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Another project GS550ES, needing some help...

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jbeaber
  • Start date Start date
Jbeaber said:
It is a Cali bike. My mechanic didn't think the emissions system would have any influence on anything. There are four tubes, one from each carb. They all connect in a plastic piece . I have the outlet of that plastic piece plugged. What would you recommend plugging with? The set up i have now is definitely not optimal. Hopefully that is not the problem for the vacuum. I am going to bring some new tubing home to see if it might be a problem and then conduct the tests I mentioned above. Hopefully this will be a simple fix. Just having the bike running and taking it out briefly last night. i also had major concerns about what the smoke was. That problem is fading in time and the bike is no longer dripping fluid. All indications are that the liquid is nearly gone.
Click to expand...

I can't really say much as far as the smoke/fluid. I think your theory about water is fine. Have you checked the oil on this bike to make sure it has not been thinned by any gas leaking into the oil? Not necessarily related, but if the cylinders had filled with gas by leaking past the needles, this could make some smoke as well. Just think out loud on that one, though.

You are saying there is a tube from each of the (4) carbs, but these bikes only have (2) carbs. Are you saying one from each side of the 2 carbs? As far as plugging them off, I would eliminate the hose altogether, and use a rubber vaccum port cap on the nipple where the hose hooks to the carb. Any auto parts store will have a package of generic rubber caps that are made for this purpose.
 
So, interesting carb setup on the GS550ES. It has four cylinders, obviously. The four carbs are organized into two units. Each unit consists of two carbs that share a single float bowl. The two bodies are connected by some brackets and a metal tube that provides fuel from one side that receives it from the petcock to the other. Each individual carb has a line out of it to the emissions system.
 
Ok, I see how you were wording it now. Yes, those carbs are interesting, to say the least. Really the one off model of all the GS's. But honestly, I didn't find them to be problematic. Certainly easier to balance, due to the one adjustment. With help from an expert, I was able to tune mine to the Kerker pipe that I had on it, and I was really happy with that little motor. But then I discovered second gear had problems, so I had to swap it out for a 700 engine that showed up on craigslist. :-D
 
I'm fortunate that the engine seems pretty well intact. The bike just had issues from being neglected for 6 or 7 years. The gas tank was a mess, the carbs were very dirty, lots of water in the pipes and just needing a general cleanup. The seat is in bad shape but I got a better one from the forum. The grips are trashed, but I wanted to remove them to slip some grip warmers on underneath. i also love the fact that I found a fully faired version of the bike. It's going to be fun once it is 100% up and running. I spoke to a shop about the fork seals and tires today!
 
What a successful night. So, I figured out the vacuum issue. First I tested the petcock function. I put the petcock into the on function and sucked on the vacuum hose. Gas flowed. Then I went to identify the issue with the vacuum from the carbs. Damn the California specific bikes. There are so many nipples and attachments on it that I got confused. I had lines connected to several of them and felt around until I felt that little pulsing vacuum. Found it! Not the one I had connected. So, now that has been changed. So, i think I now have smooth fuel delivery and a happy engine. Life is good! So, now on to the other issues.
I removed the rear wheel with the bike on the center stand. Then using tie downs and some heavy weights I got the front wheel off the ground. I propped up the bike and then removed the front wheel and fork tubes. I will drop all of that off with a mechanic this weekend. Then the bike, on a whole, will be in good shape. I want to get some new front brake pads. They got hit with fork oil and are no longer safe. Then, the laundry list of ofther parts I need....
1. mirrors
2. turn signals
3. air filter
I'm waiting for the new seat to arrive.
Then to figure out how to get the fairings back on. So, update in a few days.....
 
I've got a K&N Air Filter for that bike. Let me know if you want it.

Glad to hear things are working out for you. And I agree, the faired version is way cool.
 
I have been collecting the final pieces needed to get the bike up and running. On Friday I bought turn signal, mirrors and grips. I put the heated grips on, then put the grips on over them. Mirrors mounted up perfectly. The turn signals are presenting a small issue i need to look into. I'm using a pair of minis and a set of larger turn signals from my wife's SV650. When I hook up the minis to one side, things seem to work perfectly. When I hook 1 mini and one SV turn signal, it will blink a couple times, then stop blinking. I may just get a second set of minis if the problem persists.
So, then it became time to get tires and work on the front fork. I put some inexpensive tires on the bike as this will be my commuting bike, not my twisty fun bike. I have a Daytona 675 for the fun rides. They took one look at my fork and said, yup, they could do it but it would leak quickly due to pits in the pipes. Damn! So, i made a visit to a SF bike scrap yard. They actually had 2 GS550ES's! I was shocked! One bike was in disasterous condition. Probably good for a few elctrical components, but nothing metal was intact. The second was in similar condition, except for the front fork. So, I asked them to remove it. Two mechanics who specialize in ripping bikes apart battled for 2 hours to get the forks off! They had to cut one of the bolts holding the calipers on. Fortunately the threading goes through the caliper, not the fork. Then they tried to pull the forks out. The clip ons had attached themselves firmly to the tubes. After a ton of work, they managed to separate them.
So, now a shop has both sets of forks. The interesting thing we noted was the difference in the anti-dive mechanisms on the two sets of forks. One set is from 83, the other 85. The bodies are the same, just a different attachment at the bottom of the fork. The seals are actually intact and the mechanic was commenting that he might not touch them. He's going to take a look at the whole system with an eye to conserving money. He might try to put the antidive from the 85 on the 83 fork. but the 83 fork is otherwise intact. The oil is definitely getting changed.
So, I might have fork pieces available if people need them. The one set of fork tubes is show, but the rest of the components are fine.
So, new brake pads need to be put in. I also need to reassemble the bike once I have the new forks. Then we shall see what happens! Very close!
 
