After first oil-change and new tires. Aug 2002.

Yoshimura Carbon fiber tach bracket for an '88 GSX-R and repositioned starter button. I moved this when I added the aftermarket push-pull throttle assembly.

Author's note: the below commentary was written after I completed the original site in 2002.

Well, that is the story up to this point. It is funny when I first got her, people would always be checking her out because she was a built-to-the-hilt Suzuki GSX-R. For those who don't know, or remember, back in the 1980s and even into the 1990s, sportbikes were not nearly as prominent nor accepted in motorcycling society. They were fairly expensive for the times, and you just didn't see them on the streets like today. Standards and cruisers were the norm. My, how times have changed.

Now, she is a curiosity, and a real attention getter. A factory-painted, basically all-original first generation GSX-R that carried sportbike prominence to new heights in the 1980's, and a brand that single-handedly brought sportbikes to the level of popularity they currently enjoy today. I always get a crowd around ogling her everytime I stop at any type of bike gathering. I really enjoy riding this piece of motorcycling history, not only for what she represents, but because I was there from her beginnings. I hope you enjoyed reading about this old-school GSX-R as much as I enjoyed writing and sharing it.

- Roscoe 2002

Follow the progress into the 21st Century:

Aug. 9, 2002 - New Tires (Metzeler MEZ4's), 1,000 mile oil change

Oct. 8, 2002 - New levers, new rubber fairing spacers, new tank mount rubber

Dec. 22, 2002 - '86 1100 front caliper and rotor conversion, new front pads

Dec. 23, 2002 - New chain, new front/rear sprockets, '86 1100 rear wheel conversion, new rear rotor, new rear brake pads, new MEZ4 160/60 rear tire

Feb. 8, 2003 - Rebuilt forks w/Race Tech Emulators and correct weight springs

Feb. 8, 2003 - Ohlins Rear Shock

After a very successful 2002 street riding season, I felt that several improvements were in order. I had put roughly 3,000 fairly hard miles on her, and there was also a serious amount of maintenance that needed to be done. Many of the parts that were on the bike initially should have been replaced, including the chain and the rear sprocket. I had to see if the engine would hold up though before sinking a lot of serious dough into the bike. During Christmas break of 2002, I decided it was the time for action, and several improvements were made at this time.

During October, I picked up an old '86 1100 parts bike sans engine from my good buddy Mike Kertscher at MSK Racing. The purpose of this frame, plastic and parts was to provide spare and upgradeable parts for my 750.

I started with an old trick my racing friends in the 80's used. You can bolt up stock rotors and calipers from an '86 or '87 1100 directly to a first generation 750 to give a bit more grip and feel. The stock '87 750 rotors are 300mm, and the 1100's 310mm. Not a big change, but there is a decent amount of difference when they are bolted up. It is a completely "bolt-on" conversion. No drilling, measuring or machining.

The 1100 calipers before cleaning.

The 1100 calipers after cleaning, and with new pads installed. I hand polished all of the parts before
assembly. Luckily, the seals were still good, so a rebuild was not necessary.

Stock rotors and calipers. My rotors were severely glazed and worn, and stopping power was not nearly as good as it could have been.

The 1100 rotors and calipers bolted on. The short but quick ride after the installation confirmed that this was a cheap and decent upgrade.

New rear rotor, 1100 wheel and MEZ4 tire.

Fresh RK XSO 530-114 chain, and new sprockets.

On a quick tire scrub-in ride, the combined changes were readliy apparent. She ran smoother, and rolled into the corners with less effort due to the wider wheel. I was able to easily keep the revs up in the corners, and exit quickly. Some very nice and much needed work.

One of the things I had wanted to do to this bike for years was to clean up the lines a bit by getting rid of the passenger pegs and rearsets. BUT, I wanted to retain the stock plastic. The rearset mounts are essential for keeping the plastic in place. The solution? The "Chop-Mod".

The right-side passenger mount before starting.

My plan was to cut the passenger peg mount off the rearset, and retain the rest to still allow original bodywork retaining mounts.

The left and right-hand side after removing the mounts
with a Saws-All.

My plan was to cut the passenger peg mount off, and retain the rest to attach the bodywork to. The DeWalt saw made short work of the mounts, and my friend Dave's air tools came in handy to round them off and smooth them out.

A sticking point, the helmet lock on the right-hand side.





Using the air grinder to remove the helmet lock mount.





Nice and clean. You never knew it was there.

After pulling off the bodywork and passenger mounts, the helmet lock mount was also in the way, and inhibited the "clean-line" look I was after. I used an air grinder to remove it. The mod was really coming together at this point.

With the mounting bracket in place, and the rear seat rail cleaned up.





All finished. How about that difference?

With everything reassembled, she looked darn good. I was impressed at how quickly I got this done. I used some spare parts I had lying around, so my original parts are saved. I still try and retain all of my original GSX-R parts where possible.

A very short lived variant sans mirrors after I completed the "Chop Mod". This was entirely too dangerous to ride on the street so I reinstalled them.


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