Suzuki GS550E — NOS Seat!

Finally found one 😉

This is just a small post to say that i finally found a brand new seat for the GS550!

A legend in Germany had one for sale on eBay and it arrived recently, looking pretty bloody good too!

I ordered new hinge pins and, after years of having to make aftermarket parts fit, was ecstatic to find it just went on and that was it. No adjustments, no cutting or trimming, it just fitted perfectly, on a forty-year-old bike.

To find a seat pan like that is the holy grail. The trims, the strap. WOW! 😍

So nice, and unusual nowadays, to have the original design on the cover. 

I know it's only a seat, but I've been looking for a good used one for bloody ages. To find a new one blew me away!

And it looks amazing!

And what a difference to the way it rides! 

The comfort from this seat is just unreal compared to what was on here before. I had no idea how much the seat forms part of the suspension before, keeping you isolated from the pounding of the road. It now feels like you could cover massive distances in a day. I'm so impressed with it.

And being that much thicker than the old one, my knees are no longer so bent up either. In all those years of riding, I've only ever had one new seat before and that was on the BSA in the nineties. It'll be much higher on my list of priorities for the old bikes in the future.

More soon...

Suzuki GS Series — Clutch End Float.

Low speed rattles?

There's a few common places that annoying rattles can resonate from on ye olde GS. One of them being the clutch.

It's a heavy unit to be spinning around on the big needle roller bearing and you will always see and feel the [normal] movement when you get hold of the clutch basket. Considering that the huge helical gear around the outside of it is being driven by the crank itself, movement isn't what you want. That sort of freeplay doesn't really matter, for instance, if the clutch is being driven by chain or belt as there is more flex. Gears don't exactly flex, but they will wear. 

On top of this, there is a gear sat behind it, driven by the basket, which then drives the oil pump. A lot going on for something that only has one bearing. 

Now a couple of the intelligent folks at GSResources forum removed some of the play by machining a little off the bearing hub that runs on the inside of the needle roller bearing. In effect, this removes a little of the end float and holds the basket at the angle it was designed to run. Thereby keeping the gears at the correct angle, and reducing some of the noise inside. Sounds good huh?

That's the back of the clutch basket. The large gear is driven by the crankshaft. The two slots in the back of the clutch centre drive the gear that, in turn, drives the oil pump. The springs you can see are for cushioning take up of drive as you let the clutch out to pull away etc. These sag slightly with age and, ideally, need replacing because they start to rattle. Or, as I was about to do, you can shim them with washers to quieten them down.

So this unit has a few jobs to do. Probably best that it spins as it should instead of flopping under its own weight...

Suzuki GS550E — Steering head bearings.

Wandering Aimlessly...

Since the new Metzelers have been fitted, there has been a slight weave at low speed. I hope it's a steering bearing issue and not a trait of the new boots. Being as it was on the list of to-do's for along time, I ordered a genuine top bearing from Suzuki, as there doesn't seem to be an equivalent generic part number, and the old "32006" taper roller from the local bearing shop for the bottom yoke.

While it was apart, it would be time to clean up and paint various parts on the front end. A month and half later and I'm still waiting on the springs to come from America. Postal service is struggling as they're waiting for flights!

Anyway, back to the clean up. The main things on the list were the yokes/triple clamps, headlamp brackets, indicator brackets, and maybe the speedo surround and headlamp itself.

Suzuki GS550E — Quarter Turn Throttle Conversion.

 Converting your throttle tube to a 1/4 turn.

I'm pleased to say the GS550/673 is going really well — the engine has been faultless so far. One thing that is annoying me though is how bumpy the front end is, and it's really obvious since sorting the Bandit. The 1200 front end is now feeling incredibly refined and plush after a fork oil change, so I wanted to change the springs in the front of the GS to try and help her out.

As luck would have it, a pair of new Progressive springs came up on eBay for $110 delivered. Result! Although the general consensus now is to fit straight-rate (linear) springs, this was a bit of a bargain. However, they got stolen on the day they were delivered by some scrote who told the postie that they lived at my house. And that was the smaller of three parcels! Luckily I got my money back via Paypal, but that's besides the point. I was not impressed.

Metzeler Tyre Test — Suzuki GS550E

First, a bit of history... hey, life isn't all just fun you know!

