SmugMonkey
New Member
Hi guys! Been lurking a long time here and finally decided to join the club. I got a 1977 Suzuki GS550 today, $300 from Craigslist. Previous owner was a college student that had it about a month, drained all the fluids, took the carbs off to clean, and that's about it. Doesn't know if it runs because he never tried to start it. He said there had only been one owner before him, a motorcycle mechanic.
The good: To my untrained eye it looks to be in decent shape mechanically. Carbs are clean, fuel line is clear, tank looks good inside, engine has good compression, so as long as I can get it to spark it should run, right?
The bad: the grips and clutch lever are missing, as are the side panels and the "DOHC" cover that goes on the right-hand side of the crankcase. Could use new tires since the tread is worn and the sidewalls have a few small cracks - nothing worrying, but something that on a car would indicate to me that I should start looking for new ones. The finish on the yellow is rough and dull and I haven't found any evidence that it was a stock color. It's chipped away in places to show black underneath and I'm assuming that was the original color. There is some minor surface rust on the underside of the pipes around the 4-to-1 junction that needs to be cleaned up before it turns inward. There are a lot of small things that need work too - brake light is slightly cracked, one of the fork dust seals is starting to split, the driver's pegs don't match, one of the screws in the left front turn signal was replaced with one with the same pitch but a slightly larger head that doesn't drive in flush, there's a visible screw at the back of the muffler, and the list goes on.
To-do list:
1. Find a service manual.
2. Get it running. I've tentatively set a $400 budget for this, half for winter storage and half for parts. If I can't get it running within somewhere close to this budget then I'll sell it or part it out. I've seen the frame alone go for $200-250, so I may not come out ahead but I probably won't lose my shirt either.
3. Replace hand controls and missing covers and panels.
4. Try not to kill myself. 550 inline-4 is a bit of a jump from the 125/250 thumpers I'm used to.
The fun stuff: I'm thinking replace as many lights as possible with smaller LED lights, add superbike bars, fork boots. Relocate most of the stuff under the seat for that open triangle look, which I know some of you think is played out but I like the look and I don't have the panels anyway. Build two seats, a one-up cafe seat (maybe with the original cowl?) and a two-up brat seat. No point having a motorcycle in your 20s if you only have room for yourself on it right? Repaint the tank, and the cowl if I do end up using it. I'd like to ditch the fenders but there are a lot of dirt roads out here so I'll probably shave the back one down and paint the front one black. I'll probably get some dual-sport tires for the same reason.
I've worked on heavy equipment and some older cars before, but never a motorcycle apart from basic lube and fluids. Anything specific I should check or watch out for? Got suggestions for parts or paint? Want to tell me exactly how big of a mess I've gotten myself into?
Thanks!
The good: To my untrained eye it looks to be in decent shape mechanically. Carbs are clean, fuel line is clear, tank looks good inside, engine has good compression, so as long as I can get it to spark it should run, right?
The bad: the grips and clutch lever are missing, as are the side panels and the "DOHC" cover that goes on the right-hand side of the crankcase. Could use new tires since the tread is worn and the sidewalls have a few small cracks - nothing worrying, but something that on a car would indicate to me that I should start looking for new ones. The finish on the yellow is rough and dull and I haven't found any evidence that it was a stock color. It's chipped away in places to show black underneath and I'm assuming that was the original color. There is some minor surface rust on the underside of the pipes around the 4-to-1 junction that needs to be cleaned up before it turns inward. There are a lot of small things that need work too - brake light is slightly cracked, one of the fork dust seals is starting to split, the driver's pegs don't match, one of the screws in the left front turn signal was replaced with one with the same pitch but a slightly larger head that doesn't drive in flush, there's a visible screw at the back of the muffler, and the list goes on.
To-do list:
1. Find a service manual.
2. Get it running. I've tentatively set a $400 budget for this, half for winter storage and half for parts. If I can't get it running within somewhere close to this budget then I'll sell it or part it out. I've seen the frame alone go for $200-250, so I may not come out ahead but I probably won't lose my shirt either.
3. Replace hand controls and missing covers and panels.
4. Try not to kill myself. 550 inline-4 is a bit of a jump from the 125/250 thumpers I'm used to.
The fun stuff: I'm thinking replace as many lights as possible with smaller LED lights, add superbike bars, fork boots. Relocate most of the stuff under the seat for that open triangle look, which I know some of you think is played out but I like the look and I don't have the panels anyway. Build two seats, a one-up cafe seat (maybe with the original cowl?) and a two-up brat seat. No point having a motorcycle in your 20s if you only have room for yourself on it right? Repaint the tank, and the cowl if I do end up using it. I'd like to ditch the fenders but there are a lot of dirt roads out here so I'll probably shave the back one down and paint the front one black. I'll probably get some dual-sport tires for the same reason.
I've worked on heavy equipment and some older cars before, but never a motorcycle apart from basic lube and fluids. Anything specific I should check or watch out for? Got suggestions for parts or paint? Want to tell me exactly how big of a mess I've gotten myself into?
Thanks!
Nah, it's actually decent mechanically, surprisingly clean and neat on the inside, it just sat in someone's barn since 2006.
