GS-550L to GS-674 Frankenbike project

Re: GS-550L Cafe Project

I found a set of shift forks off eBay from a Gs550 that had 8k miles on it, it only cost $20 for the set. The project is coming along, slowly but its moving.

Today I got the block clearanced, it didn't take as much work as I thought. The main places it needed to be dremeled down were around the edges and a few inches inside the block.




Other then that I just finished some cleaning



And the other day I reworked the seat mounts to use hitch pins. I need longer ones and longer rubber pads though.

Re: GS-550L Cafe Project

Man, its nice to see a project start to come together.


I'm still waiting on my big OEM parts order (gaskets, piston rings, head gasket, etc) but hopefully I'll have it running again by January.

Re: GS-550L Cafe Project

Coming along great man! It's such an amazing feeling when you get it back to "running" too...

Re: GS-550L Cafe Project

Re: GS-550L Cafe Project

I haven't done much lately, its been busy being the holiday season. My huge OEM part order came in but my head gasket got bent up, so there's a new one being sent (it went out today actually, props to Boulevard Suzuki). I need to make time to replace the shift forks, paint and assemble the lower end soon.

Oh and my spokes came in today! I got them mounted up on the bike, but the speedo drive I have doesn't fit... I'll have to figure that out.



The date code says they were made in late July 2009, so they'll be fine for a while. Dunlop 404s aren't that great so I'll replace them with some Avons or 203s before riding too much.

Re: GS-550L Cafe Project

Damn, I love that back wheel. I've been searching for one for my GR.....

Speedo drive doesn't fit, huh? I remember reading one time on the GSResources that somebody had 2 similar drives laying around, and the wrong one didn't fit either. I think it was the tabs were set at different diameters or something? Worse comes to worse, speedo drives are cheap and plentiful......

Re: GS-550L Cafe Project

Thanks , they were a GREAT price on ebay. I paid the buy it now because I didn't want to take the chance on losing them. I'll post a pic of them on the bike before I leave for work tomorrow.

About the drive, I'm hoping the other version of the drive will fit without hitting the fork legs. If worst comes to worst I can grind off the little tabs that don't fit. I have a digital dash anyway but I wanted to use the adapter cable so I wouldn't have to run the magnet sensor thing.

edit: The rear spoked wheel is surprisingly heavy btw. The front wheel and tire (the L wheels) was 30lbs and the spoke was 28lbs, I didn't weigh the rear but it felt a good 3-4lbs heavier then the wide L mag wheel. I think the E/T model mag wheels would probably be the lightest but visually, the spokes are the best looking IMO.

Spokes are sexy!





Old vs new

Love the look of the spoked wheels! Much better than the 16" rear wheel.

Love the look so far Toast. Those spokes really make it pop.

GK

I just caught up through your whole build thread and am excited to see how the bike tuns out (do they ever stop evolving?).

Thanks guys , and I don't think I'll be done tweaking stuff for a long time. That's half the fun of an old bike, just changing things around.


Oh and I don't think I posted it in this thread, but during the black friday sale Airtech was having, I sent in an order for a fairing ;D. I got the (late 70's IIRC) 900SS half fairing, the same one as Paulages from SOHC4.net.

Pic borrowed from pipeburn



Supposedly it'll be here sometime before the end of the year, but who knows. From what I've read it can take up to 2 months for them to make and ship it, it doesn't matter though I still need to figure out a mount for it... The kit airtech sells costs more then the fairing its self and I don't think it would work anyway, there isn't much space behind the frame neck for the u-bolt.

The actual 900SS fairing mount looks like this


Fairly simple really, but it costs over a $100 still. I was a film student and after thinking about it, the yoke from a 1K or 650 Mole light would be PERFECT for a headlight mount.


If I can find one from a broken light or in a lights warehouse somewhere in LA, it should be relatively cheap and really strong. I'll still need to come up with something for attaching it to the frame though.

NICE!

Saw in the "Latest Purchase" thread you picked up an 1100 aluminum swinger. (Congrats)
I bought one as well and did some research on what it takes to install it in my 750. Seems you either drill the frame to fit the larger 1100 pivot bolt or fab up bushings for the pivot bearings and use the 750 pivot bolt.
Any idea what it takes on a 550?
I wonder if the width is still right at the pivot point for the swinger to fit the frame?

From what I was reading on the GSR, it sounds like the process is the same for the 750's and 550's. The width is the same too as the 550 swingarm (I think the 750 and 550 are the same...), it's just about an inch longer then the one on the bike.

This guy put one on,

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=197052&highlight=gs550+1100+swingarm

I may be able to get some bearings made up, there's a shop near my work that makes and sells all kinds of bearings so maybe I won't have to drill the frame.


Edit: arg it wont link for some reason.

I'm leaving to visit my gf in Delaware for a week so I've been slacking on my project. I did get the top half prepped and primered.







I gotta hurry up and get it assembled, at the end of January there's a trip to Napa I want to ride to.


Work bench reorganized, ready for work when I get back

Looks great. I'm excited to see how yours is coming along, definitely going to come in handy when I start my swap.

This thread is looking great! I'm glad that you weren't turned into a pancake when that driver decided to attempt to use your bike as a speedbump.

I seriously almost bought that exact 650 engine! I recognized the pics from the seller's page on eBay. I'm glad that you were able to use it to squeeze more power out for your bike. It is always great to see another GS. I will be closely following your thread.

Out of curiosity, did you hear a pop before you lost all power and the stator went bad? I may have blown mine tonight.

Well when it died after I replaced the one the PO had on there I would see a few wisps of smoke coming out from the starter cover area. It happened the a few rides before it died, I thought it was just from oil not a burning stator... Whoops. The second one that fried I was going to work and the instrument lights got really dim and the turn signals were acting strange.

If you heard a pop I would check all the fuses first. The stock glass type arent very good to be honest.




Oh and today I got a giant box in the mail ;D




What's this?



Yes!



I have a feeling mounting is going to be a bit of a nightmare...

A nightmare, you say? Maybe, but it will be glorious in the end! I can't wait to see your bike with the cowl on it!

Thanks for answering my question. I will check the fuses again, I didn't see any that looked bad. I may just replace the rest of them to see if it fixes it.