wp 1100, swingarm swap etc

[iamhiding]

so lets try this updating thing again haha 

 

 

wee mudguard trimmed down with the dremel to clear the swinger.

 

 

playing with a laser for helping to eyeball the alignment, note very difficult to hold straight and take a pic  you'll see ive got the two massive washers stacked on the axle, this was just initially to see how much slack needed taken up, was about 4.75-5mm in total so just a smidge more than i thought haha with a washer on either side it lined up pretty much bang on with the front sprocket.

 

 

so chain on.

 

 

washer on the right

 

 

washer on left. looks to be bang on straight with the sprockets. for fine adjustment you can rob the washers from under the dust seals on the original wp swingarm as they're the same diameter as the axle and were either 0.5 or 1mm wide.

it also worked out correct using the 108 link 750 chain to match and after having test ridden it i'm glad i stuck to the same gearing.

 

 

initial thoughts on test ride:

the bike felt noticeably shorter but it feels right, it lifts in 1st and 2nd under full throttle when you give it a handfull. it turns in much better but due to the change of leverage in regard to the shock and length of the swingarm everything the shocks doing feels very emphasised, most profoundly the rebound when you come off the throttle on a descent. the suspension needs its sag setup and then taken from there. all in all it feels less like you're perched on a fridge.

the rear sits ever so slightly higher not that i could throw a figure as to how much but its slight and it just feels like a good stance for it, i still plan on using the jack up kit to see how it feels lifted, i'll probably raise the front to compensate a little for the height as well. i've noticed it handles much much better with a full tank, hopefully putting the weight forward help that a little but obviously sag needs dealt with prior to anything else.

fuelling felt very good, need to play with needle height as i think it might be a smidge rich in the midrange. under full throttle for extended periods it was like the ignition was cutting out and flicking back on with the vibrations and the rev counter would drop to nothing until it kicked back in with a massive backfire. kind of knew it was electrical rather than fuelling related due to the nature in which it was happening. bike felt too crisp over the whole rev-range for there to be anything wrong there if you know what i mean, you can just tell and the rev counter wouldn't act like that if it were mis-fuelling. anyway it turned out to be sidestand switch, reckon the stand needs slackened and jiggled up into place but the cables ties are still doing the job or now 

 

 

 

so... i had an accident of sorts... out on its first 'proper' run i.e not just commuting or popping to the shops etc. about 2 days after getting it back together. so yeah out on a charity bike rally, had a brilliant ride, shaking the bike down and hunting much newer and lighter things in the twisties but as the runs coming to an end another biker on a mt07 or something is stopped in the road waiting to turn right into a petrol station. of course all i see is a sea of helmets, doing about 30, everyone moves around the guy, ive not seen a brake light or indicator as it was masked by the riders in front of me and boom he's stopped dead in front of me... glad im not a panic braker or i wouldve went through him and done some real damage. so quick stab of the brakes, a dart to the side, i bounce off the bugger rather than rear-ending him, we both keep it upright thankfully and i come to a stop about 100yards down the road and run back up to see if hes alright. he's alright enough but shooken up a bit and a sore leg. you see that bent lever and hanger... he done that with his leg at 30... no serious injuries, he had a scuff from his boot on his swingarm somehow, not an insurance job or anything (pheewwwwww). gsxr got a scuff, broken indicator and bent hanger which isnt really all that major is it and i took a bar end to the inner bicep. 

everything played out well enough, the guy was a gent about it, certainly handled it better than i would of. auld gixxers are solid! you dont pick fights with them anyway... 

i reckon if i was still on the longer swinger theres no way i would've got the bike out the way, it would've ploughed through him.

scuff buffed off with polish, replaced the indicators and bent the lever back in. rearset is still bent but adjustable items are on the cards for the future anyway.

 

 

 

its been back together for a couple of months now, seat cowls on, just cut the old cracked mudguard down. profile-wise it really just looks like the 750 i think, well other than the spoiler'esque grab handle rather than the 750's 1 on each side.

