Manky Monkey Motors

Hi you lot.As you all know,i still have got a diversion lowrider project thingy thats taking ages to do,but now ive picked up a third project.My second project was gonna be based around a dr 650 engine thats still tucked away under my workbench.
Anyway,my latest project is more pressing and do-able i think.I have a little scooter to go back n forth to work which is gradually falling to bits,and rather than do it up,i was looking round for a decent cheap commuter.A mate of a mate whos a member on here [kev...with the blue xj900trike] offered me this suzuki gs500.It was stolen recovered,but most of the damage is purely cosmetic.Levers,mirrors,indicators and a petrol cap need replacing.
Ive started to strip it down a bit and i think its got a bit of potential as a cafe-racer,rather than keeping it as a standard commuter.The engine is really quiet and smooth as it still had the standard exhaust fitted when i went to have a look at it. Ive got about 6 months to get it on the road cuz thats when the mot runs out on the scrot,so i will need transport to work. some pics.

 :D

 :D

 :D

The scrots lurkin in the background....Ime making and selling these battery boxes to make funds for my projects.

Beeyootiful boxes.

(http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff441/TLSADE/suzukiGS500streetfighter1.jpg)


(http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff441/TLSADE/1242148556-1.jpg)

i liked the look of these....

I like the first one the second one looks like i imagine a chavs bike would look
 :)

hard to do burbury pattern paintwork though!!!!! ;D

Love the first one....thats exactly how i want it to look,but with a different exhaust fitted as that looks standard.What seat unit do you reckon thats from ? ??? ???

just done a quick search & found this..........

(http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff441/TLSADE/2004_GS500E_black_450.jpg)


looks to me like its a photoshop job using the original tail unit cut down!!!!!!....2004 model

clever ;D ;D ;D

be nice to see it done for real!!

Why not just purchase one of these!

ah-ha.........already got its bigger older brother

put a photo on bus boy......are u talking TL1000 ::) ::)

sure is..............

(http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/mm450/TLSAID/TL1000014.jpg)

LUSH!

NEED GIVE ME NOW YES???

Is it really the widower maker when it comes to the handling...or has yours been sorted......by the way it looks great

cheers........handleing is a bit ummmmmmm, but putting moto x bars on helps no end, running without steering damper & still got original damper on t' rear end so all things considered its not as bad as i expected. only real problem is keeping the front end from goin skywards in first three gears!!!!!far too much torque for me to tame and use proper like...... if any body wants to make me a sensible offer they can own this beast!

Where as its "smaller" Bro. is a pleasure to ride, and still has sufficient urge to bring on a boad grin, anytime, but handles like a "featherbed", brilliant.............................Morrag

yer might be right there.........with hindsight i wish i'd bought the smaller one but testoterone blinded me!

It's the way forward. Undoubtedly the sv650 is a brilliant bike, but there's something about it that doesn't quite appeal to me about it. might be down tommy mechanic had his tl fighter for years in a couple of different guises. Was lovely and got featured in streetfighters a few years back.

Know what yer mean Archie, and 50 years ago would prob. have felt the same! however,"tempis fugit!" so realism has to set in, but the "Bonnie" of yesterday had around 40 'orses, on a good day,& with a following wnd! whereas my SV has 72 of those geegees, enough for me I admit, still............................. Morrag

yeh........but what about the gs????

Ive lost the plot somehow  ??? ???

how so?

Hi yall.....Ive got the log book back now from dvla,so its officially my bike now.It was looking a bit dodgy as the previous owner hadnt signed the log book.It was then sold to my mate,who just took off a couple of parts for his gs and he didnt change the log book cuz he sold it to me after a couple of weeks.
So now i can start cutting and a carvin as ya do. ;D ;D

yeeee haaaaaarrrr!

Ok....havent been doing a great deal on the bike,but started stripping a few bits off  it today.Will put some more pics on soon,but ive noticed the more i take off,the better its looking.I know it seems a bit over the top to turn a humble gs 500 into a semi styled cafe racer , but on the other hand...why not.Its been done to honda cx 500s and other small capacity bikes has;nt it.I sold my honda hornet 600 june 2010,and ive been going to work on the scrot ever since....so getting back on to a proper bike will be great.   

piccies,piccies,piccies

Hi yall. Well ive taken the plunge and taken off the horrible standard undertray and some of the bracketry that holds the grab rail and licence plate.Ive also cut down the rear frame rails just by a few inches.Ive picked away at all the staples under the seat and taken off the cover and sponge to expose the seat pan.   

