Project 79 Suzuki GT250 X7 Customised

Hi,

Have had a 1979 GT250 X7 under my house for 8 or 9 years rusting away,

She is missing the air box, the tacho needle has fallen off, someone has removed the centre stand and butchered the kick stand. Nearly every bearing in the frame is seized, you get the idea.

So far have done:

- Strip frame, detab, yet to sand the tabs down with a flap disc (took me plenty of procrastinating to get into this as the bike is starting to become a bit of a classic, I felt bad but what the heck..
- Strip wheels, degrease ready for powdercoat or paint
- Purchased new seat (Brat style upswept from dime City Cycles) with a seat hoop. Yet so chop the frame to suit seat hoop, might be a big complicated because of the rear bracing.
- Found me a half alright set of microns from the UK (to paint black or ceramic coat??)
- Bought all new bearings, cables, sprockets etc
- Rebuilt the crank, replaced all engine seals and rebored and honed topend (now sitting at 1.5mm overside). Sprayed all cases with a silver engine paint.
- Ultrasonic cleaned and renewed the carbies with kits.
- Bought some new pods (airboxes are hard to come by and way to expensive for a new one)
- Currently got the front caliper in pieces and need to renew all the seals.
- Got the forks apart and waiting for some parts from Suzuki (3-4weeks)
- Found a pretty cool oil tank just waiting on the seller to answer some questions I have.
- Yet to figure out where to mount all of the electrical stuff, thinking about CNC and bending up a nice 3mm sheet alloy tray just deep enough and pop riveting to the frame under the seat at the rear of the seat just before the seat hoop starts. May need to mount the seat on some stainless hinges one side and 2 x locknuts other side to gain access to the electrics. Decided to try a battery delete, worst case I will have to make a new deeper electrics tray to accommodate a small LiPo battery.

Tempted to do an oil tank delete to "clean up my triangle" so to speak and just run premix but still torn. Can't find an oil tank I like for under $200 so maybe I'll get a boxy, flat square style cnc'd out of 3mm sheet and tigged up. Mount it under the seat towards the front of the seat and hopefully can get it to sit level with the electrics box so they look uniform and inconspicuous.

Trying to decide what gauge, thinking (all in one) Acewell 4453 0-9000rpm analogue tacho and digital speed and every thing else.

Trying to decide what bar bend, as the seat height has dropped dramatically from the tall stock seat to 40mm brat seat maybe I need to stick to a high bend (I'm 6'2").

Need to decide on colours for the frame, wheels, hubs, tank and what finishes.

Pics to come, haven't taken many to be honest.

Cheers

Mitch

 

All in one gauge Im thinking of using

 

One obstacle Im faced with is the gusseting bracing under the seat. I need to cut about where the small red line is to get enough purchase for my seat hoop. I want to retain this gusseting so I was thinking if I cut neatly along the weld so when stitching the frame and seat hoop together the bracing can be welded to the new section (seat hoop). Just not sure whether not be able to get welder to the bottom of where the new tubes meet is crucial? As the tubes can only be accessed from top of brace to top of brace.

Cheers

 

Oil tank Im thinking of, mounted somewhere in the triangle or I go a flat aluminium inconspicuous type mounted between the frame tubes under the front of the seat. The one attached is $260

 

Thanks. Have a few dings to the bottom. $400 from the UK other option was custom at $1200 plus or Higgspeed at $1200.

 

Cut the frame up for the seat hoop and some flat bars to bolt my seat down. Doesnt leave much room for an underseat electrics tray

Also ordered an oil tank

 

I would say more of a "brat" style. Generally I be riding 1up but I prefer the convenience of 2up brat styles seats as occasionally I'll use it.

Some ideas of the look I'm hoping to achieve

 

I would have liked to restore original but so many of the original parts were missing or damaged beyond repair and to find replacements was either Genuine new parts (arm and a leg) or wait months or years for the second hand parts to appear for sale.

 

Bit of an update, Frame and swingarm have been powder coated. Wheels have been sprayed, new rubber fitted. Engine mounted, wheels and drive train fitted.

Things to figure out,

Remove links from chain as it is too long
What handlebars to get
Custom under seat electrics tray
Cut down front guard and powder coat or rechrome
Rear Guard?
Paint fuel tank, what colour?
Wiring (head F@#k), lights and digital speedo/tacho
Fit carbs, fuel lines and oil lines
Get exhaust headers replaced as they are rusted and dents removed from expansion chamber and re-chrome or ceramic coat

Looking a lot different to what it did.

 

Bit of an update

Ok have finally got time and patched and mended the old wiring harness and re-sleeved most of it in split conduit, had a hard time getting a spark but figured out it was a dud keyed ignition. Upon removing this from the harness I had a Spark!

So I put the plugs back in and leads on and kicked/started it with my hand as the guy who rebuilt my lower end hasn't put the kick starter spring in the correct spot causing it to not spring back.

So it started but only running on the right side cylinder.
I pulled the left carb and rechecked and re-cleaned with compressed air and all is good, carb is getting fuel and no blockages. The hoses between the carbs are both connected and clear.

When running, if i wind the idle screw on the left carb all the way in and the air mixture screw almost all the way out the left cylinder seems to chime in but not running as good as the right.

I swapped the coil leads over as I suspected a dud lead or dodgy coil but still the right ran perfect and the left not so. I even ran a ground wire to the base of the left spark plug incase it wasn't grounding (maybe over spray from painting) in the head properly and still no avail.

Anyways here is the video of the first start (running on right cyl only)



And this video is when I adjusted the idle screw all the way in and mixture most of the way out on left carb and the left cylinder is running but not properly like the right



So now to figure out why the left cylinder is not firing up as it should and as per the right.

Cheers

 

Ok got her running on both cylinders! Just had to remove and disassemble the carbs and blow compressed air through every passage way. Works a treat now, just bogging a little of idle. Sounds nice with with the microns even with the few rust holes they have need to get someone to repair them.

Just bogs a little off idle, nothing that can't be fixed with some more tweaking

 

No I didn't remove all of those, will remove all that and re-blow out with the compressor again tomorrow and look for an improvement!

Thanks for your advice

Cheers