BIKES: Nostalgia; Transforming A Piece Of History

Motorcycling Lifestyles

BIKES: Nostalgia; Transforming A Piece Of History

Benjamin Segal restores a favorite bike from his past.

Benjamin Segal | http://easterndirt.com | Posted January 02, 2013 Charlotte, NC

Sitting on the lift in my shop was a black and red 1988 GSX-R750. (Photo: Bejamin Segal)

nos·tal·gia (defined): noun; a wistful desire to return in thought or in fact to a former time in one’s life, a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time: a nostalgia for his college days.

Most of us have a pal or two who we ride with when we get the opportunity. As an exercise sometime, ask one of them if he had a favorite bike when he was younger. Chances are he can name a few. But he’ll likely have one that stands out as his all time favorite. It might be one that he owned, his dad, brother or uncle had or one that he wanted to get but for some reason or other just couldn’t manage to get hold of. As he speaks of it he’ll surely go off into a daze as he walks you nostalgically down memory lane listing all of the fine points this bike had and what made it so special for him. This form of nostalgia is the fuel that keeps many interesting, older vehicles on the road, from motorcycles to cars. It’s the cup of coffee that keeps people like me out in the shop working till the wee hours on that old CB750, focusing on the minutia, making it just right for the first ride of spring.
For the most part, the majority of us can look back to our youth and find the existence of great times, even if we had a rotten childhood. When I was a kid, awkward and pimple faced in high school back in the 80’s, like most people at that age I was totally unaware of the changes taking place around me. At that point in time motorcycles were being revolutionized by the manufacturers, going from the top heavy, steel backbone frames to lightweight, rigid aluminum, perimeter designs with an extreme focus on high performance. Leading the way in the sport bike pack was Suzuki with its all new air/ oil cooled GSX-R 750. First introduced in 1985, the GSX-R750 simply dominated racing everywhere it went. It was essentially a street-legal, de-tuned version of the works SUZUKI GS1000R racer, designed by SUZUKI to be little more than a race bike with lights and a license plate.

For the 1988 model, the GSX-R750 was completely redesigned. This time the frame was patterned after the Suzuka race bike. The upper beams were thicker, and wider apart. The new steering stem was increased 20 mm to 80 mm and was the foundation for a much steeper steering geometry. The forks were also larger, up from 41 to 43 mm and included adjustments for spring preload, compression, and rebound damping. Not one of the other Japanese sport bike manufacturers came close to offering these features. Out back, the swing arm pivot was cast into the frame, rather than welded in place. This was supported by a new gas charged rear shock. The wheels were considerably wider than anything else in that class. The front wheel was three and a half inches wide, with a four and a half inch wide rear and the three spoke, hollow wheels were mounted with tires specially developed by Michelin for the GSX-R.

By 1988 I had finished high school and was knocking around the local J.C. taking college level English and Math classes, trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. One fine day during a break between classes, a kid I knew from high school pulled up on his new bike. It was the 1988 GSX-R750, I can remember it like it was yesterday. It was blue and white with a Yoshimura exhaust system and sounded like nothing I’d heard before. As I looked it over I noticed the swirling rubber at the edges of his tires. He’d been on the track with this bike… I was sick with envy. I had been reading the magazine articles at the time and they all touted the 750’s track prowess. As a beach bum I had more free time than money and buying one was not an option so all I could do was admire it and hope for the day when I’d get one.

Flash forward 24 years to 2012 and sitting on the lift in my shop is a black and red 1988 GSX-R750. Ah nostalgia. I picked up the bike from a guy who hadn’t ridden it in a few years. The battery was toast and the seat was off when I arrived to look at it, he had it hooked up to his car via jumper cables to start it – not a pretty picture. Once he got it running it sounded really rough, idling poorly, I knew it would need work. At the very least it would need the carbs serviced and synchronized. The good thing about this is it gave me a bit of valuable negotiating power. The bad news is the bike had an extended swing arm, 3 inches to be precise, more negotiating power. In the end I was able to buy it for half of his asking price. Needless to say I was thrilled at my new purchase. My wallet was $1500.00 lighter but I expected to pay twice that. Looks like we have more in the budget for repairs…

With the bike back in my garage I began looking it over more closely for the things that I felt would need to be done to make it the bike I wanted to ride. The first thing that had to be addressed was the swing arm. I couldn’t bear to look at it, as far as I’m concerned extended swing arms are for the drag strip only. On a street bike they just look stupid. Besides, I ride motorcycles because I enjoy connecting a series of turns and in my experience lengthening the wheelbase does little to enhance a bikes’ ability to turn quickly.

After a bit of researching online at gixxer.com I got the brilliant idea of fitting a braced swing arm from a ‘95 model instead of the original unbraced one for the ‘88. According to the threads I found, you can simply bolt the ‘95 one on and go. Right on! I found a used one on eBay for next to nothing. However, custom dog bones and axle blocks are required as well as fitting a 5mm thick shim between the swing arm pivot bolt and the bearing. The 95 pivot bolt is 25mm whereas the 88 uses a 20 mm bolt. In addition to this, you need the brake caliper from the 95 as well as the brake brace which also acts as a wheel spacer for proper wheel alignment. The first time through was a major PIA. If I ever have to do it again it will be a piece of cake.

I opted to upgrade the swing arm to the braced unit from a ’95 model. (Photo: Benjamin Segal)

At this point I had evidently made the decision that I would not be restoring the GSXR to the OEM specifications. This meant that I could make upgrades (a la swing arm) along the way, but where to start? Time has allowed for considerable improvements in suspension design and performance since 1988 and seeing as I would be rebuilding the shock and fork anyway, making improvements while inside only made sense. This is where it all starts, a little justification here and a little justification there and suddenly… You get the idea. Race Tech’s Gold valves are the answer when it comes to older, cartridge style forks and the same holds true for the shock. Unfortunately it turns out the OEM shock on the J model is not re-buildable so a replacement was necessary. Additionally the fork is not as serviceable as I’d hoped. Apparently the damping rod on the 750’s fork is peened to the valving cartridge making it require major surgery to remove.

Following Race Tech’s recommendation, I sent the forks to them for upgrading to a Gold Valve. I was glad to do it because it saved me having to do the work! Before sending the parts in I did however remove the lower legs to clean them up and give them a fresh clear coat. Oxidization had gotten the best of what was left of the OEM clear coat. The rest of it was polished off by the previous owner. I was unaware the OE shock was not serviceable until I got the call from Race Tech. The guys there were really helpful with advice on an inexpensive replacement shock. As luck would have it Tony, the technician servicing my parts had an ‘88 750 at one point and knew the shock from the 89-92 1100 model would fit and it is re-buildable. Plus it has a remote reservoir and compression/ rebound damping adjustments making for a more tunable rear suspension. I like that! The old unit had only preload and rebound damping adjustments.

I was worried that finding a good used 1100 shock would prove difficult but I was fortunate enough to easily locate one on Craigslist for $100.00 and I was back in business. Rather than send the shock in for rebuilding I opted to have the parts required for the rebuild sent to me.

Having resolved the swing arm issue and completed the suspension I decided it was time to make a list of the other details that needed attention. Some items are minor and not critical while others I felt had to be dealt with.

Here they are in no particular order.

Wheels, tires, drive train, brake pads and brake lines windscreen, cables, levers, clip on handle bars, clutch, spark plug wires, carburetors.

Click image below to see more photos of the Suzuki.