85 550EF motor into an 82 Katana

[dark7068]

will the 550 and trans from my 85 EF bolt into place in my 82? Better chance of getting the Katana going this yr if I swap motors then rebuild the clusterf^)k motor the previous owner left.

[dark7068]

still curious if it will swap

[koolaid_kid]

With all due respect, I don't think there are many 550 Katanas here.
I suggest you just start measuring. Perhaps if you could report the Katana parameters some 550 owners might be able to answer "Yes, that sounds like mine".

[dark7068]

I will take the plunge this week and pull the motor out of the Katana and put on the bench and see how much work is needed to finish the 650 topend swap he started after I find all relevant parts in the pile of boxes I got.

and measure up if the 85 motor will work. I will keep curious minds informed.

thanx

[BigD_83]

My gut tells me it will not be a direct swap...but I cannot tell you with any certainty.

I'd start by measuring up the frame motor mounts on the bikes you have there.

[dark7068]

amazing just a few yrs difference and they change that much? I will measure this week, thanx

[koolaid_kid]

I just checked the Suzuki pages, they are two completely different motors. Your 82 is an 8 valve, the 85 is a 16 valve. So the probability of them fitting the same approaches 0 (zero).

[dark7068]

didn't want to hear that, lol but thanx for saving me some time pullin the 85 motor to find out it didn't fit.

plan A is finish the 650 top end swap on the Katana motor.

thanx for your time.

[BigD_83]

I believe the later engine is narrower, so you might be able to swap it and get everything aligned, but it's not likely going to be plug and play. I was just out testing a 550ESD yesterday. The frame is square tube instead of round stock, and a quick comparison to my 650 frame leads me to think the engine mount geometry is different.

You'll never know unless you measure it up, though. Just start off by getting the distance measurements, bolt to bolt lengths/angles. I think you'll quickly be able to determine if there is a chance, without having to pull the engine

[koolaid_kid]

If it is narrower, I would be concerned about sprocket alignment.

[dark7068]

well, it does fit sorta lol... rear lower mount bolts in, side lower mounts will work, need to make the front mount pads abit longer reach but nothing abit of metal work wont fix.. even the header off the 85 fits without having to dent a tube. oil cooler will even fit in the proper place cuz of the steering damper thing I have, which will bolt in place of that.. Chain alignment is dead on, looks like a for sure fit for my bike. I will make up the mounts this week and see if I can get it started

[JEEPRUSTY]

Man that motor looks so small in there
the fit into the original frame is so tight you have to take the Crank vent cover off in order to pull the valve cover.

Kudos on the determination.

[dark7068]

heres some better pictures of the bike that I took this morning. I had to make a new mount bracket for the top rear mount and everything else fit perfectly.. Even the oil cooler fit with a couple different holes in the mount bracket. I am using the 4-1 header off the 85 as well and it fits perfectly. I just need to do some wiring splicing and can hopefully start it tomorrow.
on with some pictures

[Sci85]

Great work dark7068. Can you take a few closer up pics of how you mounted the oil cooler? I'm planning on putting a GSX 600 motor in my katana that I recently acquired and will need to mount the oil cooler.

Thanks,
sci85

[dark7068]

my bike has the steering damper thingy on it, and there was 2 holes already tapped in my frame, so I just bolted the oil cooler up, found out where to mount the coller bracket and just drilled new holes in the bracket that matched the frame holes.