I was asked to pick this month’s Bike of the Month and write an article about it. As I am writing this, Halloween is approaching, so I thought about picking a scary monster of a bike, a turbo GSX-R 1100 or something similar, to stay true to the Halloween spirit, but being a kutbuitenlander* ,I do things differently.
*(Editors note– Dutch swearing is complex and I’m banned from using it or translating it – do your own research)
This month’s BOTM is a nice little bike which even the Japanese can ride legally, and if you know how restrictive their licensing system is, that says a lot.
Cunnerz77, apart from being a kutbuitenlander as well, is also quite handy with the spanners. He bought two GSX-R400’s in bits and made one good bike out of it.
Within a few hours of starting the build thread it appeared that many OSS’ers have (had) a GSX-R400, some even have more than one. It was as if they were ashamed of owning a little watercooled 400 but the coming out of one of them (by writing a project thread) made them all appear. Actually the very first GSX-R was not an oilcooled 750 in 1985, but one year earlier the watercooled 400 had that honour.
Cunnerz’ one is a later beam framed one though. It is also an SP model, with some extra modifications like Monster stickers (so it suits Halloween after all), carbon look tape and speedholes.
The intention was to build a stock SP out of all the bits and sell the leftovers. After sniffing a lot of brake cleaner, and many bongs, he ended up with one squeaky clean GSX-R400. Not only squeaky clean but also completely original, down to the exhaust and JDM only turn signals. Ready just in time for the first snow of the year.
The first ride out showed that it is not only clean as new, it rides superbly as well. It is meant to be riden by a hoon so Cunnerz rides it like a hoon. To the point of unvoluntarily adding more speedholes. Not yet having sold the leftovers pays off at moments like this.
Now the bike is converted to track use only, so he can ride it like it is supposed to be riden, flat out everywhere.
Congratulations Cunnerz77, your GSX-R400 is Bike of the Month November.
This is my First time out writing the blurb for BOTM, not as easy as you might think, but thankfully this month’s bike of choice doesn’t need too much of an introduction. I volunteered to write this because I knew the builder and the bike well, having spent some time with them both at a recent OSS dyno day as well as various other OSS events.
Paul Morris’s and his gorgeous looking GS750 pretty much sums up what OSS is all about for me. For those of you who don’t know Paul, Paul is one of the OSS events team and over the years has organised many events from dyno days to OSS stands at shows, always there to lend a hand, eat ice cream and take the piss. 100% OSS material, just like his GS750.
Like many of us here at OSS, Paul did what a lot of us do (okay, what I would like to be able to do, but I lack the talent to do), take your all-time favourite bike/first big bike and give it a massive boot into the 21st century with radial brakes, better suspension, better tyres, add a trip to FBM for some turbocharged tomfoolery, a fancy LCD dash, a very sublime paint job and then finished to whole build to a standard that Suzuki San himself could only have dreamt about, when this bike first rolled off the line.
The standard of finish on this build really has to be seen to be appreciated, read the build thread to see what I mean. Oh, it also goes rather well on the road too, as I witnessed first-hand when Paul demonstrated with some high speed low level sorties over some of North Yorkshires finest roads on our way back from the last OSS dyno day.
I must admit, I was quite gutted when Paul broke his last Turbo GSX creation (also a former BOTM) and I thought, at the time, he must have had brain freeze from too much ice cream, but seeing what he has built to replace it, I now fully understand why it had to go.
Congratulations Paul your GS is BOTM, mines a 99 with a flake, thanks.
On OSS we make a point of having new people introduce themselves, preferably with many pics of (relevant) bikes, new and old. If you do it like this;
“If my gsxr were to be a human, it would rule the skatepark, scare children, snort all the drugs, start fights and go after the girls like its life depended on it. It does not care what anyone thinks and does precisely what it wants to do, be a tatty 1200 euro bike in a 90s tracksuits, with the results of my very concerning e-shopping addiction, badly bolted to its flanks”
you have my attention..
