Yamaha R1 — Project Streetfighter.

I love a bargain... or punishment!

Gumtree and Marketplace are taking up my life. Both sites are out of control! Where commonsense once led the way, I keep asking:

1) Do I need another project? No, I have too many, walk away now.

2) Do I need another project? Of course, one more wouldn't hurt.

After all, I could sell something to make more room...

Streetfighters.

I've always wanted the genuine sportsbike version, with all the proper kit from the period - suspension, brakes etc. - but never felt like ripping the fairing off a perfectly good bike. So I kept my eye out for something that maybe didn't matter. Something that hadn't been looked after in the first place and either needed new fairings, or a new look altogether.

So what is it about the older sportsbikes?

They're old school cool, and aggressive. Making good power, proper suspension, with handlebars and no fairing. What's not to like?

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 — Starter Clutch Rattles

The final check?

As anyone who has followed this blog will know, the engine out of the GS550E has been stripped completely. And, obviously, this was the ideal time to do a simple check on the starter clutch. And I full intended to, had I had the correct flywheel puller. A simple M14 x 1.5mm bolt is all it needs...

But no!

I'd already bought a pretty extensive universal puller/slide hammer with all sorts of adaptors, but none of them being a basic M14 x 1.5mm bolt. Anyway, I ignored it, and refitted the crank with flywheel still attached, not realising what could happen behind the flywheel.

And there it is, flywheel/rotor with starter clutch and gear bolted up behind it.

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 😱.