Greets, everyone.
I normally post over in the 1200 GS Hexhead and 1200 GS Watercooled sections, but I'm in need of a new project.
An idea came up the other day, and I'd like to reach out to anyone who's done what I'm proposing to do - IF anyone has done what I propose to do.
I want to convert an F800GS to belt drive. But not by using an aftermarket belt and bespoke belt pulleys.
The way I want to do it is by transplanting the engine/gearbox and rear swingarm from a crashed F800S, ST or GT into an F800GS frame. While I'm at it, the converted GS will also be fitted with the S, ST or GT 17" wheels and four-piston front calipers.
The idea is to take the GS (which is already a better-than-average road bike) and maximize it's strengths on tarmac. I have no interest in taking an F800GS off-road.
I've already done a good deal of research on this, and I see no major technical reason why it can't be done. The biggest issue so far is that the rear of the F800GS frame will need to be modified to accommodate the new swingarm mountings. (For those who don't know: while the 798cm3 Rotax twin has the same basic dimensions and produces identical power and torque in all '800' iterations (chain- and belt-drive), the swingarm attaches to the rear of the engine on all alloy-framed variants. On the F800GS, the swingarm attaches to the rear of the main frame.)
In the unlikely event that someone else has done this, how did you solve problems with regard to:
As usual, looking forward to hearing feedback from interested parties!
I normally post over in the 1200 GS Hexhead and 1200 GS Watercooled sections, but I'm in need of a new project.
An idea came up the other day, and I'd like to reach out to anyone who's done what I'm proposing to do - IF anyone has done what I propose to do.
I want to convert an F800GS to belt drive. But not by using an aftermarket belt and bespoke belt pulleys.
The way I want to do it is by transplanting the engine/gearbox and rear swingarm from a crashed F800S, ST or GT into an F800GS frame. While I'm at it, the converted GS will also be fitted with the S, ST or GT 17" wheels and four-piston front calipers.
The idea is to take the GS (which is already a better-than-average road bike) and maximize it's strengths on tarmac. I have no interest in taking an F800GS off-road.
I've already done a good deal of research on this, and I see no major technical reason why it can't be done. The biggest issue so far is that the rear of the F800GS frame will need to be modified to accommodate the new swingarm mountings. (For those who don't know: while the 798cm3 Rotax twin has the same basic dimensions and produces identical power and torque in all '800' iterations (chain- and belt-drive), the swingarm attaches to the rear of the engine on all alloy-framed variants. On the F800GS, the swingarm attaches to the rear of the main frame.)
In the unlikely event that someone else has done this, how did you solve problems with regard to:
- Modifying the GS frame to take advantage of the S / ST / GT rear engine/swingarm mountings?
- Front and rear suspension geometry? (For a start, the front suspension needs lengthening by 2" to accomodate the 17" front wheel.)
- The top rear shock absorber mounting? (Since I haven't yet taken on the conversion, I don't yet know if the shock absorber strut, or the strut mountings, or both, will need modification.)
As usual, looking forward to hearing feedback from interested parties!