More progress made. The forks look wonderful. The mechanics chose to use the fork tubes I found in the junk yard in combination with the fork off the bike. The forks are definitely the prettiest part of the bike right now. I put the forks back on, put the brake calipers on with the new brake pads and the wheel on with the new tire. I also put the rear wheel back on, adjusted chain tension. All in all it looks great. Tonight I am going to wire in the heated hand grips, put the tank on and probably the front and rear cowls. I have to remember how the whole thing goes back together! I need to find one more set of turn signals, it seems. They were acting weirdly this weekend. If I have a turn signal on it from an SV650, the turn signals blink once or twice, then stop blinking. If I have some minis I bought as the turn signals, they work well. Dunno....
I'll probably take the bike out again as soon as I have things bolted down again. I'm curious to see how it runs now. The suspension and brakes have been redone completely and I have a different seat. Should be more comfy. I think this bike will be done soon! I still need to work on getitng a new title issued and getting it registered and insured....
 
PICS MAN!!! Glad to hear you are making progress...I on the other hand am stumped...my rear brake is giving me fits...I think i MAY have located the source, but i am now going to have to wait for parts. Cant wait to see some of your shots man, sounds like it's going well! I would suggest maybe picking up another set of those signals (the mini's) and see if the bike likes them better. It may not like the odd pairing of the two sets.
 
Yeah actually...
http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=117875

I am thinking now that my seals could be crap, so im going to order another set. I was thinking the hoses could be bad too, but my fluid is running clear, and i would suspect were they bad that i would be seeing gunk in there. It seems to be really, the inside caliper, on the rear, wont come back after you hit the brakes a few times....it sits on the rotor and it stays stuck. I've replaced the caliper the bike came with, as it looked pretty rough and the bike was having this trouble to begin with when i bought it, tho the PO said the MC needed rebuilt, which i did, but it didnt solve the problem. So now i turn to a new seal set, and i'll probably replace the brake lines with SS anyway. But other than that im kinda stuck. I dunno what else the problem could be...the rotor doesnt at all look warped, and at no point did i ever feel the pulsing in the brake pedal so commonly associated with a warped rotor. Any ideas??
 
Well, I fell bad putting up naked photos of the girl, but here she is :) I had fairings and a gas tank on it last night but didn't take photos. It was then when I ran into my latest problem....
http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?p=738069&posted=1#post738069

The bike:

DSCF0876.jpg



The rest of the parts:

DSCF0878.jpg


And the front view:

DSCF0880.jpg
 
Well, progress has been made today. I have discovered the clutch issue. It ended up being two problems. First, the clutch plates seemed like they were bound. This problem went away when I got the bike started. The electrical problem was a bit simpler. After taking both the left and right control units apart to make sure everything was working, analyzing with voltmeter, etc... I started to follow the wires and, low and behold, one of the damn wires was unplugged! So, that fixed all the problems... We all need a reminder that we can be morons every once and a while.... Once I ran it a bit, the clutch plates released. Happier bike!
So, I put the front cowl back on, the gas tank back on. Then I took it for a bit of a ride. It is still a little off, still halting a little. I also had to adjust the idle screw a bit. I am going to run a bottle of carb cleaner through it once it is street legal.
I am going to hose the bike down tomorrow. It has a lot of dust and dirt on it from sitting for, I don't know, YEARS. I need to replace a few bolts that I have misplaced, or weren't there to begin with. I also discovered that the brackets for the turn signals are not compatible with the modern turn signals. Somewhere in the past twenty years they made the bolt attachments to the bike thicker! So, I will build an adapter to allow me to mount the modern signals to the bike. After the wash I will also attach the full fairings. I also still have to inflate the front suspension.
Then comes the final part of getting it back on the road. There is no title or registration for the bike and it does not exist in the DMV records. The PO, who was not the registered owner and doesn't have a title, wrote up a statement of facts and bill of sale for me. I need to get the engine number and VIN confirmed by the police. I may be able to get this bike on the road this week!
 
Jbeaber said:
I also discovered that the brackets for the turn signals are not compatible with the modern turn signals. Somewhere in the past twenty years they made the bolt attachments to the bike thicker!
Click to expand...
You can still buy original turn signals from your local dealer or online. They are not expensive but not cheap. Nice looking bike.
 
I'll just get small adapters for the ones I have. I am not wild about the appearance of the originals. I already have one set and will grab a second set for less than $10...
 
Almost done! I put the bike back together over the past few days. I am replacing a few screws that are just old and nasty, but the bike is largely assembled. I put a new air filter in (thanks LeeGS550E). It still doesn't have turn signals but I will be making the holes in the turn signal brackets larger over the holidays. This morning I went to DMV to try to register the bike. I had a bill of sale, statement of facts and a registration from 2000. They checked out both the engine number and VIN. Then they granted me a temporary registration (which slightly surprised me since i haven't insured it). I need to take the bike to the state police for number verification and to ensure it wasn't stolen. So, over the holidays I will get the bike insured and signaled. Then Jan 2 i meet with the police, then go to DMV to get a new license plate and the final registration! The bike rode very well today. I gave it a few minutes to warm up and it just ran smoothly the whole time. It is so quiet when idling. It freaks me out a bit, I don't notice it is still running. It's going to be a lot of fun to get the bike out and run it. It was still smoking a little. i think it will take some time to fully burn off all the crap that accumulated in the tail pipes from it sitting outside for years.
 
Sounds like congrats will be in order soon. Keep it up and soon you'll be enjoying a vintage ride!
 
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