my cafe bike project......

bell · bell's Garage

well after selling my 911 i wanted a toy to play with, and decided to find a bike to make a cafe style bike out of.

i stumbled upon a mechanically really nice 1982 suzuki gs 750, got it for $600 along with a number of gaskets and such with it.
on the test drive it pulled very hard all the way to 9k (redline is 9.5+), shifted great, and brakes felt good.

only issues are a cracked breather cover, left blinker doesn't work, high beam stays on, gas tank was painted by jebb clampett and a few other minor things, all in all i got a smoking deal. a good enough deal that after i'm done it'll be worth twice what i'll have in it, so i'll sell it and build a smaller displacement cafe......i didn't want to get a 750 but couldn't pass this up.

going to start tearing it down and cleaning it up in the next couple weeks (need to make room in the garage), and i'll post pics of my progress when i make some

here are some "as i brought it home" pics.....

bell · bell's Garage

Hugh R · 12-30-2008, 04:57 PM

$600 you can't beat that with a stick. Have fun! Post pics as you progress.

bell · bell's Garage

yea, it fired right up, no oil leaks and shifted great, i'm going through the whole thing, all the basic maintenance stuff, the electrical will be no big deal for me, i'm probably going to rewire the whole thing, paint i'll do at our shop.......etc etc.....
i need to know what kind of tires to put on it though, i'm clueless when it comes to bike tires.....

my wifey isn't real happy , but i agreed to not ride until i have health/life insurance and all the proper gear, she knows i sold my 911 so she could get back into the medical field.....

holtjv · 12-30-2008, 05:25 PM

So what are you going to do to cafe-it? Bob? Clip-ons? Rear-sets?

For $600, you should have plenty of cash to work this bike up. Sounds like fun.

Jim Richards · 12-30-2008, 06:02 PM

You sold your 911, bell?

KarlCarrera · 12-30-2008, 06:18 PM

That was a steal! Many years ago I had a '71' 650 Yamaha twin (bought used) and a buddy had a 78 or 79 Suzy (bought new), can't remember if it was a GL or GS but that bike was a screamer. Many, many road trips with beer (and ice) strapped to the tank, bi**h seat and 'sissy' bar. You couldn't break either one of them, only thing better was the 850 w/ shaft drive....not a BMW, but d**n nice! Great Find!

Karl
88 Targa

bell · bell's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by holtjv

So what are you going to do to cafe-it? Bob? Clip-ons? Rear-sets?

For $600, you should have plenty of cash to work this bike up. Sounds like fun.

call me ignorant but i don't know what bob/clip-ons/rear-sets mean

i know the look i want though after looking at countless cafe style bikes for quite some time.
to be honest this probably isn't the best platform to build a true cafe bike out of, too big and heavy.......but it'll still look good and fun, until i sell it for something smaller......

here's my initial thoughts on what to change...
bars
all the lights
seat and rear top section
lose the passenger pegs (they are also a muffler bracket so i'll fab up something)

it's an open pallet right now......so give me some ideas

jim........yep i had to let my targa go so michelle could pursue her career in the medical field, no big deal, i'll get another in the next few years, only i'll build exactly what i want (early turbo fendered coupe with 3.2

)

Hebrewhomeboy · 12-30-2008, 08:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bell

call me ignorant but i don't know what bob/clip-ons/rear-sets mean

not sure about bob, but clipons are the handlebars commonly used on modern sportbikes. They "clip on" to the fork tubes. Rear sets are essentially the places where you put your feet. On many cafe racer bikes, people install or fabricate new rear sets to move their feet up and back, to get in a more "sporty" riding position.

Great project, I've always wanted to get an old honda CB and do a cafe racer myself.

Dueller · 12-31-2008, 06:31 AM

"Bob" usually means chopping the rear fender.

Here's Pelican's link on of cafe bikes.
Lotsa great ideas.

Cafe Racer Thread

Tim Hancock · 12-31-2008, 07:11 AM

Maybe you can glean some inspiration from my cafe project (I just hope that someone can then inspire me to start working on it again

) Bell, did you ever finish the quad?

b4

presently.... still modding prior to tear down.

nynor · 12-31-2008, 09:40 AM

that is going to be a sweet project. personally, i'd stick with the 750. my friend has a honda cd400f ss and it seems a bit anemic.

here are some pics of my ride, that started out as a stock triumph 750:

i did all the work myself, except the actual powdercoating. it is a love hate relationship, but the blood and tears are worth it when i am bombing up the canyon.

bell · bell's Garage

my blaster 350x quad will be done soon, i'm waiting for christian (a quiet boom) to finish up the headwork, he's been rebuilding his new house and finally has been able to move in over the last couple weeks so he said he'll get to it soon.....once i get the head back i can build the fuel tank and i'm good to go with the quad....
(for those who haven't heard of the blaster 350x.... yamaha blaster 350 build...... )

Tim Hancock.....i like the fab work for your seatpan/rear section, you pic is one of the ones which made me know what i want.....so i'll be bobbing the rear, and will probably go with some clubman type bars like these
http://www.omarsdtr.com/cafenew10.html
but there are a few i've seen which i like, but it'll all depend on which set the the most uncomfortable

holtjv · 12-31-2008, 01:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nynor

that is going to be a sweet project. personally, i'd stick with the 750. my friend has a honda cd400f ss and it seems a bit anemic.

here are some pics of my ride, that started out as a stock triumph 750:

i did all the work myself, except the actual powdercoating. it is a love hate relationship, but the blood and tears are worth it when i am bombing up the canyon.

Well done. And thanks for making me feel like a poser with my 06 Thruxton (also a cabbie). But I love it anyway.

nynor · 12-31-2008, 01:36 PM

i'd ride that thruxton. i want one of those fly screens. it'd sure make riding on the freeway more comfortable.

Tim Hancock · 12-31-2008, 01:48 PM

Those Triumphs are pretty cool looking.... they definitely have that "oldskool" look.

nynor · 12-31-2008, 01:49 PM

honestly, i wish i'd started with a suzuki, like the original poster.

HardDrive · 12-31-2008, 02:15 PM

SLO-BOB · 12-31-2008, 03:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim Hancock

One can not overstate the AwESOME of those "twist" handlebars! I just knew that when I would look right, I would see an equally awesome sissybar. I was not dissapointed. I'll bet the seat had diamond pleats? Can't believe you're not using those.

Seriously, the tank (new) is a work of art. Any more pics?

Tim Hancock · 12-31-2008, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SLO-BOB

One can not overstate the AwESOME of those "twist" handlebars! I just knew that when I would look right, I would see an equally awesome sissybar. I was not dissapointed. I'll bet the seat had diamond pleats? Can't believe you're not using those.

Seriously, the tank (new) is a work of art. Any more pics?

No diamond pleats, but was crap brown, stepped and followed the sissy bar up quite a ways. It weighed a ton!

A few more pics... I found a parts bike for $50 and I used it's nasty tank to experiment on. The tank had a bunch of bondo in it, but with the sides cut off, I was able to dolly it out good enough. The tig welded knee dents came out OK.