GS550L to Cafe Build

[D-Mac]

Great pics. Nice comparison of the 550 and 650.

Some of these bikes come apart easily and others are terrible. In my experience (three 550s only), you can't tell how it's gonna go just based on the condition of the outside. I've seen cases/covers held on with glue, gobs of RTV sealant, JB weld, grease, and paint.

 

[Toasty]

Haha yea, I've seen build threads where the engine was held together by rtv and I'm glad I didn't have to deal with that.


Today I wanted to try Plastidip on my wheels. I want to replace them with E wheels or spokes someday so I didn't want to go through the whole paint and prep process on these. It looks okay in pictures but they were all blotchy and discolored. I just hit it with some sandpaper and degreased.

It came out pretty good, it does a good job of smoothing itself off and has a semi gloss finish.

I borrowed a caliper from a friend to check the shift forks . They are wayyyy under spec. It was only a little difficult to shift into first sometimes and second to third if I didn't do it really smooth. I didn't think it would be that bad though, so now I have to look on eBay for good used ones. I think I found a good set but I have to look around a bit.

The minimum spec is like 5.30mm... Luckily the gear dogs (I think is the right word) are in perfect shape and so is the shift drum.


Btw, I plastic dipped the fork legs and it came out pretty good. If I don't like it I can just peel it off but again In don't wanna paint them because I'd like to get e forks.

 

[Toasty]

Btw has anyone here used the EBC heavy duty clutch kit? I need new plates, they're within spec but super hard and while they didn't slip before with the extra power they probably will. Its almost a $100 for new OEM and half that for the ebc kit.

In have some of the heavy duty springs already that I can install btw, but it was so odd when I checked the stock ones. Half of them were above minimum spec but half were way under... Strange...

 

[Toasty]

Crap. I bought a NOS gasket set (not 100% complete but has the head gasket) off eBay late last night thinking it would be cheaper then getting a new one, but I forgot it was the old kind that uses the small rubber o-rings that fit around the 4 outer studs. Looking at the pic again theyre not in the gasket but may still be in the bag... Do I absolutely need to use them? The new ones don't use any o-rings, the holes are smaller though...

 

[D-Mac]

Does the service manual specify using calipers for measuring those forks? You should probably use a micrometer to measure them before you go and get new ones (although 0.08" is quite a bit off).

Dial calipers aren't really good for most precision measurements .

 

[Toasty]

In the manual it says to check with either calipers or a dial gauge to check the thickness. Even at the thickest points it's under the minimum spec, it's one more thing I didn't plan on replacing lol. I found a set from another 81 gs 550 that had 8,000 miles of ebay for $20 so at least it won't hurt my wallet too much.

 

[Toasty]

I got the block clearanced, it didn't take as much work as I thought. The main places it needed to be dremeled down were around the edges and a few inches inside the block.

Other then that I just finished some cleaning

And the other day I reworked the seat mounts to use hitch pins. I need longer ones and longer rubber pads though.

 

[Toasty]

I posted in general but I got my parts in and my head gasket arrived bent and unusable

At least I have more time to paint.

 

[Toasty]

My spokes came in today! I got them mounted up on the bike, but the speedo drive I have doesn't fit... I'll have to figure that out.

The date code says they were made in late July 2009, so they'll be fine for a while. Dunlop 404s aren't that great so I'll replace them with some Avons or 203s before riding too much.

 

[tkent02]

There are at least two sizes of speedo drives, the Ladies models and a few others used the small ones, most used the bigger ones.

Which do you need? I may have one.

 

[Toasty]

I'm pretty sure its the small one, the little teeth sit on top of the bearing near the axle.

 

[Toasty]

Spokes are sexy!

Old vs new

 

[tkent02]

I like it!

Hey did you get my PM about the speedo drives?

 

[Toasty]

Today I got a giant box in the mail

What's this?

Yes!

Making a mount is going to be interesting... I don't have a welder but I have seen a few setups online.

 

[Buddy]

My spokes came in today! I got them mounted up on the bike, but the speedo drive I have doesn't fit... I'll have to figure that out.

The date code says they were made in late July 2009, so they'll be fine for a while. Dunlop 404s aren't that great so I'll replace them with some Avons or 203s before riding too much.

Check the other side of the wheel for the speedo drive notches. It may be mounted up backwards. I know the mag wheels can be flipped. There may be a plastic cover over the rotor bolt holes.

Buddy

 

[mash35231]

Gas tank

Gas tank

Any special fab work to get the 650E gas tank to fit on the 550 frame?

 

[gs750caferacer]

Well i have a 550 tank sitting on my 650 that came with it, its not a natural fit and will need for sure need new mounts. the bottom mounts are different on ine but the top fits fine. not a major just some tinkering thats all..

 

[Toasty]

The 81-82's had the front mounts with the pucks and two flat tabs at the end of the tank that bolt to the frame. My frame is a 81 550L and the tank is an 82 650E, so the 650 tank has the same mounting setup as the one on the bike. The only difference is the front mounts (the studs on the frame) are about 3 inches behind where they need to be. Luckily though, the frame has holes drilled already exactly where they need to be for an E tank. You just need to come up with mounting studs. IIRC, the older GS's had a single mount for the rear of the tank though.




Today I wanted to get some work done on the bike. It's been so cold lately that I haven't felt like working on it, but today it was finally nice and warm.

I got one half of the case painted silver (VHT engine aluminum), it came out really nice actually. The metallic in the paint smoothes out very well and it's already hardened.

The bottom half of the case got primered, along with the valve cover and breather.

 

[Bonehead]

Hey toast what did you use for the prime?

 

[Toasty]

It seems to be good stuff.