 ???

 ???

Today at work,i had  borrowed an old piece of scrap stainless {just for experimenting....honest} and cut and rolled it slightly until i acheived the shape i wanted.

I reckon you'll need some padding on that.  :D
Stainless doofer looks promising.

 ::)

So then i thought,rather than have that steel piece...it would look better if the whole seat and cover was that shape.

So i marked it out and began cutting with a jig saw. I was quite amazed to find my work had all been in vain.Once the blade gets hot,it cuts through but then melts back together.....was a real pain in the a!!!!se to get it cut.

 ;D

So now it this shape,i dropped the top dummy piece on to see how it looked ;D

Pretty good i reckon.....and when i cut off those pillion footpegs it should look a bit neater  ;D ;D. I think i will have to plate in the underside to get it looking a bit smoother.

lookin good!

Like that.
I've had a similar problem with cutting plastic. Trying to cut a flat sheet with a jigsaw, went all the way round, then found it'd sealed itself up again as the hot blade cut through. Ended up using a hacksaw blade.

cut slower

yep real slow & bigger teeth helps

that`s what the speed control is for  ::) ::) ::) ::)

Have,nt posted anything for a couple of weeks cuz ive been real busy. I tried a couple of attempts to make a bit of a cafe racer tail end....but they both looked naff. I,me now starting work on a third tail end which should look a bit better.Will get some photos on soon of the crap ones,and the new one i,me making.

I was wondering what had happened to this one. Was looking promising I thought.

I haven,t got any photos of the seat on just yet.....Ive cut it down even further so its just a plastic seat pan now. I wanted to have a go at creating something at the back end with a bit of shape to it.I had half of a mudguard at the back of the garage which gave me an idea for making a tail piece. 

I first cut the mudguard straight down the middle.

 ;D

I then added a piece of steel in the middle,shaped at the top to fit around the seat,and tapering down to where the light will be.

 ;D

I offered it up on the bike,supported with a bit of plate clamped up on the frame.

Ive now found another problem. The clocks are damaged,so i thought i could do a way with the tacho and just get the speedo refurbed by my mate. He refurbs suzuki gt750 clocks for the kettle club,and does a brilliant job. Any way,i unbolted the light and started to undo the clocks only to find that the ignition switch is cracked and hanging loose.Will have to get a new one of e.bay.
I want to have just a single clock,and ime tempted to buy a digital cockpit of ebay as well. They are multi-functional with every thing that a modern bike would need. The thing is,I only need a speedo and tacho plus the indicator lights and high beam /neutral light. Do you just leave all the other wires unpluged for things like oil/water temp and fuel gauge?   

Hi.Just a few more photos of the progress.Rather than do a complete strip down,I simply masked off the engine,and resprayed the frame around it. I,ve also rubbed the casings down and repainted them with heat resistant black enamel paint. 

 ::)

Ive bought a new filler cap,ignition barrel and a new speedo. I wanted to do away with those big ugly clocks anyway,and the tacho was wrecked and smashed.Stripped all the idiot lights off and made an aluminium bracket to support the new clock. 

Ive got a small tail light to fit on the back end which Iv,e still got to get sorted.....but this is going to remain the basic shape.Iv,e cut the sponge to a rough shape but I might try and get the guy whos going to re-cover it,to put some more sponge in the rear end to give it more of a humped shape.

I think that the side panels will still fit on....but will need some trimming down at the back end. Swing-arm still needs tidying and respraying.I also need to sort out the exhaust as i want something really short...similar to something on a buell or kwaka er 650 where the can finishes under the engine.

Looking very tidy mate.

Hi. Have,nt been on in some time as I,ve been busy at home and at work....constantly trying to juggle things and also having a second dog dos,ent help much when you want to get things done in the garage.A little progress made.I have bought some wheel bearings,sprayed the swing arm,cut the original seat lock off and made a seat pan.

