81 GS550T in Co Sprgs

[SVSooke]

Model paint would probably be the best for doing the marks on the swing arm.Could also use it to refresh the lettering on the control pods.

[cowboyup3371]

New Fuse Block

Well, since it is too cold to do much else, I started on the new fuse block I am putting in to replace the older buss style. Here's what it looks like after cutting some new 16 gauge brown wire and placing connectors on the ones I can. I did leave one end that goes to the fuse block unterminated as I didn't have enough connectors. Each of the connectors are 16ga insulated female connectors. I'm hoping I joined the wires securely enough where they double up - course I'll find that out for sure when I start the bike with them on.



The other wires sitting to the side will go from the solenoid to the fuse block for main power, solenoid to the relay for its power, and from the R/R sense wire to the fuse block for constant 12v sensing. I'll terminate each of those as I get them on the bike so I can smartly cut them down to size.

I'm using this fuse block and this relay from www.wiringproducts.com. I wanted to go with the PC8 from www.easternbeaver.com but my finances won't allow it right now and I really want to get moving on this.

I'll post more pictures later as well as a full writeup on this portion of the project once I'm done.

[Suzuki_Don]

I don't know if this is any help but in this picture of my fuse upgrade from a single fuse to multiples on my 550. You will see in the pic that I commoned the fuses together in groups by drilling the holes in the blades a little larger and soldering 15 amp wire through them. It saves having to do the double loop thing with multiple wires when connecting the groups up to the main feeds.





.

[Nessism]

Hey Scott,

Before you top coat that swingarm I suggest a coat of Por-15 sealer paint. It's the perfect stuff to use on a part like that with some remaining rust pitting down into the little recesses. You can top coat with what ever you want after the Por-15 drys, and you can even brush the stuff on since it flows out pretty well. Por-15 is having a free shipping sale right now too using code HNY11.

Keep up the good work.

Ed

[cowboyup3371]

Thank you Ed. If I'm wanting to use a black rattle can spray paint, can I just buy the black Por-15 or should I use the clear?

[cowboyup3371]

I didn't have time to do much more this weekend with the cold temperatures and snow but I did manage to remove the old fuse blocks. Now I need to figure out how to remove these brackets since they won't fit the new one. Plus I don't have room for the new fuse block and relay with them on.



I'm thinking of taking my new grinder and cutting the brackets off but not sure of that yet. Need to get the air box out of there and figure something out.

We'll see how this week goes as far as the weather...maybe I will have a chance to do more.

[cowboyup3371]

I took off work early today to take advantage of the semi-warm weather we had in order to work on the bike. After looking at the mounts on the airbox last week, I realized I couldn't install the new fuse block and relay. So I tried to remove the airbox to pull off the old mounts. Unfortunately, I must have overtightened the bolt that holds the box to the frame the last time and couldn't loosen it. I ended up having to cut away at the mounting bracket to get the airbox off:



I'll try to bend it back up and take some JB Weld to it tomorrow.

Once I had it off I took my air cutting tool to try cutting off the old mounting brackets. Although I was on the fence before about getting a new air compressor, I'm not anymore. This was an impossible job as I only have a 1 gallon compressor made more for my nail gun than trying to use that thing. Since I didn't have a cutting wheel for my grinder, I ended up using a pair of pliers to remove the rest and then tried my grinding wheel. This was my first time doing it and although it isn't pretty I think it will work for now:



I'll strip the air box tomorrow and once I get some of that Por-15 than repaint it black. But I think I'll be able to make everything fit now...I hope.

[cowboyup3371]

Stripped the air box, starter cover, and valve cover today. I need to go find a wire brush to get into the grooves on the valve cover that my grinder with wire brush won't. I also put new rear turn signals on the bike and tried to clean up dirty areas that I could get to using a wash cloth and some simple green in the spray bottle. A storm is starting to come in so I wasn't able to get as many pictures as I wanted but here's the one of stripping things.



Can anyone suggest how to clean out the front fins of the engine? I found that the gasket I put on some time ago didn't seal correctly in the one corner and need to clean off the oil, dirt, and grime from there. I'm thinking I'll just use some q-tips but wondered if anyone had better suggestions. I'll go do some searching too.

Thank you for looking.

[Buffalo Bill]

Some hard work there…

The airbox and lid should be black, but the head and starter covers should be painted silver to look OEM. Tough to get that black paint off the covers. Go get 'em Boy!
Bill

[cowboyup3371]

Thanks Bill. Probably won't be going OEM in the paint scheme but there's still time to think about it.

[cowboyup3371]

So today it's pretty nasty outside but I was able to take the wire cup on my grinder and the wire wheel on my dremel to clean up parts. There is still some paint on the air box but I'm not that worried about it so I'm just waiting on some free money to go get the Por-15 (had another issue come up this weekend needing the extra cash). I hope to get everything painted soon but at least the low humidity and somewhat heat level in the house is keeping the parts good so far.

[cowboyup3371]

Painted today

The weather warmed up to the low fifties today so I borrowed my Aunt's bullet heater to get the shed to at least 60:





After laying down the plastic over my woodworking bench and putting most of my things on it, I got started painting. Now to be perfectly honest, this is the first time I have spray painted anything so I'm nervous about how I did



Here's the everything after painting. I brought the stuff inside to finish drying since a storm has moved through.



Here's the valve cover up close. I taped off the breather area to not get paint in there so I'll rip that off later tonight:



And the starter cover, valve cover end caps, end caps for the swingarm, and breather cover. The end caps have a finger print smudge on them since I didn't wait for them to get fully dry before picking them up off the plastic. I'll probably have to touch them up later.



And finally here's the air box cover:



I hope to do the air box and swing arm in a couple of weeks after I get some other tools and the Por-15 I'll need.

Thanks for looking.

Edit: Sorry for the quality of pictures, the GF's video camera doesn't have a flash for low light conditions.

[cowboyup3371]

So I got a couple more done. Here's the rear bracket from the swingarm to the rear brake on my modified hanger (wire thrown over the rafters of the shed).



And the sprocket cover. I'll probably redo it since I didn't like the way it's looking even after the three coats. So I'll let it dry today and strip it next weekend.

[Buffalo Bill]

About spray paint…

Hi Scott,
Just my suggestion here, that you try Dupli-Color Premium Enamel for the color portions of your bike, http://www.duplicolor.com/products/premiumEnamel/.
But even they say that gas will dissolve or stain the new paint, and you must clear coat it with a 2 part, or 2 K clear if you need it to stand up to gas spills. They tell you right there on their web site.
But they have lots of primers and such. I'm impressed with the amount of development behind their products, they're actually owned by Sherwin Williams.
Bill

[cowboyup3371]

So will i need to clearcoat everything I've done today?

I'll look at the Duplicolor for the rest of it Bill thank you. I'm using the VHT paint right now.