GS550 Special - Project Stray Dog - Finished.

[Mad Ratter]

The rearsets are from, I think 87-89 GSX-R1100, here's a pic of what they looked like to start with.

The hole spacing was perfect!

 

[2en0]

Thanks! I will search for them.

 

[2en0]

found them... but a little bit overpriced

 

[Mad Ratter]

Thats too bad, I was lucky as a guy locally had a job lot of them and bought 2 sets for NZ$50!! but yes some people do ask silly prices for these items. I guess making the bracket would be easy enough for most but the skill comes with the linkages etc.
Hope you manage to locate a suitable set for a reasonable price.

 

[sinbad85]

that is killer!
well done!

 

[Mad Ratter]

Thank you again for all your kind comments, first build, much learned and mistakes made, hey, but it's how we learn, right??
When she has her new seat and headlight I will post some proper photos

 

[Paydan]

Sweet bike man. Awesome job!

 

[brovok]

Very nice! Great job.

 

[Sigaard]

Very Nice bike. And great work..

Like you, I have a gs 550 from 1980, and I would like to get spoked rims on mine to.. What model did you get them from, and what did you do with the disc brakes in the back and front..
Sorry if my english is bad, I'm from Denmark..

 

[Mad Ratter]

Very Nice bike. And great work..

Like you, I have a gs 550 from 1980, and I would like to get spoked rims on mine to.. What model did you get them from, and what did you do with the disc brakes in the back and front..
Sorry if my english is bad, I'm from Denmark..

Hi, thanks for the compliment. The wheels are from the very first model from 1977, the only year they were available but I think the GT550 etc shares the same rims. The rear brake is now drum as you can see, as the '77 model was not disc, the front is from my original (1978) model which had cast wheels, I just bolted the discs onto the '77 hubs after machining the hole patterns, as standard has solid discs. Its equipped with calipers and master cyl from a Suzuki SV650, but had to make adaptor plates to fit the original forks, they work great too!

Good luck with your build.
P.S. My Danish is worse!

 

[antwan]

Awesome looking bike man! I just picked up a 1975 cb550 completely stock. I was thinking of doing a similar build to my bike as you did. I have no experience with bikes at all as this is my first bike, so I was wondering if I would be way over my head taking it all apart and putting it back together with just a repaire booklet? I do wanna clean everything up, theres a bit of rust on frame and so on, so I guess sand blasting would be my best option? Also, what did you do with your battery to get the hollow look under the seat?

 

[biggiesmalls]

Looks great man. Wish I had time/cashflow/knowhow/etc. to do the same ground up stuff for my GS450.

 

[Mad Ratter]

Antwan, this was my first build, sheer bloody-mindedness, determination, coupled with a plan and plenty of patience! Oh and depending on how ambitious you want to be, be prepared to pour a significant amount of cash into it too.
A repair booklet? is that an owners manual? Get a proper manual either Haynes or a Clymer, its invaluable!!!

Im no mechanic but do have a little experience and did train as a mechanical engineer, so some of the fabrication was ok for me.

You could clean the frame up without blasting, but its the easiest option I think, then its ready for paint or powdercoat. But dont paint it before you are completely happy with the the look and function as you don't wanna go hacking with new paint on it. Dry build it first.

I decided to go with kickstart only as its a four cyl and easy to kick. That was so I can junk the starter motor etc and just use a small battery, which is hidden under the seat pan. its only about 2" thick, but its a crap scooter battery and not really up to the job, so I am and recommend getting a decent Lithium Ion one like an "Anti-Gravity", not cheap, but like I said it can become expensive depending on what you want out of it.
Mine was kind of an evolving project that sounding like you, I just wanted to clean it up and simplify it, but I fell deep into the rabbit hole
Be prepared! and get that manual!
Good luck.

My next project(s) is a simultaneous build of an XV920 and an XS650, I could be in over my head ;D

 

[skagroovy]

Great bike and build... well done....
Working on my own 78 gs550 and love the bars and bar clamp u used. What bars did u use pro taper? What bend are they?
Also I like the look of the single gauge where did you source that from.
Over all a stellar job on the whole project.

 

[Mad Ratter]

The bars in the pic you refer to are wide low MX bars, no brand, just bought off the NZ auction site Trade Me. I have Renthal Ultra Low road bars now, the gauge was from Mikes XS. same ratio as Yamaha's, perfect! all led too, works real well.

 

[Rich Ard]

Very nice indeed.

 

[kwtnk]

The GS 550 is a very nice choice for a bratstyle bike! And you did an excellent job, very nice build and quality work! Incredible that this is your first build.

I am also working on a GS 550 and I am not sure about the size of the rear tire yet. What did you choose? I can see it's a BS Batlax but in which size? 110? 120? 130? Any ideas what is the maximum size without touching the chain? ;D

 

[Mad Ratter]

The GS 550 is a very nice choice for a bratstyle bike! And you did an excellent job, very nice build and quality work! Incredible that this is your first build.

I am also working on a GS 550 and I am not sure about the size of the rear tire yet. What did you choose? I can see it's a BS Batlax but in which size? 110? 120? 130? Any ideas what is the maximum size without touching the chain? ;D

I went with the original size, 120/80-18 BT45, I did think about a larger one, but wanted it to handle and steer correctly, I think if you want to go bigger you should lace a wider rim, maybe a 4" for a 130+ otherwise it could be sluggish to turn and the tyre profile would be compromised trying to squeeze too large a tyre on the skinny rim. It does look a little skinny on the back and next time I would go for a wider rim, but not sure of the clearance, tho I think you may only be able to clear a 130.
Good luck with your build and post some pics of your progress!

 

[kwtnk]

I went with the original size, 120/80-18 BT45, I did think about a larger one, but wanted it to handle and steer correctly, I think if you want to go bigger you should lace a wider rim, maybe a 4" for a 130+ otherwise it could be sluggish to turn and the tyre profile would be compromised trying to squeeze too large a tyre on the skinny rim. It does look a little skinny on the back and next time I would go for a wider rim, but not sure of the clearance, tho I think you may only be able to clear a 130.
Good luck with your build and post some pics of your progress!

Thanks Mad! Very helpful advice.

I think I will give it a try and go for a 130 on a 4" rim on the rear hoping clearance is fine. And for sure I will keep you posted on my progress. Like you I will open a new post when my project gets started. I have almost collected all the parts and inspiration I need for it.

 

[M.B Co]

Simply awesome. Love what you have done.