Dorkburger

Welcome. Looks like a good starting point.

Sharp pair of vice grips (locking pliers), pull with slight twisting motion. 50 / 50 shot the plastic knob will crack when removing.

A man of faith and hope. . Nothing like a last minute thrash. Good luck.

Welcome.

I gutted mine during the cartridge emulator install on my EFE. Left only what was needed to keep the oil inside. Pdf mods in this thread.

The bottom looks to be a formerly faired bike - an ES in the states. It has the lower handlebars and that square hole on back cover of the gauge cluster is where the bracket to mount it to the fairing stay would come out from. If the engine still had its original paint, the non faired bike would have the edge of the cooling fins on the head in bare aluminum.

Before you go crazy, how old is the battery? A weak battery may be capable of holding a charge, but not have enough power to crank the bike.

Personally, I think using the original bolt holes to mount risers is a wonderfully simple solution. Had I thought of it, or had it suggested to me waay back, that’s how I would have went.

I have also seem people drill the top yoke and mount MX style clamps allowing the use of a tubular handlebar. Personally I think the clip one look cooler, and I like the position of mine. Slightly aggressive, but still good for long rides. They are also wider allowing for easier tossing around of the large beast....

I'm certainly no shock expert, but went with the Duc shock after hearing of it being a viable replacement over the span of several years. As noted, I had to mount it upside down because the larger top interfered with the rockerarm piece at the required angle to mount the bottom. I clearanced the shock a bit only to find that at full compression the nitrogen Schrader stem hit the bottom bracket. Easier explained in pictures... I did have intent on initially reusing the stock shock. After a good cleaning I was able to restore function of the preload adjuster, but when reassembling the damping adjuster something went wrong and the shock's oil pissed out of the bottom..... As far as handlebars, I'm using Telefix clipons. The only concern I had initially was that the sockets didn't fully slide onto the forks before touching the top yoke, despite the Eblag seller listing them for an 1150. That being said, its been about 12 plus years and they have never moved. They are fully adjustable and eliminated the goofy angle of the ES clipons that I didn't like. My favorite angle does cause the switch clusters to hit the tank at full lock though. No worries at the moment, because my tank is junk, and I can adjust them later. I did have to trim the plastic yoke cover to fit it back on.

There’s not much to be done with the shock it seems. The dials on the side of the bike by the seat lock are for preload adjustment and rebound damping. The shock itself is a sealed unit. The pictured shock was dead and disassembled to satisfy my curiosity. I just installed a used Ducati M900 takeoff shock. I ended up having to install it upside down. I read somewhere to use the 1150 spring, which I did. The M900 spring was quite heavy ( thicker / shorter ) spring. I haven’t ridden with it yet, but after inspecting the original shock, anything is better...

Nice cycle!

My 85 1150 (GSX 1100EFE) has tubeless. The rims have the word "tubeless" cast into them. my old 83 used tubes. The tubeless wheels will have a larger hole for a bolt in or squeeze in type of valve stem.

Bit of an update..... Thanks to those mentioning the swinger. I pulled it off and took some measurements. I propped it up by four corners and It doesn't sit flat. One side off by about an1/8 inch. Also, it's kicked over to one side by a 1/4 inch. The 1/4 inch number came from measuring the one from the parts bike. Obviously a bit of an unknown, but the spare sits flat and had no crash marks like mine did. I may be able to rock on with my original frame after all. That would make me happy, and save a bunch of work - it is my only cycle after all....

I understand what you are suggesting. I put a call out to my cousin to see if he can get that GS frame tube to me. He is in PA, but he and his family travel back and fourth semi regularly. Stupid me shot myself in the foot. We were there this summer on vacation. I wanted to grab the whole thing, but it wouldn't fit in the car. I should have cut out what I needed....

Noticed this while going thru some old parts. Dial doesn’t match the shock setting.

Thanks. Turns out the tubing I ordered was the wrong size, as in a bit too small.... oops. The plan was to replace the tube with a piece of straight tubing due to my not getting my hands on the donor frame. Closer inspection also found that the rust damage extends into the curve near the lower crossmember at the rear. When the riding season is over, I will do as suggested as far as checking the swinger and head / pivot. Checking the swinger was already on the list as a last hope to an easy fix. Time will tell.

Well, it’s time for school.... I’ve yet to get my hands on the donor frame, although I was close... a few things in my mind changed. I’m tired of waiting on others, I was tired of the roller clogging up my small garage, and the frame is worthless and useless as is so why not give it a go? Tubing arrived today. It doesn’t appear to be rocket science, and if my welding is half as bad as the factory, it will be fine... it will be a slow go, but if the repair goes well, I can paint the frame black as it should be, and swap my stuff on, cleaning things up as I go.

Historic plate on mine ( New Jersey, USA). No inspection required, one time fee for the plate. Everything else about the state sucks.

Yea, makes sense about wet cotton / wet foam, and yes the 1150 hides then nicely. I can personally attest to the fact that pods are fine in the rain. I was recently caught in an absolute deluge on the highway with no safe spots to pull over. About 45 minutes to an hour I rode in it. Other then pools of water in my boots and the tell tale sign of a proper soaking - wet nuts - everything was fine and no bike issues.

I have no room for extensions on the 1150. The outer pods nearly touch the frame as is. I like the idea of the socks over the trumpets, but have some concerns about the issues noted earlier of the oiled filters causing problems in the rain.

This has been an interesting thread. As a free experiment, I had a go with pulling off my K&N oval pods and taking a ride with the old rubber airbox snorkels. (Open, no filter) Bike is stock internally, Yoshimura 4-1 exhaust, original 36mm CV carbs with a K&N jet kit installed. I was surprised at the difference. Smoother all around, better acceleration from cruising speeds, and less throttle opening needed at highway speed. It even seemed to idle better. Live and learn...