L-ski's '78 GS550
- Thread starter L-ski
- Start date
arcspeedworks
Damn the torpedoes. Full speed ahead!!!
nvr2old said:Wow..nice 550! I think the only thing I would do besides the bars, is modify the seat. That's not the original cover anyways. Suzuki's stock seats were hideous to say the least. Too big for the bikes. I have a '79 GS1000S and did that and it made a..pardon.."huge" difference in the way it looked. A nice clean stock bike can be easily made even nicer with a couple of small changes.
Hey... I've seen that bike in Retro Moto, right? Your GS was inspired me to work on my 550.
I could only wish it was as clean as yours L-ski.
L-ski
Active Member
So I had been having trouble shifting from 1st to 2nd right after start up but it would slowly get better after the bike warmed up. Eventually, I could start it up, let it idle for 2 or 3 mins, get on and go no problem. Now I changed the oil two days ago and the problem (not being able to shift from 1st to 2nd) is worse than ever.
Today was about 10 degrees colder than it normally is in the morning (it was 70ish today), so I'm hoping that is playing into it. Still, once the bike gets hot, it shifts fine.
I'm getting tired of pulling out onto metro Detroit main roads and not being able to get my bike out of 1st gear....
Any thoughts on what this could be? Am I expecting too much from my 33 year old, 25,xxx mile bike?
Today was about 10 degrees colder than it normally is in the morning (it was 70ish today), so I'm hoping that is playing into it. Still, once the bike gets hot, it shifts fine.
I'm getting tired of pulling out onto metro Detroit main roads and not being able to get my bike out of 1st gear....
Any thoughts on what this could be? Am I expecting too much from my 33 year old, 25,xxx mile bike?
RedPlastic
make it rain bitches
what kind of oil did you put in it? and yes its more than likely worn out clutch springs. new ones are roughly $10, and are really easy to change..
L-ski
Active Member
Thanks for the quick responses guys. My question is, why does this only happen when the bike isn't warmed up if it is the clutch springs/plates and only to 2nd gear?
It was Valvoline 10w 40 non synthetic oil... That is what the manual calls for along with the stamping on the cap of the oil fill. I was assuming brand wouldn't matter.
It was Valvoline 10w 40 non synthetic oil... That is what the manual calls for along with the stamping on the cap of the oil fill. I was assuming brand wouldn't matter.
RedPlastic
make it rain bitches
L-ski said:
very well could...if it says energy conserving on the bottle, it could damage your clutch (anti wear aditives are bad for wet clutches)....but we could spend all night arguing over which oil is best...(everyone knows its rotella t). honestly i have no good answers for you..but i will tell you i had a similar problem with like that with my gs1k..i changed the oil to rotella, and popp'd in new clutch springs...and it was good as new
L-ski
Active Member
I didn't see energy conservation on the bottle. It said "specifically for wet clutches". Which is what I wanted to see since I had read wet clutches need a certain type of oil...
I will take your advice and do some research on how to install clutch springs.
Any specific kind of Rotella T oil? I googled it, but couldn't find any that said it was for motorcycles.
I will take your advice and do some research on how to install clutch springs.
Any specific kind of Rotella T oil? I googled it, but couldn't find any that said it was for motorcycles.
Big R
Heaven is so far away.
They don't specify that it's ok for cycles. But look on a bottle of it and it should have a spec labeled "JASO-MO" or something. Rotella is actually diesel oil, but it's got all the proper additives for cycles.
Matter of fact do a search here on DTT. It's been discussed numerous times.
Matter of fact do a search here on DTT. It's been discussed numerous times.
L-ski
Active Member
I let the bike warm up today ( a bit warmer outside) for about 8-10 mins and it popped into 2nd much easier. Looks like it's supposed to be dry-ish all week so I'll be riding it to work every day. Hopefully giving the bike substantial warm up time is all this needs for the time being. (The apartment parking lot and a set of $20 walmart tools is all i have until I can get back home... fingers crossed that I don't have to start digging into my bike any time soon)
However, I think i said this same thing a few posts back haha. Thanks again for all the input.
However, I think i said this same thing a few posts back haha. Thanks again for all the input.
I have almost the exact same bike, and it's always been a little clunky in getting into neutral...nothing bad, and I'm quite used to it at this point, but my Honda CB550 shifts like a Swiss watch compared to my Suzuki.
This is something personal, but I can't stand the way the gauges look on my GS550...looking from head-on, they're just too intrusive with that huge pod they're set in, versus say, two individual speedometer/tachometer housings. One quick fix for me was to put on a 1/4 fairing...nothing particularly creative or dramatic, but it hid the gauges, and definitely changed the way the bike looks...that, and pulling off the dreadful '70's "pullback" handlebars and throwing them in a trash can...
This is something personal, but I can't stand the way the gauges look on my GS550...looking from head-on, they're just too intrusive with that huge pod they're set in, versus say, two individual speedometer/tachometer housings. One quick fix for me was to put on a 1/4 fairing...nothing particularly creative or dramatic, but it hid the gauges, and definitely changed the way the bike looks...that, and pulling off the dreadful '70's "pullback" handlebars and throwing them in a trash can...
L-ski
Active Member
The gauge cluster definitely caught my attention as somewhat of an eyesore once I put these bars on. Not sure what I'll do about it though. I did however manage to get all of my cables routed correctly and adjusted the angle of the bars back towards the seat a tad. I'm ready for spring now haha.
One more thing...and this may (or may not) save you a world of heartburn. My GS550, with only 2,000 miles on it..not bad for 31-years old..had this very disturbing intermittent knock on the top end of the engine once I finally got it running...it sounded exactly like a bad cam bearing...drove me nuts...how could a bike with only 2K miles have a bad cam bearing.
Actually, some of these bikes do have cam bearing issues, but they only crop up when you get past the 30K mark...was this a premature example?
I would take the tank off to fully expose the top end, set up a gasoline IV line, start the bike, and nothing..ran like a turbine. After I reassembled everything, every now and then I'd get that tapping, which would have me pulled over on the side of the road with a big neon question mark hovering over my head.
Turns out it was the vaccum fuel valve, fluttering at a certain RPM, and it was amplified when the tank was partially full...of course, when I had the tank off, I'd never hear that noise.
Anyway, I installed a $15 fuel valve rebuild kit and that sound of doom went away.
You may never need this information, but if you do get a weird sound...this might help...the few GS550 owners around need to stick together...
Actually, some of these bikes do have cam bearing issues, but they only crop up when you get past the 30K mark...was this a premature example?
I would take the tank off to fully expose the top end, set up a gasoline IV line, start the bike, and nothing..ran like a turbine. After I reassembled everything, every now and then I'd get that tapping, which would have me pulled over on the side of the road with a big neon question mark hovering over my head.
Turns out it was the vaccum fuel valve, fluttering at a certain RPM, and it was amplified when the tank was partially full...of course, when I had the tank off, I'd never hear that noise.
Anyway, I installed a $15 fuel valve rebuild kit and that sound of doom went away.
You may never need this information, but if you do get a weird sound...this might help...the few GS550 owners around need to stick together...
