Gearbox bearings — Suzuki only?

[Chancho196]

G'day folks, at some stage I want to rebuild my GS550 engine due to worn cam journals (needs another head), and general wear and tear. Hopefully the crank bearings are still fine (no noises), but I do want to replace the gearbox bearings. Are these Suzuki only parts, or does somebody supply rebuild kits including bearings, piston rings etc.? Just interested before I pull it to pieces. If not, who does piston ring sets etc.?

I'm in Australia, so if anybody has a good cylinder head for a 1980 GS550E, please let me know.

[Nessism]

There are no "kits" like you speak of and yes, the bearings are unique from the standpoint of grooves and such on the OD.

Suzuki sells rings. There may be other companies as well but Suzuki is best.

[Chancho196]

Thanks, thought that might be the case.

[John Park]

Why do you want to replace the gearbox bearings? I'm not aware of any tendency to failure. Shifting problems are usually clutch, lube, or selector related.

[Chancho196]

If I'm in there, I'll look at changing them. Always have when the box is apart, it's amazing how smooth an engine is once once they've been replaced.

I know one of them is only available as part of the shaft, same part as in the GS450 as it happens. Might have to be a NOS if it needs replacing (they do come up on ebay occasionally).