Fixin up a '82 GS550

[ameen]

OK...so i just bought my first bike about two weeks ago and have been working on it ever since. It is a 1982 GS550 with CV carbs and about 18000 miles on the odometer.

A little back story: i got the bike in not running condition. The middle two cylinders did not seem to be firing (wouldn't get hot). The bike had been sitting around for probably 5+ years.
After cleaning the carbs, i was able to get the bike running....sort of. and that is where i am at now.

The bike has a little over 18k miles. As of know, the bike will start after a lot of effort. It is barley putting out any power at all, cylinder 3 does not get as hot as the rest (and i have a suspension that #2 is having problems as well, no real good way to test that as of yet). The battery also does not seem to keep a charge. This could just be from i cant really ride it yet. The engine need to be at about 2k so that it doesn't shut off and my choke doesn't seem to do anything.

When i run the bike there are random surges of power and doesn't seem to be able to get above 6k under load. What could be the problem?

Currently, i have the carbs ripped apart and dipped them. I am waiting for my rebuild kit to finally come in the mail so that i can get around to finishing and syncing them. Will this solve my problems? Or is there something else i should be looking at?


On another note... what other maintenance should i be doing? The front forks need help as the suspension can be bottomed out by hand. can i fix this by adding pressure to them or do they need rebuilt?
Should i check the valves too? I haven't done this before but am very mechanically inclined, so all i need is a good set of instructions.

Thank You

[Nessism]

Of course you should adjust the valves. Also replace the intake boot O-rings since they are sure to leak. Regarding the forks, I'd replace the oil with 15W and give it a try. Also make sure your have a fresh air filter installed and fresh oil - diesel engine 15W-40 is a good choice.

Good luck and welcome.

[Larry D]

Welcome !!!

Seems like you have the carb thing under control. Don't forget to check the float heights. Do to my recent experience, I'd also recommend ensuring that all the jets are the correct ones.

Electrical system components degrade after extended exposure. It's recommended going through the entire wiring harness cleaning and/or replacing them all. It's not a difficult thing, just time consuming.....And obviously check the charging system once you get it running.

As you may know, there's a huge library of info accessed by using the search function. We like pictures too !!

Good Luck.

[mike_of_bbg]

What he said

Also, try running a wet/dry compression test after the valve adjust to make sure you don't have any internal engine problems (cracked valves, blown head gasket, etc.). Most folks here don't recommend using the usual carb rebuild kits. If your jets are stock sizes, it's usually cheaper just to get some o-rings from Robert Barr (www.cycleorings.com), then get float bowl gaskets and pilot passage plugs from a vendor like Z1. Mr. Barr offers a full kit with all the O-rings you need - most rebuild kits don't include o-rings for the fuel and vent tubes. He also offers the o-rings to mate your intake boots and cylinder head, which as noted are probably leaking.

If I know anything about BikeCliff, he should be along really soon with your official GSR greeting including the "top 10 issues". Of which you are surely suffering from 3 or 4 at this point. He'll make sure you get your own but a quick search for "mega-welcome" in the forum will surely get you the links you need.

Oh, and welcome from another 82 GS550 owner!

Of course you should adjust the valves. Also replace the intake boot O-rings since they are sure to leak. Regarding the forks, I'd replace the oil with 15W and give it a try. Also make sure your have a fresh air filter installed and fresh oil - diesel engine 15W-40 is a good choice.

[ameen]

Thanks for the good info. I wish i saw that site before dropping $80 on rebuild kits. oh well, live and learn.

Does anyone happen to the best place to buy valve shims and other parts(gaskets, seals, ect.)?

Thanks

[mike_of_bbg]

You might want to check with any possible local shops to see if they'll exchange. There's also a "shim club" which will exchange - do a forum search on that term. I did the o-ring kit from Mr. Barr and ended up ordering my shims with the pilot plugs and float bowl gaskets from Z1 enterprises (www.z1enterprises.com), plus the shim tool (or you can use the zip tie method - just make sure you don't turn the cam with no shim in a bucket or you'll score your bucket and cam lobes). Z1 shipped very quickly too.

Many forum members insist on OEM gaskets and seals, and flat out motorcycles has really good prices on OEM parts. There have been many complaints about recent Vesrah gasket kits. If all you want is the valve cover gasket for your valve adjustment, consider a reusable silicone gasket from realgaskets.com. Partsnmore.com has Athena full engine gasket sets for cheap (which I bought one of for a recent full motor overhaul), and the quality seems quite good so far - but time will tell. I see few complaints about them, and those that I do have been the fit, which was no problem in my kit.

On another note - consider adding your location to your profile, and a signature with your bike info.

[ameen]

Ok, so i was working on my friend's 81 Yamaha 550 and noticed something, his carbs are a lot smaller than mine for a similar sized bike.

Is this right? I cleaned my carbs several times before i started rebuilding them and still couldn't get the bike to run perfect. I am thinking it is a distinct possiblity that the stoner i bought it from could have put carbs from a larger bhike on it thinking it would make it faster. What can i check to easily tell it they are the correct ones?

Thanks

[Larry D]

Go here and see if they look the same. Perhaps they are the correct carbs and the jetting has been changed.

http://alpha-sports.com/suzuki_parts.htm

[ameen]

It looks the same, but i cant tell the scale. I mean the gs1100 carb looks the same, but (im assuming) bigger.

[Larry D]

It looks the same, but i cant tell the scale. I mean the gs1100 carb looks the same, but (im assuming) bigger.

IIRC they should be BS32SS carbs, meaning the intake throat should measure 32mm. Do you have a set of digital calipers or something else to measure them ?

[mike_of_bbg]

Doesn't surprise me. A friend and I recently rebuild his YX600 Radian carbs and my GS550s; his uses BS30s with the larger motor, whereas my GS550 has BS32SSs. I think the FJ600 used BS32s. I doubt that you have the entirely wrong carbs on there.

Check the jets on the carbs. There's a thread at the top of the Tech Info board which should have your stock spec's in there.