When the old GS came to me, that fateful morning in 2012, I knew it was going to change my life. It sat there for a long time, mournfully looking to be put back out there, to race around on the mountain roads, to show what it was really capable of.

But I had a GSXR1000 and a DRZ400 supermoto for the fun stuff. This one would wait. However, it kept looking... and I kept ignoring. 

Until, one day, it was reassembled enough to run under its own steam. The excitement was building. The little GS felt proud, there was potential and we could both see it. She was ready to go out and try the roads for the first time in years. The front tyre, however, was looking a bit lame. So I bought a secondhand Dunlop on eBay that was originally fitted to a Harley, the little GS wasn't happy about that, but it meant we got to ride. The rear Barracuda (the what?) had plenty of tread left so she was good to go. And for years she rode around on those old tyres, the front now being seventeen years old 😱.

Suzuki GS673 Conversion — The Road Test.

 What'll it do mister?

There are no certainties in this life. All we can do is work with the best we've got, and to the best of our ability. When you work with old vehicles, you are left with a hell of a lot of choices. Replace everything for fear of something breaking down the track, or use experience to decide what will keep going, and maybe rely on a little bit of luck. It's probably fair to say we use all of these methods without a second thought.

It would be nice to change every bearing, gear, thrust washer, bolt, moving part etc., but that generally isn't viable. Instead we check, measure and work out what we can get away with. Lots of parts aren't even available anyway so sometimes we are stuck with far greater tolerances. When there is wear in vehicles, we immediately feel it when we ride or drive them but, as human beings, we automatically adjust to cope with the discrepancies. Some better than others.

Sure it's nice to be on a brand new bike, where everything is perfect, but they also leave me feeling somewhat robbed (not just with the cost of them either:). They let you get away with things, incredible brakes, plush suspension, tyres with more grip than you know what to do with. You may even think you're better than you actually are (oof, perish the thought!). 

But with old stuff you feel everything that is happening, hold the bars too hard through the bends and the weaving starts, fight it and things get worse. But relax and let it work everything out for itself and they usually settle down quite nicely. You feel that you're achieving something, that a living being is out for a blast with you, stirs the soul don't they say? (It does get tiring though...)

So ladies and gentlemen, just once, get on an old bike and be amazed at what they will do if you're just prepared to put in the effort...

Suzuki GS550E — GS673 Conversion Progress.

 Finally getting there...

Once painting of the cases was done, I put the crank and gear clusters back in the crankcase. Turning everything over, something I hadn't noticed originally was pitting in the teeth of one of the gears. It turned out I needed sixth drive gear (obviously unavailable from Suzuki now), but a search on eBay came up with a NOS one in Cyprus. With a delay on postage due to COVID-19, all I could do was wait. 

The pitting is visible in this pic. The largest gear in the top cluster.

One NOS gear from Cyprus. Whoop!

Suzuki GS550E 673 — Stripping the Engine, Decking the Barrels.

And skim the head!

The next thing on the list was the broken fin on the barrels. I cut out a similar shape from some old aluminium that was lying around, then filed it somewhere near. I wanted the barrels to be hot before welding to avoid cracks etc., so a trip to the oven was in order. Half an hour at 150 Celsius was perfect and the liners slid straight out. This was even better because No.4 sat slightly proud before I started.

Roughly shaped, let's take a look.

RPM Moto Nerang — New Chain and Sprockets for the GS550E.

Suzuki GS550E — I'm attached to this little bike.
It's nowhere near restored or concourse, and likely never will be, but looks pretty good considering the condition it came to me in. I'm always doing little jobs on it, and enjoy the odd ride out even if the seat is as hard as wood.

The chain and sprockets were well worn, in fact the chain I was using came off my Gixer1000 years ago. So when I saw a NOS standard rear sprocket for next to nothing on eBay, I snapped it up (obviously a fifty tooth sprocket for a GS550 is not a common item now). The gearing on the 550 was way over the top before, and was fitted with a 43T on the back. I'd always thought it had the wrong chain guard on it because of the huge gap underneath, but that wasn't the case. Standard size was seven teeth bigger.

So now I needed a front sprocket and an O-ring chain to go with it. A quick look on eBay and there was a shop selling both, with different sized fronts if need be. I decided to go for a 16T to give the GS a sightly more relaxed time (15T is standard). The prices were superb, and with a little more investigation I found out they were actually on the Gold Coast.