 :)

 :)

 :)

I'd forgotten this one! Welcome back.  ;)

Hi. Made a little more progress this weekend,with the framework and the seat-pan. Will try and get some pics on later. After different attempts to make some kind of neat design that would tie the rear end of the frame with a decent styled seat-pan....this one seems to be the best I can come up with. Piccies soon.   

This is the small tray that blanks off the underside and holds the small tail light

Fully seem welded the 2 trays together and wire brushed it up a bit

 ;D

Started to fit the tank and seat pan on.The pan has now got a slight kink on the rear end.Ive also stitch welded a skirt on the sides.

 ;D

Ive bought a stubby end can from ebay. Brand new, just £40. The guy didnt want it cuz it was orange. I kind of like it.  Also did a dummy run with the tail light fitted

you have been busy hornet,.......looking good mate be ready for the summer do you think  :)

I made the link pipe and got the length and angle more or less right first time.It runs at the same angle as the bottom frame rails.

I hope so zakboy. I want to get it on the road by mid april, as the st georges day bike run in birmingham is on april the 23rd I think. 

Ive also changed the clocks as they were both smashed.It now uses a small single speedo with all the idiot lights built in. Ay got a photo of that mounted,as the bracket is at work...baking after being painted gloss black. 

Just need to get the seat mounted to the frame and then styled to get the Hump in the back for the cafe racer look. ;D ;D ;D

Nice to see this one back on the go again. Very tidy.

Cheers. I was thinking of making some small side panels as well....and maybe covering them in that carbon fibre look vinyl...the same that you used zakboy on your mates trike.

its good stuff hornet i used it on mine as well

 :)

Looks really good. Those mudguards look like they have been moulded in that vinyl....top job buddy

Started the gs today,but s**t hit the fan by a possible mistake by myself.Did all the fuel lines and put some petrol in the tank. Then when I was fitting the battery,I was struggling to connect the positive terminal to the battery threaded lug.So what I did.....and still cant believe I did it....was try and lift the lug with a screwdriver. The screwdriver touched the frame and arced up for a split second.
Anyway,I managed to fit the terminal and managed to start the bike.It took a few prods of the button to get it going and everything seemed ok.After a couple of minutes running I was easing the choke lever off slowly when it just cut out.When I tried to start it again it was having none of it.The starter motor was going but it seemed a bit to slow to fire it back up.So I took the battery off and gave it a charge up.When I refitted the battery and tried it again,there was nothing.
The gs has only 1 20amp fuse which is located on the solenoid. I changed that and still nothing.No clicking or anything at all from the starter or solenoid.There is power to the loom,as the back light is wired up and works when activated.Did I balls up the solenoid when the battery arced up on the frame? Any ideas anybody? By the way,the engine was a little lumpy but it has been standing a while,but there was no rattling or knocking.   

might of fried an earth lead somewhere i know you say the tail light works  but  that will only take a small amount of currant and the earth might still mamge that but not full currant req,d for starting or engine electrics

                      just a thought ;)

Cheers. Dont know much about lecctrix but it just seemed odd that it started,then got nothing at all once it cut out. And by that I mean electrically. I wonder if it will start with a bump start?   

can you get jump leads to it and see if  if it will then turn over?

I dont think theres anything wrong with the battery,as its brand new.Its like the supply is not getting to the solenoid. Not being electrically minded either doesnt help. Might just hit it with the sledge hammer and see what happens.Got me stumped.   

my FREIND once swore for hours after pushing HIS bike up and down the road cursing the battery with no joy of starting put it back in the shed, afew days later HE went to have a look at it and the kill switch was off :-\       trying to bump it or crossing the solinoid would give you a bit more info as to if there was power going to the starter and sol

Went to our local bike shop and explained what had happened. The guy there reckons that if the screwdriver touched the frame for just a split second [and it did] it should,nt have done any damage. He says that if you dropped something on the battery and frame and just left it there some time,then yes,the earth cables will fry. He thinks it may be the starter-motor on the way out.Any way Ive decided with the holiday coming up this weekend,I,me just going charge the battery up again,and try and bump start it.   

pity youre not a bit nearer i,d have a look at it  :)

Daft question...but can you get bike starter motors reconditioned like you can with a cars? Thats if it is the problem.

good old type autolec recon man should be able to sort one out  after all its only a 12v motor

H&L at buxton  just up the road from nabsims house is very old fashioned and never ever failed me when i,v asked for help and i,v dealt with some wierd and wonderfull stuff ::)

sounds like one of those annoying probs hornet that can usually be staring you in the face but just can not put ya finger on it, just wondered if the solenoid is on the starter or is it separate had a similar prob on me gs trike turned out to be the solenoid in the end .....if you want me to have a look with you give us a shout.

