1979 GS1000S cafe build complete

[lak-o-wits]

Just wanted to share some photos of the bike I just finished building(well, almost finished).

Thanks









and what I started with:

[Chippertheripper]

You're 150% spot on with that thing, but those autozone elbows kill it for me. If you ever have somebody rectify that with some real tubing, you'll have a dream bike.
Elsewise I absolutley love it.

[lak-o-wits]

Yeah, your not the first person to tell me that(and I've told myself 100 times). I used those initially as proof of concept I guess, because they were a lot cheaper than mandrel bent tubing. My plan was to replace them before I was done, but I never got around to it. At this point, I am kinda sick of working on it

[dontpanic]

Veeeeerrry nice!

[golden chicken]

Please tell me you are riding this tomorrow.

[Spooler]

That's fantastic! Nice job!

[gumby]

Please tell me you are riding this tomorrow.

Maybe lak would have, if Not Sure's ride wasn't 300+ miles today!

[maxim_X]

I've had a recent hatred of cafe bikes, but, I'm diggin your GS. Tell us how it rides, and fix your pipes.

[Paul_E_D]

Tell us about that shock arrangement. Could you not get enough spring rate for the mono, and so added a "helper"?

[lak-o-wits]

Thanks guys. My original plan was to use both of the stock GS shocks, but the setup was way too soft, and it would have been cost prohibitive to purchase suitable shocks for it. I had the GSXR shocking kicking around, so I figured why not try it out. By itself it would work fine, but I thought it would be kinda cool to use one of the stock GS shocks as well, for a slightly asymetrical look. It rides pretty nice, although it is uncomfortable as all hell, and it has a very stiff throttle return spring on it, so my wrist starts killing me after about 1/2 hour.

[Stoneman]

I like it! I wouldn't wanna ride it, but I like it. One more from the peanut gallery: I would've gone black on the headpipes too. That's all I've got though. Nice work!

[lak-o-wits]

Thanks, glad you like it
yes, I did consider doing that. Its not my bike though, I am building it for someone else, so he is kinda calling the shots on the details..

[jwm2k3]

Please give details....suspension, wheels etc...

It looks bitchen!

[lak-o-wits]

ok, here we go. I am sure I will leave something out
-1978 Suzuki GS1000s
-1970's Ducati bevel drive gas tank, with original filler and cap cut out and a Dunstall style neck/flip up cap brazed in
-1995 CBR900RR wheels
-2004 GSXR1000 forks, rear shock and front calipers
-1995 CBR900 rear caliper, front rotors, and rear sprocket/cush drive
-Harley Davidson Exhaust pipes(unsure of what model they came from, a Dyna maybe?
-aftermarket GSXR1000 fiberglass fro0nt fender, chopped and drilled
-Ducati 750ss hugger, chopped
-custom made rear subframe
-stock swing arm has been notched and filled to allow the use of the 190 series rear tire, I fabbed a subframe for the swingarm that the dual catilevered shocks mount to
-offset front sprocket to allow the use of the wider rear tire
-Airtech CB750 tail section
-aftermarket headlight and tailight(unknown brand)
-aftermarket clipons(unknown brand)
-aftermarket rearsets(unknown brand)
-aluminum velocity stacks for the carbs
-custom exhaust between headers and mufflers
-custom wiring harness
-skidoo peptcocks, with cutom fuel lines
I did every single bit of work on this bike myself. Not a single item was outsourced. From welding to paint, everything was done in my garage. its not perfect by any stretch, but I think it came out pretty damn good. The pictures do not do it justice

[gumby]

I've seen lak work on this bike over the last couple years. You can't imagine the blood, sweat, and tears put into this project.
Where it started, to what it is now is beyond cool.

Lak- You should share some of the hurdles and mishaps along the way.

[lak-o-wits]

If I was to share ther hurdles and mishaps, it could be title "The next great American Novel" or, "how not to weld a gas tank" I think the biggest hurdle was trying to find the time to do this, and make all these parts never meant to be on this bike to fit and work tbhe way they should.

[lak-o-wits]

man, I cannot type for shit today, pardon my poor spelling

[soofle616]

Honest opinion, the pipe bends look cheap compared to the rest of the bike and the shape of the front fender is a bit too modern, doesn't really compliment the other lines of the bike.

Negativity aside. That looks freaking amazing. Awesome work overall. Now call up stradafab and have them make you some fap worthy Ti piping to finish it off.

[lak-o-wits]

Thank you all for the honest criticism and compliments, I appreciate it. If I had more time with the bike, and the owner was willing to spend the money, I would fix the exhaust. He is happy with it the way it is though, so I will leave it at that. I did have another front fender setup in mind that I started working on, but I just couldn't get it right.

[xxaarraa]

Dude, I am a fan! I like the supertrapp undertail dual pipes.

[lak-o-wits]

Thanks. they are actually Harley pipes

[xxaarraa]

Thanks. they are actually Harley pipes

Harley OEM or Harley aftermarket? I had supertrapps (common in the Harley pipe scene I believe) that looked exactly like that in my old BMW 650 many years ago. Look cool!

[lak-o-wits]

They are OEM Harley pipes. Not sure what model they are off of, possible a Dyna or a Sporty...? They are pretty much gutted out, and have been shortened a bit

[golden chicken]

Could just exhaust wrap to cover the pipes

[lak-o-wits]

I cosidered that GC. Never a huge fan of exhaust wrap...good idea though!