1980 GS550E - Spark Plug Pic

[FlyingSteve]

Lastly, I suggest you learn to do your own work or you will go broke owning a 30 year old motorcycle.

So true...

I bench sync'd the carbs on my 550 and I have no issue with them (But at some point when I have the cash I will buy a sync tool and do a proper vacuum sync). However I did have the hanging idle issue like you are having before I installed my dynojet kit. The pod filters caused that issue... So maybe you have a lot of intake leaks?

As for your valve shims, if you know someone that has a surface grinder and knows what they are doing, then you can save yourself a lot of $$.

[Steve]

As for your valve shims, if you know someone that has a surface grinder and knows what they are doing, then you can save yourself a lot of $$.

Maybe, maybe not.

How much time and effort will go into grinding a shim down about .001"? That is half the increment of the normal shims.

Compare that time and effort with $5.28 for shims from Z1. Yeah, there is some shipping involved, but if you have other things to order, too, toss in a few shims to add to your collection, it won't change the shipping at all.

Now to the shims themselves:
Depending on the grinder, you may have to worry about heat distortion.
You certainly need to worry about keeping the sides parallel.
You also need to do your grinding on the side that has the number stamped on it, because that number will now be wrong.

If you have a Suzuki dealer near you, talk to the guys in the service department.
There are some places that will exchange shims with you. Sometimes for free, sometimes for a modest fee.

.

[FlyingSteve]

Hey Steve, do you have ANY idea what a surface grinder actually is? I'm betting not

And how the heck are you talking about "heat distortion" when you are taking off .001"?

Go google or youtube "Surface Grinder", Mmmk, thanks.

Biggest problem you may run in to is the magnetic table not being able to hold the shim down because they are so thin... However, that is easily fixed by using some flat washers set around the shim.