Hey folks, earlier on this year I realised that my 1989 GSXR 400 rrsp is 30 years old! So I decided to give it a fantastic birthday present, a total rebuild and upgrade. My intention is to upgrade, make better and or lighter as many parts as possible. Whilst keeping the 80s styling as much as possible. It's not a "no expense spared" project but more "the best I can do with what I can afford". The bike has been in the garage stripped to the bare frame, with many parts sold off. So it's quite a job to rebuild. I have sourced most replacement parts, but I'm still a few bits short. I figured I need to start with building a rolling chassis. My wheels were powder coated white years ago and are still good condition. The frame was polished and needs re polishing. The forks I swapped years ago for some Rgv250 usd items. These were looking very second hand and were desperate for attention. Painted satin black lower knuckles, outer tubes polished and anodised blue, new seals and bushes all finished off with an Andreani cartridge kit for extra adjustability and bling factor. Time for some pics,









Just a start of things to come and the level I intend to achieve. Keep watching as there is loads to come yet and I will be asking for help and advice.

With the front suspension sorted the natural next step is the swing arm. The item I found was good and straight with no damage but had pitting to the aluminium. I did want to polish it to match the frame but the pitting put a stop to that so I decided to have it blasted off and powder coated satin black.

Manky,



Blasted,



That's better, satin black powder coat.

Buncha bits zinc plated. Getting stuff re plated is very cheap, much cheaper than buying new. It's also a good option for those steel items that you can't get new anymore. Most of the smaller standard nuts and bolts will be replaced with stainless steel or titanium.
Here we have the dog bones and bolts, wheel spacers, chain adjuster blocks, rear wheel spindle, swingarm pivot bolt and some engine mount bolts

Good luck with the build, looks like a good start

Thanks Timon, it's kind of a long term project but one I've wanted to do for year's.

I have a hatred of casting marks, those lines, grooves and knobbles left by Suzuki because they were considered too expensive or difficult to remove. I grind, sand and smooth them out whenever I can. Not only does the part look better but they become a little bit lighter too
Footpegs are a good example, these need a bit more smoothing out, but not bad so far.

Before, knobbly bits underneath


After


Before, casting line along the bottom edge


After

Do you have OCD, :D. Nah great job, hardly anyone has love for the awesome 73sp. I love the bike, and I've had real fast stuff previously. It presses the insane button which I like :)

moforockband wrote: Fri Mar 22, 2019 8:34 pm Do you have OCD

Absolutely! I love these bikes (I've had 3) I just keep going back to them. This one will probably be a keeper once it's complete. Because its my "other bike" it's purely a toy. And for the first time in my life I have the time and the money to get it sorted the way I want it. Great Times

New swingarm bearings and seals
Bloomin expensive these things but they needed to be removed for the powder coating process. Something about the grease melting and running out and messing up the paint while it's being baked in the oven.

Trying hard to find things to do other than polish the frame .
Rear caliper will do. Lots of new bits here. repaint, titanium pinch bolts, titanium bleed nipples, titanium pad retaining pins, titanium pistons, new pad springs, new torque arm bush, new pad cover and fresh seals. So many parts in just one caliper.

Sorry for the lack of recent updates.
New carb kit fresh from Japan