81 GS550 T Cylinder Head Conversion

[gs1150streetracer]

Hello GSR
I was wondering what head I can place back on my 1981 Gs550t,I have the head off for now and was looking to use a 1977 Gs550 head since it has Vm type carbs not the hard to tune CV,Will this or any other head work on the 550T?Any input would be great.

[cowboyup3371]

Are you wanting to go bigger or what? Why not put the stock one back on?

[Nessism]

Hello GSR
I was wondering what head I can place back on my 1981 Gs550t,I have the head off for now and was looking to use a 1977 Gs550 head since it has Vm type carbs not the hard to tune CV,Will this or any other head work on the 550T?Any input would be great.

It's hard to read your post because of no spaces after punctuation marks. Regarding the question: yes, you can use a VM carb head if that's what you want.

[Suzuki_Don]

Are you wanting to go bigger or what? Why not put the stock one back on?

HE doesn't like or know how to tune CV carbs. I know which I would prefer after having ridden bikes with both types of carbs. Would I rather tune two mixture screws or one, let me think a minute, umm, oh yeah, one mixture screw would be easier. That's it from me.

[koolaid_kid]

HE doesn't like or know how to tune CV carbs. I know which I would prefer after having ridden bikes with both types of carbs. Would I rather tune two mixture screws or one, let me think a minute, umm, oh yeah, one mixture screw would be easier. That's it from me.

I know which I would prefer. When I owned my 78 750E, the only thing I hated on the bike was the carbs. I could not just yank the throttle open and haul azz, it would bog at first and then take off. After owning 2 strokes that would just aim for the sky when I did that, it was a major disappointment. My CV-equipped 4 strokes have never bogged down, they just take off. And the 78 was new and bone stock, so it was not a mod-related issue.

[gs1150streetracer]

Thanks all for fast reply, I have had both sets of carbs on many bikes, I just think that the VM style carbs seems easier to work on less parts, never rebuilt or really got into fine tuning a set of CV style carbs, Ill have to go to Basscliffs site n get that Awesome guide.

Now for the bike 1981 GS 550T with 25,000, it was givin to me for FREE threw another GSR memeber on the for sale. When I showed to pick the bike up it was near cherry with oil leaks and no compression in #2 cylinder, I tore it apart checked rings OK, so figured it was the valve adjustment since it had weird sized shims on #2.

Went to Z1 and bought the K&L shim kit,$40 Frech ebay gasket kit, Valve seals, cleaned valves and adjusted all 8 to .004, put the head back together and had a freind who kinda knows what he is doing helping me and I got into something else for a min and he put the exhaust cam with the arrow 1 up not the #2 and bent every valve in the head after HE!!bumped the starterahhhh Make a long story short he is paying for the head or valves. The guides seem fine, Lucky it all seems cheap, I found a 550 head but its a 79 and i know the boots are different, just a thought and im trying to come up with ideas for this clean old girl,thanks for the input.

[Nessism]

Seems like the easiest thing to do is replace the bent valves - there shouldn't be more than a couple of them. Posting an ad here in the Parts Wanted forum never hurts since lots of members are eager to help out in situations like this.

[koolaid_kid]

I just purchased a set of valves from Z1Enterprises for my GPz. Excellent prices, quick service, everything we always get from Z1.
They were not listed on the web site, but I called and the sales representative looked them up for me. Extremely helpful.

[gs1150streetracer]

I just purchased a set of valves from Z1Enterprises for my GPz. Excellent prices, quick service, everything we always get from Z1.
They were not listed on the web site, but I called and the sales representative looked them up for me. Extremely helpful.

Hmm how cheap was a whole set from z1?Bike bandit wants big bucks ...

[koolaid_kid]

It will vary widely. You must call them; do not depend on the web site. If price is an issue, tell them. They got me a set of aftermarket valves that were much cheaper than stock, they might be able to do the same for you.