I can’t say that the GSX 1400 was ever a bike that caught my fancy. Like many others, I had always seen it as a slightly bigger Bandit 1200. Nothing special, right?
At first glance it appeared to be a together, nicely running, albeit a slightly scruffy example. The engine paint had had it (all too common with these bikes), the fork bottoms too (again, all too common), the stanchions were pitted, the frame paint was starting to give way to iron oxide (rust to you!), the paint was chipped, exhausts, bar ends, master cylinders, calipers, discs… hang on. The closer you got, the more the veil lifted and the mist descended. When the tank came off, all was revealed. It’s owner had brought it to me with a full restoration in mind and how right he was.
With my workshop being the size that is (rather modest) and the smaller jobs coming and going, I came up with a strategy that all full restorations that come through these workshop doors henceforth, will be treated with. The temptation is to tear straight in and get the ball rolling on as many jobs as possible. But as someone wise once said, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from cockups. Each part as it was removed would be cleaned, blasted, painted, plated and or polished. Carefully wrapped and placed in a labeled box with all it’s nuts, bolts and brackets. Then put on a shelf out of the path of danger before moving on to the next. This worked remarkably well, I know I’m not the first to adopt this approach, but for the masses that haven’t, tinkering away in their sheds, I implore you to give it a go. In the end I was left with, essentially, a GSX 1400 kit. No missing bolts, no searching through bags for the one that fits. Building it was luxury, pure, unashamed luxury.
So, where to start?
Obviously I can’t talk you through everything, well, I could, but you wouldn’t want to read it and I don’t want to write it. But for the sake of argument let’s start where I started. Bringing these rather dull and sorry looking calipers back to their former glory. Upon removing them I was caught off guard at the realization that it was still on it’s first set of brake pads and front tyre, which meant I had the privilege of being the first person to remove these parts since it left the dealership! Not bad for a bike over 20 years old, did I mention it only had 6000 miles on the clock. Full of optimism after that I proceeded to take them to bits, 5 of the 12 pistons were perfect, another 3 were reasonable and the rest would need replacing. No bother, it was to be expected judging by the condition of the rest of it. I thought I’d give Suzuki a chance, OEM pistons are always expensive but I only needed a few… I was outraged before I even dared to look at the price, no buying them individually, a set of six or nothing. I don’t know why I expected anything less. Luckily a complete set of stainless pistons and high quality aftermarket seals for both calipers were nearly half the price of one set of pistons. After a brief chat with the owner an obvious decision was made.
​
​
Some mindful cleaning, masking and blasting later and they were ready for a lick of paint. Some lovely VHT gold caliper paint, I’ve tried many types, but this stuff really is the best I’ve come across. The cherry on top is cutting back that logo ‘Tokico‘, in the grand scheme of things I’m not sure how much better they are compared to nissin. It does give me the sense however, that someone was trying to build something special here, either way, they certainly look the part. All the bolts were zinc plated (no cheap replacements here!) and de-embrittled, very important with anything high stress. Hydrogen embrittlement can occur where zinc plating is concerned causing them to become, well, brittle. Bare it in mind!
Unfortunately the GSX 1400 suffers the same affliction as the bandits. Someone had the bright idea of using M8 stainless cap head bolts to hold the exhaust flanges on. It may seem like a good idea on paper, stainless doesn’t rust, and bolts are easier to get in compared to nuts and washers. The only issue is stainless steel and aluminium aren’t the best of friends believe it or not. As soon as some water inevitably gets in there, galvanic corrosion occurs fusing the two together. Ask any bandit owner, it’s very rare to find one without some kind of repair. After a long battle, 3 of the 8 bolts ended up sheared off in the head. Needless to say, it would be having a rather sensible stud conversion with brass nuts.
Thankfully, the engine was coming out sooner or later so those could wait for another day, at least the exhaust was out of the way.
The tank and bodywork were in pretty good condition, with only a few chips and spots of rust here and there, just enough to be a bother. I outsourced the job to Fletch at Hildenborough Bodyworx under strict instruction to preserve as much of the original paint as possible. As much as I love keeping everything under one roof, paint is something I’d rather not get involved with most of the time. There’s lots to go wrong and it can make or break a bike. I do my own tanks and whatnot but it’s simply not cost effective for me to do yours, at least, not yet. I’m glad I did in this case, it all came back spotless, he did a stellar job – thanks mate!
