i finally got brave enough to attempt another buffalo project. however, unlike the k that i restored to stock, i wanted to do one more in a cafe style and i thought id post as i make progress. im hoping to tap into the combined experience and knowledge of the board, you guys have been doing this longer than i have. ive been following along with the great buffalo series and learned a lot so thought id give it a try too.
so heres the starter...
1977 model with 35k on the clock. mostly complete and in decent overall shape.
bike runs well with the exception of the transmission. its locked in 4th gear. i pulled and split the motor and found a piece of the kickstarter lodged in the fork drum. that was repaired with the help of parts from a donor motor.
fuel tank and side covers have been stripped and dents fixed, wheels replaced with mags from gs models, rear fender and frame cut down, seat replaced...
tore everything off and painted the frame in a metallic charcoal(always loved that color). this is where were at right now...[/list]
Last edited by Admin on Wed Jun 28, 2006 9:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
bighole wrote:the rear wheel isnt going to work... dont know what i was thinking. its off a gs450- axle is smaller. handlebars agetting changed too.
john
tempting...
i figured for now i would stick with the drum brake setup but eventually id like to go to rear wheel disk. ive never really messed with the GS's, are the rear disk brake systems easily swapped onto these gt's?
john
Just change out the bearings to fit the 20mm axle. That's what I had to do to use the GS550 rear wheel. I actually wanted a drum brake model.
I'm sorry I keep forgetting to take pictures of my seat mounts. Basically, I bolted a bar to the airbox mounting points, and attached a bar to the seat that would sip under the other one. Then I used DSUS fasteners at the back onto plates that are mounted on the shock bolts.
I'll take pics eventually. Gordon used the original seat hinges on his.
well Lane, ill trade ya!
i figure this will evolve as i go.
thats kinda what i figured for the seat. just painted it tonight and ill get pics up soon. havent made the mounts yet, still would like to see your pics before i do. thought about wrapping a bracket underneath the seat that slides into the top of each rear shock bolt.
bighole wrote:tempting...
i figured for now i would stick with the drum brake setup but eventually id like to go to rear wheel disk. ive never really messed with the GS's, are the rear disk brake systems easily swapped onto these gt's?
john
They are real easy to swap in , and if you get a GS swing arm even easier . The biggest hurdle is to rig up the brake master cylinder mount and linkage .. but with all the sport bike unitized setups now its cheap and easy to put one together http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Suzuki-G ... 0193QQrdZ1
Can you change the wheel bearings in the GS450 wheel so that it will work?
Jim
Should be able to by going by the Outer Dimention of the GS450 Bearings and by the inner Dimention of the GT Axel.On the Backing Plate ETC. just drill the Holes Bigger to fit.The wheel looks a little small but is probably just the Size of the tire.It may be possible to fit a slightly bigger Tire.I got to Looking at the Parts Diagrams and it looks like the GT750 used a 2.15x18 and the GS450 used a 1.85x18
the problem with the gs axle is it isnt long enought to span across the swing arm. to use the gt axle the brake hub would have to be drilled out. i think i'm just going to replace the wheel. its actually a 16" wheel, thats why it looks so small. id rather fill that extra space with tire but i think thats a little too small.
suzukidave- you got me thinkin...
bighole wrote:well Lane, ill trade ya!
i figure this will evolve as i go.
thats kinda what i figured for the seat. just painted it tonight and ill get pics up soon. havent made the mounts yet, still would like to see your pics before i do. thought about wrapping a bracket underneath the seat that slides into the top of each rear shock bolt.
No thanks; I did the whole disk conversion and I love it.
My brackets at the shocks are more or less what you're talking about except they disconnect on the seat instead of at the shock. If I ever get home this week.......
