new 550 owner full(ish) build questions

[rgarcia1983]

hi all, im new here! well, kind of. for some reason, for the last few years, i can never register to any forums useing a computer out of my house(theres 5!) so i finally did it on my friends computer and am now a member after owning my 1981 550l for about 2 years!

unfourtunately, one night last summer, i was driving to a friends, and i went to leave a red light, and a woman with her headlights hit me when i was doing maybe 4 or 5 mph. after that, the bike would randomly cutout, and sometimes it wouldnt get power. i was fine, and so was the bike (even though i had just bought some new cafe bars that were lightly damaged after the hit)

after it sat for months, i started working on it a couple months ago. one wire going to #1 cyl was broken, so i decided to go aftermarket and order up some accel coils #140403. Then i pulled the non working starter, only to find the magnets runing the length of the starter body were SHATTERED! Still gotta take care of that. i was ready to order the coils and a dynojet jet kit but didnt cause i found a 97 mazda 626 that runs perfectly, no rust, but needs a full detail. bought the car for 500 dollars, now i gotta get it home, do a tune up, replace a fender and im selling for about 1700 obo. that money is all going to the bike and a new riding jacket(dainese horizon, i sold my alpinestars rc-1 when i was hard up for money).

so heres my questions. i heard the coils(accel) like to have problems when overheated. if i make a heat shield, and duct air in, will this kill the problems?

K&n filters #2382, are these the best option? i work at advance auto parts, so i get 20% off anything we cary.

exhaust, i was thinking of going with just the mac header, and ordering a m4 gp style pipe. mac gave me a price for just the header, somewhere around 280. or is the full system best for a bit of power.

Dynojet jetkit - is this the best bet? how hard is it to tune these? the bikes ripped apart, so no issues doing all this. im doing a full rebuild on the carbs also.

stock fuel tank. - i dont like the profile, so am trying to find a new tank to throw on. i like the profile on a 450 tank i found. maybe an 1100 tank, its got that "cafeish" look. any ideas?

Suspension - its shot. completely. the rear bottoms out even with my 160 lb friend if he does a light hop. i weigh 230, but am still loseing weight and excersizing to hit about 180 or so. i was thinking ikon for the rear, but i want your opinions on whats best. i NEVER ride with a passanger, and will be doing a solo tail out of fiberglass (thank you advance auto discount!) front is really weak, so i think the progressive front springs sound good with new oil. how hard is it to change that out? i do ALL my own work.


cafe bars - can i swap in some clip ons? is it hard? will any fit right on?

Tires - stock are old, and dangerous, un-useable. best bet for grip and longevity?

if your wondering why im dropping this much money, its cause im single, 25, and moveing out in a month and a half. currently i dont pay rent, and i have no transportation. this will be my main mode of getting around, and hopefully my subaru will be running again in time for the snow and cold weather. so the bike needs to be reliable.

im sorry this was so so so long, and i apologize for the likely many spelling mistakes. i hope you can all steer me in the right direction!

-Raul

umm... i think i got everything here! probably not. but its a good start

btw. any fellow owners/riders in the chicago/milw area? im in kenosha, wi!

[rgarcia1983]

ummm... i think i posted this in the wrong forum... should this have been under technical? sorry!

[Billy Ricks]

Yours is more of a performance post thatn many that end up here. I'll answer as many of your concerns as I can.

As for coils, save yourself some money and pick up a set from a Bandit or Katana off of Ebay for $30 or so.

The Mac exhausts don't flow much better than stock. The price quoted should be for a full exhaust. If I were you I'd try to be patient and find a Kerker, Yosh, or a Supertrapp off of Ebay as well as long as your stock exhaust can still be used.

The Dynojet kits work fine and will put you in the ballpark right off the bat. You may need a little jet tweaking but generally the jetting is pretty close using their specs. Their kits include jetting for Stage 1 or 3. Stage 1 is for use with a K&N in the stock airbox with an aftermarket exhaust. Stage 3 is for K&N individual pods with a free flowing exhaust.

Fuel tanks, if it will bolt on and you like it then go for it.

Suspension, Ikons would be a good choice as well as Progressive or Works Performance. Just about anything is better than old worn out stockers. Rebuild your forks with new seals and bushings. Most of the GS forks have teflon coated bushings, two in each leg. Give them a good flush with kerosene and replace the oil. 20 weight would probably work well for your size. Progressive Suspension springs are a good choice to replace the stock springs. Once you replace and rebuild the suspension do a search for setting up sag to get things set up for you weight.

Clipons, it shouldn't be any problem finding something that will work.

Tires, just about any of the newer rubber you find in the right sizes will work fine. Stick to the stock sizes otherwise you actually end up with the sidewalls pinched down. This leads to a smaller contact patch and a bike that wants to fall into turns.