After much work filing finished parts away it was time to tackle the lump. And what a lump it is, 1400cc’s of oil cooled grunt. Removing it was made easy by simply lifting the frame off of the engine sat on some wooden blocks. Now deprived of its frame, it would need a new home. An hour or so later and it has a stand, nothing pretty but it did the job. It would have been near impossible without it. Now in its new home I could get at those broken bolts. Nothing got these moving, the battle was lost and drilling was the only way out. Stainless can be a real pig to work with, you mustn’t let off the pressure when drilling or cutting. It will work harden and then you’re in worse place than when you started. Not to teach anyone to suck eggs, but be very, very careful if you’re to attempt something like this, if the drill finds the aluminium its pretty much over. I once had a bandit come in for this reason. There was nothing left but a few mangled nubs of stainless steel poking out surrounded by holes! No dramas this time round though. All the original threads were saved.
Being such a low mileage bike I was very reluctant to take it to pieces. I very much don’t like the idea of spraying engines in one piece, bolt heads covered in paint, seals, sensors… the very thought of it makes me itch! But rules are made to be broken and opening such fine mechanical example for the sake of paint simply didn’t make sense. So if I were to paint an engine while still (mostly) complete, it would have to be done right. Everything that could come off without removing the head or splitting the cases would be coming off, but not before the prep. A built motor is about as sealed as it will ever be, and being that there was about to be abrasive flying around it’s best to keep it that way. Talking of abrasive, my usual media of choice is crushed glass, the idea being if any does end up in your motor (god forbid!), it wouldn’t be as bad as aluminium oxide. However, this being a complete engine I opted for soda over glass. A much, much softer medium and if a small amount did find its way somewhere it shouldn’t, it wouldn’t cause much, if any harm.
Some of the aluminuim parts are worth mentioning, the top yoke posed a challenge. Much like a gardener I needed to get those stripes, only on a yoke and not a lawn. The challenge being the rubber bushed mounts for the risers stick out proud to the surface, hindering any attempt at some nice straight lines. They had to go, getting them out took some time due to the lip the covered anything not rubber mounted, I had to grind them out in the end. Only to find out that you can’t buy the damn things! I had to source another yoke and butcher it to get some replacements. All the bare aluminuim parts had been lacquered from the factory, and as most people know it usually doesn’t last 5 minutes. Leaving it bare is an option. Easier to maintain but even easier to mark. Whilst pondering over what to suggest I happened to pop in to see a friend at his shop down the road. Sitting on his bench was the answer, some parts for his Hayabusa. Some gleaming bits of linkage finished with a coat of clear Ceracote. I knew of Ceracote but had no idea that it could be done in clear. After some research and a chat on the phone, off went the freshly finished forklegs, headlight mounts and yokes. It’s a bit of blind faith as they don’t look all that different when they come back, but I can tell you, it’s some pretty tough stuff!
It was time to get the beasty back together.
As I mentioned earlier, building this bike was a real joy. Almost like Meccano. The airbox and loom are the first to find their way into the frame, with the engine fitted there’s no way to get the airbox in or out. Fitting the engine was a breeze by simply lowering the frame over the engine once again sat in its wooden cradle. It was at this point this bike really started to make sense to me. Little things, the sprung loaded foldable tie down points for luggage, the domed captive nuts in the hard to reach areas to stop muck getting in the threads, the single piece undertray/rear mudguard/battery box. Someone had really put some time, thought and consideration into designing and building this thing. It really is quite basic too, twin shock, no ABS, no water pump, radiator (well, an oil cooler), thermostat, rider aids. Every bracket, cable clip and ziptie is perfectly placed to do its job and maybe another. No afterthoughts and nothing that doesn’t need to be there. This really is quite the machine!
There’s an awful lot of parts to a motorbike when you really break it down, that fact becomes a reality when you see how many boxes it takes to store just one away in pieces.
With the frame beautifully powder coated by Gary at G13.
It always takes some time to get the hose, loom and cable routings perfect but the service manual makes this possible if not easy, a welcome change to the grainy 70’s-tastic ones I’m used to. With fresh oil, filters and a fully charged battery away she went. The exhaust system was replaced with a nice stainless replica and the cans made by the owners brother in law. He knows what he’s doing, no bark or roar but a deep, deep purr that commands your attention with nothing to prove. The first ride after you’ve invested so much is always unnerving. I waited for the next bone dry day and off I went, those nerves disappeared after the first few feet. Being so big, heavy and powerful I was expecting a handful. But this beast was surprisingly tame and pleasant, nimbler than it has any right to be and the power delivery very smooth and considerate. It’s no punch in the chest like a Vmax, but no slouch. The torque is really quite something, a cliché I know, but it really feels as if you’re stood still and it moves the earth beneath you when you open that throttle.
And there we have it, a perfect example.
So a bigger bandit 1200? After a year of getting up and personal, I have to admit, I was perhaps being a little hasty with that judgement.
