Getting New Bike On Road

[teh_engr]

Hello Everyone,

I've recently purchased a 1981 GS550TX (my first bike) and am now looking at what all needs to be done (and in what order) to get it back on the road. It's a little overwhelming. The bike had not been registered since 2002, but the PO said that he did ride it around his neighborhood and used gas stabilizer prior to storage. I've noticed the following issues:

-frozen petcock (and fuel in crankcase)
-minor rust in tank
-charging system does not work (still need to troubleshoot, stator or regulator/rectifier)
-running on three cyclinders which I've been told is most likely due to carburetor issues from a previous post

I'll be looking closely at the brakes and chain/sprockets prior to doing any riding, and it also needs new tires and seat cover, but these issues will wait until the bike is running well.

My inclination is to start with the fuel system (tank rust and petcock) so I don't mess up carburetors with rust particles. For the tank, I'm going to use a por-15 kit, but I'm not sure how to handle the petcock. It appears to be frozen with the arrow pointing away from the fuel setting and will not turn. The bike runs, however, so gas is getting through it. Should this be rebuilt or replaced and can anyone recommend a specific supplier or part? Should I be replacing fuel lines at the same time and if so, what size are they?

I'll add more information this evening (will be looking at the stator, RR, and battery hopefully), but would like to hear comments on the fuel system prior to ordering parts.

Thanks for any advice.

-Jack

[Nessism]

Welcome Jack,

550T's are nice bikes. Have any photos?

Regarding the bike, I strongly suggest you bring all the maintenance up to date before attempting to put it back on the road.

-Carb rebuild w/new o-rings – cycleorings.com
-New Carb boot O-rings – cycleorings.com – replace boots if they are hard and/or cracked
-Synchronize the carbs after carb work
-Valve adjustment w/new gasket
-Brake system clean out
-New tires and tubes
-Inspect chain and replace as necessary
-New air filter
-Oil and filter change

Check for BassCliff’s welcome greeting and review the list of “approved’ vendors. I use mostly Z1 Enterprises and Bike Bandit for parts but there are cheaper sources – such as Flat Out motorcycles for OE parts.

Regarding the petcock, I suggest replacing it. Too many people report failed results when attempting to rebuild petcocks. For the tank, Por-15 is good. Seal the petcock hole with a plate and rubber gasket. You can get a rubber stopper for the main filler. Best thing is to give the rust removing phosphoric acid solution lots of time to work; the more rust you can remove this way the better the sealer will grip the metal.

Good luck.

[teh_engr]

If this works, here's a picture of the bike. It was taken yesterday after getting it home, so nothing has been cleaned or polished for several years.

[teh_engr]

Hi All,

I’ve checked the rectifier and concluded that it is bad (diodes have failed open-circuited). I also am relatively certain that the stator is bad. Between phases of the stator, all resistances were approximately 1 Ohm, but all phases were also (approximately) shorted to the chassis ground. The voltage between different phases of the stator (w/ no load) varied between 3 and 5V (line-to-line) at 3krpm, also. I put in a new battery this weekend, and have decided to wait on fixing the charging system until the motor is running well. Also, I have ordered oil and air filters, a Por-15 kit for the fuel tank, and a replacement petcock.

I have a couple of quick questions and could really use some help as I’m starting to order parts for the repair work and want to make sure it goes as smoothly as possible. I believe I need to do a general tune-up and carb-rebuild once the fuel system issues are resolved, so these will be by next tasks.

• Valve adjustments (while the gas tank is off for sealing) will require a new cylinder head cover gasket (Bike Bandit PN: 475983-001), four new “half moons” (Bike Bandit PN: 471240-001), Breather cover gasket (Bike bandit PN: 476044-001), small feeler gauges (I have a set with .0015, .002, .0025, .003, .004, and then 1mil increments to .024), and valve shim changing tool (z1enterprises PN: MP08-0017). I’m assuming shims will be available locally, but otherwise will order them after taking my initial measurements.
• I’ve ordered o-ring kits for the carburetor and intake O-rings from cycleoring.com which should be appropriate for my bike. Aside from these kits, basic hand tools, and carb cleaner, do I need anything else for my carburetor rebuild? Gaskets? I’m currently reviewing the rebuild tutorial (it’s greatly appreciated) but would like to get parts ordered now.
• Once rebuilt, I understand that I need to sync the carburetors. Would the Motion Pro Home Carb Tuner mercury manometer from Dennis Kirk be adequate (PN: 28723)? Is this the only specialty tool I need for this task?
• More general tune-up/maintenance will include new air and oil filters, fresh oil, and new spark plugs. What else should be done here?

Please let me know if I've missed anything important, or if any of these parts would be unnecessary.

You can get a rubber stopper for the main filler.

Good luck.

Nessism- Can you tell me where to look for such a big stopper?

Thank you for your time and advice,
Jack

[Nessism]

Hi All,


Nessism- Can you tell me where to look for such a big stopper?

Thank you for your time and advice,
Jack

Sounds like you are off to a good start Jack.

