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So I went to go look at a Honda Cl350 and after realizing it was too far gone decided to pass. As I was leaving I spotted a 78 suzuki gs550e and long story short, he called me back saying he'd take 300 cash. I think it was fair and am super excited. I'm a going into college this year so expect a slow but cool build. I've never done a project thread but am super excited to! Here's the lady: (ps. she's worse than the picture.)
Things to do before summer ends. Fix throttle as it's stuck.
Rebuild carbs. Change oil fresh filter.
Grind off the nasty stuff on the gas tank and primer or just rattle can it anything.
Get a used seat or get this one skimmed down and reupholstered.
Brakes.
Clip ons... maybe if I got the dough.
Basically I'm going to make it streetable before doing any crazy cafe things. I'm hopefully moving out soon so gotta make it in DD condition. I bought the bike with my graduation money and a little I had from this little job I have and boy do I feel good owning something entirely mine. Best feeling ever. Well stay tuned!
Did some work on the bike today, fresh plugs, fresh oil and filter and fresh gas. Tried to kickstart and no go. It has compression and sounds like it's about to start but doesn't. I filed the points and still nothing. I don't have a battery, could this be my problem? I pulled a plug and it's not making spark. I'm tired and my leg hurts. Thanks in advance.
Does it help with the spark during a kickstart? Oh yeah I know. I was going to rebuild the carbs but wanted to see if she'd fire up even without. I know it's getting fuel to the carbs but it might be flooding.
the best thing to do first is buy a chilton or hayes repair manual. this has saved me SO much time looking stuff up and helps with troubleshooting problems. and with specific pictures of YOUR bike and what parts are where its awesome. i bought my bike and the PO said he hasnt run it in over a year so i took the carbs apart and used some carb dip and put it all together and it started right up!
She's RUNNING! New battery and and an idle adjustment and she's idling! Wooh! I threw on a throttle cable and drove her around the block. Shifted okay but flooding under heavy throttle. Need to tear into the carbs and the brakes need a lot. But I'm excited. Thanks all.
Also going to see if aircraft remover will remove this. Going to buy some tomorrow.
Skimming down the seat, going to cut the sides a little.
Bought some clubmans.. I know. They aren't clip ons! But this is a budget build. I couldn't stand the stock bars, so I ordered these awhile back.
Took her for a quick drive with the new stance and only rear brake and man do I love the feeling of this bike! It's a bit uncomfortable without rear sets and it's different from what I've ridden but man is it fun! I got her going and she is actually riding surprisingly well without a carb rebuild or clean. Now I'm going to get her cleaned up and get that front brake working and on. I have a few ideas for the seat but it's hard transferring my vision to real life. I'm going to keep the rear fender as I love the oldschool/cafe look like Woody's CL350. Anyways, more updates to follow.
I want neutral and turn signals but don't really want gear position. Is there anything I can do? To conceal it? Yeah, the tank is disgusting. The guy said someone tried to carpet it? I kind of feel like buying one online. I don't know if I can get that stuff off that well.
Aircraft stripper should take care of all the adhesives and paint. Any rust will be another story though. And make sure you get the brush on stripper- the aerosol spray stuff sucks.
I think the gear indicator lights have a harness near the carbs you can unplug. Probably a tight fit inside the headlight already, but see if you can hide wires in there or under the tank.
Thanks! Yeah I am interested to see what I can do too. I have limited tools, so I have to buy some. My sister is really good with sewing, so I'm going to have her cover it out of leather or vinyl and i'm just going to use the stock hinges to attach it. The tank actually isn't rusted that much, it's just really nasty. Will a basic primer keep it from rusting? Or should I go epoxy?
It looks like the tank is covered in duct tape or something. That's pretty rough. That aircraft paint remover is good stuff just make sure you don't let it splatter on you, it's pretty nasty stuff.
It's like a thick layer of crud. I actually flaked off a bit of it but right now I'm focusing on building my brakes up a bit. I am doing a really cool dual piston conversion, and building my own steel brake line. The only problem is I can't get the dang snap ring out of the mc. I don't want to fork over twenty bucks for a tool but don't have any grinders to build my own.
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