms are the same width, just the spindles are different diameters. The shock went straight in and the rear wheel from the curvy SV fitted with the original hub from the GSX (chain run=good!). A selection of spacers from my box of Suzuki goodies and we have a rear end!

https://s28.postimg.org/jrbc00lrx/20170107_141914.jpg

I took the opportunity to do some creative cutting and remounting of the original MAHOOSIVE mudguard to make it look a bit more modern. This mod brings a 4.5" rear wheel enabling fitment of modern 160 rubber. I have fitted a Supermaxx sport to the rim, they are cheap, have a nice stable profile and as for grip, one of these held a flat 10 second 1/4 mile on my 200hp turbo bike. Previous setup was a 150 section squeeeeeeezed on to the original 3.5" rim. This made it handle like poo.

I removed the front wheel and attempted to fit the front wheel from the early SV between the forks. This is just a no-go, there is barely enough room between the forks for the 120 on a proper 3.5" rim. Standard is a 110 on a 3.0" rim, this is an issue as a 120 will be squashed on a 3.0" rim, causing bizarre handling and wear. Perfect on a bike that with the right gearing will approach 170mph.

I went off and did some research. A GSXR USD front end will fit, but ruin the sleeper look of the bike, I may well build one of these later that does not have to conform to the sleeper look so I can do what I want. However for the moment I needed a solution. Knowing that the RF900 shock bolted in, and the RF used a set of beefy RWU 43mm forks with the same brakes you find on a GSXR of the same vintage (including allowing fitment of the late model 6-pots), I went and did further research.

Having cross referenced the head bearings, stem length and steering stop setup on an RF, I realised that there are three types of sports orientated Suzuki front end from this period, the GSXR setup, the Bandit setup and the RF setup. The GSXR setup utilises the same stem length and bearings as the GSX, but has USD forks with a steeper rake and offset and has clip-ons mounted below the yoke that would interfere with the fairings on the GSX. The steering stops would also need reworking for the GSX frame.

The Bandit setup utilises 43mm RWU forks, but with a stem length some 50mm longer than the GSX and GSXR, requiring a stem swap for our purposes, and also would have holes in the top yoke for risers.

The RF utilises the same 43mm RWU forks as the Bandit, but with 1 3/4" shorter stanchions and has the correct stem length for our swap. It's top yoke has an up and over style mount for bars like the GSX, it has mounts for the 4 pot or the 6-pot Tokico calipers, uses the same style steering stops as the GSX and holds a 3.5" rim for a 120 tyre. The upshot is that RF900 parts are cheap...

https://s30.postimg.org/obh7b6dm9/20170116_164452.jpg

https://s29.postimg.org/auy5vxbfb/20170116_164508.jpg

This front end including yokes, forks, spindle, spacers, mudguard and brace was 84 quid shipped to the Isle of Wight.

Next job is test fitting the new forks...
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Bikes: too many, too much for one man to maintain anyway.

[Rncv]

looks like an interesting project!

will be interesting to see the finished result. Possibly turbo?....
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Current: 01' Bandit 600, 92' Goose 350
Previous: Lots!

[lilredmachine]

have had this conversation with myself. The turbo setup on my Bandit would swap straight on to this. Certainly make for an unusual bike.
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Bikes: too many, too much for one man to maintain anyway.

[virus]

this bump makes me miss my dirty 6/12 ratfighter gsx a hell of a lot.


Top tip. fit crash protection, drop it on the right hand side and you can do pretty catastrophic damage to the engine.


Cheers
John
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own: 81 xs1100g...
owned: 85 rat CG (sold), 91 GS500e (stolen), 84 gsx400f (scrapped), 81 z250 (siezed, siezed, scrapped), 83 cb250rs (sold), 84 gpz750r ratfighter (killed) 84gpz400 (sold), '80 cb650 ratfighter (wrote off) 95gsx6/12f ratfighter (killed) 91 xj900 (sold)
stinkwheel Well I just had my hands up a pigs fanny. Which makes your concerns pale into insignificance.

[Rncv]

[lilredmachine]

Not entirely sure the GSX frame would put up with 160lb/ft of torque. It's not the most rigid thing in the world!
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Bikes: too many, too much for one man to maintain anyway.

[Rncv]

There is only one way to find out
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Current: 01' Bandit 600, 92' Goose 350
Previous: Lots!

[virus]

Mine had a little bit of flex when giving it some stick and that was just a dyno stage 3'd 1200 lump.
____________________
own: 81 xs1100g...
owned: 85 rat CG (sold), 91 GS500e (stolen), 84 gsx400f (scrapped), 81 z250 (siezed, siezed, scrapped), 83 cb250rs (sold), 84 gpz750r ratfighter (killed) 84gpz400 (sold), '80 cb650 ratfighter (wrote off) 95gsx6/12f ratfighter (killed) 91 xj900 (sold)
stinkwheel Well I just had my hands up a pigs fanny. Which makes your concerns pale into insignificance.