 

 

new number plate, -1'' / -1'' from legal size so it still looks close enough not to attract attention but its smaller and much tidier. new indicators as well wee fabbed up brackets.

chicken strips are still massive on this i know haha but haven't had many chances to get out for a proper shred recently.

 

 

wee subtle tagline on the plate. i know its not an oily' but its still oldskool. legally we're meant to have garage name of who produced the plate, be a certain size blablablah so just having a bit of writing and the border gives the appearance of it being legal i reckon. well at a glance they'll not notice its not right or thats the plan haha.  

 

 

rebuilt the leaky petcock.

 

 

i noticed during the build that one of the plug caps didn't actually grip onto the plug so it was jammed full of tinfoil to get a grip short term but yeah new plug caps now.

 

 

//

 

now with some luck im going to update this and the internet isn't going to spazz out. if it does i'm probably going to find out where the internet lives and burn it down 

 

Edited July 10, 2016 by iamhiding
shhhh... reasons.

[iamhiding]

 

carbon yoke cover. usually i hate faux carbon but its subtle enough and covers up the key scratches without any effort on my part.

 

 

the front brakes have been sticky since i got the thing, figured it was about time to deal with them. thought i try rebuild them without replacing seals as they aren't cheap on 6-pots.

tried to get all the pistons moving under hydraulic force prior to removing them, y'know as you do. bar 2 i couldn't get moving with the other pistons locked up to stop movement... i never had that before. so callipers off and even using 120psi of air through the bleed nipple i couldn't get them moving which is just absurd. soaked the seals in penetrating oil, filled the calliper with the stuff as well. with that in mind the picture was taken before pistons were polished up and the callipers cleaned. obviously it was just a build up of shit behind the seals but for the callipers to look so presentable and be that seized is really odd. dealt with plenty of callipers being awkward  but thats hands down the worst. 

 

 

split the callipers, re-soaked the seals and got an internal bearing puller / slide hammer on the bastards. used inner tube to protect the contact point on the piston and ensured it was pushed fully into the base where it would be least likely to deform the piston, didnt need to tighten it up very much to get a grip so ive got no concerns on that front. clamped in a vice, couple of wee taps to get it moving, another squoosh of oil, tapped it back in to get everything slidey and then a couple of taps and is popped out effortlessly. perhaps a bit excessive but youve got to work with what youve got dont you and it might just be my preferred method of dealing with brake pistons now. absolutely effortless, even with pistons that are as seized as they were. =D 

 

 

slips into the piston so you don't need to worry about marring the outer surface, just another way of doing it i guess.

the seals were messy but salvageable, seal area heavily corroded. cleaned them out, machine polished the pistons even though they were perfect, slapped them back together, bled them in... annnnnd not as bad but still sticking. 

thinking maybe i missed some corrosion so they'll be getting pulled again, cleaned... seals replaced and hopefully that does it. fresh galfer HH 1375 pads and the master cylinder rubber is perished on both brake and clutch side so both will be rebuilt. just waiting for the brake master to arrive. certainly a bit more than i wanted to spend doing it but at least it'll be right. 

stainless bolts sitting for the brakes as well.

 

 

[skunkrider2]

Been really enjoying your write up. keep it going please.

[iamhiding]

On 12 July 2016 at 5:12 PM, skunkrider2 said:

Been really enjoying your write up. keep it going please.

thanks skunk  lots more to come.

[iamhiding]

 

bit of a weird turn of events here... a continuation of bad luck with the 11.

some colossal fuckwit whose bike we just got running and someone i still (dubiously) consider a close friend reversed his car into the 11 and knocked it off its stand  yep quarter of a ton of bike put on its side. scratched fairing obviously, bent top fairing/mirror bracket, probably bent lower fairing/headlight bracket, left side bracket crushed, ride side bracket bent out the way, mounting points torn out of headlight and cracked in places, left hand panel broken on inside mounting point, basically shunted the whole fairing across to the right. i've not really taken any pictures because its pretty heartbreaking to look at even though it looks incredibly minor.

estimated cost of NOS parts if available:

£1200 worth of plastic, yep for a nosecone and left panel. 

