Looking for some info on an old Suzi

[Anonymous]

Hi
I just aquired a 1980's model GSX550EF and I have been hunting the net for info about the bike.. so far all I have been able to come up with is the stats .. What I want to know is if there are any reviews on the model floating around or if anyone has had much experience with the bike .. maybe they could let me know what to look out for and whats outstanding about it 8) ....

[Anonymous]

Try searching in google for GSX550 for european sites and GS550 for US sites.

[alan]

I looked in my 550 shop manual and it lists a 550E, but no EF. It says it should have dual disc on the front and a different type of spring on the back. It also looks like a version that was shipped around Europe too. Somewhere on this site is a nifty chart that breaks most of the letter code down.

[marcovandevelde]

Hi,
The Europeans like here in Holland had a choice of the GSX550E ''naked'' version, GSX550ES with half fairing and the GSX550EF which had a full fairing.
You will find info on for example this German site http://www.gsx550.de When you think a little logical and/or get a dictionary you can make out the spec page, bilderpage are the pictures, the fehlerdatenbank shows the bad points of the bike and how to fix it, etc. You need to get a login.

Good luck, Marco.

[Mastiff]

From a British motorcycle site:
Suzuki GS550

The GS550's the safest way of going fast. Not only is the tough engine unlikely to seize up and cause a fight with the tarmac, but the chassis geometry instils the bike with fantastic stability. It never comes close to a speed wobble, doesn't even weave unless the suspension and bearings are really shot. Backing off the throttle in corners tightens up the line without inducing any back end traumas.

The only blight from the chassis occurs when the front discs are used with the GS banked into a slow speed turn. Then the bike flips back up to the vertical with a mind blowing violence that almost knocks the rider out of the saddle. The average 125 graduate will fall off. Avoidance takes merely a reliance on the back brake in such situations. Bear this in mind when going for a test ride.

The GS550 range, especially the later models and the Katana, were heavy beasts. The cast alloy wheels alone must've weighed more than a bag full of spare engines. This heaviness was partly responsible for the slow steering but because it was so stable excessive muscle won the fight in the bends without much chance of a trip down the tarmac. Heaving the Suzuki through the curves soon becomes second nature.

Most of this sweet handling results from a well braced tubular steel frame whose geometry was not dissimilar to an old Norton twin, though the 100lbs extra weight lost the latter bike's easy steering.

The bearings were long-lived and even the suspension didn't go off with age and mileage, although the back end benefited from an alloy swinging arm and set of newish Koni shocks. Forks, in reasonable shape, absorbed most of the bumps, helped along by a good a riding position.

The disc brakes had power but not much by way of feel, becoming a bit touchy in the wet when the lag had the rider teetering on the brink of a nervous breakdown. Later models even had a rear disc, which given the need for lots of tender loving care on the quick wear chain, was soon covered in grit and could happily corrode up solid. Running on the earlier drum/disc wire wheels isn't such a bad idea.

The 550cc four cylinder engine only develops 54 horses, so is mildly tuned by Japanese standards. The hefty build quality would suit a 750cc (and, indeed, there are big bore kits that take it out to as much as 740cc - try to avoid as reliability suffers), so it's not surprising that a lot of them would run around the clock even under a regime of neglect.

Although acceleration might not be too thrilling, it's always smooth and can hold on to high cruising speeds without being deflected from its destination by barriers such as steep hills and gale force winds. More go can be extracted with a Motad, K & N's and a jet-kit; an almost mandatory excursion into aural adventures because the stock 4-2's rust rapidly until the end-caps fall off. A pair of universal mega's on the ends of the existing downpipes works well with the standard carburation and air-filter.

If your idea of speed's rapid cruising then the GS is near ideal. A useful tip's to run it on a larger gearbox sprocket, the taller gearing making for a much more relaxed 100mph gait and improving the economy by as much as 10mpg. The gearbox remains slick even at high mileages, although the linkages on the Katana's rear-sets wear at the joints when their protective covers perish. Any GS with a box full of false neutrals has probably done over 100,000 miles.

Comfort on the stock bike's quite reasonable but the Katana has a seat that turns concrete and the edges of its huge petrol tank chaffs the rider's inner thighs. The Kat's a beautiful looking brute but as a long distance cruiser has severe limitations. Having said that, I did a 300 mile daily commute on one for a couple of weeks; keeping the speedo between 100 and 110mph kept my mind off the pain. I'd probably go for the Katana's looks in favour of the standard model's practicality.

The whole GS series was afflicted with one major hassle - naff electrics. All kind of theories are posed as to the cause but by now most bikes will be running on a rewound alternator, Superdream rectifier/regulator and a rewired circuit. Once the rectifier goes the only thing to do is disconnect it and charge the battery up every night - it'll run for about 150 miles on a fully charged battery if neither lights nor horn are used. An alternative to the Superdream rectifier's to use a car rectifier and regulator; a mere tenner the pair from most auto spares shops. But the wiring's quite hard to figure out.

Because the engines are so tough some bikes were run right into the ground, totally neglected until the chassis rotted away. Amazing tales are told about the indestructible nature of the GS550, running them for 20,000 miles without even an oil change not uncommon. Other people were inspired to refurbish the chassis, lose some mass and upgrade the brakes. Others were left stock but kept in a very nice condition.

Thus the used market's somewhat confused but if you persist it's possible to find bikes with only 20 to 30,000 miles on the clock that have loads of life left, available for around a thousand notes. Given the toughness of the engine another option's to go the rat route by doing a complete chassis refurbishment.



Here are a few owners comments:

http://www.umgweb.com/0sgs55651.htm