Custom Suzuki GN400 | Mark Simone

Custom Suzuki GN400 | Mark Simone | 1980 Suzuki GN400 | Suzuki GN400 cafe racer | Suzuki GN400 for sale | Suzuki GN400 custom parts | Suzuki GN400 custom seat 

I got an interesting email from one of our readers Mark Simone Get Featured 

"Mark Simone here in Cape Coral, Florida. I see you featured a motorcycle recently, a Suzuki GN400 built by Jared at Holiday Customs. Well, I was looking for a motorcycle project and my wife found a GN400 for sale locally for a couple hundred dollars. She pointed it out to me, thinking I might be interested. The bike was rough, really rough, having been left outside for years, part missing, and badly neglected. But, she said I've worked on worse looking machines and had faith in me. So, I called the seller, took a roadtrip and sent to see the bike. Less than an hour later is was in the back of my truck and on it's way home. At this point, I'd never heard of a GN400 before and had no idea what I was going to do with this bike. I started researching the bike and looking at pics of other GN's, builds, projects, trying to get some idea what direction I wanted to head in. Then, I saw a pic of the bike Jared had built and I new exactly what I wanted to build. Which brings me to the idea for a feature: a bike built by a hobbyist, inspired by a pro custom builder. I'm no pro, I'm a plumber by trade, lifelong motorcyclist, constant tinkerer (if it's not motorcycles, then it's JetSki's, or BMX bikes, or attempting to fix my boat). I admit, I stole the kicked up loop at the back of the seat and the headlight shape right from his build. Then, I went out of my way to make sure no one confused my bike with his and couldn't say I copied him. Attached is a few pics of my '81 GN400. Please take a look at them, let me know if you'd be interested in featuring the bike. If you're interested, I'll gladly include additional technical information and much better pics (unless you have a photographer in SW Florida anytime soon). The pics I have aren't the best and were taken on a rainy day so would want to reshoot the bike if featured. Oh, here are just a few highlightsL stripped the bike down to every last nut and bolt, sandblasted and powdercoated the frame, swingarm, wheels, triple trees, kickstand, and brake rod. All other black parts are low-gloss black paint. The list of new parts in the bike is extensive, including new Mikuni VM36 carb, custom Motion Pro throttle cable, and more. Tank was prepped and hydrographics applied by Wetdreams here in Cape Coral. And wanted something different for a seat so went with ostrich."  

Mark Simone
kymasabe@comcast.net
Cape Coral, Florida
239-573-0006