78' GS550 project.

[brslk]

I recently sold my 82' Seca 550

and saw an ad online for a 1978 GS 550.
The price was right and it looked OK in the pics.
Called the owner, asked a few questions and made an offer.

He told me to come take a look, I did and he accepted my offer and even delivered it on his trailer.
It was snowing like mad and cold but we got it loaded and delivered.

We ended up talking bikes, guns and life in general. He seemed like a pretty cool guy.

SO, the idea was to just clean the bike up a little, maybe some paint and fix and replace all the essentials.

I joined here and started thinking about going a little more indepth.
Maybe cafe it or something.

So I built a table to work on it (bad arthritis in the knees).

The wife put the kibosh on cafe-ing it. She wants to ride with me.

The plan now is to take it down to the frame and motor and make it as good as or better than new.

With the help of my brother and my wife's son we got it up on the table!

I began at 3:00 PM and stopped at 8:00 PM.

Here is where I am so far.

And boxes of parts everywhere.

 

[brslk]

Everything came apart pretty easily enough with a few exceptions.

What a mess of a wiring harness!!!
Lots of pieced together stuff and repairs!

I ran into one place I gave up on and let soak over night. I just couldn't get the screw loose without stripping it.

The back tire is new and looks pretty good.

The front? Not so much...

 

[brslk]

My favorite part of this bike and the reason I bought it was the spoked wheels.

They need a good cleaning but not too bad.
I tried polishing a small area of the rim and it cleaned up great but the spokes are a bit too corroded so I may polish the rims and paint the spokes.

It even has speed holes!

I don't care for the welds so much though.
These are UGLY.
I am not professional welder but I could make better welds with my eyes closed.

This stylish keychain even came with it!

23952 or 123952?

Sorry for all the pics but I am trying to take as many pics as possible in case I have any trouble remembering things when I go to reassemble.


Anybody ever seen a cafe that was still usable for 2 up riding that didn't look ridiculous?

 

[GateKeeper]

We like lots of pics......keep em coming....

looks like your on a good start to a great build....

 

[7981GS]

23952 or 123952?

My 750E tripmeter looked like that shortly after reaching 100,000 miles.
It stopped working at about 126,000 miles.
I know it to be accurate because it showed 1,500 when I first got it.
Two used units later, and I have a functioning meter again.
So now, it ONLY has about 28,000 on it!

Daniel

 

[brslk]

We like lots of pics......keep em coming....

looks like your on a good start to a great build....

I just got through reading your build.
Seems like I am on familiar path.

It's crazy. I just wanted to build a ridable safe bike but the budget flies out the window and I now want to make it perfect (for me).

It's like "well.. if I am doing this, I may as well do this to"

Next thing you know you have spent 3 times the budget but have an awesome bike.

I think I am OK with that.

 

[brslk]

Also, does anyone know what size socket it takes on the oil drain plug?

I am guessing 19 or 20 mm.

Who keeps those sockets around?

cripes.


Bruce.

 

[D-Mac]

Subscribed!

Use a 21mm socket for the drain plug. Sears has them. Buy a 6-point socket.

Your 550 looks a lot like mine. Rusty. I'm already over budget and I've only just started on mine.

It's only money, right? Try and think about how awesome it'll look when it's done!

 

[brslk]

Subscribed!

Use a 21mm socket for the drain plug. Sears has them. Buy a 6-point socket.

Your 550 looks a lot like mine. Rusty. I'm already over budget and I've only just started on mine.

It's only money, right? Try and think about how awesome it'll look when it's done!

Picked one up today at Princess auto (like harbor freight in Canada).

Couldn't get a six point but I bought it anyway. Will get a six point tomorrow.

When I removed the oil filler cap I took a sniff and just like I expected, it REEKED of gas. (petcock was set on prime when I bought it)

I still haven't drained the oil because I have nothing to drain it into. Back to PA tomorrow.

Got the carbs off though. That wasn't too tough.

Oh! I managed to get that screw loose after soaking in wd40 all night and now the wiring harness is outta there!

It seems somewhere along the line someone cut this off and decided to relocate the passenger foot pegs to the swing arm.

 

[Guest]

Those swing arm foot pegs are hilarious! Would love to see the look on the passenger's face when you hit a really big bump and...no more passenger haha! It amazes me what you find some folks do. Oh, the insanity of it all.

She's coming along real nice. I'm working on an 82 550M. Will be interesting to compare internals when you get there.

Keep it coming!

Sci85

 

[brslk]

I also got the cover off the sprocket and wow! was it ever filthy in there.
Not too sure how I am going to clean this and a lot of other filthy areas and parts of the bike. Considering buying a parts washer.