Lowe's sells large stoppers. You don't stick the stopper down into the neck of the filler, rather use the stopper as a cap, clamping down and sealing on the outer surface of the filler neck.
The stopper was drilled in the center and a long screw inserted. The screw in part was threaded into an expandable molly or a cross bar what catches sideways inside the tank. If my explanation is completely loosing you, drop me a PM and I'll get a photo or two for you.

Good luck.

[teh_engr]

For the valve adjustment, will I need a gasket for the ignition cover as well? Is that compartment open to the crankcase (requiring that I drain the oil)?

Thanks everyone.

[catbed]

not clean and shiny?!?!? half the stuff on that bike is shinier than mine! looks good.

[emeraldcoupe]

nice bike. i just bought an 81 550t also and started to buy parts. i'll be keeping an eye on your threads to see the progress.

[teh_engr]

nice bike. i just bought an 81 550t also and started to buy parts. i'll be keeping an eye on your threads to see the progress.

It sounds like we're in the same boat then. Thanks for the compliments guys. I'll keep this thread updated as I go.



Does anyone have an answer on the ignition cover questions (i.e., do I need a gasket for it when it's removed to adjust valve clearance, and does removal of the ignition cover require draining the oil)? I don't think so, but want to be certain before placing my parts order.


Thank you,
Jack

[dr_fosg8]

If it is the same as my 1100 there is no oil behind the ignition cover.

However if you change out the stator then you will need to drain the oil prior to pulling the mag cover and have a new mag cover gasket.

Nice looking bike BTW. Best of luck tuning her back up!

Parker

[sdbuchert]

Nice bike, looks to be in pretty decent shape! I used the POR-15 tank restore kit and had great results. If the tank was stored empty in a humid environment, I would recommend stripping the paint before you coat the inside of the tank. I restored a tank that appeared to have very minor rust, but once the paint was stripped, I could see rust holes along the seams. (Granted the tank was stored empty in a humid MN climate. A tank stored full of fuel lessens the chance of condensation entering the tank.) After prep with the acid provided in the POR-15 kit, some of these holes became larger as corroded metal was dissolved (the acid literally eats away rust, and inevitably some of the steel as well). The POR-15 coat failed to fill some of the larger holes (which was expected) so I ended up filling the large holes with JB Weld (impervious to gasoline) and then sanding smooth. I have had a leak free tank for about a year. Also, I just replaced my stock R/R unit with a Duaneage converted Honda R/R unit. Its better than the aftermarket ones that I've seen and less than half the price! I'd recommend getting a hold of him for one. Good luck!

[Big T]

No oil behind the ignition cover. But I'd change the oil on principle (if you haven't already)
If you did change the oil already, just lean the bike over onto a wall when you change the stator so the oil is all on the ignition(right) side of the motor

Ignition cover gasket only keeps crud out, so if it doesn't tear all apart when you remove it, you're OK. Easy to change out later, if necessary

[teh_engr]

Quick Update

Parts which have arrived:
-Por-15 kit (hopefully will be done this weekend, tank drained and removed this evening)
-Carb O-ring kit has arrived (rebuild will be done after valve clearance if possible)

All other parts/tools have been ordered with the exception of the carb sync tool. It's taken much longer than I would have hoped for some of the parts to actually ship.

It appears that the motion pro economy tuner has been discontinued (unavailable from bike bandit and dennis kirk now). Does anyone know where I can still get one or can anyone recommend an alternative? The only similarly priced unit I’m aware of is produced by Emgo and I’ve not seen much positive feedback on this product (Dennis Kirk Part #: 282822). I’d rather not spend the $100 for the Motion Por Syncpro model and would prefer to not make a sync tool right now (I’ve got enough on my plate at the moment).

Also, I believe I will replace my fuel line while the tank is off so that I can have a clear line. Similaryly, I’m considering replacing the vacuum line to the petcock. Is this worthwile, and do I need a special tubing so that the hose will not collapse for the vacuum connection?

Thanks for the help,
Jack

[seuadr]

If it is the same as my 1100 there is no oil behind the ignition cover.

However if you change out the stator then you will need to drain the oil prior to pulling the mag cover and have a new mag cover gasket.

Nice looking bike BTW. Best of luck tuning her back up!

Parker

you can actually just stick it on the side stand i believe, i did with my 1100 and it was enough that there was no oil leaking out.

also, if you are careful removing the valve cover, you can re-use the gasket, but you may want to pick one up just in case as if you don't, it will definitally rip. where as if you do buy one, it'll be fine!

also, if you have a murrays auto parts near you, they rent tools, and they may have a set you can rent.. and/or check with your local dealer

[jonshep]

Jack:

Before you go to the trouble of cleaning and lining the tank, look around your area and see if you can find a shop that does that work. It will save you much head ache. I have seen petcocks full of tank liner that didn't set up very well.

No oil behind the ignition cover. Much oil behind the stator cover. Fuel in the oil is probably due to stuck carb float and bad pet cock. Fuel over filled the carb bowl and flooded the cylinder...over time that found its way to the crankcase. It happens.

Don't worry so much about sync the carbs. You can use a spark plug gap wire to bench sync the carbs to find out if it's going to run or what other work you need to do first. Adjust valves, set point gap (if it has points), set timing, replace plugs, get to run, adjust carbs. That rusty tank is high up on the list.