98' GSXF Streetfighter

[sktskt88]

Ok so here it is guys. Last August I purchased my 98' Katana. I was very excited to get my first project bike. I was able to find one for a fair $1400. The previous owner stated that the bike was in fair condition, running and recently tuned and serviced. After a few days of messaging and questions I drove 2 hours to find out differently. The bike was in fair condition but obviously hadnt been serviced in a while and definitly hdnt been tuned since it rolled off the assembly line. I was still confident it was the bike for me and purchased it without hesitation. The ride home was smooth and there were no worries. I was only able to ride the bike for another week or so before it was time to pack her in for the winter. At this point I did not have a workspace and any modifications during the winter was not an option.

This summer I changed the oil and purchased new tires along with new gas (Im sure the old stuff was crud). I hadnt planned on starting this project until the upcomming winter being that its ridig season and everything seemed to be working fine, at least for the first 500 miles. I soon found out after giving her a good wipe down and inspection that most of the wires, hoses tubes and connections had been jerry rigged in just about every place you could imagine. After my last SHORT ride my bike didn't want to start. I mean it didn't even turn over. Which threw me for a loop because I hadn't had any ,mechanical problems until this point.

This is the speed bump led me in the direction to go ahead and start the overhaul and mods now, even though its riding season. I know I know I wanted to spend the summer cruising too but sometimes life just happens. My thinking being that since Im not sure whats wrong tearing everything down and fixing all the minor slackoffs that the issue will work itself out in reassembly.

So here she is as bought no changes just yet.



So the plan is to tear everything down and basically build/rebuild from the ground up. I have already purchased new tires tire and at this point Im mainly worried about maintenance more than anything after market.

New tires
rebuild calipers (saw a great how to thread on here)
& of course new pads all around
New chain and sprockets
clean carbs
new spark plugs and wires
adjust clutch cable
handlebar adjustment (ordered euro bars for more rise)
throttle cable needs some work
new koso gauge
trim seat to give a more sleek look
paint gas tank and some other painting accents
I wanted to add an aftermarket air filter but after reading some of your comments Im reconsidering. Are there no aftermarket air filters that you all approve of? (please respond)
That mostly sums it up Im sure didnt mention everything I will do but ill try to take plenty of pictures and keep you all updated along the way.

This list does not dictate the order of which things will be done just a general idea of the things that will be happening. Any comments, questions, ideas or suggestions are welcome but I cant promise they will make it into the design

Thanks for reading I hope I can please the high standards of this site and you all enjoy keeping up with the progress!!!

pulled the gas tank air box and filter. i also started sanding the tank and preparing it for paint. the previous owner had this awful red with black race stripe. Once im done itll be matte black and maybe have a gold pinstripe along the edges and curves to make the indentations less prominent since itll be a streetfighter

Im sorry there should be more pictures up but Im having problems uploading them. I may need to turn down the resolution on y camera but ill get it fgured out and add more as I go.

[sktskt88]

Anyone know why my pictures aren't showing up? I took them on my phone but tried uploading them From my computer with no luck.

[rupes]

^^ I think you need to link them from Photobucket, Imageshack, or some other image hosting service. They won't link directly from your computer.

[jamieXD]

I use www.tinypic.com

[sktskt88]

ok so here are some pics of how she came

[sktskt88]

Ive already started painting the tank and cleaned the exterior of the engine tonight... I also changed the setting of the handlebars ill upload a pic of them tomorrow now that I can. I also tighten the throttle cable and clutch cable yesterday but that's not really worthy of a picture

Tomorrow I will be heading to the local bike shop to pick up a longer brake line since theyre raised a little bit higher. the carb rebuild kit is on the way and ill most likely or a caliper rebuild kit tonight or in the very near future.

I guess that's about all right now maybe next week ill tackle the seat and figure in I can get a mounting I like. Thanks for reading

[shpielers]

If you're doing all those things, might want to change fork oil too. Good luck!

[sktskt88]

If you're doing all those things, might want to change fork oil too. Good luck!

You know I was wondering about the fork oil. I knew it was there but not really sure about the maintenance on something like that... Thanks for the heads up!

[sktskt88]

Sorry its been so long since an update but I've been really busy the past week. I haven't been able to do much but I was able to work for about an hour today and I got the new tail light and license plate mount put together. Nothing too serious, the old mount had been done by the previous owner and was kind of sloppy. I cut the frame down along with the seat and tucked everything a little more tightly. Ill upload a picture of the seat tomorrow so you can see it all put together, but for now here's the before and after without the seat