Now to get to the second half of the title....what about down the road?
Well since I already need to replace some parts, I want to upgrade at the same time. And when I knew I had to replace the bars, and I thought about using my dirt bars, I started thinking about the looks of the bike. Unlike my Sabre, this is a standard with more "normal" dimensions. My Sabre had a TALL neck with stupid long forks, was shaft drive, etc etc etc.
This bike has a more standard neck size, shorter forks, monoshock, etc.
I like the look of this bike, and even though it's only a twin, it has some cool features in it. For example it has a forged crankshaft with a centrifugal balancer(?) hanging off it. Below 3k, the balancer stays engaged, more weight to keep the crank spinning so you can't lug it so bad, above 3k it disengages for faster rev accel, etc. And it got me thinking that something like that almost sounds like 80's superbike kind of tech.
Well 80's superbikes or muscle bikes all had kind of a similar shape, and this bike has that kind of shape. So why not slowly build a mini-musclebike? A small Suzuki version of something like the CB1100F?
I like this idea!
So what would I do?
USD swap, rear arm swap for something with rear disc. Why? I still prefer the swept 3 spoke wheels of the Katana. I want to use a set again.
Since the seat requires redoing, I want to have it shaved into a deep cut, sit further into the bike. Little stiffer foam, gel layer on top, etc.
Taillight base is busted, so why not go with something simple but upgraded? In combo, the rear doesn't have much shape. Seat butts up against a bar, and then there's a chrome fender. So why not go with a combo upgrade. Throw in something like a GS550 rear tail (black bike in pics), compact fender, and a flat panel LED taillight.
These engines sound good with different mufflers, but I really dont like dual exhausts too much. I'd love to find a 2-1 system that would work, but odd's are I'll have to build one.
Set of pods would be nice too.
There's also one other possible option, I'll get to that in a bit.
On the front, other than the USD's I want to keep the older look. 7" light will stay, and ideally so would that front marker light, but I'll be upgrading the headlight to a Morimoto Sealed7 Bi-Led. If I can't make the stock marker light stay with the USD swap, I might use that to get creative with something else.
With the back of the gauges being cracked up, I want to replace the cluster with something more compact. Move all the indicators to a small board of LED's, get a couple new gauges, and then tuck everything behind a small fairing/windscreen. Just something large enough to go around the headlight and cover the gauges.
Unlike the Sabre, this build WILL remain daily rideable no matter what. If it can't be done in a weekend, it won't be done. This will remain a 2 seater, so that I can take the wife and kid out. And The Rat may be changing direction a little bit. I may turn it into a trike so that the wife can ride something solo.
And a picture for inspiration!