I met Cunnerz for the first time not even a year ago, I think. A Brit building a Slingshot pretty much round the corner from me and us not knowing eachother; downright weird. First time we (Jelly and myself) went to visit, we dropped off the purple people-eater ET Cunnerz bought off Jelly and promptly we went onto what could be called an “enthusiastic” run for Cunnerz to get to grips with the mighty 816cc of aircooled goodness we just unloaded on him.
We were told to “keep up” and got thrown the keys to his 400bhp v8 car. We had been there for all of 10 minutes, I’d never met the man before; this was gonna be fun… Back from the shakedown, we were brought up to speed about his soon to be finished slingshot; a bare frame sat on the floor of the shed, just back from the people that were supposed to just de-anodise it, and then had gone to blast the whole thing.
Now, I’ve met many people that had been very keen to get busy with a project and have their deadlines set with no wiggleroom; I personally always take this with a pinch of salt. In my few years, I’ve seen it all and probably bought more half-built projects than some of you will own bikes, because the builders involved lost interest when the enthusiasm wore off and time/money was needed elsewhere, leaving bikes to gather dust in corners, half built, waiting for someone like me to come and rescue them (on the cheap).
I’ve probably grown into the OSS-equivalent of a grumpy old man and honestly, I need to see it to believe it, so when Cunnerz told me he’d have it finished in a matter of months, ready for a trackday, that is exactly what I thought.
Passionate as he was about the 1100 in question, we were given the rundown of how it came to be and where it was heading. Still a bare frame I was standing next to, stories of wheelies thought Italian towns, 2-up touring all across Europe, crashing it into the side of a mountain and still never missing a beat, It was like I was talking to myself. Owned since 2015 and done everything on one bike is a lot less like me though, because I just get a different one after blowing up/crashing whatever is in the shed at the time.
An unrelenting devotion to a bike so outdated it hurts, but still better than anything that left any factory before or after; there’s just nothing like it, and that’s why it was now in the state it was in; get it to the next level and make it everything better and faster than before, because it earned it.
Countless hours were spent to correct the damage done to the frame by the blasters, slowly but surely the desired finish started to shine through and before long, the engine was back in the frame. Suspension seen to by Dutch K-tech specialist Front Row Components, the front and rear ends followed in short order with a swingarm from a later ’95 (?) 1100.
Fancy PFM brakes with radial calipers up front get the chassis well into the 20th century but with Fiberman fairings to replicate the original silhouette, only those that know, will understand what they’d be looking at. Flatslides and the Yoshi 4-1 make sure it doesn’t go unnoticed in traffic though, even to the most oblivious of motorists.
Painted straight black, it was given to our own Quist to do some decals with the brief “something 90’s” Knowing Quist and understanding his way of thinking, this could only ever become the loudest bike you’d ever seen, and I called it. When I saw the stickers, I knew I wasn’t wrong and Quist had truly outdone himself (again).
Finished in time ready for the Assen trackday, together with yet another international (inter-continental even) OSS member Kamikaze, the van was pointed in the general north-east direction to the “Cathedral of Speed” for the inaugural shakedown. I wasn’t there, but there’s no doubt in my mind that Cunnerz’ 1100 was easily the coolest bike there, with Kamikaze’s 750 in close second. There’s just something about these bikes, but I might be biased.
Cunnerz77, thank you for showing me that there still are people that put their money where their mouth is; “Imma build this” and then actually do it, in short time and to a standard I’ve all but seen in our little country. Took a Brit to do it, but still..
I’ll be around shortly for a frikandel speciaal.
Congratulations Cunnerz77, your bike is this month’s Bike of the Month
Up until very recently, I have to admit, I had never encountered a Cougar in the flesh. Not the rare sharp clawed big cat variety , not the even rarer Stiffller’s Mum variety and certainly not the rarest of them all Spondonesk small batch UK special motorcycle frame variety.
This Month’s Bike of the month winner Barry Armstong (AKA Cullinoc) has been a Suzuki nut for longer than most. He has countless high-quality OSS builds under his belt, built for himself and for others. In the last 2 years, I’ve watched him build 4 ground up quality olsdskoolsuzuki builds, all of which were worthy of BOTM and two of which were built and sold just to raise money for another very special ongoing build ( but that’s a different story for a different month) Barry also supports me as pit mechanic when I race so to say I trust his abilities and his eye for detail is an understatement.
