Are 550s supposed to be quick little bikes?

[1977GS550]

I own a 1977 GS550 and this is my first bike. The past 2 seasons I have really just been learning to ride, so I haven't really noticed the lack of power until now. When taking off from a stop (say, turning onto a busy street), I really think that the bike should be able to accelerate faster than it does. My brother has been riding for a long time, and he says that he's ridden other 4 cylinder 550s before, and thinks it should have much more power. Is there anybody out there that owns this bike or a similar one who could tell me what they think? Are these bikes known to be small but have a lot of power? I'm going to bring it to a shop soon to have them take a look, but just wondered what you guys/gals think. Thanks for your time!

[BassCliff]

Greetings and Salutations!!

Hi Mr. 1977GS550,

Have the sprockets been changed from stock? The 550s like to spin up. They'll really have some zip once you get them above 6000 rpm. That's where they like to have fun. You must consider that, even with it properly maintained and tuned, that it is 30 year old technology and so therefore will not have the same characteristics as modern 550cc bikes.

Make sure the carbs are properly cleaned and tuned, the valves are properly adjusted, the electrical and charging systems are in good shape, the air intake system has no leaks, etc. You'll have a bike that won't shame you. It's all in your "mega-welcome".

Anyway, let me dump a TON of information on you and share some GS lovin'.

I just stopped by to welcome you to the forum in my own, special way.

If there's anything you'd like to know about the Suzuki GS model bikes, and most others actually, you've come to the right place. There's a lot of knowledge and experience here in the community. Come on in and let me say "HOoooowwwDY!"....

Here is your very own magical, mystical, mythical, mind-expanding "mega-welcome". Please take notice of the "Top 10 Common Issues", "Top 15 Tips For GS Happiness", the Carb Cleanup Series, and the Stator Papers. All of these tasks must be addressed in order to have a safe, reliable machine. This is what NOT to do: Top 10 Newbie Mistakes. Now let me roll out the welcome mat for you...



Please click here for your mega-welcome, chock full of tips, suggestions, links to vendors, and other information. Then feel free to visit my little BikeCliff website where I've been collecting the wisdom of this generous community. Don't forget, we like pictures! Not you, your bike!

Thanks for joining us. Keep us informed. I will put you on my prayer list.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[cowboyup3371]

Yes, these little bikes will get up and move BUT you must have all the standard maintenance done. Clean and synch the carbs, adjust the valves, and do all the regular maintenance Basscliff mentions in his post above. I've had mine almost redlining in first gear and doing 80 in 3rd. I regularly run 70-75 on the 2-lane highway from the house into work.

[Krunk_Kracker]

I've seen them pull the front wheel, so it's got some bit of umph.

[Flyboy]

Welcome to the nut house, like Basscliff said, these little motors like to spin fast, once you get the rpm up, things happen. yes, don't try and compare the performance to the modern pocket rockets. I see you have already recieved Basscliff's mega welcome, in there you will find all the GS know how, you will ever need to keep your bike running in tip top shape, download the manual and make sure to go through all the essential maintenence items and just post here if you have any questions, you don't need any shop taking your money off you, most everything can be done yourself, and yes, check to make sure the sprockets have not been changed to a non standard size. And we like pics, lots of pics.

[Allie]

Having owned a 550 I can say that especially from a stop and around town the 550 should be able to scoot you around with a lot more alacrity than most cars, even if it is 30+ years old. However if maintenance is deferred long enough if will absolutely KILL performance. Valves, carbs, as well as intake sealing are all critical items that are commonly to blame for sleepy performance and hard starting.

[Baatfam]

I'm going to bring it to a shop soon to have them take a look...

Do NOT do this...

Really...they won't know what they are doing, they will probably mess it up and they will charge you far more than you can imagine...

Your mind, you hands, a few tools and this forum is all you need...(and maybe some parts)

[Krunk_Kracker]

I, out of curiosity once, asked the local shop in my area who has a good reputation what the cost would be to work on my bike.

Normally their price is $60 and hour, but they add $30 an hour for anything older than 15 years and quoted me 6 to 8 hours to take off my carbs, clean them, replace the o-rings and sync them.

what?

[tkent02]

And mybe a little help from your friends, where are you located?a

[hampshirehog]

If that's your first bike you should scare yourself when you launch it at 10k rpm.

Like the team are saying - run it around 6k rpm plus (and ignore the red line) and it should be quicker than most cars at road legal speeds. If it's well maintained, revving the nuts off it won't hurt it one jot.

[hampshirehog]

I, out of curiosity once, asked the local shop in my area who has a good reputation what the cost would be to work on my bike.

Normally their price is $60 and hour, but they add $30 an hour for anything older than 15 years and quoted me 6 to 8 hours to take off my carbs, clean them, replace the o-rings and sync them.

what?

If they do the job properly 6 hours ain't a bad quote. If they know their onions they know about everything that gets jammed up etc. And if they bust anything (which is very easy) or find something busted (very common) they're in trouble getting the right parts. That's why they want the premium.

[Krunk_Kracker]

If they do the job properly 6 hours ain't a bad quote. If they know their onions they know about everything that gets jammed up etc. And if they bust anything (which is very easy) or find something busted (very common) they're in trouble getting the right parts. That's why they want the premium.

Be that as it may, that's still way to rich for my blood.

[tkent02]

Remember, their real mission in life is too sell new motorcycles, not prolong the usefulness of old ones.

[Big T]

So, the question is

If you take it to a shop, do they actually know how to work on it?

Is the mechanic at least 50 years old?

Otherwise, you're throwing money away

And yes, the 550 is quick, almost as quick as my GPz

[1977GS550]

Hello Everyone,
MAN, thanks for such a friendly welcome! Well, I took the bike to a reliable guy who basically told me that the bike pretty much runs how it should. He did rattle off a few things that he said could stand to be done (valves adjusted, etc), but overall I think the bike is in pretty good shape. I know it's a 34 year old bike and I wasn't comparing it to newer 550s. The bikes my brother was comparing it to were all older as well. This being my first bike, I really don't think I'll be tackling any of the "do it yourself" projects just yet, but who knows. I plan on keeping this bike for a while so we'll see. I'm trying to upload pictures but my computer isn't cooperating right now.