GZ250 Cafe Racer Project... Before and After.

[KevinJ]

Just finished customizing my wifes GZ250... She likes the cafe look...:)

http://s4.postimage.org/1tt1832ck/untitled12345.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/1tt1832ck/)

http://s4.postimage.org/1tueu7h5w/GZ250_Cafe.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/1tueu7h5w/)

Moto-Guzzi clip-on bars
Triumph seat
BSA muffler
Indian fender plate
Honda fork gators
Saddlebags
Crash bars
Headlight tint
Vintage Suzuki emblems
And some decals
Royal Enfield tank panels
Headlight visor
Bar end mirrors
Thats it...

[GZBrian]

Now that is a "one of a kind GZ". :2tup: Looks real nice Kevin. Welcome. GZBrian

[kraznos]

Great job. Bike looks awesome, very good flow, you have a good eye and really pulled off the look. Looks like you stripped the original seat from the pan to put under your new solo seat. Front fender plate is very cool.

[blaine]

Welcome to the forum.Beautiful job on the bike. :) :2tup:

[geezer]

wow unbeliveabe, come do mine! :2tup:

[5th_bike]

Wow that's by far the best mod I've seen in my 3½ years here. Excellent job. Reminiscent of WWII bikes. :rawk:

[geezer]

words wont do that bike justice, wheni saw the pic i was like, "dudes full of it, that aint even a gz!" wow just wow

[cayuse]

Awesome, Kevin! :2tup: Where in BC are you? I wanna come see your bike!

[Water Warrior 2]

WOW !!! That is a really neat looking bike.

[KevinJ]

Hey everyone thanks for the positive feedback... I still look at the before and after pics and cant believe its the same bike. It all came together way better than I expected and without too much work really. eBay helped me keep the cost pretty low as well total for everything was $480 which I think is pretty good. The bike is in Abbotsford and is parked outside Bakerview Starbucks on sunny days while my wife is at work. Thanks again. Kevin.

[jonathan180iq]

I have to admit, that's pretty phenomenal.

[cayuse]

I feel a craving for Starbucks pumpkin scones coming on!

[Black Warrior]

really well done job!

[KevinJ]

My wife had someone pull up beside her in a parking lot yesterday and say, "You sure dont see many of those around anymore...". She didnt know quite what to say, Awesome!:)

[Rookie Rider]

I love it, great job.

[spicciani]

looks great . if only we could move the foot controls to a less cruiser position

[KevinJ]

Could be done... Not sure if I want to get into that however:)

[cayuse]

Stopped by Starbucks today and got some more pics of Kevin's bike.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6142/5969117022_22950146c8_z.jpg

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6018/5968496501_0ee5637f05_z.jpg
Just noticed the blacked out cylinder head. Cool! :cool:

More here:
http://flic.kr/s/aHsjvqkLkH
Enjoy!

[Water Warrior 2]

Cool pics. Good attention to detail with the mods.

[Kcarvajal]

Yeah, that looks great!

Hey, I'm looking into adding fork Gaiters on my GZ. Do you know the diameter of the tube by any chance, or would any Honda gaiters (pretty much) fit?

Thanks and good job!

Ken

[KevinJ]

Its a pretty narrow fork (35mm) so anything should fit, I used a bigger gator as I wanted it to look a little beefier.
And Thanks, Kevin.

[KevinJ]

Cool pics...! Glad you were able to go by there while she was working.

[cayuse]

Thanks Kevin, it was a real treat to get a close-up look!
I can't get clip-ons off my mind now! :rawk:

[KevinJ]

Went for the Moto Guzzi Le Mans clip-ons because they are one of the few bars that I could find that actually brought the bar up and away from the fork a bit. Straight clip-ons would have to be mounted at a 90 off the fork to allow for the fork locking when parking... Thought that would just look awkward. The Guzzi bars allow for a nice amount of angle and still allows for locking the steering.


http://s3.postimage.org/2vddz85z8/KGr_Hq_QOKoc_E12_I4_Zk5z_BNi7c_LP8f_12.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/2vddz85z8/)

[cayuse]

Thanks Kevin,

Where did you find these? Ebay?
after looking at the usual clip-on designs I can see why these would work better, with the fat GZ tank.

[KrazeeMyke]

Awesome job.

I like the front fender Plate.

