JPMs 1977 Suzuki GS550 REDUX

I was intermittently watching the old thread. Too bad you lost it, but I'm glad you resurrected it.

I have a 77 as well and will be starting the teardown this summer (as time allows). Love the way your bike is looking, clean and simple.

You raised the back of the tank, correct? Any pictures of your work there?

And what about the top triple? Don't recall what you said in the first thread.
 
I raised the back end of the tank purely for visual reasons. I feel it looks a little odd stock and the frame/tank lines look better matched. Had to fabricate a riser.





 
I wanted a custom triple tree but nobody really makes them for the lowly GS so I had to make one myself. I also wanted to flush mount a mini speedo so after some measurements and CAD work, I had a design that I was happy with and onto the CNC it went.





Sanded it up real nice and hit it with some clear engine enamel. Turned out pretty nice.





 
Thanks.

Yeah, I hear you about the lines. Raising the back of the tank straightens out the slight kink of the stock bike.

And that triple looks awesome. Excellent work.

Keep the pics and updates coming. I'll be following and asking more questions.
 
I've turned my attention to the final paint on the tank and front fender. Both the tank and fender had a few dings so I spent quite a bit of time trying to fix those as best as I can. I'm no body worker but it came out decent.



 
Picked up some paint. Ended up with primer, 2 different base coats and a satin clear.



Primer sprayed



Black



And then I missed pictures on a few steps. I used a laser level to lay some thin tape and mask in prep for the next color. Once I painted, I pulled to tape and ended up with this...



 
Let it dry overnight and then applied the logo sticker. Still need to fix a few small blemishes and then clear coat but I'm pretty happy with the end result.





 
Looking good mate top triple is awesome great skills right there , paint combo gonna look sweet with clear coat out in the sun following all the way to the finish line keep the standard goin mate 8)
 
Nice paint work. I wouldn't think to do the silver over black but looks like it worked out just fine.

This is making me want to do up my GS all nice and tidy...
 
Just a quick update since it's been a while. Disaster struck just prior to clear coating the tank/fender and long story short, the end result was not acceptable to me which meant stripping all the paint off and starting over. This time, I decided to do it a little differently so after primer, I sprayed the metallic silver first.





Used laser level to tape off and then sprayed black.





End result after clear has very minimal orange peel. It's currently curing for a week then I'll sand/buff.



Most loose ends on the bike are done but still need to address license plate, mirrors, front brake bleed and wiring. Need to get my seat back from the upholsterer,wire this thing up and start riding. Stay tuned.
 
Few items checked off the list this weekend. Had to modify the bar end mirrors to fit inside clip on bars.



CNC license plate mount. Went through a few locations in my head and settled on this spot because it could double as a shock spacer as well as no exposed wire for the light.













 
Slick plate mount. Just a heads up I couldn't pass inspection in MA with a vertical plate...had to ride home and weld up a horizontal one, then ride back to the inspection place to get a sticker.
 
Luckily, I live in a state that doesn't really care. Already have my tag and no inspection was required. I can imagine it would be no fun to have to redo it though.
 
Yep. I still haven't gotten around to re-mounting my decently fab'd vertical one, or making a solid horizontal one.

Bike is looking nice though, almost ready to take out on the road?
 
Calling all wiring experts. I'll be the first to admit that wiring isn't my specialty but I've spent quite a bit of time reading up and think I have a decent handle on most of it. There is one area I can't seem to figure out. The wires don't match my manual so I'm not sure what each of these are for.

I'm looking at the gear shifting switch (#39)



Here's the wires. I figure one of these must be the neutral (blue?). The other six i'm not sure about. Gear positions?



Lastly, I cannot seem to locate any wires for the oil pressure indicator. Where should I be looking?
 
IIRC on my 81, the oil pressure switch is a single wire coming out of the top half of the cases, right smack under the carbs. Those 6 should be gear position.

I had a tough time figuring out Suzukis process for organizing their wiring diagrams in the factory service manual. They changed every year and each model is different. Try looking through the supplements if you have the FSM, you may have a "77.5" where they started adopting a newer wiring loom.


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Nice. Very clean. Re-wiring the Honda on my to-do list...

I would not mount the R/R there, especially if your seat pan "seals" up the cavity. R/R gets hot enough that it requires a decent amount of airflow to keep the temp regulated. That little compartment will heat up right quick on a decent length ride.

You can probably flip it and mount it directly underneath where it is now, or anywhere under the seat pan so its hidden by the frame but still gets adequate ventilation.
 
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