GS 550e,Should I Buy

[milkman]

Hi Everyone
I am new to your forum and would appriciate some advice.I have come across a 1984 GS550e,at what I think is good price (£500 which is about $900) it has 54000 miles on the clock and is in very good original condition apart from an aftermarket exhaust.It has a bit of a rattle from the top end which I recon is the camchain but I am not sure,and an oil leak from the cam cover,which looks fairly bad and a slight one from the cam chain tentioner.
Do you think I should go for it or does it sound as if it will cost a lot to put right and would be better off looking elswhere?

[robertbarr]

On a bigger bike like the 850 or 1100, those kind of miles aren't such a big deal, but on a 550 it's a lot. There's a whole laundry list of engine components that will be causing problems soon.

Keep in mind that it's winter (here and the UK) and it's buyer's market time. You have the rest of the winter to search for a bargain.

Just my opinion...

RB

[DimitriT]

The cam cover leak and tensioner leak are very easy to fix. The top end rattle is something else though. The 16v motors are supposed to run into cam shaft issues around 50k miles. A compression test would also be a must before purchasing. I would price in new cam shafts along with the rest of the standard wear items (tires, brakes, chain & sprockets) and possibly a new top end job.

[milkman]

Thanks for the replys,I guess I will just have to keep looking!

[brveagle]

That's alot of miles, but if it's been maintained, it'll still have many more miles to go...

Check compression and take a look at the sprockets/chain, see how much it's been abused..

I'd offer no more than $500.