'81 GS550 Cafe Build

[D-Mac]

Continued….

The headlight is easily the biggest improvement from powdercoating. It looks even better than the pics show. The powder covered all the scratches perfectly. I replaced all of the rusty fasteners and rotted rubber bits too. Some pics of this beauty.






The new swingarm bearings went in with ease. After a night in the freezer I was able to tap them right in. Pleasant surprise. The powdercoater did an excellent plugging the holes and avoiding excessive build-up around them.

Steering head races (especially the top one) were a little tougher to get on. I used some heat gun to warm up the neck a bit and dropped in frozen races. I ended up using the old races and a couple of sockets to drive them in fully. [I do have access to a great tool to gently force them in, but I was impatient and wanted to see if I could drive them on before borrowing or making something to do it]

Top of head, before


Race seated.


Driving the lower bearing onto the steering stem was a pain. I had a perfect PVC pipe to drive it on, which made short work of it with a little caveman hammering. I put the stem in the freezer overnight beforehand. Yes….I remembered the little spacer/dust seal on the bottom, although I should have used the aftermarket one that came with my bearings because it fits better than what Suzuki uses. Oh well, this bike isn’t going to spend much time in the rain anyway. The original top dust seal fits well (better than the aftermarket one I had). I was sure to grease the bearings and everything else with enough high-impact grease to last a loooong time.

The service manual calls for torquing the main steering head nut to ~30 ft-lbs and then loosening it ¼-1/2 turn until it “feels right” (checking for looseless via the fork tubes when they are assembled). Since the bearings are new, I want to do it right (I know what “feel” I’m ultimately looking for after that). Of course I don’t have the 4-pronged Suzuki tool for the stem nut (the nut pictured below is the top clamp nut that goes on top of it….different nut). I think the shop where I’m taking classes has one so I’m taking the frame and stem there tomorrow to do it. If that fails, I’ll have to make one. After that I can get the forks, swingarm, and wheels on.

Here’s a pic with the top clamp just sitting on the head.


Unfortunately, I’m away most of the week so it could be several days before I get back to it. After that I will have a lot of free time to work on the bike. Stay tuned…

[D-Mac]

Some exciting news! Last week I got this project looking more like a motorcycle. I began by installing the rear tire on the rim and borrowing the “special” tool needed to torque the steering head nut correctly.

Once this was done, I assembled the forks, front wheel, front caliper, inner fender and clip ons. I then pushed the forks up through the tree and re-clamped the clip-ons to the top. I checked and re-checked the rake and trail numbers and I still have lots of room to spare.

Front wheel on:


Front caliper installed:


Headlight on:


Swingarm installed:


Rear wheel installed. Shocks partially done:


Rear caliper and brake arm:


Clip ons adjusted:


Got new brake lines. Love these things!


More pics in the next post….

[Sci85]

Wow, great progress D-Mac! Looking real good. Where did you get those rear shocks and was there any modification required to mount them up? Also, if you do decide to not use the center stand, I am currently in the market for one.

[D-Mac]

Wow, great progress D-Mac! Looking real good. Where did you get those rear shocks and was there any modification required to mount them up? Also, if you do decide to not use the center stand, I am currently in the market for one.

Shocks were a straight bolt on. They are slightly taller than the originals, but given how rakes back these bikes are that's actually an improvement.

I'll let you know about the center stand. I go back and forth about using it. I love the convenience and ability to sit it straight, but it adds weight and will probably look a little weird with the open design.

[D-Mac]

A few pics of the bike. Sidestand re-installed too. Since these were taken I’ve replaced a lot of fasteners, replaced the grips/levers, and I’m working on the footpegs and brake lever – removing rust, treating them, polishing them, and clearing them. I will do rearsets eventually, but I’m going back to stock for now.









I also ordered and just received a K&L engine stand. I’ve wanted one for a long time. This will make any bottom-end work a snap, including painting the rest of the engine (recall that I’ve already painted the top-end components of my “parts engine” but I need to do the bottom end of the engine I plan to use). You can tear a bike down to the crank almost effortlessly since you can easily flip the engine upside down. The bottom piece seemed a little too long, so rather than cut the one that came with the stand, I bought a piece of square tube and cut it down a bit. In retrospect, the original piece might have “just” fit.

Anyway, some pics of the “original” 550 engine in the stand.






I ordered the Caswell gas tank liner so I can properly coat the tank. There is some old stuff in there (looks like Kreem?) that I will be removing first. A gallon of paint stripper, a jug of acetone, and some drywall screws oughta do it. After re-lining and stripping the paint off the tank I will assess the leak(s) (I know there is one already). If they are small, the Caswell liner should take care of them. If they are really bad I’ll learn how to solder the tank. Once the liner is done I’ll move on to patching the dent and painting it.

There is still tons to do…..engine work and a dreaded electrical odyssey. I’m currently taking a course that includes honing motorcycle cylinders, and cutting valves and valve seats. I plan to do mine in about a month or so. I finally ordered new rings and piston pin clips, so I now have all of the stuff to re-build the top end.

[C Dub G]

This is a fantastic piece of documentation work, thank you for sharing. I'm hoping to do this one day to my 81' 550T but struggle with the fact that I'd be pulling apart a greasy but well running motorcycle.

Excellent work, I can't wait to see the finished product.

[CCC-TT]

Great buildup. This is the definition of no screw left unturned... cant wait to see the final product.

[kokar]

Fantastic !!!!

[Sci85]

She's really looking good D-Mac! I wish I had the funds to do the motor. This bike is going to run sooo sweet.

