77 gs550 cafe racer

[Craiger]

sick start. i like ur gauges and was wondering where u got them. i have a 450 but dont like the stock cluster set up and like how the individual ones u have look with the set up.

Not sure where the O.P. got his gauges, but I got my speedo at www.mikesxs.com with the built-in indicator lights and the tach at www.crc2onlinecatalog.com. Paid about $60 at MikesXS for the speedo and $70 at Cycle-Re-Cycle for the tach. Granted, some have had shipping issues with Cycle-Re-Cycle, but I got mine in a couple weeks.

For the tach, you'll want the 1:4 ratio.

 

[supergrafx]

sick start. i like ur gauges and was wondering where u got them. i have a 450 but dont like the stock cluster set up and like how the individual ones u have look with the set up.

Thanks nOrcal2wheeler! Not sure about where the guages were gotten. Since the previous owner did all the mods and such. When I get home, I will try to look under them and see if there is a brand or something underneath the gauges.

 

[Craiger]

Thanks nOrcal2wheeler! Not sure about where the guages were gotten. Since the previous owner did all the mods and such. When I get home, I will try to look under them and see if there is a brand or something underneath the gauges.

I doubt you'll find anything. I don't remember seeing anything branded on mine and I have pretty close to the same gauges. I have to assume they're made by the same manufacturer, which is Heiden Tuning.

 

[supergrafx]

Not sure where the O.P. got his gauges, but I got my speedo at www.mikesxs.com with the built-in indicator lights and the tach at www.crc2onlinecatalog.com. Paid about $60 at MikesXS for the speedo and $70 at Cycle-Re-Cycle for the tach. Granted, some have had shipping issues with Cycle-Re-Cycle, but I got mine in a couple weeks.

For the tach, you'll want the 1:4 ratio.

The tach and speedo look the same as the ones pictured on www.crc2onlinecatalog.com. Thanks for the link Craiger!

 

[Craiger]

No problem, dude!

 

[lookoutdriftmike]

how do those speedos and tachs work with our bikes? do you use the stock drive gears and such or what? I've been going around about getting new gauges too since my speedo goes to 80

 

[Craiger]

Yep, just hook the stock cables up to them. You just need to make sure to get the 1:4 ratio for the tach or the reading will be off.

 

[cloudbreakmd]

I just got this modified gs550 as my first bike. While waiting for tags and insurance I dented the gas tank by taking a fall while riding it in my back yard atop grass. I guess that wasn't a good idea. I love the feel of the clip-ons. However my turning and counter-steering seem to be very limited due to the gs550 fat ass tank. I would like to perhaps get a custom made tank that is much thinner and perhaps has clip-on reliefs hollowed out of the tank. Does anyone on here know where I can get custom gs tanks. All I have seen are ones for honda cb750s and yamaha xs650s. I've seen a few pics of cafe racer gs bikes on here and would like a tank like the few I've seen.... Also a pic of the damage to the tank is below as well.....

Wow... You bought my old bike. That was in fact my bike and I did most of the mods (frame, bars, fork rebuild, etc etc). That tank was a NOS tank and the petcock was brand new too.

 

[cloudbreakmd]

Here's what that bike looked like when I started.

 

[beergood]

$1700 bucks makes me wonder what I could get for mine. Eh, whatever you spent will be worth it assuming that you have the cash and enjoy the ride.

I especially like the LEDs wired into the bar clamps. Nice ride.

CafeKid will be a good source of info, use him for whatever advice/inspiration you can.

Oh yeah, as for the seat being uncomfortable, that only lasts till you get used to it. Put enough hours in the saddle and you will be fine. Your body will adapt. I believe that you could probably learn to find a pine board comfortable if you rode it often enough. Have you ever sat on a saddle of a tour de france caliber road bike? It's pretty painful for the first couple hundred miles, but after a season it becomes second nature.

 

[mriddle]

This would be a good move

The seat actually is kinda comfy, although I might need to insert another layer of foam at some point. My kids really want me to quit cigarettes as do I , but at least a quarter of the time I go out for a smoke, I seem to gravitate to the bike and saddle up while I smoke. I am at least for now, happy with her tail.

 

[oshanac]

Great looking bike! $1700 isn't bad for all the money put into it. It's a classic, did you see the before piture-wuff. A piece of history for $1750.

 

[supergrafx]

Great looking bike! $1700 isn't bad for all the money put into it. It's a classic, did you see the before piture-wuff. A piece of history for $1750.

