PerversePolisher's GSX-R 7/11 Rearsets

One of the problems with slabby's is the limited amount of aftermarket rearsets that are still made for them. I had bought a set from Raask, but they just didn't look right when fitted to my bike. As luck would have it, I did have a spare set of rearsets from my GSXR1000 project made by Valtermoto. Obviously they won't fit straight on, but after some careful measuring I sent a drawing to Lee at Steelheart Engineering in Canterbury (Tel UK 01227 711 234) and 2 days later my adapter-plates arrived.

As part of my design I had asked Lee to make the mounting holes for the hangers so that they would be fully adjustable (see the drawing - JPEG or AutoCAD). I fitted them exactly as they arrived for the Streetfighters Show 2005, just to check that they fitted correctly and everything lined up as I expected.

Next was my favourite task of polishing them, so I dismantled the rearsets and got started with the polishing. Fortunately 10mm aluminium plate is very easy to polish and they were done in about half-an-hour. As I reassembled the adapter-plates and rearsets I realised that I had forgotten that I needed a rear-brake master-cylinder. Mark from Manic Motorcycles (UK Mob: 07939 593968) sent me a complete assembly so that I could take all the parts I needed then send him back the remains. The master-cylinder was looking tatty, so I cleaned it up using a brass brush on a Dremmel-multi, then I used an 80-grit flapwheel to remove all the raised lettering on the body of the master-cylinder. Followed by an arduous session with the polishing mops. Believe me - these things are not easy to polish due to their complex shapes.

I also needed a reservoir, but I didn't want to use the standard GSXR1000 one, so I gave Wayne (Rotty) a call at J&W Motorcycles (Tel: UK 01257 471264) and ordered one of the TES reservoirs that bolts directly on as a replacement. I've heard mixed reports about these style of reservoirs; as they don't have a conventional "top-hat" seal with an air-vent and rely solely on an o-ring to seal them, there are rumours that they don't release the calipers fully and can cause brake-binding. I don't know whether it's true or not, but for a rear-brake I can't believe it's that much of an issue.

With that little lot together it just needs to be bolted up. I'm not too keen on the heel-guards that come with the Valtermoto rearsets, so I might machine some new ones, but they will have to do for now. The last thing that needs to be done is to make a gear-shift rod, but I'll leave that for another day.