GS500 Dual Sport Project

Sorry I don't have the time to read through all of this right now. Just wanted to throw my two cents in real quick. The GS shock is probably a little for off-roading. You can throw in a Katana shock with no issues. You will get more adjustability, and a couple inches right off the back.

And remember that if you put a much longer shock on it then you have made a problem at your swingarm pivot/chain run interface. You try to saw your swing arm in half on rebound all the time! Not so easy to match up that countershaft to rear sprocket angle and still consider getting the chain not to hit. The GS countershaft is farther from the swingarm pivot than the DR is too.

Had a bit of time over Christmas. Here's the finished stem pressed back into the lower triple.



And here is the front end mocked up. It's assembled with the wrong top bearing, and none on the bottom, but it all fits, and looks pretty good! No clearance issues.



The factory steering stops even line up and work properly. Bearings are on order and I'm looking for a first gen SV650 rear shock if anyone has one they want to part with.

That front end looks good on there!

Digging your thread.I own 4 GS500s and have two spare frames.I have done a lot of mods on my 89 GS.It's designated a GSX500F.

You could have used the katana 600/750 front end, with .95kg or 1.00kg racetech or sonic springs, set static sag around 1/2 inch,and install the forks flush with the top of the upper triple clamp.Most come with 3 position rebound dampening with the selector on top of the fork.This would give you at least 2 inches of lift,adjustable rebound,the ability to run most any Suzuki dirt bike wheel in 17 to 21 inch sizes,and gives you dual brakes that will haul a GS from sub light speed to stop in negative 2.3 seconds.Just kidding, but they stop really good.Did I mention that the Katana front end is about the same weight or maybe a little lighter.The SV650 shock installed straight up without redrilling the hole gives approx. 3 inches of lift.Depending on how you set the preload and how much loaded weight,it will sag from 1/2 inch to 2 inches.I am running 95 Katana 750 front end and rear shock on my GS.The forks are slid up in the triples about 1.25 inches and my CBR F2 clip ons are top mounted.My bike sits about 2 inches higher than stock with the rear shock preload maxed out(I'm fat) and my static sag in the forks set at about 1 inch.I could raise my bike 2.25 inches in the front and under mount my clip ons,but then they would hit my tank.Dgyver(GStwins member) and I did the Katana front end conversion together.We pressed in the GS stem into the Katana triple and welded it up.I run GS head bearings and everthing else is set up like the Katana.I have a lot of write ups on GS Twins and I have a blog about my black bike.When I finish up my "Lite Tourer" project I will start putting it on my blog.
http://maniccycles.blogspot.com/

This is my bike.It is roughly 2 inches taller than a stock GS.I could go up 2.25 inches more in the front by simply adjusting my static sag through longer spacers and lowering the forks in the triple clamps.I would gain probably 1.5 to 2 inches in the rear by installing a stock SV650 shock.Even more if I went with the longer DR650 swing arm.



Just some food for thought.

EDITI should say that IMHO, this set up would give the performance something akin to a V/wee strom or Versys,and be good for gravel running or double track.Your set up will be good at single tack hands down.There is more travel in those forks than the Katana can provided.Maybe more lift if set up with minimum sag.

"Just some food for thought."- Here's some more food for thought- Your GS looks great!

I just finished a build and by the time it was all said and done my estimated budget was pretty far off. Just curious, bike purchase, shocks, front ends, wheels tires, machine work.... etc. How is the under $1000 build working out so far?

Thanks.

So far looking like I'll come in just about at budget. With everything so far, including the used rear shock, bearings, bike and front end, I'm in for $720. That leaves $300 or so for tires, general maintenance, sealing the leaky tank and some rattle can paint. The machine work ended up costing me materials alone, it helps to have friends with access to CNC. Without that, I'd estimate this would have taken about $1300. Still not too bad. For the exercise, it's going well and proves the point I think. If it rides well, I'll put some more money into it to make it a bit nicer.

Thanks everyone else for the info and comments.

Very cool! . Keep us posted, looking really good so far!

GS500 owner here

keep up the good work!

ben, do you know if anyone has successfully mounted the SV650 shock without re drilling the clevis? I spent a couple of hours on the bike trying to wrestle the shock in without redrilling (I would like to maximize the lift) and I couldn't get everything to line up.

Thanks.

There are a few people on the GS twin site that has mounted them,but they didn't mention any problems.You may need to loosen the rear wheel to give the chain some slack, so the swing arm can drop down enough to get it in there.Or is there something else stopping it?I haven't put a shock on a GS in about 4 years.I will be rebuilding the rear end on one of my resto gs500 soon.

http://wiki.gstwins.com/index.php?n=Upgrades.RearShock About half way down that page it shows the SV shock being installed with the shorten clevis.I don't see what would stop it from being installed full length.It's late and dark or I would go out and have a look at one of my GS.

The longer clevis changes the angle of the shock and makes it interfere with the upper pivot on the swingarm. I'll give it another shot, then I'll drill it. Thanks for the feedback though. Good to know that at least a few have gotten it to work at full length.

I bet those that have are beating there swing arm and shock all to heck.Maybe there's a difference in swing arms or links that I haven't discovered yet.I know the pivot on the 89 is cast aluminum,and 90+ have the stamped welded steal ones.Some people swapped the cast aluminum one in thinking it would save weight, but it's only an ounce or two.Does your bike have lowering or raising links on it?That would cause an issue with the shock.

EDIT: Nevermind, a little searching told me that the DR350 swingarm is the first thing to get upgraded on the 350.


I've got a shot at a complete but not running and beat up DR350 for very little money. Does anyone know if a 1993 DR350 swing arm will fit on a pre 1995 DR650? (which in turn is known to fit in a GS500).

Thanks.

I'm looking for the same info.I want a swing arm that's 2 to 3 inches longer than the GS swing arm,and no more than 4 inches longer.Lets keep in contact and share notes.I know that it possible to cut down a swing arm and use different bushings to make them fit.I just need something that's close enough to make it work.I always prefer straight bolt on.The rest can be worked around.

A common upgrade to the DR350 is the replacement of the glued together swingarm with one from a RMX250. This IIRC is the same as the 89 RM250, so this might open more possibilities to your project.

Any updates, I'd love to do one of these for Aussie desert trips.

Cheers,

Adrian