I forgot to mention in the previous post about these "pods" that were on the bike. They are just velocity stacks with a screen over the end and no kind of filter at all.

There are also a lot of tabs and mounts that are not currently used for anything at all. I may chop them off.

Then there is this. A PO relocated the rear brake like thingy to a more visible spot by adding an L shaped bracket but left the original bracket in place.

 

[brslk]

Those swing arm foot pegs are hilarious! Would love to see the look on the passenger's face when you hit a really big bump and...no more passenger haha! It amazes me what you find some folks do. Oh, the insanity of it all.

She's coming along real nice. I'm working on an 82 550M. Will be interesting to compare internals when you get there.

Keep it coming!

Sci85

No kidding. Not too sure what I'm gonna do about it though. The wife wants to ride on the back with me and I don't want to have to turn around and pick her up off the ground when I hit a speed bump.

That might anger her a little...

Or maybe I should get one of those shirts that say on the back "If you can read this, the bitch fell off"?

Bruce.

 

[brslk]

Also, anyone know how much this engine weighs? still trying to figure out how to remove it.

I'm also wondering what chance I have of reinstalling it without scratching the heck out of a newly painted or coated frame.

So much I have yet to figure out.
Not even sure yet what the final version of the bike is gonna be.

If I don't figure out a way to properly mount the rear foot pegs I may go cafe as I had originally planned. Although, I do like the look of the bike stock.

I'm trying not to rush through this but I really should have it done by April because that is when our house and garage get torn down.
I would really hate to have to move it to storage while still on the table and the rest of it in about five boxes.

I have enough free time to do the work but I am afraid the most time consuming part of this build will be waiting for parts to arrive, as there really aren't any places locally to get vintage parts from.

Bruce.

 

[GateKeeper]

Hey Bruce...

to remove the engine, get all other items off of the frame, have just the frame and the motor, then lay the frame on it's side remove the engine bolts and remove the frame, leaving the engine on the table/ground, then just upright the engine, and figure on where you want to put it or what your going to do with it.

I don't know the weight, but my 750 engine is not light, and has some good weight to it.

and put it on this so I could wheel it around a bit....

.

 

[D-Mac]

These engines are HEAVY. It's really a two person job if you plan to move it anywhere (unless you're built like a truck). You can turn the frame over to take it out the right side, but you'll probably want to move it somewhere afterwards.

Great pics. It's pretty crazy what some people do to these bikes.

 

[brslk]

Gatekeeper,

I think I may have a sheet of foam and a dolly around here somewhere...

(foam to the left (on door), dolly to the right)

All I need to make it even is a nice snow mobile!

ETA: why is your floor green?

 

[brslk]

These engines are HEAVY. It's really a two person job if you plan to move it anywhere (unless you're built like a truck). You can turn the frame over to take it out the right side, but you'll probably want to move it somewhere afterwards.

Great pics. It's pretty crazy what some people do to these bikes.

Ya, I'm not really built like a truck. I'm 41 years old with arthritis.
I do have an excellent neighbor across the alley that is a pretty big fella and he owes me. I welded up some stuff for him when he was restoring an old MG midget this past summer.

And ya, the more I see on this bike the more I shake my head...

Bruce.

 

[GateKeeper]

Looks like you got it all covered including the muscle....LOL

 

[Guest]

Or maybe I should get one of those shirts that say on the back "If you can read this, the bitch fell off"?

That is tooo funny. Haven't heard that one before.

Yeah, from over on it's side, remove all the frame motor mounts and lift. Just did it today and trust me, that frame is a whole lot lighter than that motor.

So get busy with it. It will all come together as you move along.

Oh, and don't forget the pics!

Sci85

PS. And nice job noticing my missing caliper. ;-)

 

[brslk]

That is tooo funny. Haven't heard that one before.

Yeah, from over on it's side, remove all the frame motor mounts and lift. Just did it today and trust me, that frame is a whole lot lighter than that motor.

So get busy with it. It will all come together as you move along.

Oh, and don't forget the pics!

Sci85

PS. And nice job noticing my missing caliper. ;-)

I actually have a plan for removing the motor.
I'm going to build a small 2' x 2' table on wheels the same height as the bike table.
push it beside the bike table and tip the bike over onto it.
Then I will do as you and other have recommended, unbolt and lift the frame back up.

The caliper reminded me of the time I bought a car but couldn't bring it home right away. I paid the guy and went and borrowed a friends trailer to haul it on. When I got there the guy had removed various parts thinking I wouldn't notice.
I had to threaten to call the cops before he gave me the pieces.

Bruce.