New to the GS Family

[Guest]

Hey Everyone, Was sent here by the previous owner as a resource of good info. I'm a happy owner of what appears i've been told by many to be a 'rare bird' of bikes. 82 GS550M ! Got it with 26k on the clock and it seems to be all there. The owner had been putting in rotella oil as it doesn't have additives so its 'close' to actual motorcycle oil. During my test drive of it under a hard roll on in 4th gear just after 7500rpms the clutch seemed to slip, so not sure if its the oil or if i need to pop the side and check the plates? Its seems to be a nice bike and can bob and weave through traffic and turns, gets out of the way when i need it but its no speed demon like I'm used to, I came from the honda hurricane 600F1 and its not quite as quick as the CX500 i had last year. But i like it and it gets the nod as i cruise around. There is a bit of a tick / clack when its below 1,000 rpms.. which is only when its cold, i live in NH so thats right now. There's oil in the spy glass on the side but after reading the 'issues' link on the homepage i hope i didn't make a bad choice in getting this. I've got experience riding and mechanicaling around motorcycles so i hope to interact with you guys / gals and hope to keep this bike rolling and possibly help with yours!

[unclesol]

Welcome to the family! I'm up near Toronto, so I feel your pain re: cold ;-)
The bike looks great, and it is definitely a unique piece!
Only real way to check on your clutch concerns is to open it up, but that is a pretty straightforward affair.
Good luck, and enjoy the ride!

[dorkburger]

Welcome. Your bike looks nice. Enjoy it. We have a member here currently doing an extensive resto on that same bike.

[Redman]

Welcome to GSR.

THe service manual has service specs for the clutch plates in terms of mm of thickness. My experience is that the the fibre plates can be in spec, but can be so hard that they slip.

THe springs have a service spec in terms of free length. But my experience is that, ah, replace them, they are probably 30 years old. Replace all with stock. Just about everybody that uses heavy duty clutch springs regrets it, well, unless they are dragg racing.


.

Replace the fibre plates and the springs and it will be so much different that have to relearn how to operate it. And you will then relize that it was slipping much more than you thought.

[tkent02]

Most of us use Rotella, it is as good as motorcycle oil, has the JASO certificate on the label. If your clutch is slipping it's probably the springs, they have been compressed in there for 34 years, they are certainly shorter than they used to be. Could be plates but that's unlikely unless it's a high miler (100,000+) that's been abused. With only 26,000 it would take a lot of abuse to get it to that point. Very nice looking 550 too!

Actually there are two clutch adjustments, the cable and the lower one on the helix. If the lower one is too tight it will slip, just like it would if the cable were too tight.

And a GS 550 should be easily faster than a CX500, but you do have to wind it out to get anything. The real power starts at about 8,500 RPM and lasts as long as you care to wind it out.

[Runeight]

Welcome!

Very nice GS.

[azr]

Welcome aboard there, I'm not sure I've heard of your model too often, I'd be curious how rare it is, real nice shape.

[smilinbrad]

Change the oil, adjust the clutch properly then decide. If it's dead it's from age.
I have both a GL500 and a GS550E. The Honda pulls ahead a little with every shift. Just more torque I would guess.

[braxsus]

moved this post to general forum as i saw a yellow bar about just saying hi here.....