First Street Bike Project - with a few questions

[Sci85]

Still need to figure out how to get these dang shocks apart. The 550M's are different than the other models and no matter how long I stare at them, they refuse to comply! I want to get new ones as I'm sure these are shot to heck after 30yrs but new ones just cost too much (well, decent one's anyway). Anyone have some gently used aftermarket's you would be willing to sell to a fellow GS'r, and a poor one at that?

[Missile99]

Hi Sci, I had the 30 yr. old shocks like you and one was blown out. I ordered some new ones from Cycle ReCycle Part II for about 100. This is for the complete shocks/progressive springs setup. They are firm for someone my weight (160 lbs.) on the lowest setting but feel fantastic nonetheless. All black is what I got. Worth it and look very good. Many here on a budget have said that.

Good luck on the harness too. You can probably repair it while watching TV.

[Sci85]

Cool. I'll check those out but even at $100 bucks, that's a hundo that I just don't have at the moment

Can you post a pic of the shock on your bike?

Thanks again Eric.

[Sci85]

Well, made a little progress over the past few days. Got the rear MC rebuilt. Man was that thing nasty inside. Amazingly, the bore looked fine.



Then I started to finally tackle the wiring while I was waiting for brake parts to arrive.
This pic is just part of my mess. After a lot of digging, I think some PO must have changed out the signal generator with a later model one. My wiring diagram shows 3 wires coming from the SG to the harness but the one on my bike is only 2 wires. At the harness, the wires were cut as you see. But, I think I have it figured out. What mess...




And here's the offending front MC that is NOT stock for this year. What sucks is that I ordered a front MC rebuild kit before I figured out this did not go on this bike.


And finally, the rear MC is back where it belongs.


Now I wait for funds and parts again. I need to find a front MC & molex connector kit added to the list.

[GateKeeper]

Looking good there Sci85, a bit at a time, and soon it will be complete...

[Missile99]

Hey Sci85,

Have you made progress or too busy with work?

The pictures of the new shocks from Cycle Re-Cycle II:





See ya later.

[Sci85]

Thanks Eric. Still making progress, little by little. I got all the footpeg hardware painted and installed. Working on the gauge cluster today and the wiring harness last week. Finally got most of that sorted out thanks to your help.

Those shocks look great! Too bad you can't get them with the original painted springs though huh? How do they feel?

[Missile99]

Good news Sci. Little by little.

The shocks/springs feel great. It would've been cool if they were Suzuki orange. The new stuff is so much better and the progressive springs seem to be doing their job well. Maybe if I take this thing apart I'll paint them the Chevy orange. Otherwise they look good and keep the bike planted well, even though I weigh around 165.

The old ones were toast. The shocks were pretty shot. After I got the bike in running order I took it around a bit. Once I hit a bump the springs compressed way too much and the rear end felt like it was going to kick me off like a bull.
Let me emphasize:

Have a good weekend.

[Sci85]

Well, I finally managed to get the springs off and sure enough, the shocks have zero damping left in them. Gonna have to buy some replacements.

I've kept at it but not as much as I would like. Anyway, I managed to finally get the rear brake setup painted, new pads, and installed on the bike. Looks pretty good.


Finished up checking the wire look and all the runs out for broken wires, etc. Then rewrapped and started the installation back on the bike. The wires were in pretty good shape actually given all the hacking the previous PO had done.




Got the gauges cleaned up, the bracket repainted, and installed on the bike.




I'm now waiting on a new seat (my seat pan was basically shot) and a new master cylinder to replace the non correct year piece that was on my bike. While I wait, I've been stripping the tank. Found some nice dents that had been poorly repaired. I'm concerned the cost of getting it fixed and repainted would be as much or more than trying to find a NOS or nice used one. We will see...

[Good Times]

Nicely done Sci.

[GateKeeper]

Hey Sci,,,,it's coming along very nicely, you have put in lots of good work, it won't be long and you'll be riding....

Just keep at it....

[Sci85]

Thanks guys. I really want to ride before the summer is over bit man, there is still so much to do. Good news is my seat came in today. Paid $65 which I don't think is too bad. Amazing how well it has stood up for 30 years!

[Missile99]

Hey Sci,,,,it's coming along very nicely, you have put in lots of good work, it won't be long and you'll be riding....

Just keep at it....

You said it well GK. Sci, a summer ride would be nice for you, I know, but pictures from your first ride against colorful trees would be good too. Your patience is admirable.

[Sci85]

Well, been working on stripping the tank lately. I need to get a pic of it before I'm done haha. Found two dents on each side that had been bondo'd over which really stinks. I'm really worried that the cost for the body work and paint on the tank will be way more than it's worth. Any experience from the field on what I can expect to pay for something like that?

I did also get the coils back on and the horn done. I think she looks nice. Too bad it's a part that doesn't show much. Here's the before and after.



Then I went to check the tail light bulbs and found this mess.


Amazing what some people will do. Well, looks like I gotta add finding a new rear tail light assembly to my list.

Not much more to do this weekend but wait on parts and the temps to go down. It's 108 today. Ouch.

[Sci85]

Well, I now i don't have the most exciting build going on out there but because there just are not that many 550 Katana's, I continue to bore you with my progress in the hopes someone will find it useful.

It's been awhile since I've updated but I have continued to plug away. I keep running into little things that just add time to getting her completed. Like last week as I am finally getting the carbs back together, I discover that two of the little pilot jet rubber plugs will no longer stay in the hole so I gotta order some new ones. Two more weeks of waiting for some silly little plugs



I finished getting the seat all ready. Looks so nice it's a shame you don't get to see this part most of the time.


The headlamp assembly is ready with a new shiny paint job...


And so far, my electronics appear to be working after breaking down the loom, rewrapping, cleaning the connections, fixing the broken ones, and adding new ones where the PO cut them out. Woot!


Next on the list was the gas tank. When I got the bike, it had a bad depression on the top and it was painted flat black. Poorly. So I knew I would have to strip it and paint it silver as I wanted to the OEM look. After stripping, I found two big dents on each side and numerous other dents and dings. So I started searching for a better tank. After a couple of mounts I found a brand new OEM unit with only a small scratch on it. Amazing. Problem was it was $400 plus shipping. Thats more than I paid for the bike! Ouch. So, I did some digging through the forums and found the rebar trick to getting dents out of a tank. I figured I would give it a try as I had nothing to lose at this point and by golly, it actually worked! I didn't get the entire dent out but enough that I figured I could try to bondo the slight remaining depression. So, here are a couple of shots of the process.

At this point, I had stripped the tank and primed it to keep it from rusting. This is one of the side dents. It's twin was on the other side...



View from the top before getting to work. There was lot's to do!