Unusually, Barry has decided to keep the Cougar and run it as an everyday bike. He has a small stable of everyday bikes, all of which are Suzukis. He has no car license either so they are literally everyday bikes. Hardcore!
This month we are featuring Barry’s Bandit 12 powered Cougar. Barry bought this from another Suzuki nut and long time OSS member Pip Brodie. When he bought it it was powered by an EFE 1230 engine and an assortment of period early 90’s fittings. Barry’s original plan was to strip it back and refresh the EFE engine and upgrade everything else. When Rooster Racing were looking for an EFE engine for a race build last year Barry and Don did a deal for a fresh bandit engine and some frame mounts to house the oil cooled plant.
What has emerged is a very tidy, very usable looking Cougar framed Suzuki Special. Barry congratulations you are oldskoolsuzuki’s Bike of the month, October 2020. It’s your first time as BOTM Barry but I’m sure it won’t be your last.
Read about the build here. Members discuss this article here.
It’s early January. You could be feeling full of cheese, confused about which day of the week it is, have back-to-work blues or you may even be doing one of those ‘dry January’ or ‘veganuary’ fads. Not me, I like beer and cheese too much. I also like really clean, tastefully modified naked bikes, especially if they are blue and white and have clip-ons. Anyway, enough of that, look at this…
January is a great time to look back on the last year and consider what you’ve acheived. OSS member Allspeeds can do that with great pride, having transformed this humble 750K into a stunning 7/12 turbo in (just over) a year.
The bike was completely stripped and a 1200 engine was sourced. Apparently they are ideal for turbocharging and continue to remind us what a great donor bike the humble Blandit is.
The attention to detail on every component is amazing. Polished / coated / modified or upgraded everywhere you look. I looked at it a lot, you should too.
The turbo route was chosen and looks fantastic. 380BHP anyone? On carbs too. Mmm… carbs. Oh sorry, I got back to beer and food again. Anyway, just look at it…
So, what are you going to look back at in January 2021 and say you acheived in the past year? Get planning (beer optional, however recommended). Get building. Get it documented in the OSS projects section of our forum.
What a transformation in that time. Congratulations Allspeeds, your stunning, brutal 7/12 turbo is our January 2020 Bike of the Month.
You can find out more about this bike and discuss it here.
Some bikes
are built because you can, some because you want and sometimes because you need
to. A sense of urgency before you miss that window of socially accepted
ownership, so to speak. Such is the tale of Kraptanaman’s turbo GS1000.
Excuses at the ready to justify the actual turbo to the good lady, parts were gathered from inside OSS-land and the build commenced swiftly. This very bike will be the first awarded BOTM twice, because the frame is YoshiJohnny’s old GS1000 Yoshimura-rep, previously earning BOTM way back on the old page.
Playing
around with the hacksaw to make the engine fit properly without having to re-do
the headers, all fell into place after some persuasion and focus was shifted to
the frame itself. Deciding on a slightly shorted seat, the backend was lopped
off and the seat shortened to suit.
Making use of the talents and knowhow of several OldSkoolSuzuki heavy-hitters and also a few local tradesmen, the project neared the end of the journey and after the obligatory MOT, it was out on the road, all nice and legal.
However, as normal with pretty much any bike built in any shed, trouble rears its head when you think you’ve done everything properly. This was no different and work was needed to the tank because it sprung a leak under the new paintwork, which ended up needing a different tank and another complete paintjob again.
Over time a
trip to Blair’s dyno to get the best out of the old oilboiler, Andrew ended up
with a 200+ Bhp machine, having scratched his mid-life itch of building and
owning a turbocharged motorcycle.
Long overdue
since it has been finished for some time; congratulations Kraptanaman, your GS
Turbo is this months Bike of the Month.
Comments Off on Bike of the Month March 2019 – Suzuki GSXR 750 H
Slabbies, I love them. The GSXR 750 was such a radical new model back in the day when they were first launched, they have become very desirable today and are ripe for both subtle and serious modifications.