Thanks Oshanac! However, looks can be deceiving! And basically, all that really was done to the bike were for looks sake. The more I dive into the bike, appearance mods, ect, become secondary. The bike had issues to begin with and they were never ironed out. The third prior PO had made the electrical problems known to the next POs but these POs never thought to tell me of such issues. The bike didn't even have it's original carbs which I was lucky to score from the nice PO prior to the PO that sold them to me. These carbs were in great shape, prestine shape! However, I was so new at wrenching and wanting to ride so badly, I trusted the advice of a known mechanic of one of the POs, and instead of rebuilding the original set that were prestine, he did the junked ones that were already on the bike, 400 for that, not dipped in anything, merely just sprayed with carb cleaner. Why did the imposter mechanic rebuild the junk carbs and not the prestine ones? Because he stripped every adjustment screw on the four bodies, obviously not using an impact driver, and then decided just to use the set that was already on the bike. And as he later told me, believes dipping carbs in a solution like berrymans is useless and a myth. I just found out the other day in one of the POs prior posts that when the bike is tilted left and right the electrics cut out sometimes, actually, I think it is just the oil preassure light. The wiring harness was a complete mess, corroded at nearly every bullet/terminal. As you can see in the before pic, the 4-1 pipe was already in place when the POs got this bike. Granted the new tank must have cost a grip, but everything else that was placed on the bike like the shocks, the throttle cable (actually required two cables: VM carbs;only one was in place), ect.., were pretty junked up and needed to be replaced with OEM new parts anyways. It just makes me angry thinking about it. Which is why I will not let any shop or punk touch the bike anymore. I live in a very yuppy area called Washington D.C., and many people here are more about appearance than integrity. The state my bike was in when I got it, shows this sentiment. My bike is not running now and has a lot of issues. But I can tell if machines had feelings, this one appreciates that the current owner cares about the internals more than the outside looks. This I think, is a healthy relationship.

 

[mark_vaughn]

That sounds like mine! Except I knew what I was buying, it was ugly on the outside too.

Have you done much work on the electrics? I am thinking of scraping my entire wiring harness and wiring just the basics without dozens of bullet connectors. It will probably be as easy as repairing what is there, and the insulation won't be dry rotting.

Someday I will ride this bike..... someday.....

 

[supergrafx]

That sounds like mine! Except I knew what I was buying, it was ugly on the outside too.

Have you done much work on the electrics? I am thinking of scraping my entire wiring harness and wiring just the basics without dozens of bullet connectors. It will probably be as easy as repairing what is there, and the insulation won't be dry rotting.

Someday I will ride this bike..... someday.....

Almost every connection, I've cut off, tinned and replaced with either new insulated spade or bullets. I've used dielectric grease on half of the connections and liquid tape where water/moisture may seep in from the back ends of the connectors insulation. When I had the carbs out, I cut off the corroded solenoid ground to engine frame and re-soldered to an o clamp. The headlight bucket has all new connections except for the H4 light plug which I plan to replace too. I still need to crimp the coil wires but with a troubling dyna s install, I'm waiting to get that right before making that part clean looking. I have an extra harness but thought why not try to make the one I have work and just keep the extra one just in case for the future. If a wire or two is or becomes shorted at some point, I'll probably just add a wire or two to the original harness and wrap it with electrical tape to the existing one. Still, much to do! I've noticed where I hadn't used dielectric grease, the connections starting to show signs of oxidizing. That's what I get for not greasin' up the rest of the newly crimped connections I've put on.

 

[mark_vaughn]

A good site for automotive style electrical connectors is www.keefeperformance.com.
I am planning on using Deutsch connectors on mine and all new TXL wire. http://www.eficonnection.com sells TXL by the foot in over 20 colors.

 

[oshanac]

Well, it's good to see somebody that finally, she has someone who cares about her. A 1979 GS750 was my first bike, this is my 10th motorcycle (hey I'm only 30-I'm catching up!) and third GS. This is the first one I've ever took the cylinder head off. I'm going to do the valves on my own too, and a frame off restore (non-numbers matching). It's amazing what having that many (or few) motorcyles does for your mechanical confidence. When I look at my manual, I shrug and say "I can do that". Good luck

 

[beergood]

Have you done much work on the electrics? I am thinking of scraping my entire wiring harness and wiring just the basics without dozens of bullet connectors. It will probably be as easy as repairing what is there, and the insulation won't be dry rotting.

I tried a few times to repair what was basically a hopeless harness on my bike before I gave up and built a new one.

I stripped my bike down pretty far, so I was able to jettison a lot of the original layout. I don't have turn signals, or a starter button, or a battery (just a bank of capacitors). The bundle I ended up with was about a third of what I started with, and is (hopefully) much more reliable. It was a little daunting going in, but I learned a lot, and feel like I really know my electrical system now.

 

[gsbobber]

Yep, just hook the stock cables up to them. You just need to make sure to get the 1:4 ratio for the tach or the reading will be off.

what is the speedo ratio for the 79 gs550

 

[Craiger]

what is the speedo ratio for the 79 gs550

The tachometer should be all you need to worry about when it comes to purchasing on the aftermarket....which is 1:4. I believe all Japanese bikes have the same speedometer gear ratio.