First bike, looking for upgrades

I traded some work for a Suzuki gs 850. I'm completely new to motorcycles and was looking for tips if anyone knows these bikes and links to parts/distributors. Any and all help always appreciated.
Pics or it didn't happen

I'm planning on turning it into a cafe racer similar to this

 

Tons of parts houses out there. I'd advise to take a look at Do the Ton. Neat forum. Not nearly as much traffic as on Tacomaworld but there are guys on that site that really know their business. First thing I'd suggest is ride it the way it is until you get used to it. Make sure it's in proper running condition from top to bottom. Then start adding parts as you go. I made the mistake of tearing down a CB360 and really made the build difficult (still not done). I can't stress enough get to know the bike and how she's suppose to perform before you start modding her.

Link to forum
http://www.dotheton.com/

 

Some places I used to source parts.

Dime City Cycles, 4 into 1, Common Motor Collective, Motorcycle-Superstore, Moto-Madness, Mikesxs, Old School Speed, SummitRacing.

 

Thanks bud, appreciate all the info.

 

Gosh, NO, Please don't ruin that bike. Find an old beat up bike that runs good to butcher. That GS850G Looks pretty dang nice & I don't see anything aftermarket. It's all completely original, just needs a very deep cleaning & polishing. You can rip any old cheap beater into a "Cafe" just as easy as doing it to this very nice looking bike. Those things are great riders, very comfortable, never break & last forever, clean that thing up & either ride it or sell it to someone who will appreciate it. It'd be totally useless to destroy that to make a "Cafe bike that can be made out of anything you run up on.

 

Little late to keep it all original. The original air box was deteriorated beyond repair so I bought some air pods and a sigma6 jet kit. Rebuilt the carbs and now I need to tune it. I just wanted more black on the bike as chrome is not my thing. I'm not chopping anything until I make sure I want to keep it.

 

Many times it's a pain to get things right with those pods, should need way bigger jets + shim the needles up with some tiny flat washers, (Canadian models "may" have cir clips to adjust the needles). Even tho the job is much easier without the air box, the air box has its advantages. Those boxes can be had from ebay, should be less than $50. Tuning with the factory air box removes the trial & error tuning, caused by the pods. Just put in both the pilot jets & main jets one size larger than the book calls for & you're good to go. If selling that bike, the factory air box will make it sell "way way" better than with the pods. It seems you like the looks of the "Cafe'd" 850 pictured above. Just remember you can make any old bike you find sitting around in a shed or barn, or even sitting under a tree, look like that one with a few cans of flat black & a hacksaw. It would take tons of $$$ & time to ever get one back to what you already have sitting there now. Anything that's survived that well for 37 yrs. surely deserves better. It'd sure be a shame to see an old GS850, that looks as nice & orig as yours be sent to it's demise. Of course, just my opinion.

 

1978 Yamaha 1100 hardtail homemade rat rod

 

Clean bike. Leave it alone.

 

jrallan, that was back in 2018... Just Hoping, possibly, somebody talked him into not ruining it. They were very nice old bikes.

 

Is there an MSF class near you (Motorcycle Safety Foundation)? Here in CA, if you pass that class you get your M1 endorsement and don't need to take the DMV test.

I always suggest the MSF class to new riders so good road riding habits can be established. That will greatly help your safety and learning curve.

 

TRD COLD AIR INTAKE.
Just kidding. Nice bike. I like the idea of a café racer. Clean, cool and bitch'in.

 

Nice bike! I'm going to echo what others have said already. That bike is too complete and nice to use for a cafe racer project. It's fine to ditch a damaged airbox and install pods without butchering the rest of the bike. I assure you all that will happen is the bike will end up less comfortable, more finicky, and less fun to ride while losing even more value all at the same time.

Come over to the Motorcycles BS thread 2.0 here on the forum and join the rest of the 2 wheel misfits.