{"id":18139,"date":"2016-08-10T16:13:25","date_gmt":"2016-08-10T09:13:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thai.webike.net\/news\/?p=18139"},"modified":"2016-08-10T16:13:36","modified_gmt":"2016-08-10T09:13:36","slug":"suzuki-gs-550-cafe-racer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thai.webike.net\/news\/en\/suzuki-gs-550-cafe-racer.html","title":{"rendered":"MIXING IT UP: A SUZUKI GS 550 CAFE RACER FROM POLAND"},"content":{"rendered":"

We all know that the <\/span>cafe racer<\/span> originated in Britain\u2014but these days, the bikes themselves are just as likely to be Japanese. And one of the best Japanese cafe racers we\u2019ve seen lately comes from\u2026Poland.<\/span><\/p>\n

This fine example of cross-pollination comes from Lukas and Sylwester of <\/span>Eastern Spirit Garage<\/span>. The boys keep a fairly low profile, but every build seems to take them a step closer to perfection.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Their English isn\u2019t too good, but they\u2019re fluent in the <\/span>lingua franca<\/span><\/i> of custom building. As this 1979 Suzuki GS 550E shows, bought from a friend who no longer wanted to maintain an old beater.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt had been repaired a few times,\u201d explains Sylwester. \u201cTotally normal for a 35-year-old motorbike. In the end the owner had enough, and shouted, <\/span>For sale!<\/span><\/i>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Eastern Spirit\u2019s last GS build\u2014<\/span>a 750<\/span>\u2014went down a treat. \u00a0It also gave Sylwester and Lukas an overflow of ideas to pump into their new project.GS750<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI had an idea and a bike,\u201d says Sylwester, \u201cbut we believe that great looks are not <\/span>all<\/span><\/i> that make a great bike.\u201d A checklist was formed: improve the brakes, bring the weight down, and create a vintage\u2014yet sporty\u2014look.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

To get the visual balance right, the guys tore into the frame\u2014cutting, bending and welding until they were happy. They then reshaped the tank, and fabricated a traditional bum-stop to match.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The new bodywork\u2019s just the tip of the iceberg\u2014there\u2019s a mountain of work hiding below. \u201cDespite the fact that the Suzuki<\/a> engines are very durable,\u201d explains Sylwester, \u201cwe had to change the piston rings and all the gaskets\u2026and also rebuild the cylinder head.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

There\u2019s not a <\/span>bearing<\/span>, cable, gasket or wire that isn\u2019t new. <\/span>Eastern Spirit also redid and synced the carbs\u00a0<\/span>and installed a new electronic ignition. The battery and wiring harness are fresh, and everything\u2019s been hidden away to keep the GS as neat as possible.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Suspension and brake upgrades were on the cards too. The front springs were replaced, and the rear shocks swapped out for a pair of Triumph Bonneville units.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The entire braking system\u2019s been upgraded with a mixed bag of parts, ranging from Tokico calipers (from a Kawasaki ZZR600) to<\/span> floating discs<\/span> (from a newer model GS).<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt did the trick,\u201d says Sylwester. \u201cFinally: control at your fingertips. And the bike doesn\u2019t slide!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The rearset foot controls are custom made and <\/span>bearing-mounted<\/span>. The stainless steel exhaust muffler was made to order by a friend, complete with a dB killer insert.<\/span><\/p>\n

The bike\u2019s also been treated to a <\/span>tidy new cockpit,<\/span> complete with clip-ons, upgraded controls and slimmer switches. There\u2019s a small MMB speedo too, and new bar-end mirrors.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Finishing it off is a gorgeous blue and black scheme that\u2019s somehow both playful and refined. Details abound\u2014like the <\/span>neatly finned covers <\/span>\u2014but Sylwester hasn\u2019t told us much more than we\u2019ve already written.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe photos show it all,\u201d he quips. \u201cI was never great at describing motorbikes\u2014how to write about building bikes in a way that will interest readers and inspire them to do similar projects?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know. But what I do know is that motorbikes are our passion. Maybe that\u2019s the <\/span>problem\u2026it\u2019s not easy to talk about love.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Eastern Spirit Garage on Facebook<\/span><\/a> | <\/span>Instagram<\/span><\/a> | Images by Zbigniew Szych. With thanks to Mateusz Stankiewicz.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Information Source: bikeexif.com<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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\"Weekly<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We all know that the cafe racer originated in Britain\u2014but these days, the bikes themselves are just as likely to be Japanese. And one of the best Japanese cafe racers we\u2019ve seen lately comes from\u2026Poland. This fine example of cross-pollination comes from Lukas and Sylwester of Eastern Spirit Garage. The boys keep a fairly low […]","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":18140,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[242,58],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-custom-motorcycle","category-moto-reviews"],"acf":[],"a3_pvc":{"activated":false,"total_views":1909,"today_views":0},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thai.webike.net\/news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thai.webike.net\/news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thai.webike.net\/news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thai.webike.net\/news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thai.webike.net\/news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18139"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thai.webike.net\/news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18139\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thai.webike.net\/news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18140"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thai.webike.net\/news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thai.webike.net\/news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thai.webike.net\/news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}