'81 GS550 Cafe Build

[BigD_83]

How is the power? I rode the cruiser version with this same engine, a Savage I think it was called, it felt like a slow 250.

I don't know about the cruiser version. The LS 650 (Savage) was the Suzuki single cylinder cruiser.

I think there would have been substantial differences in gearing for the purpose of each. The SRX was purported to put out mid-high 30s hp at the rear axle, and top speed was just around 100mph...98 if I remember correctly.

I can't recall the 1/4 mile times on it, but I believe they were somewhere in the low 14 sec range @ 90mph. Not a speed demon by any stretch, but torquey and light enough (under 390lbs wet) to have fun throwing around the twisties. If they had only put a 6 speed transmission in it...

I have my eye on an SRX that needs a little TLC...

[D-Mac]

As I zero-in on the end of the year, I’ve made steady progress on re-wiring the bike. After studying three wiring diagrams for my bike (Clymer, Haynes, and Suzuki manuals), lots of patience, and much practice soldering, crimping, and heat-shrinking, here’s a short report.

First off, you know your harness is rough when you are CONSTANTLY cleaning out spider nests in every nook and cranny. Here’s one inside of a terminal cover.


Quick pic of my battery mount. It’s very secure and I can still plug in the charger for it (it plugs into a port on the center-front of the battery – crazy stuff). It looks like it could slide out, but it’s in there REALLY well. I covered the bracket in heat-shrink just in case it ever works its way up toward the terminals.


After placing everything into the underseat tray, I worked on finishing the mid-section.

Relay for the coil relay mod shown. I had a minor panic when I turned on the ignition and only one coil got warm. Apparently this is normal (and when I think about it, it makes sense).


I had to lengthen a lot of wires. The only one I had trouble with was finding a longer wire to the starter. All of the local auto places didn’t have anything in 6-gauge, which looks to be what the original wire was. When I did find some wire, it was in $$$ rolls or the terminals were way too large to fit under the starter cover. Then I got the idea to try a local car stereo place. They had everything, and cheap.

The rear tray is getting closer.


I decided to hide the “spark box” here. That way, the plug can still reach without extending a bunch of wires. It’ll also get more air sitting here – just under the front of the seat.


I also ran a new, fat ground cable from the battery negative to the engine ground point, and new grounds (much thicker wires) between the main harness and the frame. I use a dremel and a mini wire wheel attachment to remove the powdercoat from every grounding point before tightening it down.

Once that was done, I decided to test some stuff. I hooked up the battery and……

NO SMOKE!

Things then slowed down a bit. The oil pressure light was lit (good sign), but the new horn didn’t work. After checking to verify that the horn switch was OK, I ended up having to adjust the little screw on the back of the horn to get it to sound. One thing done!

Then I noticed the neutral switch wasn’t on. No biggie - I hadn’t plugged it in. One connection, and yup. It works.

The lo- and hi-beams weren’t working either. Bummer. A quick check revealed that the switches/plug were fine, so I dug around for a new H4 bulb. Yup. That did the trick. With a new bulb, the hi-beam indicator in my fancy speedo also started working.

The bike had no turn signals or brake/tail light when I got it, so I had to trace those wires from the main harness and restore them. I also had to buy a flasher unit. I’m using LED turn signals on the front and rear, so I added resistors on the front to get them all to flash normally. This is the first time I’ve done any of this stuff, but it worked like a charm. So I went ahead and installed the front signals into the headlight mounting brackets with a bunch of fasteners I had lying around. I need to fabricate a bracket to hold the rear ones on. The tail/brake lights tested good, but I still need to make a bracket for those too. All of the other switches seemed to work fine. I didn’t test the starter (waiting for the right moment for that drama!)

Front signals done.


Headlight works!


Unfortunately, the speedo and tach are backlit in different colors. They still look pretty sweet though.


I then reconnected the tach and speedo cables. Tight fit to clear the headlight bucket. I’m waiting for custom clutch and throttle cables to arrive. Hopefully they’ll be here within the next couple of weeks. I’m also waiting on a “new” regulator/rectifier from a CBR1000 to replace my worn out one.

So besides fabricating a bracket for the license plate/turn signals/brake light/tail light/license plate light and install them, I still need to clean up the rest of the harness and tuck it all away. Then I might fill up the master cylinders and bleed the brakes. At some point, I will probably move the bike back to my “shop” and install the pipes too. Once my cables arrive, I can re-install the throttle cable, and the carbs. With a new clutch cable, I can finish up the left clutch cover + shifter too. Then, and hopefully then, I might be able to add oil and gas, and FIRE HER UP!!

I’m still looking around for another project, but I might have to hold off on that for a bit. My oldest went to the store with me when I picked up a set of blinkers, and he promptly fell in love with this thing:


My other son wants a quad just as badly, and they’ve both been saving for one for nearly two years! This just might be their year….

[D-Mac]

Another update:

My new regulator/rectifier arrived. I’m using a used one off a CBR1000. What a difference! This thing is massive compared to the silly little unit Suzuki used.

Comparison:


My new throttle and clutch cables also came in yesterday. They are 6.5” and 8”shorter than the old ones to make up for the much lower bars. The old cables were badly damaged too. This meant I could finish up the clutch cover and shifter linkage. Tomorrow I hope to attach the throttle cable and re-install the carbs.



