1978 GS550 project

[nikosg]

loving this result!!! great build

[zdorab]

Great looking bike.

I've found myself in possession of a 1977 GS550 just last week. Your project is an inspiration, I've wanted to do something similar.

Mine needs a hell of a lot more work! http://i.imgur.com/ZREf8.jpg

Anything you can recommend you had wish you knew coming out of the gate with the project?

[ClineDesign]

I have a 77 GS550, work in progress:


Where did you get your Tarozzi rearsets?

[pitbullmccoy]

Absolutely LOVE the bike and the thread!!! I want to do something very similar to my gs1000 (78) very soon. Not to steal your idea but I love the gages. Can I ask what kind they are? Thats the style I want on mine. And again awesome bike!

[Nightcrawler]

Glad to see others like the bike. I get stopped almost everywhere I go asking about it and it is by far the most fun thing to ride I have ever had. Even more fun then my buell.

I will do my best to answer your guys questions.

-Gauges are from Dime City Cycles you can also get on flebay, just make sure you get the correct ratio. I think they ran me 120-130ish but I sold the stock ones for around 100 so $20-30 is not bad and I love the clean small look they give to the bike.

-I got the rear sets from a fellow GSer near me who is switching his back to a stock feel. They run about 340-360 brand new, you can find them online.

Now for the big one

1- If I had to start over I would of measured everything before ordering several times over, really think about sizes. I ordered a few things that said they would fit gs550 but did not fit mine. A new rear sprocket, air filters a few bolts etc. Save yourself the headache and measure everything out.

2- Take pictures of everything before you take it apart and during then put all pieces into market ziploc bags or some other sorting system. If you get messed up on reassembly just pull up the pictures.

3- Make your bike safe and ready to ride as soon as possible, this not only lets you enjoy your bike but helps a lot with tweaking and such that you can't just do while its on the stand.

4- Save your old parts, you never know. Don't get rid of anything until you know for sure you no longer need it. Then try and recoup some build costs if you can.

5- Attack the bike in stages and order parts in those stages. Don't get **** for your battery delete if you haven't even got the bike running or the carbs tuned.

6- Do your research and find the best solution to your problem. These forums are most likely your best place to start.

7- Learn something. Every time I worked on a new section or part of the bike I learned more about it. No matter how much time or money you spend on your project it is worth it because you will be learning something that you can apply to something else.


I am going to continue to modify and adjust things to my liking but this 550 will be my main ride this season. It is awesome to hear some others have been inspired by this build just as I was by other builds. I would like to share a few pictures of the bike that inspired me to do this.

[Toasty]

Absolutely LOVE the bike and the thread!!! I want to do something very similar to my gs1000 (78) very soon. Not to steal your idea but I love the gages. Can I ask what kind they are? Thats the style I want on mine. And again awesome bike!

You can get them from Dime City Cycles, they're about $45 a piece IIRC.

Where did you get that seat btw ClineDesign??

[Nightcrawler]

You can get them from Dime City Cycles, they're about $45 a piece IIRC.

Where did you get that seat btw ClineDesign??

I made the seat, and the cowl I made out of fiberglass.

Edit: NVM I am an idiot....

[ClineDesign]

Where did you get that seat btw ClineDesign??

I got the West Eagle seat from Dime City. They don't sell that brand anymore but are going to start offering a similar seat.

[promking]

[/QUOTE]

What kind of shocks are on this bike?

[ClineDesign]

These appear to be 1984 CB650 Honda Nighthawk shocks.