While waiting for my fourth shock to arrive, I calculated a best guess of the ride height with the Buell Blast unit. I assumed about 15 mm of static sag, double that with me on the bike. The Blast’s shock has approximately 10.5 inches (or about 265mm) of uncompressed length, so I subtracted 30mm and drilled holes in my temporary strut bar about 235mm apart. Once mounted, I rolled the bike out into the driveway (felt good to actually roll it!) and snapped a couple of shots. This is the result:
The chassis height is definitely taller than I had originally envisioned, but the GS650L cruiser forks were already on the longish side, and the frame is nice and level. Just to get a better feel for what the finished product might look like, I ghosted some body parts onto one of the photos.
A part of this process is embracing how the parts I’ve picked want to come together. It is definitely developing more of a street tracker vibe, which I don’t dislike at all!
BTW, the exhaust I sketched is a complete lark; I don’t believe a modern fat-belly expansion chamber like this would work with this motor. I have no concept of what sort of pipe I will actually put on it. I might do a version of the straight pipe Bultaco trials exhaust, which doesn’t make a bunch of peak power but has a nice spread of power at lower revs. I will have to get the engine together and learn exactly what the port timing is.
From this view you can see that the top of the fork tubes are already extending well above the top triple clamp. The VTR250 handlebars hide it for the most part, but I don’t know how much further I would want to go with them. And unless my trail figure is way short (something else to definitely determine once I get my shock), I have no intention of tossing the forks I currently have.
Back in the shop, I dug out the old Richter muffler from my 1980s Pursang 250 roadracer. Still has the safety wire on the end cap screws. It is one of only two or three parts from that bike that i still have in my possession. Just for fun, I played around with how it might work on this bike. It looks like it could buff up just fine. It would be nice to include it out of sentimentality.
I also test-fitted my headlight. It’s a 2005 Ural headlight on Emgo brackets, with a PM LED light installed. I didn’t buy it for this project; I originally got it for a Suzuki S50 I used to own. Yes, a bit high-end, but it can throw some serious light using only 35 watts, which is all I can hope to get out of stock Bultaco electrics (I would love to get a new Powerdynamo 100-watt electrical system, but at $550.00+, that’s a very remote possibility.)