[KevinJ]

Yes, found the bars on ebay. Bought the set for$90, but if you're patient you can buy singles cheaper.

[mavrix]

I had to look twice; it looked like a totally different bike! Looks great!

[Mercutio57]

Beautiful job! As we have seen on this forum, the GZ makes a great bobber. I would never have imagined a retro cafe racer, though! Great work.

[ratrod]

Very Very Very NICE

[Jewood20]

@kevinj, what kind of exhaust did you put on there?

[banditbobber]

dude that scoot just oozes nostalic appeal.. i had to look more than twice for a gz really nice job

[KevinJ]

@Jewood20
exhaust is an old peashooter from and older bsa.
like this one only cleaner...:)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BSA-A65- ... 5adb3c2906 (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BSA-A65-A50-500-AND-650CC-PEASHOOTER-MUFFLER-/390225209606?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item5adb3c2906)

[Rococo]

This is a great looking bike!
Congratulations!

I´m looking for a crash bar that really work and yours look strong enough, can you please tell me where you get it?

Thank you for sharing!

[mole2]

This is a great looking bike!
Congratulations!

I´m looking for a crash bar that really work and yours look strong enough, can you please tell me where you get it?

Thank you for sharing!

Baron makes a wide bar for the GZ250. You can pick it up at PhatPerformance Parts (http://www.phatperformanceparts.com/Barons_Full_Size_Chrome_Engine_Guards_for_Suzuki_G _p/ba-7182-00.htm) for $179 including shipping. It's similar to the bar on my V-Star 650 Classic (http://www.yamahamotorcycleforum.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=3318&catid=member&imageuser=15034).


:)

[greatmaul]

Late to this party, as usual, but I gotta say if I ever get the guts to mod my bike, I'd use this as a template. It just looks spectacular!! I might have to try that solo seat thing, though. It looks comfortable and a bit taller than stock.

[Laasberg]

How did you got it so shiny :D Nice work done there. I just got my GZ250 over the weekend, needs some work done also, but im happy already to have it :D :roll: :rawk:

[greatmaul]

Oh, um... I thought *cough* that someone was going to tell us how you mated that Triumph seat to the GZ pan. *cough* Is the seat just bolted on to a stripped pan? I'd really like a more comfy seat. ;)

[cappy718]

Out of all the mods I've seen done to these bikes, I do think this one is the neatest. I still dont completely understand why you would mod a 250 like this, but each to his own and I respect that!

[KevinJ]

Oh, um... I thought *cough* that someone was going to tell us how you mated that Triumph seat to the GZ pan. *cough* Is the seat just bolted on to a stripped pan? I'd really like a more comfy seat. ;)


Yes, The seat is directly mounted to the stock strpped seat pan which allows for the use of the compartment under the seat with the key release.

[KevinJ]

Out of all the mods I've seen done to these bikes, I do think this one is the neatest. I still dont completely understand why you would mod a 250 like this, but each to his own and I respect that!


Well let me tell you... My wife likes the old British bikes for the look, and I am not a mechanic, so for $1200(what I paid for the bike) plus $500(the price of the mods), she has the bike she always wanted, and it just runs:)

[KevinJ]

Oh yeah... Forgot to mention it is her first bike so hence the 250.

[tsmall]

That is a neat looking conversion! Great job. Thats what I like about these bikes. You can do anything to them without much headache.

[OGC]

That looks amazing man, wicked one.

[PimpS]

Beautiful! KevinJ R-E-S-P-E-C-T!!!

[burkbuilds]

Don't know how I missed this for so long, but your conversion is amazing, great job, wow. :)

[Water Warrior 2]

Don't know how I missed this for so long, but your conversion is amazing, great job, wow. :)
That's what I thought too for the 1st time seeing the bike. I really had to look to find a GZ in there. Sure enough there it was winking at me while wearing it's British clothing.

[vikz250]

I wish i can do the same with my GeeZee!! That looks really great!!

[joebielski]

Kevin, Incredible work on the 250!!!

[Goose51683]

Awesome bike Kevin. Very professional looking.

[Nitrox]

Can you link to where you bought the exhaust? It does a good job of straightening the silhouette of the bike.

[haraldduus]

That is a great job you did on that bike. NICE... I am not much for the bobber type. But the cafe style is absolutly one look that I could go for!!!