[GQROD]

hi all, im new here! well, kind of. for some reason, for the last few years, i can never register to any forums useing a computer out of my house(theres 5!) so i finally did it on my friends computer and am now a member after owning my 1981 550l for about 2 years!

unfourtunately, one night last summer, i was driving to a friends, and i went to leave a red light, and a woman with her headlights hit me when i was doing maybe 4 or 5 mph. after that, the bike would randomly cutout, and sometimes it wouldnt get power. i was fine, and so was the bike (even though i had just bought some new cafe bars that were lightly damaged after the hit)

after it sat for months, i started working on it a couple months ago. one wire going to #1 cyl was broken, so i decided to go aftermarket and order up some accel coils #140403. Then i pulled the non working starter, only to find the magnets runing the length of the starter body were SHATTERED! Still gotta take care of that. i was ready to order the coils and a dynojet jet kit but didnt cause i found a 97 mazda 626 that runs perfectly, no rust, but needs a full detail. bought the car for 500 dollars, now i gotta get it home, do a tune up, replace a fender and im selling for about 1700 obo. that money is all going to the bike and a new riding jacket(dainese horizon, i sold my alpinestars rc-1 when i was hard up for money).

so heres my questions. i heard the coils(accel) like to have problems when overheated. if i make a heat shield, and duct air in, will this kill the problems?

K&n filters #2382, are these the best option? i work at advance auto parts, so i get 20% off anything we cary.

exhaust, i was thinking of going with just the mac header, and ordering a m4 gp style pipe. mac gave me a price for just the header, somewhere around 280. or is the full system best for a bit of power.

Dynojet jetkit - is this the best bet? how hard is it to tune these? the bikes ripped apart, so no issues doing all this. im doing a full rebuild on the carbs also.

stock fuel tank. - i dont like the profile, so am trying to find a new tank to throw on. i like the profile on a 450 tank i found. maybe an 1100 tank, its got that "cafeish" look. any ideas?

Suspension - its shot. completely. the rear bottoms out even with my 160 lb friend if he does a light hop. i weigh 230, but am still loseing weight and excersizing to hit about 180 or so. i was thinking ikon for the rear, but i want your opinions on whats best. i NEVER ride with a passanger, and will be doing a solo tail out of fiberglass (thank you advance auto discount!) front is really weak, so i think the progressive front springs sound good with new oil. how hard is it to change that out? i do ALL my own work.


cafe bars - can i swap in some clip ons? is it hard? will any fit right on?

Tires - stock are old, and dangerous, un-useable. best bet for grip and longevity?

if your wondering why im dropping this much money, its cause im single, 25, and moveing out in a month and a half. currently i dont pay rent, and i have no transportation. this will be my main mode of getting around, and hopefully my subaru will be running again in time for the snow and cold weather. so the bike needs to be reliable.

im sorry this was so so so long, and i apologize for the likely many spelling mistakes. i hope you can all steer me in the right direction!

-Raul

umm... i think i got everything here! probably not. but its a good start

btw. any fellow owners/riders in the chicago/milw area? im in kenosha, wi!

On the coils did you get the correct resistance ones for your model?

That may cause the over heating.

Mac headers and muffler, according to them you don't have to re jet the carbs but seriously you'll find you may have to and you will definetly have to re jet if you go with pods, this will be a major pain in the butt if you are not familiar with tuning carbs.

Get the factory manual for rebuilding your forks, you might as well put new seals in if you are going to drain the oil and put progressives in it.

Cafe bars/clip ons for a daily driver bike?????? think twice since you have to ride safe and be comfortable, remember traffic is tough on comfort in a bad riding position.

The dyno jet kits are a good start but be ready to do A LOT of tuning to get the jetting correct ie plug chops etc.

Good Luck hope this helped

[rgarcia1983]

thanks a bunch you guys! couple more questions...

if i can find a different exhaust sys. on ebay, would i still be able to swap out the muffler? i really like the m4 gp style exhaust(even though its expensive as hell for just a can).

rearsets... im getting a set of stock 2002 sv650 rearsets from a racer friend of mine for free, in great condition, is it hard to get these mounted, and linked to everything?

coils - the ones from a bandit or katana, do i have to find a specific year/engine size? the accel coils are pretty expensive, so saving on that would def be a plus if they were an upgrade from stock!

thanks again!

[GQROD]

thanks a bunch you guys! couple more questions...

if i can find a different exhaust sys. on ebay, would i still be able to swap out the muffler? i really like the m4 gp style exhaust(even though its expensive as hell for just a can).

rearsets... im getting a set of stock 2002 sv650 rearsets from a racer friend of mine for free, in great condition, is it hard to get these mounted, and linked to everything?

coils - the ones from a bandit or katana, do i have to find a specific year/engine size? the accel coils are pretty expensive, so saving on that would def be a plus if they were an upgrade from stock!

thanks again!

Coils- don't know what years you can use but the resistance has to be MATCHED to your bike, ie: 3 ohms or 5 ohms.

Most exhausts you can just change out the can, other with more experience will chime in soon.

You will have to re-jet your carbs though BE WARNED this is time consuming. But it will look and sound great.

[Marine36]

I had the Accel coils. One quit. I still have a good one and the wires. Yours for shipping send me a PM with zip so I can get a quote for shipping.

I changed to Dyna greens to go with my Dyna S ignition. I think it is way better than the accels. Only problem with the Dyna's is I had to do relay mod for ignition.

There is a Kerker pipe and muffler for an 1100E on Fleabay

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=130295662152

Don't know if it will fit a550 but its cheap enough.

[550ERAT]

As for coils, save yourself some money and pick up a set from a Bandit or Katana off of Ebay for $30 or so.


Will these work on a 83 550E? what years if so? Thanks..

Good luck with the build...These damn things will keep you busy!!!!