1983 gs550l cylinder order

[wloren3]

i recently bought this bike from a (mechanic)????? i was told it had sat for a few years but he had the carbs redone, new battery, fresh plugs, new tach cable tank cleaned new petcock and a few othe r things. now i rode about 20 miles and burned through a tank of gas, also as i was riding it started stalling bad, also very hard to start, and on one ride the speedo cable fell off so i parked it, furious thinking of the money i wasted. now i am in a mood to get it running i replaced the plugs today, wires look like crap have new ngk's on order. the cables are marked, but i know from past history of cars if the cables are not on the correct cylinder the motor runs like crap. does anyone know the correct cylinder order on this motor????

[Jaguarjoe]

Cylinders one and three get one coil (left side, I believe), two and four get the other coil (right side, I believe). Cylinder one is on the left side as you sit on the bike.

[Steve]

Sorry, Joe, that is not quite right. :shock:

Cylinders ONE and FOUR are powered by one coil,
Cylinders TWO and THREE are powered by the other coil.

On my wife's 850, I believe the left coil powers 2&3, while the right coil powers 1&4.

For this purpose (and this purpose only), it does not matter whether you count from the left or the right, as the pairs powered by either coil are the inner cylinders or the outer cylinders, but the correct order of the cylinders starts with #1 under your clutch hand, with #4 under your throttle hand.

.

[wloren3]

thanks for the help.

as i understand what you guys are saying the cylinders are 1234 from left to right as you sit on the bike. coils and wires are sealed so that end is not an issue.

[wloren3]

guys again thanks for the help.

first and last suzuki i will ever own. hard to find parts has never run properly , wont start, crap bike start to finish. guess i'll go back to honda. and send this one to the salvage yard.

[Griffin]

Yeah, whoever heard of a twenty-five year old bike that didn't fire right up every time you pushed the button, even if the guy trying to ride it doesn't know enough about it maintenance-wise to be sure he has the spark plugs wired correctly.

You're right, those Suzukis are pieces of $hit. Where are you at? I'm sure someone onthis site who lives near you would be willing to take it off your hands.

[wloren3]

true but as i said before i recently bought this bike. supposedly it was gone through and everything fixed, yeah right. $800 down the drain. considering i have about 30 miles on the bike.(it did run when i got it, not well but it ran) and have gone through 2 taks of gas. manuals are seeemingly non existant, parts cant be gotten, dealer wont even look at it. what the hell is the point in sinking several hundred dollars into a crappy bike that isnt worth even what i paid for it. by the way answer to your question is i am in west palm beach florida. anyone wants this peice of crap let me know.

[Griffin]

true but as i said before i recently bought this bike. supposedly it was gone through and everything fixed, yeah right. $800 down the drain. considering i have about 30 miles on the bike.(it did run when i got it, not well but it ran) and have gone through 2 taks of gas.

So...The previous owner either lied to you, or didn't know what he was doing, and it's the bike's fault. It sounds like it didn't run well when you got it, but you rode it anyway, evidently expecting it to fix itself.

manuals are seeemingly non existant,

There are half a dozen or so listed on ebay right now. Here's one.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/CLYMER-MOTORCYCLE-MANUAL-SUZUKI-GS550-1977-1986_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1638Q2em118Q2el1247QQcategoryZ35580QQihZ022QQitemZ350055700566QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWD1V

parts cant be gotten,

www.bikebandit.com
www.babbittsonline.com
www.alpha-sports.com

dealer wont even look at it.

I haven't found a dealer of any Japanese brand that will work on bikes more than fifteen years old, some put the limit at ten years.

what the hell is the point in sinking several hundred dollars into a crappy bike that isnt worth even what i paid for it. by the way answer to your question is i am in west palm beach florida. anyone wants this peice of crap let me know.

I had a friend say the same thing to me about a 1981 GS750 that had been sitting in his garage for eight or nine years. He gave it to me to get rid of it, and after spending $250 and a weekend of time on it, the next week I rode it back to his house and asked him if he'd like to buy it back for my cost in parts, because I felt guilty. He declined, but was happy to see it running again. I still have it, and wouldn't hesitate to ride it across the country if I needed to.

Not trying to be a prick or anything, but if you want something to ride and don't want to work on it yourself, you'll have to get a motorcycle that was made in this century. It'll cost you considerably more than $800 and some time.

[Suzuki_Don]

Sounds to me like your the one at fault. The bike was running badly when you looked at it. Then why did you buy it. And why did you believe all the crap the seller told you. He was obviously lying to you. maybe you need to learn a bit about human nature. I'm sure there is a course you could do. Didn't you check the bike at all before you laid your cash down.

[Fishman]

You sound frustrated. Take a deep breath, and relax. Then read through some of the success stories on this website. Then decide whether you want to work on the bike or not.

I spent $400 on a gs550 that was in way worse shape than yours. I expect to have about $1400 in it when I'm done, which is probably more than it's worth, not even counting my time. But I am enjoying the experience.

I did, however, buy a different bike to have something to ride while I was working on my 550.

Again, you are frustrated. That is normal. How you deal with it sets you apart from others and will determine your success, or lack of it, in life.

[wloren3]

Sounds to me like your the one at fault. The bike was running badly when you looked at it. Then why did you buy it. And why did you believe all the crap the seller told you. He was obviously lying to you. maybe you need to learn a bit about human nature. I'm sure there is a course you could do. Didn't you check the bike at all before you laid your cash down.

ok as i checked out the bike the first time it was still being put together, tank in rough shape inside. sent it to be boiled cleaned and coated saw it when it got back before it went on the bike. saw new tach cable and battery come out of boxes and go in bike.saw new grips put on bikehe said carbs rebuilt that week bike went together ran and sounded ok. i am not a complete idiot that just beleives what people tell me. but i saw most work done. also i am not some moron that doesn't realize that a 25 yeare old bike for 800 is not going to be completely problem free.

as i was riding it home i noticed it not running like i would expect. figured first thing maybe float stuck in carb, recent rebuild. possible. also any used bike i get first thing is a tune up which i expected. didnt expect whole flipping charging system to be crap.
after taking a few minutes tonight to calm down after spending all day trying to get this peice of crap started and researching problems. i went out and checked things again. here is what i found,
1 spark wires crappy, 2 when trying to crank one coil gets extremely hot other is cool no problem since to change wires you have to change coils. 3 regulator/ rectifier shot, 4 speedometer broken, 5 speedo cable shot,
cost for parts, $400.00 plus time to put them all on. and also still have to find solution to speedometer. part not carried at any sites ive found so far. and still not sure there isnt a problem with the carbs.

as for the comment posted earlier not knowing maintenence, this is my fourth bike, my first suzuki so yes i am somewhat unfamiliar with the suzuki line but i do know basic bike maint. will be the first to admit i am not a motorcycle mechanic nor do i want to be. i have enough stuff going on in my life that i don't need to have a bike that i am constantly going to have to repair the damn thing. so if i fix it i figure i will have 1200 -1400 dollars (not to mention alot of time) invested in a bike that is worth about 600 in mint condition. almost worth taking a loss not to have to sink good money after bad.

[psyguy]

first and last suzuki i will ever own. hard to find parts has never run properly , wont start, crap bike start to finish. guess i'll go back to honda. and send this one to the salvage yard.

mate, what an inteligent way to get the crowds' attention here!
now roll up your sleeves, ask here how to go about things and eventually you'll be very pleased wih yourself and your bike
you may even want to buy another crap suzuki and get it running, just for the thrill of it
it's happened to people before :-D