A few little details...

Yesterday a few parts were waiting for me at home when I got home from work.

My new GS gas cap showed up. Nothing makes a tank look more complete than a nice shiny gas cap.

I also picked up a pair of replica Yoshimura carb scoops.

Finished Shadow Rear Fender

Finished GSXR fender

Little details...

Orange gauges. I don't understand why, but they have to be orange.

GS Tank Progress

So I learned a few things about my GS tank...

First of all, the 550 tank emblem attaches further forward and higher up than the 1000 tank.

Secondly, the white stripe on the tank isn't symmetrical... by like 3/16... so the ND decals aren't as perfect as I would like them. But hey, I knew going in that I wasn't making a picture perfect replica.

One thing I have noticed when researching both the 79 GS1000 and the 87 GSXR 750 is that it seems that there were never two identical bikes from one event to the next. So, I'm trying my best to not let it bother me too much.

It is still missing a few decals that I will need to have made, but I think I have captured the feel of the original.

All I do is paint...

I did some more painting today.

I finished the paint and pinstripes for the Wes Cooley GS. Topped it off with a little clear coat. Decals to follow in a few days. I will also need to find some screws to attach the Suzuki emblems.

I also added the Sharkboy Industries and Suzuki decals to the SRAD tank and finished it off with a few coats of clear.

More Paint Monday

I had a little time this afternoon so I painted a few more things.

After a small dropping accident, my daily rider - 85 Shadow 700 - had a mildly smashed fender. I decided to try chopping the damaged portion off. The Shadow is all black and I decided to paint it matte green while I had everything apart.

In an early post I had a picture with the Wes Cooley tank next to my 97 GSXR 750. This is what I hope to end up with...

Here is the tank...

Decals to follow in a few days.

Fenders

Prepped, primed, and painted both the GSXR and GS fenders.

Stock GSXR 750 front fender. I didn't like the 1100 front fender that my bike came with so I picked up the correct 750 fender.

Chopped FZR600 fender. I will be using an FZR front end with a Seca II top triple and superbike bars.

GS: More painting

Over the last week I got a chance to finish removing the factory decals from the gas tank... not many things are worse than trying to remove decals that are more than 30 years old.

I primed both the GS tank and the tank from my 97 GSXR 750... more to come on that one later.

Added a white base coat.

Finished up the tail.

GSXR: Building a big pile of parts

So I have a total basket case of a GSXR in my garage... I am going to need more parts.

I have some experience with the GSXR/Katana/Bandit engines so I knew that I could swap a lot of parts to fit my needs.

One day I can across a Bandit 1200 complete exhaust system for sale locally. That was the easy part...

The hard part was finding the matching oil pan and pickup, which I ended up getting from the UK.

I will be using all stainless hoses for the oil coolers. I have gotten all the necessary fittings and adapers to use a late model GSXR 1000 oil cooler, to cool the oil going to the head which will be mounted in the upper fairing behind the number plate, and a curved Slingshot oil cooler for the main cooler.

The adapters for the oil coolers themselves were originally designed to relocate the oil cooler for a Hayabusa. I had to be creative with the adapter to get the oil from the engine to the small cooler. I ended up modifying an oil fitting adapter from a T3 turbo.

Kevin Schwantz Superbike: Let's get up to speed

A few years ago I started seeing an 86 GSXR 750 for sale on craigslist. Part of me always wanted to buy it but I couldn't justify it to myself. Finally one day, nearly a year later, I caved and went to pick it up.

I should have gone when it was first posted. By the time I made my decision... it looked like this.

Lesson learned.

At the time, I didn't like the idea of making replicas. I guess that I thought it was boring. Somewhere along the way I changed my mind.

GS: Starting to paint

Nearly all of my bike building has been on modern sport bikes with full fairings... So it's kinda nice to only have to prep and paint a tank and tail.

The biggest catch so far is that I am working with a tank that has 30 years of chips, scratches, and surface rust. More to come on this later.

The tail went much easier.

Just need to add the pinstripes and the tail is done.

Wes Cooley GS Superbike: The Beginning

For as long as I can remember I have had a great deal of admiration for the racers in the tube-frame superbike days. I've wanted to build one for awhile and as a Suzuki and Yoshimura fan, a Wes Cooley replica was a natural choice.

A couple weeks ago I was able to pick up a rolling chassis. Cheap.

I've decided that I want to make a 79 replica. The biggest reason? I don't want to spend the money to get the bikini fairing that was used in 80 and 81.