I also finished fabricating a bracket for the tail/brake light and rear blinkers. Here are a few pics.

Painting some parts:


Install complete! This took quite a bit of test fitting, but I’m really happy with how it turned out. I also finished hooking running and connecting the wires.








Then I finished up the rest of the harness!

Which one is the flux capacitor?!






Tomorrow I will reinstall the carbs (this time with the throttle cable attached). I can probably bleed the brakes myself, but I'll definitely need a hand installing the pipes.

[cowboyup3371]

Very professional looking job, impressive.

What kind of visibility do you have of your taillight and rear signals with it that small and under the seat like that?

[D-Mac]

Very professional looking job, impressive.

What kind of visibility do you have of your taillight and rear signals with it that small and under the seat like that?

Thanks.

Visibility is surprisingly good. The lights on the top row of the tail light (the ones tucked in directly under the frame) only shine down on the license plate anyway, so the lower ones are really more important for visibility. The LEDs are super bright (hard on the eyes actually). I have a similar set on my BMW and they are much more visible than stock. I'll have to check it out from behind at some point though.

[Zbradley1215]

where did you get the tail light?

[D-Mac]

where did you get the tail light?

It's kind of a weird story. A guy I met in my motorcycle course told me about a warehouse in Ann Arbor that ships bike accessories. I went to the address in an industrial park and walked in. It was a bunch of boxes and a few guys packing stuff. I asked if they would sell me a taillight and they said to just pick one off the floor. I found one and they took $15 cash for it. It must be some kind of wholesaler.

I suspect it's just a Bikemaster part, or they likely make one exactly like it.

[Bonehead]

Still love this build D-Mac. A little late, but congrats on the master mechanic

Those electrics re-located are exactly what I am going to do... Eventually lol. That license plate braket looks awesome as well. I wish I had HALF of the things that you have access to for fabrication etc. But, maybe soon! haha

[Zbradley1215]

It's kind of a weird story. A guy I met in my motorcycle course told me about a warehouse in Ann Arbor that ships bike accessories. I went to the address in an industrial park and walked in. It was a bunch of boxes and a few guys packing stuff. I asked if they would sell me a taillight and they said to just pick one off the floor. I found one and they took $15 cash for it. It must be some kind of wholesaler.

I suspect it's just a Bikemaster part, or they likely make one exactly like it.

d-mac, go back and get me one please and thank you

haha its a good looking tailight combo thats nice and small

[D-Mac]

It seems like these updates keep getting more frequent.....

Brakes are bled. Front one was a PIA.

Fresh oil added.

Pulled the plug caps and decided to quickly check compression. The first bit of good news is that the engine cranks! Compression is OK, but not great yet (quite a bit of variation among cylinders, although when I went back and re-checked my low cylinder it had already jumped up from 120 to 130). Once I run it in and the rings seat, I expect it will get better. Let's hope so anyway. It was done cold too, and on a low battery, so a warm engine and more juice might bump up the numbers as well. If the compression numbers don't even out once the bike is running, I'll do a leak-down. For now I'm pretty happy.

Next step is to install the exhaust tonight. Then the petcock and tank go on.....and then.........

[Good Times]

Wow wow wow.....

You've done such a great job on this bike DMac. I'm impressed. I love everything you've done to it. Paint looks great with the gold touches.

[D-Mac]

Thanks for the comments and support.

It's done (other than the upholstery for the seat, which I will do in a couple of weeks). A friend and I put the headers on the other night, and I spent an hour today installing the muffler, adjusting the shifter, putting on some new hoses and cable holders, and mounting the seat.

Sooooo.....I just need to put gas in it and push "start." I might do that as soon as tomorrow or I might wait until I get back from a holiday trip early in the new year to do it. The possibility of gas leaking all over my basement makes me a little nervous, and I'm enjoying looking at the bike too much to try and haul it across the snow and ice to my "shop" just yet. It's also happier in my warm basement than in my shop, which doesn't have a real heating system yet.

I'm gonna clean the bike up a bit tomorrow and post some pics + video.

I'm also considering starting a small commercial shop on the side - perhaps as early as May 2013. I'd like to do some restoration work and basic maintenance. If I enjoy that even half as much as I've enjoyed working on this project, and I can eventually break even doing it, I'd be thrilled.

[Dec79]

Awesome work my friend.

A quick Q re the regulator / rectifier - is the CBR1000 unit a direct plug and play fitment or did you need to strip and re-solder the wires?

I look forward to the start up report / vids

Dec

[D-Mac]

Awesome work my friend.

A quick Q re the regulator / rectifier - is the CBR1000 unit a direct plug and play fitment or did you need to strip and re-solder the wires?

I look forward to the start up report / vids

Dec

It has 5 wires that match up easily, but they are on two big connectors. I cut off the original connectors and crimped on bullet connectors to plug into the stator/harness.

[D-Mac]

Here is a Youtube video and some pics of the finished product. I dug out the good camera for these. No start-up yet (waiting until I get home from an upcoming trip to do that).

Video is here (click on link):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjKuY8Me70Q&feature=youtu.be

Some pics from Photobucket (just need a seat cushion now).