engine swap for a 81 gs550t

[nisom512]

what engines would I be able to swap onto my 81 550t I know it would end up being cheaper to buy a bigget bike or newer but its the fun of learning how and doing an engine swap that intrests me. so any thing I owuld do a 550es from an 83 so I could get the 16v or any other size swap for that matter.

Thank you
Jake

[blmiller8]

from my small ammount of experience I have noticed almost any early 80s models have the same engine mounts all you gotta do is make sure you get the carbs that go with that engine.

[TheBigRed]

If you do a search Nerobro and a couple of others have managed to put 650 top ends onto the 550 bottom ends, which in the end nets a full extra 124cc's of power. I had considered it for a time with my 550T, but the needed parts and money just weren't there to move that direction at the time, or any time soon, so ended up just putting all the 550 bits I had back together.

Other than that you will be doing major frame work to fit anything from our vintage machines. I think I've heard of someone squeezing some later water cooled engines into our smaller frames, but it has been some time. I think it may have been a 700/750, but once agian, I think it took some major frame work.

Now for the obligatory.. if you want more power, get a bigger bike. Seriously though, just the difference (from what I can remember) between my 550 to the 650 was a quite noticeable gain in power (thus why the 650 top end on the 550 bottom end appealed to me) that really that is the best/easiest way to enhance performance.

And besides that I think the T's have soo much character, plus they were only made for one year so they aren't quite as common as any of the other bikes.

But that is just my .02 worth..

Amos

[ktp1598]

If the T is such a rare bike, I'd probably restore it back to the way it came from the factory, with a few reversable upgrades, of course! Even if your bike isn't all that fast, it's still fun to ride. And if the resto is good enough, you'd be amazed at how many people will stare and ask questions. That alone has made it worth it to me! Bringing a bike back from the grave (in my case anyway) is a good feeling everytime you ride.

[nisom512]

If the T is such a rare bike, I'd probably restore it back to the way it came from the factory, with a few reversable upgrades, of course! Even if your bike isn't all that fast, it's still fun to ride. And if the resto is good enough, you'd be amazed at how many people will stare and ask questions. That alone has made it worth it to me! Bringing a bike back from the grave (in my case anyway) is a good feeling everytime you ride.

I couldnt agree more. I think I may just stick with your advise. Thank you

And every one who posted.