Suzuki GN250 Restoration

[Chickenjohn]

Almost identical to the GS250 I used to ride (but they were a parallel twin). The seat collapsed on mine so I made a new seat and a single-seat cafe-racer style tail piece... worked through the night to get it ready for a long weekend in the Lakes. The guys arrived next morning, I pushed the bike out... and found the back tyre had a puncture. How the hell I'd missed it when I was working around it all night god only knows.
I also had a GSX250, the sports version, and a GSX400Twin (the Custom, although I had to make a few changes, again due to corrosion, and it ended up looking a bit like a Yank flat-tracker).
Last Suzi I had was a 550 Katana... always wanted a 750ES Kat (the pop-up headlamp version), so a couple of years back I went to look at one in Bury.
I tried, I really did, but I just couldn't bring myself to like the ride. Shame really, and proof you should never meet your heroes...

Sorry, waffling, back to the thread...

Yes, reminds me of when I was a kid/teenager. My dad had a Suzuki GS250 in the early 1980's. A metallic blue one if i remember. I rode it once on a private track.

Exactly like this in fact

 

[Can'tWeld]

So what've I been up to recently?

This lot actually...

That's the rear light fitted to the rear fender and wired up.

Also overhaulled the brake calliper (new seals, cleaned up the piston, wirebrushed all the slidy bits so they look like new and regreased). Ready to go back on the bike now, it just remains to be seen whether it will bleed up

I've also been doing this:

That's LED backlighting for the speedo. Why? Because I can.

I've also done away with the tachometer (no tacho drive on this head) and all the indicator lights (indicators? I know when they're on. Ditto with full beam. There's no oil pressure indicator either, which is the only thing that would be useful).

All this should make for a pretty clean frontend.

Got the sump plate helicoiled and picked up anew numberplate today too.

 

[RedOrZed]

looks good. How did you LED the speedo? just a couple of white 12v ones?

 

[Can'tWeld]

looks good. How did you LED the speedo? just a couple of white 12v ones?

Just used one high brightness standard LED through a resistor (think 330 ohm from memory). Lights it up pretty well.

 

[Can'tWeld]

Thought it was time for an update.

Sorted out this little mess.

Seems wires are the same everywhere you go...they love to get tangled up no matter what you do!

Had to put new bullet connectors on some of them as they were ******ed.

This is a better picture of the repair I did on the shock mount stud. Seems to hold pretty well, I'd expect nothing less!

Rear end mounted up with new numberplate and light.

Bike as a whole.

Stuff still to do:

- Fit exhaust (I've replaced all the studs as they were knackered, just need some new nuts now).
- Torque up every single nut and bolt
- Fit the front sprocket
- Line up the rear end
- Fit carb, air cleaner and petrol tank
- Fix a weird wiring problem with the indicators
- Find a new return spring for the back brake pedal.
- Fit clutch and throttle cable and rear brake linkage
- Bleed up front brakes

I'm working on it in the evenings, an hour here and an hour there...

 

[Can'tWeld]

Well, I took the GN for its MOT.

It, er, failed.

Here is the list:

-Exhaust mounting insecure (just needs a bigger bolt)
- Headlamp contains water
- Front brake discs friction surface contaminated by oil (from the oil leak, I think)
- Rear brake torque arm missing splitpin
- Chain guard insecure
- Rear wheel alignment incorrect
- Drive chain excessively loose
- Drive chain sprocket carrier worn
- Front indicator not working
- Front stop lamp aim too high
- Rear shocks have inadequete damping effect
- Battery terminals insecure
- Oil leak from topend (I've realised I omitted a gasket around two of the rocket cover bolts, idiot!)

All fairly easily fixed. I'm a bit confused about the 'drive chain sprocket carrier worn'. He mentioned something about cush rubbers and repacking. Should really have listened. It'll either be the cush rubbers themselves, or the bearing in the sprocket carrier I think.

Need new rear shocks too, that's me broke for another week.

THink I have a dodgy earth in one of the front indicators as it worked before!

Taking it for the retest next weekend.

Quite embarrassed about some of the faults on there, but I suppose it could be worse; this is my first ever full stripdown and rebuild!

 

[Windy Miller]

[CODE]

[/CODE]Whoops!

I'd be more confused about the "Front stop lamp aim too high"

 

[RedOrZed]

New shocks from Wemoto?

Cush drive rubbers you might need to get from Robinson's Foundry - they were very helpful with the last couple of Suzi's we had

Good luck with the last few bits

 

[Can'tWeld]

Think they're about £75 from there. Guy at the bike shop said he might be able to get me a set for £45ish. Not 100% sure. I'm a bit broke at the moment so I'm not sure if I might be able to hardtail it to get it through the MOT (or would this be silly? )

 

[RedOrZed]

Think they're about £75 from there. Guy at the bike shop said he might be able to get me a set for £45ish. Not 100% sure. I'm a bit broke at the moment so I'm not sure if I might be able to hardtail it to get it through the MOT (or would this be silly? )

If the suspension is there it must work properly. If it ain't there it don't need to work

 

[Can'tWeld]

Was thinking of just cutting some 2mm box section to size, drilling holes to slip it over the studs and bolting it up then.

It'd only be temporary, of course - just to get it through the MOT, my back is far too delicate after a car crash a few years ago to handle riding a hardtail on a regular basis

Anyone know if this would pass?

 

[RedOrZed]

Used to be a popular dodge.

I'd ring / pop in and see your MoT man and ask him straight out if he'd pass it.