GS550M Cafe Project

[Animal Mother]

Don't ask my why but I thought it'd be a good idea to build a Cafe Racer.

So, I got permission from my long haired general to release the funds and I started looking.

After trawling the web for ages looking for something very very cheap I came across a GS550. In my opinion it has one cylinder too many but, I thought I'd take a look.

This is the bike.






It's an X-reg GS550M (Katana thingy).

It was a complete rat.
Oily.
Noisy.
Painted satin black with all of the paint cracking etc.
Knackered head stock bearings.
Bouncy rear shocks.
Leaking oil from the cam cover.

So I bought it.

It came with loads of bits and pieces:
slide carbs
CV carbs
2 x heads
barrels
pistons
clutch
alternator and casing
starter
electrical bits and pieces
2 x sprocket sets
full set of discs
chrome front fender
spare Harris exhaust system

...it gets better...

genuine Belstaff Trialmaster jacket
pair of vintage Ashman 6 buckle boots
manuals and books
set of 70s hard panniers

Also, for my project, it already has fitted:
steel braided brake lines
K&N cones

..plus loads of other stuff.

I even road the bike back as it was taxed and MOT'd.

At first it wouldn't rev over 4k or go over 50mph. However, after a bit of riding it started to ride much better, pulled nicely and rev cleanly. It must have had crappy fuel in the carbs.

So. I think I got a nice little bargain here for £250.

[pete]

That should cafe well, especially if you're following Yaddy's lead...

You have gaiters on there already which really suit the cafe theme, and I reckon that headlight could probably stay too, but definitely keen to see what you do with her

[Animal Mother]

Right.

Day 1. Started the stripdown.

Removed the top box, saddlebags and side panels. It looks better already.


However, bad news on the swinging arm. Rotten through on the metal plates. I'm not sure of the condition of the rest of the swing arm yet.

Is there a nicer or better direct replacement for the 550 swing arm?

[Animal Mother]

Any advice on the swingarm?

Also, what is your opinion on this seat unit I've been offered.

It's a Dunstall unit. I think it would look nicer if the "mudguard" part was trimmed flat.



It's only £30 so I'd be daft not to I think.

[pete]

Would really need to see it on the bike to see if it would blend in well with the tank unit or not. It is a nice unit though.

Mind you, for only 30 pounds you could always try it then make a profit if it's no good...

As for the swingarm, stick a post in the suspension forum, I'm not sure on them at all...

[Animal Mother]

Would really need to see it on the bike to see if it would blend in well with the tank unit or not. It is a nice unit though.

Mind you, for only 30 pounds you could always try it then make a profit if it's no good...

As for the swingarm, stick a post in the suspension forum, I'm not sure on them at all...

Excellent. I think I'd be daft not to buy it. He's got a Dunstall tank too. He'll do the two for £70 so I'd definitely make my money back.

I'll stick a post into the suspension forum.

[pete]

Excellent. I think I'd be daft not to buy it. He's got a Dunstall tank too. He'll do the two for £70 so I'd definitely make my money back.

I'll stick a post into the suspension forum.

Agreed! Too good to turn down for sure! You never know, both might be able to go on, that would look very nice indeed...

[AF_Bill]

I'd got for it and mock the tank and tail up to see if you like it.

[Animal Mother]

Knackered swinging arm aside (see my thread in the suspension section), I cracked on with the bike and went out to pick up the seat unit and tank.

I had to shorten the tail slightly and remove the seat/tail section brackets.

What do you think?


I had to move the coils out of the way for the tank to sit that low. I think it needs to go lower. I may be able to get it about 1" lower than shown with some fettling.

[hampshirehog]

I think you're right about the tank and trying to get it a bit lower plus I'm with you on trimming the tail unit 'mudguard' bit.

For your swinger the only thing that bolts straight in is one from another GS550 (doesn't have to be a Katana) but I don't know about the L model.

[Flyboy]

Agreed, loose the lower bit of the tail piece, it does not suit a Cafe look at all.
Should be a nice build, following with interest.
Not sure what models you got there, but here the 550 Katana was about as good as it got, the states however got all kinds of stuff we didn't, like the 550ES which was the little brother to the 750ES, which came with an aluminuim swing arm, maybe you can get something like that, that would look super cool on a Cafe.

[pete]

+1 on both... lower tank, lose the bit of the gaurd.

Attached is a Dunstall tank on a Honduh cafe... will look sweet if you can get them both mounted right

[AF_Bill]

Yeah, drop the tank as low as ya can. I kinda dig the tail as is. Might help seeing the rear wheel installed.

[Animal Mother]

More progress.

I've been slowly dismantling the electrics, labelling everything as I go as I'm rubbish with bike electrics, well, all electrics really. As you can guess, it's full of scotch connectors, insulation tape etc so It'll be getting an overhaul.



Continued to strip stuff off it. I dropped the oil. Seems to be 1982 vintage . Lots of particulate steel in the filter and on the magnetic sump plug. I'll keep an eye on that. It could just be from running in as I know it's had loads of engine work.







Next thing is to start hacking brackets off it.

[Sci85]

Hey Animal Mother, just picked up the same bike last week. Mine was even painted flat back like yours as well, LOL! I plan on taking mine back to factory but am anxious to see what yours looks like completed. Got any new pics to show us?