Cheers for that zak.Like you say,its probably sommat really silly thats just playing up.Am just gonna try bump starting it sometime over the weekend,and see if I can get it going.

Hiya H, just catching up a bit.

As you said, there is a 20amp fuse on the solenoid, have you changed this?
I believe its a yellow & Green wire that runs from the start switch to the solenoid, you can check there is power to the solenoid using a test lamp/voltmeter on this wire, should be live when the starter is pressed.
Again, using a test lamp, check the current is passing through the solenoid by testing for a feed at the live terminal on the starter.

Hi.Yes there is a 20 amp fuse which Ive changed,but still nothing.There is only one 20 amp fuse to run the whole bike,which seems odd,but what do I know.  The thing is Ive even got a multimeter and havent got a clue how to use it. Its got to many symbols around the dial.

Something like this? ..........

Your initial check is just to see if there is current where there should be,

Set the dial to V ( 20v is common on these meters, but use the lowest number above 12 that you have.)

Plug the black lead into the COM connection

Plug the red lead into the centre connection ( or equivalent V connection on your meter)

Turn it on

Touch the black probe to an earth point

Touch the red probe to a (what should be) Live point

Look at the reading

 Cheers for the info t/bone. I tried this with my mate kev who popped round to have a look at it.It seemed at first that we were getting nothing to the solenoid....so just assumed the solenoid was faulty.So,after that,kev was having a look round the wiring where all the connections are plugged in inside the headlamp shell.He took apart a single earth lead and just rubbed off a bit of furring...put it  back together and it fired up first time.Unbelievable. ;D ;D ;D ;D
So every thing seemed fine for a few minutes till it cut out again.Pressing the button and the starter was still working,but just wouldnt start.Checked the plugs and was getting a good spark.Started messing about with the fuel lines and they seemed ok. Then after all that,decided to look in the fuel tank......yep,you guessed.....almost dry. I think when I was bump starting it last weekend,what bit of fuel I,de put in,was sloshing round and working its way into the fuel line...firing up and using it all up...repeating the bump start again....using another little bit of fuel...so on,so on. So tomorrow,straight to the garage and get some more petrol.    :-[ :-[ :-[ :-[ :-[

they dont call it  go,,go,, juice for nothing  :D :D :D :D

Fuel in tank....still the same.Turning over but not starting...an occasional splutter and thats it....nowt.So frustrating. Tomorrow,I will recheck the fuel lines again,as the set up is a little confusing and awkward. ??? ???
+

£10 for it  :D :D :D :D

HO HO HO.....Managed to get it started ok...but I think its being starved of fuel. It starts with the choke,and once its warmed up,it ticks over nice and even.But as soon as I try to open the throttle,the revs rise a little...then it starts to splutter and goes to stall as if its not getting enough fuel into the carbs. On the gs500 website,they reckon it could be the vacumm operated diaphram on the fuel tap sticking.Will be looking into this at the weekend.

hook it up to a gerry can to test that out first, no point messing with the fuel tap if thats not the problem ???

Right. See if you can get your head round this one. Went out to the bike again and tried it, as it is set up.Started as usual,first time....so I let it just tick over for a few minutes to warm up.Tried to open the throttle again and its still the same...revs rise slightly then it goes all fluffy and going to stall.
So,I set up a small bottle with some petrol in and a proper hose tail in the cap of the bottle.....take off the reserve hose and attach this to the bottle of petrol,and start it up again.Petrol is now going straight into the carbs.....SUCCESS.It works,not perfect but at least I can open it up and the revs are rising and falling back to tick over.Its still a bit fluffy and pops occasionally but I think it just needs the carbs balancing and tuning.
So,here comes the confusing part.I re-attached the reserve hose back onto the tap as in the proper set up on the bike. Started it again and it still seems fine.Its as if it needed purging to get it working right.Had it running for quite some time so it was nice n warm.It seems to be a step in the right direction but still not sure why it seems to have cured itself. ::) ::) ??? ???