£550-600 worth of brackets

+ prep & full respray.

should really have been an insurance job considering the value of the bike and availability of parts but circumstance dictated otherwise. he is however covering the cost of repairs and not dodging me so credit where credit is due but its not exactly the considerable payout im due and i have to take my own time to source parts and sorted.

//

anyway by pure chance a friend of a friend was selling his old fairings and a few bits and pieces for reasonable money locally and now i've got a very red looking 11, not really a red bike kind of guy but its pretty original and smart, was never all that fond of the relentless rep paintwork to be fair. bodyworks in worse condition than my old fairings but atleast its not broken, right. still need to source brackets, waiting on a quote from a local classics garage for parts and it'll be taken from there. going to replace the broken bits on the other set when they pop up for reasonable money and get the set painted and stickered in one of the original colourways i think.

//

what a pain in the arse... and of course the last bits i was waiting for to do the brakes etc turned up the following day but its straight(ish) and plenty rideable not to mention everyone knows red goes faster. degreased the engine area down whilst it was all apart and sprayed it all with ptfe, its absolutely gleaming under those fairings.

 

[iamhiding]

done 113miles on the old tank before i switched everything over and i doubt 100ml was left from a full tank... damn these things are thirsty when you get them going.

[crashtester]

You've done well to get a full replacement set of fairings. I've always liked the red and black colour schemes.

[iamhiding]

On 1 August 2016 at 6:51 AM, crashtester said:

You've done well to get a full replacement set of fairings. I've always liked the red and black colour schemes.

tell me about it crashtester! within 10 miles of my doorstep as well, cant believe it. quite like the red slabby/slingy and the yoshi schemes but never really rated any of the colours the 11 w came in but the red really is the nicest by far and it really is much better looking in person (mine not being a great example haha). i think there was a couple of (questionably) cool 750 w schemes the 11 never came in, ie pink/baby blue and yellow, odd, total shell suit colours but surprisingly smart... if you dont mind being seen on a pink bike that is 

[crashtester]

Yes, questionable is a good way to describe some of them. However as time has gone on, I'm find myself liking them more and more.

In terms of your red and black body work, a full set including the tank is currently on Eblag. Described as being in mint condition. If you want a nicer set it might be worth looking at.

[iamhiding]

On 5 August 2016 at 2:52 AM, crashtester said:

Yes, questionable is a good way to describe some of them. However as time has gone on, I'm find myself liking them more and more.

In terms of your red and black body work, a full set including the tank is currently on Eblag. Described as being in mint condition. If you want a nicer set it might be worth looking at.

 christ they're tidy! chances are i would've snaffled them up if i hadn't already wound up with that red second set, well spotted . just going to play the waiting game till i can piece together the original set somewhat cost effectively i think then get indecisive with what i'm doing with the paintwork.

 

well i finally heard back from the garage about the cost of parts but he's given me a quote for the lot, not a breakdown like i asked... ahwell, still waiting on getting a breakdown of cost. but yeah about 1200 odd to replace everything damaged minus the left panel as they're no longer available. call it 1800 like i had predicted before paint. crazy to think it was only knocked of its stand.

 

//

got stuck into it the other night. nothing particularly interesting just rebuild kits on the front brake & clutch master cylinders, pulled the callipers apart again as they were still sticking and took a dremel and wire wheel to the seal area finishing it off with a pick to make sure the hidden bits were clean, fresh seals, nipples, galfer 1375 pads and stainless bolts. no fucking around this time and they no longer seem to stick. using the bearing puller makes the job sooooo easy off the bike, unbelievable and all bar one piston needed the slide hammer for it to shift, the rest slid out no bother with something gripping the inside.

 

 

 

[iamhiding]

noticed a couple of things.

 

 

firstly the sprocket nut keeps coming lose when torqued to spec, even when loctighted. the sprocket bolt on the end of the shaft sheared on me which is a pain in the arse... wasnt even going to town on it, nothing i had lying around is the right thread pitch either. so i've ordered up a bandit 12 lock tab washer to see if its enough to stop the nut spinning and if not it'll be a rather expensive new nut needed. sourcing a new bolt for the end as well.

but look at the unusual wear on the inside of the chain! recently solved a similar mystery on a friends bike, turned out to be fouling on a nut on the inside of the footpeg on his.

