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GSXR 1100 WP - Project Phoenix

4K views 20 replies 3 participants last post by  Neophyte 
#1 ·
I got me this Suzuki GSXR 1100 WP last week Monday for a fairly good price.

I think probably what got me drawn to the bike the most was the extended swing-arm. That is apart from the fact that these motors are so strong and tunable.

Yes, the paint work is quite rough and the rest of the bike is very dirty as the guy lived on a very dusty (red dirt) small holding.

The ride home, after dark, wasn't without incident. Ran out of petrol about 2km before the first filling station. We went and got petrol and continued. Suspension wise the ride wasn't bad but only had front brakes. Carbs needed a big service as the didn't really want to idle but I thinnk idling was set too low. At low rpm it ran very rough and I had to rev the motor up before it started running okay-ish. At one traffic light I even smoked the rear tire from revving her up too much when I pulled away. And the open exhaust didn't do the performance, or my ears for that matter, any good either.

Although it needs lots of t.l.c. it isn't in too poor shape.

My plans for this bike is to build a street legal drag bike.














https://photos.app.goo.gl/7vVXMNgZBrzXoR9h7
 
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#2 ·
After stripping all the cosmetics off I found that the fairing weren't in too bad shape. Small repairs to be made here and there at the mounting holes but nothing serious. The paint on them however looks and feels very thick from all the spray jobs the bike had over the years so in that regard I do have a fair bit of work to do as there are a lot of places where the paint is cracked and chipped. The screen is getting replaced as it cracked at some stage and looks like it was repaired with fiberglass and feels twice as heavy as it should. As I will be making more of a drag bike the front seat will get cut down quite a bit when I have it recovered as it is way too thick and bulky. Rear seat will be replaced in favor of a custom cowl. Rear brakes needs to be sorted as the one bleeding nipple has broken off at some stage so the rear brake is not functioning. All brake hoses will also be replaced with braided hoses. Will be replacing the old air filters too with nice new ones.

The planned color scheme is black on yellow. Already bought the yellow in fact. It is a custom mix close to Daytona Yellow.

This is what I have in mind:
 
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#3 ·
So far I dropped the front over the forks with the fork tubes sticking out 50mm above the clip-ons but I might even go another 10mm or so:



Here is before the rear was dropped:



Here I dropped the rear so the frame is level with the ground:



The rear suspension linkage now needs to be lengthened by about 12mm to allow for the desired drop:



I found a nice Yoshimura RS-5 under-seat exhaust at one of the local bike breakers for a good price. The plan was to fit it sticking out under the stock tail light:



However, when I dropped the rear the exhaust was right on the tire. So I made the decision to lose the stock tail light and put the exhaust in its place:

 
#4 ·
Not worried about the tire hitting the radiator? I'd shorten the forks internally instead.

Will you be putting lights in the recessed areas to the sides of the exhaust?
 
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#5 ·
I will keep an eye on the front tire yes but usually the guys drop the front over the forks on these bike and there don't seem to be any issues.

Yes, I do want to put lights in those recesses but will the indicators as I am planning a small tail light just above the exhaust. We'll be closing up the gaps either side of the exhaust to make nice and neat.
 
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#6 ·
I cut the rear suspension linkage and extended them by about 12mm to lower the rear:



That was when I hit a major hurdle. Due to the original old air over oil rear shock being a bit wasted the bike sagged right down onto the exhaust without met even getting on. Even with the spring-preload turned to max it was still too soft. What to do now? So I got on Google and on the various forums and found that the GSXR 1000 K5 to K8 shocks are a straight fit as well as the K5 600/750 as well as the Gen1 Busa.

Searched around a bit and basically overnight managed to find a GSXR 1000 K5 rear shock at a very good price. Was a straight fit, after I had to push the battery box out of the way first. I turned the shock pre-load to about 3/4 stiffness and even when I jump on the bike there is still enough clearance between the tire and exhaust. Plus I will lift the exhaust another 1/2 to 3/4 inch.

That now leaves the side-stand to be shortened ;-)

The old and new shocks:

 
#7 ·
Today I managed to get a few things done.

1. Got the exhaust lifted about 3/4 inch under the tail so will now have enough clearance after lowering the rear.

2. Got the shock and suspension linkage bolts all tightened up after all the test fitting yesterday.

3. Shortened the side-stand by about an inch to compensate for the lowered suspension.

4. Stripped both seats down. Rear seat will be the platform for the rear cowl. The front seat will get a thin padding and nice upholstery form one of the local bike seat masters.

5. Removed the carbs. Stripped them down but found they were quite clean. I did however find the reason why the bike ran so bad the night be brought her home. The #4 needle's tip was ever so slightly bent BUT the cir-clip was actually sitting halfway down the needle! Reinstalled it into the 3rd groove as per #1. Cleaned out everything in any case with carb cleaner. Put them in the cupboard waiting for re-installation on the bike.

6. I took of the rear wheel and brake caliper. The wheel needs a proper clean an polish and the caliper's one broken off bleeding nipple must be drilled out and replaced. The chain adjuster bolts are in fact also missing their cir-clips so must go find new ones. The one adjuster screw is also right for the dustbin.
 
#8 ·
I don't think I'd want to trust my life to the welds pictured on the linkage. I'd at least weld up the top and bottom too.
 
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#9 ·
Got my son to start power washing the bike for me today so we can get rid of all the dirt and grime. He also stripped all the paint he could from the tail fairings, using only the power washer and a scraper! It looks like this bike must have been through 5 or 6 color changes in it's life and at one or more points in time it seems that prep work wasn't done all to well.







 
#10 ·
The rear wheel has cleaned up very well. We started re-polishing it...still have a lot of time to put into it especially on the spokes.

 
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#11 ·
Like Junkie, I'm a little concerned with the shock linkages. Please either fabricate some new ones or weld over all the joins ;-)

As an aside, these water-cooled powerplants are superb, and capable of making some very serious power. Much of the tech that went into these engines was what was used in the GSX1300R...
 
#12 ·
I hear you guys. In the mean time, my MIG's gas ran outfrom having to weld other things too. Still have lots of work to do but will weld it up nicely once I get a refill. Money is a little tight at the moment.
 
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#14 ·
Took her off to have the exhaust link pipe built and fitted :)

 
#15 ·
Got the bike back this morning with the Y-connector and link pipe done. This guy did a stunning job for me and I totally love it.





 
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#16 ·
Got the tank totally sanded down today...but sheesh..someone did a number on it in the past when sanding (grinding) the paint off.

 
#17 ·
Last week we started building our own rear seat cowl. Still a bit of work but getting there.











 
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#18 ·
Got a fair bit done today. Cleaned up the wiring and taped up al the pieces where previous insulation tapes came loose and where I had to open up a bit too. But I used a fabric tape...first time using it but quite like it. Very very sticky and still flexible.

During the last 2 or 3 weeks we stripped the old paint off and sanded etc. We were able to start doing primer during the week and today we even managed to get the 2 side fairings painted in color. It looks so awesome in the sun and I love it!





 
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#19 ·
Yesterday we did some more painting. Can't wait to see her get back together again. But there is still a fair bit to do. We now have to get everything on the bike temporarily so that we can get the masking lines for the black correct.

I also drilled out 2 broken bolts. The one was the lower bolt for the right side foot peg unit and the other in the fairing mounting "boss" at the top right of the motor. Now I just need to fabricate that little bracket as it is missing.





 
#20 ·
Here we temporarily fitted the fairings so that we could mask the lines for the black parts. Also checked the rear seat cowl for fit and it fits perfectly.







 
#21 ·
Here we did the black parts. Now just for clear coat.





 
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