Hi hornet,Does the petrol tap have a vacuum pipe fitted,
If so check that the pipe isn't split or collapsing.

I was going to suggest the same. Or the rubber inlet manifolds have perished. Used to happen a lot on my old Jap bikes. Gaffer tape provides a temporary repair -a bit of tape around the vacuum pipe & carb rubbers might eliminate one possibility.

isnt the fuel pump built into the tank on these, it may have become blocked slightly and running the bike with a bottle the pump would still pump and free its self of and debries???????

Theres no fuel pump on it.Theres a tap thats permanatly on which feeds a second tap on the frame. Bit of a bizzare after thought by suzuki I think.Will try it again later and see if its still ok. ::) ::) 

Is there a pipe that runs from the tap to the inlet stub,
If so is it good.

All the fuel lines seem ok.The diaphram inside the frame mounted tap is ok as well.The only one I havent checked properly yet is the the vacuum pipe to the diaphram. I started it again tonight and it was back to its normal self of almost cutting out when I try to open the throttle. Once it gets really warmed up after about 5 mins of running off the choke,it does become a bit more responsive.
I dont think theres that much wrong with it.I think I will leave it as it is for now and carry on just doing the bits n pieces to get the whole thing finished....then maybe strip and clean the carbs again and try and find out if it just needs a little fine tuning.   

pull vac pipe off remote fuel tap put a suitable one on to suck yourself run it up and suck pipe to open diaphragm bud pipe to hold vacume .... suck it and see i just rebuilt one of these for son in law from the ground up engine rebuild etc ... bastard front engie mounts and exhausts flange bolts rusted to hell but got there hope you solve it soon

I had a problem a bit like this with a car once - turned out that although the fuel pipe looked ok, it was slightly perished and would let in extra air in certain circumstances - particularly when the ambient temperature was not very high.  

Having just re-read earlier posts - as the tank ran dry it's prolly muck from the tank partly blocking the fuel tap(s) and/or carbs.  It'll do this intermittently just to drive you mad!

Still no joy with it. Disconected the tank and the taps to the carbs. Rigged up a bottle of fuel to go straight into the carbs. Started it up again and its still the same....ticks over ok, but as soon as the throttles tweaked, it pops and fluffs and goes to stall. Tomorrow...remove air box,carbs and strip down time. :'( :'( :'(     

Its all crap. Took the carbs apart again,and found that there was a tiny "o" ring missing at the top end where the vacuum pipe fits. To be honest I probably lost it myself when I had taken them apart the first time to clean it out. Any way I bought 2 new "o" rings for both carbs and fitted it all back together,checking things to make sure it was all ok.
Hooked up a can of fuel to go straight into the carbs so as to avoid any problems with the taps.....and its still the same. Ticks over fine,but wont rev up...starts to splutter and stall.Ime thinking that it might not be the carbs at all,and may be the cdi or summat. At a total loss on this one. :'( :'( 

Hi again.Had a good end to the day. While I was watching some of my stuff finishing on ebay,I started looking on the web for gs500 carb diagrams. It was only when I saw an exploded view of the top end of the carbs and needle setup that I realised I had assembled my set wrong. Fortunately, it was easy enough to fix without taking the carbs to pieces.
So now it starts and revs up as it should....just needs fine tuning as it pops a little bit and misses occasionally...but ime a happy little bunny now ;D ;D.Need to get back on track now with a bit of fabrication to hold the licence plate,get the seat fixed and covered,new indicators,a lick of paint,job done.Then mot , tax and insure it Ime back in the saddle.

Nothing better than a good ending to a story.
Well done Hornet.