 

spot where mines is wearing on the frame... no idea why its doing that, perhaps the different swingarm angle? chain tension? need to look in to it further.

 

also found the inner mudguard to be rubbing on the swingarm leaving a wear spot. something else to be dealt with. 

 

and finally a leaky water pump gasket haha 

 

oh the joys of owning and modifying old bikes  bike isn't half desperate for a clean, think thats next on the cards once parts turn up etc.

 

[iamhiding]

well, b12 lock tab washer and the waterpump gasket are here and i've even found a bolt that seems to match. thats on the cards for tomorrow amongst a hundred other things and i should have a second set of hands to diagnose why the chains catching on the frame. the RHS disk which was spleet new when i got the bike with only a couple thousand mile on it now's bobbins have come slack, far too much rotational play, worst ive seen. going to try the ball peen hammer tappity tap to tighten things up and if not then its a blackshadow bobbin kit. rivets on the exhaust have also worked themselves slack so that will need rebuilt as well, toying with the idea of gutting some packing out, a bad idea i know .

 

also just secured a new nosecone for the second set at reasonable cost. its from the 750 wn but some oss wizards have vouched for them being the same part 

 

hopefully get round to mocking up some brackets to fit blue spots onto wp 750 forks for the mental wee gs5 winter hack as well if the weekend allows.

[iamhiding]

long time no update!

 

couple of things. obviously sorted the front sprocket nut issue, the inner mudguard rubbing, the waterpump gasket and flushed the cooling system, seems to be running much cooler now , not that it was boiling up before.

havent dealt with the disk bobbins failing, thats a winter job.

clutch slave is sticking i think, all travel is basically down at the bar.

balanced the carbs, cleaned and re-oiled the k&n.

stole the cruddy looking disk bolts from the 11, cleaned and painted them for the gs project and replaced the 11s with some nice shiny titanium bolts.

got some rear paddock bobbins on.

got the new nosecone, paint work is obviously a winter (or next summer) job. need to see about getting oem (or very good aftermarket) decals. 

the brackets etc have finally turned up, pick them up from the garage tomorrow.

had a thought about the chain rubbing issue, it could be down to the swingarm being at a different angle, its something i meant to measure but completely forgot to. it would explain the chain rubbing on the frame below and also on top to the rear of the chain guide. i do have a set of shorter dogbones but im not sure if that would help the situation lifting the rear or i have the 750 wp suspension knuckle still and i cant remember if it was slightly different or not. 

the exhaust has been rebuilt two or three times now, rattled itself apart, took the packing out... rattled itself apart, put it back in haha. rattled itself apart, ditched the restrictive remus outlet in lieu of a spare yoshi one (almost double the diameter) and reworked the internals with larger bore scorpion parts. certainly made a difference as did re-drillling the holes and using larger and better quality rivets. lost the pics of different internals unfortunately.

 

//

 

its been a summer of power wheelies, hanging off, tormenting much newer bikes haha just using it like an auld' gsxr should be used. it might be oldskool, it might be heavy, useless in town, handle like a pig, a water boiler even but the gsxr 1100, what a fucking machine! never a dull moment. still baffles me that anything half as mental is road legal 

 

i've got 4 days of tax left and the 11 will be cleaned, protected & stored away in a friends heated garage for winter for the next lot of sorting / modding / restoration. might even give next season a miss and use the time to totally get it up to scratch. a bit undecided really. 

 

back to full time on the angry wee gs500 rat tracker for winter soon.

[iamhiding]

actually i lie, found pics of the different internals. fairly self explanatory. 

 

[iamhiding]

finally! a box of genuine suzuki goodies fresh from japan... almost £700s worth, glad i wasn't paying for it. 

mirrors, two main front brackets, two side brackets and their respective plastic plugs. the cost is criminal.

 

must say i'm a little disappointed with the quality of the main brackets, expected a little better than that, i'll grab a pic for next time but they're questionably finished in places.