I've had this one laying in wait for little while. I've actually had plans for it even befor I took proper ownership of it. I bought the bike back in September right befor I made the move to Atlanta. But I first found the bike 3 years ago when I first moved to Charleston and started working at the salvage yard. It belonged to our best customer and friend. Guy has 13 or so fully built metric choppers. evrything from 10 foot long cb750's that he originaly built back in the early 70's to brand new $40K Road Star customs.
This one was more of a budget lowrider. He rode it for a few years back in the 80's and somewhere along the lines the motor developed a problem. It got parked out behind the shop and forgoten about for a good 20 years and scavanged for parts here and there. One day I was out back looking for some odd part off a spare CB750 we were building for him and found this on under the tarp next to it. Completely forgeting why I came out there in the first place I ran back inside and asked him what the deal was with it. He said he had no plans for it, but it had a clean title and I could get it if I wanted. I asked him how much and he made me a deal I couldn't refuse. $100 he said. I said cool. I'll get it to you next week. Well, next week turned into next month and next month turned into next year, etc. I ended up moving on from that job but still kept that bike in the back of my mind. And everytime I stopped back in I would ask him about it again. Every time he would say $100.
Finally the week I was packing up to move I had to make a stop in to grab a brake light switch for my VTR. As always I woundered in to the back to look around and saw it again. Thought about it and figured, "Oh well, it would have been cool." While I was there I had to pick up some tie downs for the truck and in the course of paying for my items I got to talking with everyone and hanging out for a little while. As I reached for my money I started counting out the amount for my purchase and realized I had $100 on me. I looked up at my friend and asked if he would still sell the bike. Yup! $100?, I said. He said, PTL. (Pay the lady) I picked it up that saturday and loaded up in the moving van with the rest of my stuff and headed to Atlanta.
Right now it's sitting in my storage unit, but after the new year I'm hoping to be able to pull it out and start choping it up. Plans are as follows...
Motor gets pulled, disassembled and inspected. See if it's worth rebuilding. It's locked up right now. It could be rusted, it could be catostrofic. Not sure, but the kicker doesn't budge.
If it is good, I'm planning to go for an 855cc big bore and GS 850 head.
It has no carbs at the moment. Thinking a set of early GSXR 750 or Kat 750 carbs will work.
It has an old 4-1 exhaust on it already. I also have another aftermarket 4-1 system that is a split head pipe. So I'm thinking 4-2 with twin supertraps.
Suspension is totally getting changed. Frontend will be swaped with the complete VTR assembely. It's already been resprung with Race Tech 0.95kg springs and emulators. I'm going to lower the frontend internaly a couple inches and move the clip ons way low on the forks.
Rearend is a +9, braced GSXR1100W arm. Rear wheel is 18x6 with a 200 tire, I'm going to make a superbike style caliper mount and use a lazer cut wave rotor out back. still need to get a rear shock for it and make linkages. But it will be lowered as well.
Subframe is getting completley removed and I'll be welding up a stuby drop seat. Frame needs to be mono shocked and rebraced. Have to make new foot controls and linkages along with corosponding frame bosses.
Body work is going to be very minimal. Going to reuse the stock tank which actually looks rust free on the inside. Also has working locks and the stock gas cap and cover. Seat and tail will be made from sheet metal and welded to the tank. So it's going to be a 1 piece monoquoce with quick release. Electrical box will be part of the subframe. Head light is going to be the 5 3/4 bullet I had on my VTR with the cateye lens. Tail light will be an LED mini bullet moulded into the center of the tail. I'm gona get some MOON Disk wheel covers to go on the rims and give it that solid wheel look. And the whole thing is getting sprayed Gloss Black with polished bits.
Here's an idea of what I'm going for. I started with one of my favorite bikes off DBBP.com and turned from an HD into a GS
So this is my new years resolution. Get cracking on this project and put 3 years of dreaming and planning to work. Goal is to have it ready for FF09.
This one was more of a budget lowrider. He rode it for a few years back in the 80's and somewhere along the lines the motor developed a problem. It got parked out behind the shop and forgoten about for a good 20 years and scavanged for parts here and there. One day I was out back looking for some odd part off a spare CB750 we were building for him and found this on under the tarp next to it. Completely forgeting why I came out there in the first place I ran back inside and asked him what the deal was with it. He said he had no plans for it, but it had a clean title and I could get it if I wanted. I asked him how much and he made me a deal I couldn't refuse. $100 he said. I said cool. I'll get it to you next week. Well, next week turned into next month and next month turned into next year, etc. I ended up moving on from that job but still kept that bike in the back of my mind. And everytime I stopped back in I would ask him about it again. Every time he would say $100.
Finally the week I was packing up to move I had to make a stop in to grab a brake light switch for my VTR. As always I woundered in to the back to look around and saw it again. Thought about it and figured, "Oh well, it would have been cool." While I was there I had to pick up some tie downs for the truck and in the course of paying for my items I got to talking with everyone and hanging out for a little while. As I reached for my money I started counting out the amount for my purchase and realized I had $100 on me. I looked up at my friend and asked if he would still sell the bike. Yup! $100?, I said. He said, PTL. (Pay the lady) I picked it up that saturday and loaded up in the moving van with the rest of my stuff and headed to Atlanta.
Right now it's sitting in my storage unit, but after the new year I'm hoping to be able to pull it out and start choping it up. Plans are as follows...
Motor gets pulled, disassembled and inspected. See if it's worth rebuilding. It's locked up right now. It could be rusted, it could be catostrofic. Not sure, but the kicker doesn't budge.
If it is good, I'm planning to go for an 855cc big bore and GS 850 head.
It has no carbs at the moment. Thinking a set of early GSXR 750 or Kat 750 carbs will work.
It has an old 4-1 exhaust on it already. I also have another aftermarket 4-1 system that is a split head pipe. So I'm thinking 4-2 with twin supertraps.
Suspension is totally getting changed. Frontend will be swaped with the complete VTR assembely. It's already been resprung with Race Tech 0.95kg springs and emulators. I'm going to lower the frontend internaly a couple inches and move the clip ons way low on the forks.
Rearend is a +9, braced GSXR1100W arm. Rear wheel is 18x6 with a 200 tire, I'm going to make a superbike style caliper mount and use a lazer cut wave rotor out back. still need to get a rear shock for it and make linkages. But it will be lowered as well.
Subframe is getting completley removed and I'll be welding up a stuby drop seat. Frame needs to be mono shocked and rebraced. Have to make new foot controls and linkages along with corosponding frame bosses.
Body work is going to be very minimal. Going to reuse the stock tank which actually looks rust free on the inside. Also has working locks and the stock gas cap and cover. Seat and tail will be made from sheet metal and welded to the tank. So it's going to be a 1 piece monoquoce with quick release. Electrical box will be part of the subframe. Head light is going to be the 5 3/4 bullet I had on my VTR with the cateye lens. Tail light will be an LED mini bullet moulded into the center of the tail. I'm gona get some MOON Disk wheel covers to go on the rims and give it that solid wheel look. And the whole thing is getting sprayed Gloss Black with polished bits.
Here's an idea of what I'm going for. I started with one of my favorite bikes off DBBP.com and turned from an HD into a GS
So this is my new years resolution. Get cracking on this project and put 3 years of dreaming and planning to work. Goal is to have it ready for FF09.