The $150 GS550

[morpheus666]

yikes

If you have rebuilt bikes this bad before, (and want this bike) go for it.
Otherwise, part it out and make a few bucks on EBAY.
You can buy a really nice condition bike for way less than you are going to put into this one.

imho
~John

[Napoleon047]

Can someone tell me where hoses 1-3 hook up?

[Suzuki mad]

2 is the to the fuel tap.

1 and 3 are overflows.

Suzuki mad

[makenzie71]

vac hoses. They should merge and connect to the petcock...I think. That's how my 750 was set up..which apparently was wrong. Thanks above^!

[TheCafeKid]

2 is the to the fuel tap.

1 and 3 are overflows.

Suzuki mad

Really? Must be a 550 carb thing. On the bigger GSs with VM type carbs, you have the big line to the fuel rail, a vac line to number 3 carb, the rest are vents. Never played with a 550 tho, so i dunno for sure.

[Suzuki mad]

I hope I'm right

2 is the to the fuel tap.

1 and 3 are overflows.

Suzuki mad

Or my 1000 is wrong.....

Suzuki mad

[TheCafeKid]

Or my 1000 is wrong.....

Suzuki mad

I should clarify a bit too.... what I said is for bikes with VM carbs. The BS cv type had the vac line on TWO like you say. Let me edit that now lest anyone get confuzzled.

[Napoleon047]

1 is definitely a vacuum line, and 2 and 3 ill buy as overflows. But what do they hook to? The vac line has to hook to something, I know that much. I guess the overflows could just dangle there.

[Napoleon047]

Ok, I figured out that it attaches to the petcock. I got the cleaned and re-o-ringed carbs installed, one turn out on the fuel and two out on the air, new filter and airbox bolted up, cleaned and set the points, etc.

It cranks and has good spark, but it wont fire, where should I go from here?

Fuel is flowing and the bowls have gas.

[Zooks]

Rebuildable? Yes but if it were me, I'd call it a parts bike and go find another in better shape. There are tons of them and I bet if you advertise locally you can find a similar model just waiting in someones garage. Just my 2 cents.

Disagree (no offense). If the motor turns over and the frame is reasonable, the rest is easy. Every bike we strip for parts is one less in existance. I am of the opinion that every old bike (or car, tractor etc) that can be saved, should. They get junked all the time and get less every year anyway because of neglect, accident damage etc. We need to hang on to them if we can.

Just my 2 cents, we are all different

[Zooks]

I should clarify a bit too.... what I said is for bikes with VM carbs. The BS cv type had the vac line on TWO like you say. Let me edit that now lest anyone get confuzzled.

I was confuzzled to begin with.

[Dave8338]

try this

Ok, I figured out that it attaches to the petcock. I got the cleaned and re-o-ringed carbs installed, one turn out on the fuel and two out on the air, new filter and airbox bolted up, cleaned and set the points, etc.

It cranks and has good spark, but it wont fire, where should I go from here?

Fuel is flowing and the bowls have gas.

Dump in about 1/4 - 1/2 ounce of 5-w30 oil in each cylinder and spin it over several times WITHOUT the plugs in. There is a chance that the rings are stuck or very dry and the compression is too low to fire. A compression test would be high on the list of things to check (WOT and wet).

After you've let the oil seal things up on the top end, add about an 1/8 ounce of fuel (I like to use 2-cycle mix for the extra lube) and reinstall the plugs. Hit the starter and it will likely fire.

[Steve]

Can someone tell me where hoses 1-3 hook up?

Assuming that all those hoses go to the same set of carbs (it's kinda hard to tell about #2),
#1 is the vacuum hose that goes to the smaller fitting on the petcock
#2 and #3 are VENT hoses, not overflows. They get routed back over the air box and just hang out near the battery.
The hose that is connected directly under #1 is your fuel inlet. That goes to the larger fitting on the petcock.
The OVERFLOW hoses are the ones that go to the nipples on the bottom of each float bowl.

.

[mmills37]

I have an '81 550 that I just rebuilt all the carbs for. Based on recent knowledge, Steve above is correct.
Mike

[Smokinapankake]

Disagree (no offense). If the motor turns over and the frame is reasonable, the rest is easy. Every bike we strip for parts is one less in existance. I am of the opinion that every old bike (or car, tractor etc) that can be saved, should. They get junked all the time and get less every year anyway because of neglect, accident damage etc. We need to hang on to them if we can.

Just my 2 cents, we are all different

Agree with Zooks. If it's not hanging a rod, it's worth saving. Don't look at it from the perspective of how much it will cost you, think how much you will gain as far as experience, confidence, and freedom from the fear of mechanicals....
My .02