HIGH BEAM!!!
Ah yes. I’m still game.
Haha, yeah it’s the High Beam. I’ll let ya know when I start getting into wiring, hopefully soon lol
I got around to tearing apart the rear master cylinder…oh boy. Brake fluid definitely had water in it at some point, the cylinder was a bit rusty, the remaining fluid was a dark brownish orange and the dust boot was dirty as hell.
I ordered a rear rebuild kit, as well as a front rebuild kit, NOS from Suzuki, so I should have them in a few days. I’m running SS lines on this hopefully come spring so it’s good to get all of this out of the way now, brakes are somewhat important.
Got the wheels taken apart, I ended up buying a Pit Posse tool for removing wheels bearings…such a save. I’m going to shoot for sending them out for powder coat after this week, I’ve been so busy with school lately.
Looks good, I just dont know why people do these… figure 500 on the cheap side for a donor bike (upwards of 2k for a clean example), then 100 hours of labor, (so figure atleast another 1k in labor), then 500+ in parts and rebuild costs… so figure about 2k-3500… and you still have a 30 year old bike… why not go buy a yamaha vstar for 2500…
I guess i’d understand it more if it was “i graduated in 1981, and this was my dream bike, etc etc…” but to go from a 600cc sportbike to an old upright cruiser… 
it “bottles my mind” gkm reference
willybean, I have ridden many examples of modern sportbikes, cruisers, and these classic “standard” bikes…
all I can say is that out of them all, I most enjoy riding these classic/vintage 70’s/early80’s era bikes. Something about just cruiseing around on one puts a smile on my face. They are super easy to modify to create something that expresses you as a person/rider, and there is generally a TON of aftermarket parts floating around ebay and such from the old jap bike haydays. If I had to choose what to spend $3000 on between a 5-7yr old sportbike, a Vstar type current bike, or a barn-find ground-up homebuild DIY vintage bike, I would take the DIY route(and have lol)
EDIT:
to elaborate, Sportbikes are FAST and agile, which is cool and quite a rush, cruisers are relaxing…but these old bikes are just FUN anyway you put it. they arent fast but not slow, not a huge rush but not something you fall asleep riding. For me they are a pretty nicely balanced machine to enjoy two wheels on. Anyone can go purchase a bike off a showroom floor or out of some dude’s garage that he bought off a showroom floor…but restoring/building something out of these older bikes is way more engaging and expressive in my opinion.
*Willybeen lol.
But yeah, I bought this more to keep myself occupied than for any performance or anything. I wanted something comfy to ride with the GF and I liked the idea that I’d have a motorcycle that I could say I built, not bought.
It’s just a time killer till I get another sport bike, fo’cereal.
Realistically speaking I could have bought a mint 80’s bike but I thought that’d be boring cuz I would want to change things anyways, why not just do it myself?
Touche on building something like a cafe or bobber, I get that but it seems like you’re just try to rebuild it back to original status which you would probably be cheaper to buy something done than to do it yourself.
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iI hate posting from my phone.
Well, not exactly original status. I do have plans for it down the road, katana front/rear swap, rearsets, etc.
:bigtup:
BUMP! Where are the updates on this?
Lol, I got some sweet new cardboard boxes to hold all the parts.
I srsly haven’t had the time nor the funds to work on this, plus it’s freezing in my garage. I’m finishing up some seminars and observation hours before student teaching on the 24th so I’ve been really busy. This will probably get put off till spring at the earliest
Yikes, yeah you definitely have a lot on your plate. Enjoy student teaching, should be a blast if you got a good placements.
Updates?
Unfortunately no the past few weeks have been very stressful and busy for me. I need to get the frame blasted and powder-coated first along with soda blasting the motor.
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You know what? I’m gonna go out and scrub down the motor tonight. Fuck it lol.
Okay, just a quick bump…but progress none the less :tup:
Dirty motor:
Half of the valve cover clean:
This was a bitch to scrub, not fun:
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More to come later, it’s late and my hands are cramped up from all the scrubbing.
I’ve also decided…
This thing will be a cafe bike.
<3
lookin solid! reminds me of when i was shining my motor up on my cb. these were my friends lol
before
after
seeing these build threads of old bikes makes me want another 
I’m super stoked to see not only progress, but a decision to go cafe!
YAY for riding buddies! lol, I always feel odd man out when riding with my cruiser or sportbike friends. I only have one friend with a cafe bike and it’s walker’s old yamaha XS650.
Looks like a real pita.