Savage_Greg wrote on 12/20/07 at 14:29:11:


Almost at a halt due to all the stuff at Christmas time, but the current issue is the alignment of the rear wheel.  I looks like I am going to have to back up 10 yards and punt ... it seems the only solution, short of throwing out the stock swing arm and trying to make a sporty arm fit, is to source on of those sprocket/disc combo units which cost TOO MUCH.  There just is not enough room on the right side of the wheel for the disc unit components.  But if that is what it takes to work then so be it.  I will sell the parts I have for the rear disc system now and go for it.  Besides, those sprocket/disc units are really cool looking.

I have come to an agreement with Santa regarding my Christmas present...it will be a MIG WELDER capable of doing carbon & stainless steel and aluminum as well.  

The rear sporty mag wheel with disc mounted, and the caliper which also mounts on the axle, take up too much space on the right side of the wheel making it impossible to get the wheel centered on the frame.
One possible solution is to not use this caliper, and instead get a front style caliper and create a mount bracket on the swingarm itself and thereby freeing up the axle space that the other one used.   Even so, it is kind of "iffy" whether this will leave enough space for the wheel to move over and be centered.  The disc itself, when mounted on the right side, is VERY close to the swing arm, leaving little room for adjustment.
Switching to the sprocket/disc combo unit on the left side would solve the centering issue with ease, leaving only the mounting of the combo unit to work out.  It too, is of the type that has the bottom end mounted on the axle, and the other end stablized by a small bracket or adjustable rod which are readily available.

Savage_Greg wrote on 12/21/07 at 07:34:27:



Is it a 15" or 16" wheel?

I just picked up a 650 Tempter for a future project donor and I believe that one is a 16 but it has a rear drum.  The GS L series is the line you would want from suzuki and those should all be 16's.  I don't know about the feasibility of one of the new intruder spin out lines.

What size rim are you looking for?

I am looking for 16" rear and 19" front since I already have new Metzler 880's in those sizes which I bought for the Harley Sportster wheels I picked up.
However, with the issues I have been having I am thinking I would rather go with a set of the GS wheels in order to get back on the road again ... it has been over a year now and I am long over due for some time in the wind ... cold or not.

The GS550 series have an assortment  of wheel sizes depending on year and model.  15, 16, 17 & 18" on the rear and 16, 17, 18 & 19" for the front.

Here's a chart I hijacked off of the ozzie chopper site

verslagen1 wrote on 12/21/07 at 10:31:11:



As they say...that depends.  The standards (spoke wheels) were no letter, the E's were mags and chain with a slightly stepped seat, the L's were heavly stepped seat and leading axle forks for a psudo chopper look.   Then the G's came out were shaft drives.

Now...
Most early L's were chain (GS750,550 and 1000) the later ones (650's,850s and 1100s were many times GLs which should be shafties but the L style.

A great resource I have found just recently and poke around a little bit is http://www.thegsresources.com/
It is dedicated to the old GS's only.

Here is an exerpt from that site:
Page  http://www.thegsresources.com/gs_modelchart.htm

"Along the top of the chart is a listing of model years followed by the designation that Suzuki gave for all bikes built during that year; i.e. 1981X.  

Along the left side of the chart are the various models that Suzuki made between the years of 1977 and 1985.  The letters following the engine size is used to tell the type of bike it was and/or what accessories came with it.  These letters can be broken down as follows:

X - Basic model
S - Sport or Katana
G - Shaft drive
M - Katana
L - Cruiser  
K - Fairing and Hardbags A - Automatic Transmission

To put together the "correct" full model designation for a specific bike, take the model (e.g. GS450TX) and add the year designation for the model year. (e.g. 1983D).  The model designation would then be a GS450TXD - a basic 450cc model, with spoke wheels that was built in 1983"

The approach I usually take to this is to search Bike Bandit starting in 1977 through 1985 and see what you find.  You can ususally find sizes as wheel as part numbers.  The track the models that will work for you.  If you find a GS550 that will work I have a '77 so I can see what the chain offset is.  If you want me to PM me.