That's great news! So everyone lived happily ever after then.  ;D

Good man hornet knew you would get there in the end, well done mate  ;D

Hi. Just shows how long iv,e not done much to the bike. Had a little mess with it today. The new speedo is all rigged up now and lights up with a nice blue glow.I also mounted the new indicators,but not connected the wires yet.For some reason their is only wires for one set on the back,so I need to have another look and see whats happened there.
Not gonna bother posting any photos just yet until its nearly ready.....not that its gonna be a show jobby stunna. 

Hi. Just need a bit of electrical advice. Ive wired up the new indicators to the loom and tested them. The only trouble is,they dont blink,just stay on constant. Now my theory is either the flasher unit is faulty or, the clock might need an in-line resistor.....I think.
The indicators are normal bulbs,not leds. The original clocks needed replacing as they were both smashed in. On the display panel was a left arrow and right arrow for the indicators. My new after market clock has all the idiot lights built into it,and are leds.
All the functions work....except for the single indicator light. Do you think that because there is only 1 display bulb,instead of 2, it is causing some type of problem with the flasher ?

Not enough resistance? How about temporarily connecting a second bulb to the wires of the first one to see if it fixes the problem?

Anythings worth a try just to eliminate the fact that there may be a problem with the flasher.

Hi...My laptop has had a major glitch with connecting to the tinterweb,but I,me back now. Replaced the flasher unit and the indicators work fine.
The problem now,is with the display in the clock. Everything works fine with the clock.Oil light and neutral light works when you turn the ignition on,and the face lights up when the main lights are turned on.I have 2 wires from the main loom  for the indicators,which I assume is a live and neutral wire.I have 2 wires left coming from the clock.
When I join them up,the indicators still work and the left one will make the display one work only. If I swap the wires over indicators still work and the display light in the clock will only work for the right hand side.This is so frustrating as it is working to a certain degree,and as I dont know anything about electrics I did manage to wire up the rest of the clock.
Just need to let you know,the original clocks were all smashed in,so they have been replaced by a smaller neater single clock. The original clocks have a left and right indicator display,whereas the new single clock has just 1 for both indicators. Any help on this would be great at the moment....cheers. 
 

is it a bulb in the new clock or led.test your 2 wire's in the bike loom using a test lamp or multi meter,each one should be positive
with one or other indicator. if you dash is bulb it should work connected across these wire's if it's led then you will have to go to
the flasher relay to switch wire for a positive feed and to earth with the other. i think :-\

Hi.  The lights in the clock are all led,s.

then one wire will need earthing and the other a feed from your indicatiors,i think you said you had 2 wires which are live
from your indicators so get 2 diode's  and put one in each wire with the silver band away from the wire and toward the
clock ,join the 2 diode's together and to the other wire from the clock and you should be good to go, diode's are available from Maplin electronics if there's one near you IN4001 or IN4007 should do the job they're only pennies.

hope this makes sense and that it work's

So which one would need earthing....would it be one from the clock or one of the two wires from the main loom ?

one from the clock would need earthed the other from the clock would go to the joint of the 2 diodes

Cheers....will try at the weekend. We have got a maplins near us.

I'v just re read wot i posted and i may not be too clear. each wire from and indicator will go to a diode the other end of the 2 diode's
at the silver band end are joined together and then this joint to the wire from the dash. it should say in the info that came with the dash
which one needs earthed

Well,I bought the diodes today and tried to wire it up as in the last couple of posts. Nothing at all. I even tried changing the wires round from the clock and from the loom. Then I tried turning the diodes round,but still nowt. I,me thinking now whether to bother with the display light at all......but not sure if its a legal requirement for the mot.  ??? ???

the other option would be to take a live from the wire that run's from the flasher unit to the switch
tap into it and run this to the dash warning...pretty sure the teltail is a requirment :-\

do you have a copy of the wiring diagram for the dash...could you scan it an post it on here

Yes I have a wiring diagram but its for the original wiring. I,ve lost the paperwork for the aftermarket clock.

do you have a test lamp ? can you test for power coming out of the loom? and then through the diode's,individually
and then together just to see what's getting where. what make is the dash?

My mate kev,who I work with,and is a member on here,is gonna come round next week and have a look as well. 2 brain cells are better than 1 lol. Maybe he can see something Ive done wrong or a way round it. Thanks for the help anyway....will get back in touch if I ever find out how to get round this.

