GPZ 550 cafe build

Hi all, picked up this little gpz of a mate who had it sat in a barn for 5+ years.

After watching 1 to many bike building programmes on discovery and quest i decided to build a cafe style bike on a shoestring budget.

I will be making as much as possible myself from bits,bobs and any bits of steel floating around at work

here is the pics so far


as i found it




power washed and running



decided to bin the top fairing and sort handlebars first



turned out some tube to fit over the forks as the original bars did and cut some 8mm plate


found some tube to fit over the original handlebars, then seam and plug welded



added gussets top and bottom then fully welded all then gave a quick coat of satin black



bars painted and fitted, decided to replace the brick type fuel/oil ect gauge with a nicer cowling and mount hopefully will finsh this after work tomorrow

Firstly Stu, welcome to the nut house mate! You will find a few (sadly very few) kindred spirits on here. As a member for the past 6-7 months I find it a little upsetting how many people have posted then just disappeared, however, you will find comraderie and banter amongst those of us who still post.

Secondly, man, your GPZ looked an absolute dog in picture No. 1, but I'm amazed at your fabrication abilities and have no doubt you will rank up there with IED as a builder of something really special, putting the likes of me with my 'shop-bought' bolt-ons to shame!

thanks for you kind words paulie.

got a lot more done today, things seem to be going on very quickly at the mo

stripped the back end out



chopped the excess of the rear of the frame, made a frame out of 6mm round bar took a while but got it as i wanted it



got one side skinned before i went home tonight the hard bit will be getting the other side to match nicely







looking like a cafe racer now

More progress!!!1

got the other side of the tail section done, made a frame for the side panels and filled them in.

managed to the rear light tacked up in position, so when i pull the tail/seatbase off i can reinforce the mounts

just got to skin the seat area then it is time for lots of filling and sanding on the hump section i hate that bit!!

just got to make the battery/fuse box covers each side then i am finished on the bodywork i think

not sure about the headlamp at the moment either, was dead set on as round one from the start, but the square thing is starting to grow on me

coming on great guns luv the flow of the seat and tank lines

loooking smart , keep going ,

i'd forgotten those gpz's fuel tank shroud thingy,being so long since i've seen one, a mate of mine had the 750 turbo, recall it being utterly nuts , loved watching a little led light boost indicator it had, used to think it was the nuts , it had the same colours as the tank you have too.

Love the lines, this project is 'one to watch'!

I can only admire guys who can 'knock up' a seat hump like that in seemingly a couple of hours, my attempts with metal fabrication always result in something Quasimodo would be proud to be related to!

Keep up the good work.

Wow that turbo gpz sounds cool, chances of finding one now would be slim i bet!

A few update pictures for you

finished the seat pan a welded and ground it all down, took ages to weld bit a a time to keep down heat distortion





removed airbox, could not see how the hell it came out in one piece. So it came out in lots of little bits thanks to the air saw



moved the fuse box and cdi unit around to the front of the battery box, then made a new bracket for the shock resevior also moved the brake fluid reservior in 10mm or so to free up some room





made some new side covers for the battery/fuse box area. found some ex mesh under the bench and decided to use it, I will cut some plate to fit behind so the mesh will be the same colour as the tank/seat and behind will be the accent color





refitted it all and stood back to take a look





Have managed to persuade my mate tom, who is a sprayer to help me prep the metalwork ready to spray for a better finish.


just got to do the exhaust now as the baffles are gone and rattles like a tin.

picked up a triumph speed triple can of ebay for a tenner, will chop it about and make it look right and fit

Getting there pal, getting there!

bloody hell you have got a lot done Its looking good better get my finger out

some updated pics

almost finished with the bodywork,

nearly time to put that to one side and pull the motor out to paint and clean up


got the tank and hump in etch primer





time to sort a seat out, this is my first effort at something like this so i am pleased how it has come out

cut a bit of ply slightly smaller than the seat pan



unpicked the gpz seat cover and salvaged the foam and vinal



after a while shaping with a angle grinder and flap wheel got to something like this glued to the ply



tryed on bike for fit



after watching a few "how to" vids on youtube, i recovered the seat in the reclaimed vinal



got another boost putting it on the bike to try starting to look like what i pictured now



just got to do frame, engine, swingarm and exhaust now

i picked up a speed triple can from ebay but scrapped the idea on the grounds of it being too big.

looking for something like the origanal if anybody has something out there

some updated pics,

getting very near the end of the project now, the end is in sight!

just waiting for exhaust and air filters to arrive off ebay.