[musicman]

Gah, too many pages to find the answer to a silly question, haha. What seat pan is that if you don't mind me asking? I'm hunting around to change the seat on my bike and that one looks nice and long. Build is looking good so far

[D-Mac]

The seat pan is from RocCity Cycles. There is a pic on their page of a GS with one (at least there used to be anyway).

[D-Mac]

Wow! It's been a while since I updated my build thread. Don't worry, I haven't been doing nothing, although I did get slowed up for a while.

Over the summer I moved. Beginning in mid-June, I had to store my tools and bike in storage while I staged my old house and moved into the new one. Everything got delayed for a month longer than planned, but I'm FINALLY moving in to the the new place now. I also took a machining course and another motorcycle class over the summer to keep my skills sharp. I spent about a month COMPLETELY disassembling, blueprinting, fixing, and reassembling a 2001 GSXR-1000 as part of one class. A GS is soooo simple compared to that thing! In the end, it ran like a top on the dyno, so I have more confidence that I can get my little GS running well this fall/winter.

My new house has a 1200 square foot detached garage, which will be dedicated to motorcycle repair (there is also a 2-car garage attached to the house, which my wife gets for her stuff ). Inside there is a large 500 sqft room, which I have been busy insulating, wiring, and cleaning for a shop space. In another week or so I should be done with the drywall, lighting, and cleaning, and I will FINALLY start working on the 550 again! Once I order rings, I will be ready to install the pistons, put the valves back in, and reassemble the top-end. Then I just need to paint the bottom end, do the wiring, and reassemble the whole bike!

I did manage to make some progress in June/July. Specifically, I cleaned up the valves and valve seats, re-honed the cylinders, and learned how to use all of the machined involved. I will post pics and a tutorial later this week. I also picked up some key tools for this project and future projects (e.g., wheel stand, vacuum gauge, more reliable compression tester, valve spring compression tool, etc.)

I'm really looking forward to diving back into the GS! Stay tuned.

[D-Mac]

September 15, 2012

Part 1 of 3

OK….so where were we…..

First thing I did since my last update was strip the old paint off the tank. No more “redneck rocket!” About time really.

Bike before:


Here is the tank after stripping:


I then rinsed the inside of the tank with acetone. It lifted off the old Kreem layer immediately. I then applied Caswell liner from their motorcycle tank kit, which has received rave reviews from restorers. I had a very tiny leak near the back and it plugged it right up too. This stuff looks and feels like honey when it goes on and it leaves a nice even, clear layer over everything. I’m confident the tank is near bullet-proof now. Because I just left the tank exterior untreated, it quick built up some surface rust, but it should come right off when it gets painted.

This summer I also took two motorcycle-related classes to improve my skills. One was a machine shop class and the other was a more advanced “overall” rebuild class. My main assignment was to COMPLETELY disassemble, blueprint/test everything, and then reassemble a 2001 GSXR-1000 from the crank up. Compared to a GS it’s like a rocket! I learned a TON during this process and I’ve already applied it to my GS project. I’ll share some of what I’ve learned below.

My summer “project” bike (a great, great grandson of my GS).


For example, I learned how to recondition valve seats and valves in the course. I used these skills to clean up my GS valves and re-lap them a bit. Here are some pics of the valves from the GS.

Before – pitted.


Note the white color on this one. This valve was from a very lean running bike.


After a four-stage process on the wheel they looked more like this….


Seats cleaned up:


Next up was a little de-glazing of the cylinders. After sitting for 20+ years, there were some clear ring marks in them. The cross-hatching was also very faint. Within a few minutes using one of these rigs…..


…..I was able to get the cylinders looking more like this.


More in next post…

[D-Mac]

September 15 continued (part 2)….

This August also brought lots of new changes. I moved to a much bigger place with two large garages. One for my wife and one for ME! “My” garage has two parts – an L-shaped outer garage that was built a couple of years ago (600 sqft) and an older inner part that is about 520 sqft. I decided to insulate and re-wire the inner garage as my shop. I will heat it in winter. I started by insulating it completely, installing OSB, priming and painting the walls, re-wiring everything (including all new lighting), and fixing the door. It’s nearly done, although I haven’t really organized or unpacked anything yet.

Some pics of my new “shop”:

Insulation is done and OSB walls are up.



Yesterday. Painted, finished wiring new lights, and now ready to start moving in and working on the GS again!



The new house has also brought a lot of new maintenance things to keep me distracted (massive lawn, pool, new garden to dig, etc. etc.), so I’m just now re-focusing on the bike.

My new gauges came in. Sweet!


I think I like them in this spot. Looks compact and pretty retro. I need to re-locate the ignition and replace it with something that actually works (mine is pretty much toast anyway).


Here are some other pics of the bike as it sits right now:




I’ve also started prepping the top-end. I did the valve seals tonight, and put back in three of the valves so far. My cheap valve spring compressor seems to work fine. For assembly lube I’m using STP, even though it can cause slippage problems for a wet clutch if you use a lot of it. It sticks well and all of the mechanics I worked with over the summer use it on every engine they touch. I figure that if it works OK on a modern sportbike, it’ll be OK on a GS too. Hell, I don’t even know if my clutch is any good anyway.

The head ready for valves:


More in next post….

[D-Mac]

September 15 continued (part 3)…..

Magical assembly lube:


I need to work on getting the tank and seat cowling painted. I have piston rings too, so I think I can continue working on the engine for a while (I still gotta paint the bottom end and swap parts between the two engines I have). I have a lot of wiring challenges coming up too.

I also picked up this little guy. 1975 Honda CB125S. Runs rough, but looks almost like new and has super low miles. I am teaching a first-year college class that will include having the students take it apart and getting it running better. Fun! The 6-volt electrical system is a bit of a pain though.