So when I first saw pictures of b-slayer’s GSXR 750 H in it’s very sorry state, I thought the same as you probably did… ‘this has got potential’. Little could we have imagined how trick it would end up being… a real ‘zero to hero’ build.
Having started his project thread, b-slayer shared some photos of the horrendous state of the bike when he first got it and then the in-between stages of his build. Some of the bodges, wow!
There are several more, often scary ones on the project thread.
Progress was made and the bike was back on the road in a few different guises before it’s final new trick state.
Some nice details along the way too, much more than righting the previous owner bodges.
Then, time for the finishing touches.
Finally, just wow! Hard to believe that this is the same GSXR 750.
What a fantastic end result, looking very clean and period yet with some very appropriate improvements.
So, b-slayer congratulations! Your GSXR 750 is this months BOTM.
OK, I have to admit that I’m biased. Biased towards slabbies and 2-strokes that is. Particularly towards 2-stroke Suzukis that I used to own and wish I’d kept, like the RGV250 VJ21. So, seeing as it’s just been finished (are they ever really though?) and been on the OSS stand at Newark and looks fantastic, my (biased however wholly deserved) choice for this month’s BOTM is Simbec1863’s lovely RGV250.
Purchased in reasonable-looking condition however with some significant shortcomings, Simbec1863 didn’t muck about and got stuck in. His plan was to fully strip it then clean, refurbish or replace parts on a tight budget. The end result is stunning so I think we can safely say he achieved his goal and then some.
Got to love a pile of genuine Suzuki parts in their baggies…
Suspension was stripped and in need of some love…
Engine was removed and given some special attention before being refitted…
Stir in some trick bits along the way…
So many parts got refreshed, repainted or replaced…
Loving those pipes and how clean everything looks…
And last but not least the essential OSS sticker 🙂
Gorgeous end result, so clean and understated with original Suzuki parts like the mirrors, indicators and mudguard still being in place. Yet with plenty of details when you look closer that reflect how much it has been sorted and improved upon.
So, Simbec1863 congratulations! Your RGV250 is this months BOTM.
I’m not one for drinking (much) but generally, the best ideas are conjured up during a good session on the booze. This bike came to frutition just like that.
Imagine just any cool bike. Did you? Was it a GS500E? I bet it wasn’t. When you put that night on the piss into the equation and you start toying with ideas, together with some equally pissed up friends, what’s not cool in the sober world, can be mindblowing in the other.
The title of the buildtopic of this particular bike raised some eyebrows amongst those with access to certain buttons but with the story unfolding in high gear, all was well. The OP was left to it and we all got to see how Tony actually went ahead with his mad plan and built what could arguably be the raddest GS500E on the planet.
We’re very narrowminded here and don’t like too many different bikes, the GS500E normally really isn’t one of them. Tony’s bike however, is an example how, if you’re a bit creative and have a very big partsbin, you can cheaply make something utterly undesirable into the coolest bike on the block.
Tony, congratulations, your GS is this months Bike of the Month
There’s many reasons to start your own build, with “because I want to” coming first and “because I can” second. (If the person taking on this project actually can, is something different, but more on that some other time)
Other reasons are aplenty but there’s two that carry much more load than any other reason I can think of. One; building the dream bike of a lost friend. Two; being asked to build that dream bike, by said lost friend.
This Katana was trusted upon Pete by Dave “Swingarm” Roberts, member of old and builder of one of the very few actually cool Bandits in history. Dave was lost to a horrible disease and the Katana for which he already had most of the parts, was left to Pete to finish.
Pete took it upon himself to finish the bike to a standard we rarely see outside of OSS. With a general idea of what Dave wanted the bike to be, he set to work.
Built over the course of less than a year, the Katana was entered in the Newark Show as its first public outing this January, it promptly won a award.
The Kat turned out, arguably, better than the Yoshimura-1135R Pete posted up as the end goal for the build and it’s received praise far and wide.
A fitting tribute to a lost friend, I tip my hat to you Pete; the Katana is this month’s BOTM.
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