painted tank satin black, got a pinstriper off ebay and my girlfriend put some coach lines on the bodywork





not sure about all the pinstripes, may repaint over, waiting to see what it looks like with the wheels painted then decide

removed engine and stripped as much paint and corrosion as possable, then gave 2 coats of matt black engine enamel





stripped as much paint as possable off frame and gave 2 coats of red oxide and then 2 coats of satin black






have refitted engine,re taped wiring loom and reconnected everything.

have repainted all brackets ect. along the way either in satin black or satin silver







planning to paint the wheels and side panels this weekend,

got to paint forks and calipers as well, swingarm will be scotch padded for a clean satin look, same for the polished parts of the wheels

still on the lookout for a headlight, going to dorset steam fair this week so hoping to find something in the autojumble there

more piccies

painted the wheels they were a arse to mask but worth it,

will give them a polish when paint is fully hardened





side panels painted that go behind the mesh


painted disk inner edges and sprocket





painted all the nuts and bolts, will have to take care tightening them up though



went down HEL performace and got a set of all new brake lines done




Early start tomorrow need to get the wheels back on before i start work!

I'm really enjoying following this build. It's looking great.

wow what a great job youve done had one of these in cadburys purple ( tastless or what?) looking forward to seeing this one finished

OK, I am now thoroughly embarrased at the amount of work some of you guys get done in a sitting. Mind you, I did have to change the crank and cam-seals and timing belt on my MG ZT this weekend which kind of slowed things down! (excuses, excuses)

It's looking good Stu. BTW, how do you get your gf to work on the bike? I'm lucky if mine makes me a cup of coffee, far less applying her dubious mechanical talents to bike building!

paul, have to flatter her and her artistic talent, i am ok with a welder but when it comes to a paint brush i am

put most of it together yesterday




have since repainted the fuel gauge shroud and got rid of the pinstripes, looks a bit less superhero now, after a few friends suggesting i should wear a cape when riding it

still waiting for ebay exhaust and air filters to turn up, and wait for docs so i can get a new no plate made.

looks like i may be starting a new project sooner than i thought, i friend told me his dad has a 70s triumph trident in his barn that is for sale. could have some proper brit iron to play with soon

bigstu wrote:

looks like i may be starting a new project sooner than i thought, i friend told me his dad has a 70s triumph trident in his barn that is for sale. could have some proper brit iron to play with soon

Ooooh, real big boys toys! I had a BSA triple back in the day, awful bloody machine, kept rattling itself apart, but wish I had it now! Keep us updated, a Trident cafe would be a thing of beauty.

Had a good afternoon today mostly bolting on shiney things

ebay exhaust turned up, well chuffed with it looks like new! not bad for 35 beans.



air filters turned up at last as well



getting close now





waiting for a battery to arrive, a friend has donated me a headlight.

i need to sort out some front indicator brackets and customize the crappy std mirrors.

the end is nearly in sight, hopefully mot this week all going well

Hi all, nearly finished now

got a headlight off ebay in the end as the freebie one was rusty wired all up and shortened loom to suit.

had to order a new pair of indicators off ebay in the end as i accidently melted the n/s on while wiring up and it was on all the time and melted the plastic



side view with lights wired up



my fave angle of it



few more







just got to fit a resitors to the indicator circuit to slow the flash speed down as i am using led rear lights

hel performace are re-doing the rear hose as they made that too long first time around

got some bar end mirrors in the end (feeling lazy) cant argue with £8 delivered off ebay

However i have hit a brick wall with getting it on the road anytime soon. Went to see my mate i bought it off to get the paperwork......

guess what he cannot find it anywhere!!!!!!

going to have to apply for the paperwork so will be ages untill i get that back

cant even get a no. plate made without docs either

Whats worse i only know half the reg number as the plate was broken when i picked it up, my mate looking though some old piccies later to try and find a picture of the bike so i can put then number on the application form.

bit fustrated as the bike is nearly ready for mot.

AAAArrrrggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!

Had a major disaster with rear of the bike yesterday.

Patience got the better of me itching to have a ride on the bike loaded it up and went to my mates farm which has a decent private lane.

I seems i miscalculated how much the suspention would travel under my weight and under riding conditions.

Cut a long story short i hit a bump, rear tyre made contact with no. plate mount and got pulled forward along with the rear light.

which in turn pulled the mounts that attach to hump cracking the paint and filler below .

good job this happened at low speed i suppose rather than on the way to the mot station.

So got to now refinish seat unit again and re-stripe, then order another light off ebay.

will probaly just wind up the rear spring and stiffen the damper to combat the travel probs, will go to my mates farm again and test without lights fitted just too check.

On the upside DVLA called and said they will issue me the v5 with the reg, just have to take the bike in for a number check on the 10th