1976 Suzuki GT550 Dust Off

Tune-A-Fish

Tune-A-Fish

BOTM LOSER Proudly Deplorable
This little GT is going to be more of a clean up and start up project to start with. I found it on Craigslist and about gave up waiting for a reply to several emails when i got my chance and so here we go.

The load up.


The power seeker in me wants to nicely remove most everything from this thing and look for some euro jugs and some sexy custom expando's add the second rotor up front and some subtle bolt ons to accentuate the potential... But this one may be too nice for even me to fuck up ???
 

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8) Super nice find! Definitely keep this one stock, for historical and financial reasons.SWEET.
 
Awesome little smoker. I kinda agree, that's a nice original. My buffalo was so rusted up and corroded I had no choice but to change the paint/pipes. You over at Sundial yet?
 
Gonna resist the temptation... we'll see.

Been using these 3M disks for a while now and thought I would share for those who don't know already. They really do a nice job without distorting the metal if your careful it also leaves factory defects in tact if you want... have a look:

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Man, this deal looks better and better. 8) Even the seat looks perfect. It's all I can do not to want to do something stupid with my GT380. Restraint can be really difficult.

Those disc brushes really are nice. I've been getting them through McMaster-Carr, but the de-burring discs are expensive as hell. If that green one is a 4" arbor mount, McMaster wants $127 plus $200 for an arbor. Crazy expensive. I've been just getting the small disc brushes for the Dremel.
 
The green one is 3" rolock, I searched and fount it for $16.50 on eBay, it eats gaskets for lunch, but it can eat the case if you get carried away. They last a heck of a long time.

Just went and looked on eBay, searched "3m Scotch-Brite Roloc 50 grit Bristle discs Green 07524 3" discs" and a ton came up for dirt cheap... bought 3 white 2" for $20 shipped, those polish nicely and flex into tight spots awesome.
 
Tune-A-Fish said:
The green one is 3" rolock, I searched and fount it for $16.50 on eBay, it eats gaskets for lunch, but it can eat the case if you get carried away. They last a heck of a long time.

Just went and looked on eBay, searched "3m Scotch-Brite Roloc 50 grit Bristle discs Green 07524 3" discs" and a ton came up for dirt cheap... bought 3 white 2" for $20 shipped, those polish nicely and flex into tight spots awesome.
Click to expand...
Thanks for this. Ordered. ;D
 
$500?!?! whoa, you stole that thing!

I have a pair of these at the house. They are the coolest things :)
 
Still waiting on parts to hear the music, but did remove the yellowing from the gauges and checked in on the ignition (wasted a gasket) drained the oil tank, freshened the supply line and bled out the air and old oil. Put in a fresh battery and everything electrical checks out including the starter... all systems go!

gauge comparo

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Both done

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Points look so dang clean

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I have noticed the pipes are getting green patina on them already from washing the 14 year old dirt off, I need to clean the chrome but I don't want to loose any shine. Anyone have a cleaner that will strip the dirt off with little scrubbing? the dirt is very abrasive, I hate to rub it much before the dirt is all gone.
 
Tune-A-Fish said:
I have noticed the pipes are getting green patina on them already from washing the 14 year old dirt off, I need to clean the chrome but I don't want to loose any shine. Anyone have a cleaner that will strip the dirt off with little scrubbing? the dirt is very abrasive, I hate to rub it much before the dirt is all gone.
Click to expand...

Yep, honestly I've had great luck on chrome with glass cook top cleaner. No joke. Cleans and polishes great without scratching. If you have any surface rust, use aluminum foil to rub it on the surface. Aluminum oxide reacts with rust and desolves it. And a plus is that it takes so much less elbow grease than any other method that I've tried!
 
Jelous as hell! I have a gt185 that I got as a basket case. 2 years and a bucket load of cash, still not as good as this 550. Keep it stock, its super cool as is.
 
May need to find a paint set and some pipes to swap back and forth, I know the jetting will need to be done also but that is simple work. I love this thing: and the Green is gorgeously boring.

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That's nice. I've been told the RD expansion pipes work on these. Just use the stock head pipes. This Higg Speed pipes are awesome, but too damn pricey for my budget. I'm getting the DG pipes for half the price.
 
Sorry for hijacking your gt is great!!
2 questions (got my RD just running):
Are the dg chambers any perfomance upgrade or just for sound and looks?the chambers look quite small...
Second:how did you clean your carbs in the first place?ultrasonic?
Sorry again!
 
Ryan Stecken said:
Sorry for hijacking your gt is great!!
2 questions (got my RD just running):
Are the dg chambers any perfomance upgrade or just for sound and looks?the chambers look quite small...
Second:how did you clean your carbs in the first place?ultrasonic?
Sorry again!
Click to expand...

Hah... The black bike is not mine. the green one is and it has stock exhaust. I do know that the DG expanchion chambers are a basic performance upgrade and a huge weight loss program for the triples, if you want a true "tuned" exhaust check this out: http://www.dragonfly75.com/motorbike/pipes.html

As for the carbs, I use a dunk tank from Napa, comes in a gallon can with a little basket good for small parts, I buy 2-3 at a time and use one for single carbs and two in a dunk box for a bank of carbs, takes only a short time, if you leave overnight it will break some plastics and rubber down so use caution. I use 3M abrasive wheels to brighten things up after.

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