[lilredmachine]

I do remember when researching this swap there was a chap with a heavily worked 1127 motor in one. It ran high 9's and he complained of visible headstock twist on launch. Considering the bandit has the ability to run high 9s and is roughly 50kgs heavier than the GSX, i would judge the GSX with the same power to be a low/mid 9 second bike. The extra power may cause the frame to collapse haha.
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Bikes: too many, too much for one man to maintain anyway.

[lilredmachine]

As figured, the front end bolts in, wholesale. No bearing swap, no stem swap, even takes the GSX bars in the clip on mounts.

https://s29.postimg.org/io26xc6tz/20170123_160728.jpg

https://s28.postimg.org/ry4xthqnh/20170123_160751.jpg

Sourced a Hayabusa master cylinder to push the 4 pots, 25 quid.

https://s29.postimg.org/glg1g18fb/20170124_114005.jpg

Sitting pretty, no clearance issues.

https://s29.postimg.org/vhc9megc7/20170124_114252.jpg

A random pic whilst I have the fairings off, not kidding about the fairing clearance on the exhausts, check out the fairing bracket!

https://s27.postimg.org/h3vrgle83/20170123_161011.jpg

The entire front end so far has cost 186 quid including a set of 4 pot Nissins that are not pictured. Fresh head bearings, bandit 12/RF9 discs and braided lines are all that is required to get this front end done and rideable. The whole bike requires a longer 530 chain, braided rear line and mounting for the shock reservoir to be complete. After that I'd like to dynojet and ignition advance the motor, it is already KnN'd/piped so the big bandit book of tuning would put that around 110-115 rwhp, with a hefty dollop of torque from nout RPM.

The bike itself was 550 quid off a mate with 17k on the clock, the bandit motor came from a whole 1200 (the front end/bodywork of which went in/on my Tubby!) me and a friend picked up for 400 quid, the rear end cost 22 quid for the swingarm, 10 quid for the torque rod, and got the rear wheel, brand new rear/front tyre and caliper from a deal for an SV which I made the best part of 300 quid on. This will be a very cheap and capable resto mod.
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Bikes: too many, too much for one man to maintain anyway.

[Snowdonia Rider]

Only just seen this thread now. I remember the old write up of the engine swap, nice to see it's still being improved Love sleepers! Looking forward to updates.
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I want your clothes, your boots and your motorcycle.
Suzuki GP125 Suzuki GSX600F Suzuki SV650S KTM EXC250F SkyTeam Bongo 125
My YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/SnowdoniaRider

[lilredmachine]

I have the complete front end now, lines, calipers, pads, gurt wavy discs and ignition switch. It is sat on my bench awaiting some attention which should be tomorrow. I also have a more modern looking screen with a double bubble and a Gimble single seat cover.

In the interests of outright performance, the bike will be stage 3'd with KnNs soon. The enclosed fairings should make it a bit more friendly down low than a naked on CV carbs.

Sit tight.
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Bikes: too many, too much for one man to maintain anyway.

[lilredmachine]

https://s16.postimg.org/5yycdrbut/20170313_171757.jpg

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https://s3.postimg.org/bfwtbt30z/20170313_171819.jpg

https://s21.postimg.org/ojkwke2rr/20170302_142517.jpg

The bike is back together mechanically and I have been hammering around on it for a couple of weeks to make sure there are no obvious handling issues.

It turns really well, the RF front end and late model GSX750f swinger give it a 57.5" wheelbase which is quite long, but I have a 60 section on the front and the forks drop the front by 1/4 of an inch compared to stock. The RF shock kicks the back up by an inch, so it has an arse up/nose down stance. The suspension is stiffer, and the longer wheelbase really helps the bike put down the horsepower so much better. It's turned out marvellous, and still looks like a GSX600f just... Stockier.

I may smoke it around for summer and do the cosmetics in the winter, forks black, wheels gold, mudguard painted to match bodywork. I had fitted the wavy discs, but they looked almost 'too trick' for the bike, so i swapped the front wheel of the turbo and put the RF polished rim and wavy discs in that. In my opinion the bike looks more 'stock' with the standard 1200 discs. Granted, the discs are enormous at 310mm and are now grabbed by Tokico 4 pots driven by a 'Busa master cylinder, but it looks classic enough. I have the Gimble seat cover, but it needs painting so I will wait to get everything done at once!
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Bikes: too many, too much for one man to maintain anyway.

[Rncv]

Great work, awesome sleeper!

Tempts me to do something similar
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Current: 01' Bandit 600, 92' Goose 350
Previous: Lots!

[Robby]

To do the full GSX sleeper job it needs a MAG sticker and a few dull rally stickers. Maybe some hard luggage.

I wouldn't bother fitting the turbo, you've already put a 1200 engine in a basic 600 frame. It should be quick enough.