Hi. Been ages since I put anything on here.....but the bike is almost finished. Just waiting for the saddle to padded out at the upholsterers,and the bikes virtually done.I also need to make a bracket to hold the reg plate and little light.

The colours been changed as well.It was red,with those horrible shell suit style graphics. I,ve gone for a satin silver/grey.

 :-[

Better  ;D ;D

I,ve painted some pinstripes on to match the orange exhaust can.Gonna rub these off and use graphics to gain a sharper edge.

On the last photo....I have had to fit a small seperate indicator light on the clock bracket. I tried all different ways to get the led light to work inside the clock,but to no avail. This was the easiest option for me,and doe,snt really look out of place.

The seat pan is under all that sponge...just waiting for it to come back...it should make it look a lot sharper.

Need to make some small side panels to hide the electrics as well

Nice looking bike  :)

Welcome back mate. That's coming along nicely.

Cheers...Just been looking at some rear-sets on ebay. Its very tempting  ;D ;D ;D

looking good John   8)

Thanks zak. I,ve had the seat back now,and I must say,it looks great. I was a bit worried that it might look a little odd,and I was,nt sure how it would look....but I,me well chuffed with what the upholsterers done. Will try and get some photos on soon before I put the reg plate bracket on. Only because it looks un-cluttered like that.

 :o

 ;D ;D

 ;D ;D

Almost finished!

Took it to the mot station....passed,so I,me back on the road  ;D ;D ;D. Running a bit rough,I think it needs the carbs balancing. I wanna start another. 

Hurrah! Well done Sir.

Ok..Ive got my commuter gs500 cafe-racer on the road. So now I can turn my attention back onto this again.

 :o

Ahh yes. Far more sensible.

I like that chop

Thanks guys...the diversion engine is the sensible option. ;D ;D ;D. I,ve decided to do a bit of a revamp on the frame on this. I will dump the tank,and then cut the backbone of the frame. This will be replaced with a curved backbone which will arch over the top of the air filters and mate up with the headstock. The next step is going to be a bit more ambitious,as I intend to make my own petrol tank,which will slot underneath the curved backbone.
It will possible be a split tank,so as to show the backbone. Once I start on it I will put the photos and updates in a new topic.   

I really like underslung fuel tanks. Looking forward to watching that.

Right,back on to the little gs. I still have,nt managed to balance the carbs yet, but I think the miss-firing problem maybe electrical. This is my theory. I think that either the cdi unit is on the way out or 1 of the coils. When I first start it up from cold and ride it,the miss firing is only very slight at the bottom of the rev range. As its warming up you can ride it nicely in top gear between 40 and 50 no problem. But as the bike gets warmer, that miss firing starts to become more present,and starts to climb higher into the revs...if you understand what I mean.
I was thinking that if the carbs was out of balance,the fluffiness on the throttle would be in the same rev range every time,and the warming up process would not affect it. Where as when a coil is breaking down,when they get hot they start to fail. Hope that makes sense. Any ideas please. 

Does sound like a coil don't it.

 Changed the coils a few weeks ago,and it was still the same. Good job they were only cheap....so now I have a spare pair if they should start to fry.
I ended up draining the tank again and removing it just to  have a good over-all look at the carbs. I didnt really want to take all the air filter box off and go for a complete strip down of the carbs....just a general poke around...see if anythings loose.
I removed the tops of the carbs to check the "o" rings were still in place,which they was. I then checked the diaphrams and that the needles were both adjusted to the same length,which they was. No pin holes in the diaphrams either and they both seemed fine. It turns out that the problem was with the choke slide on the carbs itself. The lefthand side was not shutting off completely when the choke was knocked off. Thats why,when it was getting to its normal running temperature,the left side was bogging down and running lumpy at low revs. I,ve ended up bending the slide bar slightly so that it pushes the choke shut. It runs much better now....just flutters a little at very low revs which I can put up with for now. I think thats down to running a bit rich,but I can sort that out when I take it off the road soon once the winter starts to take a real grip. Other than that, I have no real problems with it. It runs really quiet mechanically...but quite raspy with that stubby exhaust....I need somebody to take it a ride,just so that I can hear it for myself,if you know what I mean.  ::) ::)