Tuning my 81 gs550l

[kingpin1958]

Ok after reading till my head is spinning all the great information on this great site. I have purchased new plugs,plug caps,real gasket valve over gasket,shim tool,carb adapters to sync carbs. I have already cleaned and replaced intake and all carb oring thanks to Mr Barrs oring services also used the ss bolts on the intake flanges. I have no clearence on any exhaust valves and .003 on #1 intake .002 on #3 intake and again none on #2,4 intake. My question is should I just go 1 size under for all of them or what? Any advise is welcomed. I'm hoping my shim tool and the other parts arrive tomorrow(Monday) form z1 and real gaskets.

[mike_of_bbg]

Since you're using two zeros, as in .002 and .003, we are to assume you're measuring in inches, then? The two that measure there are OK, and I would not drop them. If the buckets can turn pretty well in checking position on the rest, it's pretty safe to assume you can drop by one size and be in spec.

Check all the sizes you have and see what you can swap around. It helps to have a metric micrometer or digital calipers around as invariably a couple of shims will have had their sizes worn off. You can e-mail Steve and ask him for his spreadsheet to help you keep track of what you need.

Hmmm. A real gasket on a 550? Watch your tach to make sure the driven gear meshes OK.

[kingpin1958]

Thanks Mike and yes i'm using the inch feelers. I never though about the valve cover gasket has that been a problem for others? I'm also replacing the plugs and plug caps. What can you tell me about replacing the plug wires? I will be bench syncing the carbs and vacuum syncing them as soon as I have it running. My floats are set about 19mm so I have to change them also to 22.4mm? Please feel free to correct me if you see anything wrong.

Thanks again
Greg

[mike_of_bbg]

The factory wires are copper-core, so the conductors themselves are usually trouble-free. The main issue would be the insulation cracking and arcing going on. When you replace the caps (just un-screw them from the wires), cut about 1/4" of wire off to expose fresh copper and you should be good. If you want to replace the stock wires, they're epoxied in to the coils and will take some careful work to remove. A forum search should find examples and maybe helpful pics from folks who have done it: but they weren't made to be replaced.

I've never tried real gaskets myself, but my understanding is that they're a bit thicker than OEM gaskets. If your tach cable enters the head, as on an 850, this is not a problem. If your tach cable enters the head cover, as on the 550, then the thicker gasket changes the clearance between the tach driven gear and the camshaft. That extra clearance has been reported to cause premature wear of the tach driven gear. YMMV. I've seen a few people say they've used RGs on 550s without issue.

[kingpin1958]

Thank you Mike for the information. I got all my parts in so I have checked all tappets now and need to get 1 2.60 and 1 2.70 and that should fix the clearance issues. Next I will be installing the valve cover gasket(real Gasket) I will let you know how it works out. After that I have to reset the floats they are only 19mm then on to the plug caps by the way my coils seem fine as do the wires so I'm leaving them alone. I guess I will have to purchase a vacuum gauge to sync the carbs.

[mike_of_bbg]

The Morgan Carbtune is highly recommended for vacuum sync:

https://www.carbtune.com

Presently running about $105 after exchange, with shipping and pouch. Though, I'm not crazy about the nylon adapters included: the brass ones from Z1 or also available on eBay are much nicer to work with IMHO.

There are only about a zillion GSR members in Indiana - seems like it shouldn't take too much to find someone with the tool who would be willing to help you out. But a sync should at least be an annual affair.

[kingpin1958]

Update on the progress

Thanks again Mike I found koolaid kid in Indy has one and yes he would help sync them when I'm ready. I waiting on two shims form Ray (thank you Ray)and I have to get the valve cover cleaned up and new gasket installed. I got the new plug caps and the perm. sync tubes Installed also

[kingpin1958]

Tuning my 81 gs550l

I did the plug caps tonight removed 1/4 or so and installed new caps not hard at all.

[kingpin1958]

tuning my gs550l

I also installed the perm sync tubes in the intake manifolds and have 4 new b8es plugs ready to go.

[cowboyup3371]

Kingpin, keep an eye on those covers as a few members have said they've lost theirs very easily. If that happens, I believe you'll start seeing hanging idle symptoms if I've read correctly.