So I popped in...

Back On The Road — Suzuki GS550E

From a parts bike, to potential mileage muncher.
It was a little cheapie, bought unseen on eBay. My famed acquaintance Bryan picked it up for me, and even delivered it to the door... I swear legends are made of less. Pretty sure he's dying to ride it too.

It wasn't pretty, but he's a mate. The GS was also rough, no plugs in the engine, the carbs in a box and broken, but with seven years of TLC, dedication and, pure laziness, it's back on the road.

Considering the massive oil leak when the engine was first turned over, the fact that the bores were left exposed for however long, and the carbs had been left off too, it's incredible how good this thing goes and sounds. 

I put a cam chain on it, adjusted valve clearances, new coils, plugs, points and condensers and it runs like a bought one.

With a first test run (shakedown) a few nights ago, I discovered I need to fix a few things:

1) The gear lever circlip fell off and the lever nearly went astray. Luckily the foot peg bracket just held it in place.
2) The clutch slips slightly under load, heavy-duty springs are on the way. 
The lever itself feels so light, it's hard to pull away from standstill — definitely needs more pressure.
3) The seat is too low, and too firm, but the cover itself is still pliable and soft. I assumed somebody had cut away the original foam for a shorter rider, but maybe it's sunk over the years. I've ordered a section of gel to go into the seat for a little more height and comfort.

In fairness, it goes very well. I'll get some of these little jobs done and keep you all posted. Never done a gel seat conversion so looking forward to that. This is how it looks now — not immaculate, but definitely useable.

I'll clean up and paint the exhaust as and when, but for now need to get some miles on it. Hopefully the gel will arrive this week so I can sort that out.

More soon...

Suzuki GS550 Petrol Tap Overhaul.

Vacuum taps were once state of the art.

The day you upgraded to a bike with one those new-fangled vacuum taps things was a momentous occasion indeed. No more did you fumble with the petrol tap every time you started or switched off the bike. It was nothing short of a miracle!

But like anything, it can go wrong and some people are put off by trying to fix it. A diaphragm and O-rings are pretty much all there is to it, so this is a quick tutorial on how to fix it. Bearing in mind I've actually taken this tap off the tank four times since painting it, to try and get it to work correctly. It's been a pain, but today I think I nailed it. 

Also, number two carb needle valve could be leaking slightly and allowing it to flood the cylinder when left a couple of nights. Had the petrol tap switched off correctly it wouldn't have been an issue, but if my brother's sister's aunties' nephew wasn't my second cousin I wouldn't be in this palaver anyway. What?

GS550E Paint — And Now The Lacquer.

2000 Grit Wet & Dry
After a good flatting with soapy water and the old P2000 grit, the paintwork was looking smooth and, well, dull. Taking care on the curves and edges not to rub through the red, you're aiming for paint that is uniform all over without any orange peel. 
The scary part is taking your nice shiny paint finish and ruining it. 
But if it worries you, just run water over the paint and watch how it shines again — that's what the lacquer will do.

Gilbert's Cylinder Head Service — Gold Coast.

Skimming, guides, seats, porting... 
Having had several car cylinder heads overhauled by Paul Gilbert since being in Australia, I knew the service and quality was exceptional. That's no bull, they come back like a new part, and I was pretty amazed — especially for the cost.
So when I needed a couple of shims machined on the GS550, I dropped in to see if he could do them. No problem he says, come back in a couple of hours and they'll be ready to go. 
Once we got talking I realised he did a lot of motorcycle work too, and he showed me some of the heads he was currently working on.

This is one of two Rocket III heads that were being ported, one for a supercharger. He said that although he has a flow bench, the ports are now so big on this 2.3L engine that he's had to use someone else's larger version to check the flow. That's going to be one quick Trumpet!

Stripped Threads... And How To Fix Them.

Doing it in situ.
There will come a time when, if you like to dabble with old vehicles, you will happen upon a damaged thread. And, to be fair, it can be an absolute bastard!

One minute you're tightening up a bolt into an alloy housing, the next the entire thread comes out with the bolt. And you usually only find out during reassembly and most of the work is already done. This is sod's law... par for the course... and a proper pain in the 'arris.

But there is a way. Fret not. You might not even have to strip the component completely if you know what you're doing, although that wasn't the case with this Trident: