Motovalet

Well the project is coming on slowly! I now have a rolling chassis having painted the frame and wheels, rebuilt the forks with progressive springs and cleaned, painted and lacquered both fork legs and swinging arm. I bought a decent used GSXR600K4 rear shock but there is no way it's ever going to fit, it's a good 2" taller than the original so for now the shagged out old one is holding it together whilst I source an alternative. I've stripped and rebuilt the calipers and repainted all the ancillary parts that fit to the frame. Next up is the bodywork whilst I continue to source a suitable donor engine, carbs and exhaust. I'm sticking to the plan of keeping it looking stock and to this end will run the skinny wheels, original brake calipers etc. I'm hoping however with decent suspension, braided brake lines and good pads it will handle and brake better than the original plus have a ton more grunt with either the B12 or power screen 1100 motor in it! :-)

Well I've stripped the bike right down, going to paint the frame myself as want to keep costs down! Still sourcing a decent B12 motor/GSX1100F motor but wow, the prices are higher than I expected at around the £600 mark, so the motor may well be the last purchase. Bodywork wise I can't decide on whether it's better to re-paint and repair the the original or buy a Chinese pattern fairing kit and just re-paint the tank? I'm also undecided on the running gear and the brakes? Options are a) keep it stock but replace the rear shocker with a GSXR600 one and fit either cartridge emulators/progressive springs and run the original skinny wheels or a completely different front end from another Suzook with swinging arm and rear wheel, if this is an option I'd welcome any pointers on what would likely slot in without too much drama. I'm unsure if I keep the stock front end whether to keep the calipers and just rebuild them and replace the pads with decent ones, braided lines and new discs or if there are later four pot brakes that may bolt up without having to use adapter plates? Well I've got all Winter to sort it all out and I'll upload pictures as I progress. Any other tips appreciated :-)

Perfect! Lots of info on that site, odd that the yanks got the teapot badged as a "Katana" that's an outrage really, it's nothing like the original Kat, mind you I'm pretty sure Suzook even stuck the name on one of their own scooters! Another question I have is will the header pipes I have for the 600 fit the B12? I'm guessing not a chance, in which case I need to find a decent system as well!

Excellent! Just the advice and pointers I was looking for, thanks to you both. I'm guessing that to make the rev limiter correct that I'll need the B12 CDI then? I found the Yorkshire teapot on Simon Francis's FB page, looks nice although I'm going to try and stay faithful to the teapots original looks and not go down the "Streetfighter" path with this one. What I need to find out next is if there are any front ends or even complete rear ends that'll fit without too much drama, I'm thinking 600 SRAD maybe? The cheaper option will be retain the front end with better springs and better brakes and try and squeeze a slightly wider wheel in the back and swap the shock out for a better one. Early days yet, but would like it on the road by next Spring! The first job is finding a decent motor for not indecent money!!

So, I bought this cheap old teapot 600 and have started to pull it to pieces, I'm selling the motor, the carbs and possibly the running gear as I plan on making it into a bit of a "sleeper". I plan on fitting either a Bandit 1200 motor into it as there seems to be plenty of them around or a Powerscreen 1100 lump or even as a last resort a 750 oil burner of some sort. I want to try and retain the look of the boring old teapot but have better brakes, wider rear wheel and a lot more stomp! A few years back I bought an old GSX750ES off a guy in Nantwich, Cheshire which had a GSXR750J motor fitted, Bandit 600 front end and rear wheel together with a nice braced JMC swinging arm, I loved that bike, especially the fact that it looked like a stocker and nobody gave it a second glance! That's what I'd like to replicate with the teapot! Has anybody done this mod? If so grateful for any info and pointers. I'm guessing along with the motor I'm going to need the loom, the oil cooler and the CDI?