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A couple of winters ago, I decided I wanted to try a street bike rebuild project. I had done many dirt bikes over the years and I had not ridden on the street since my first son was born and I was really getting the itch now that they were much older. Anyway, I picked up a non-running 1982 GS550M. No rhyme or reason other than I just kinda liked the look. Here she is completed...
Luckily I found what is one of the best forums I have ever been a part of on the net; The GS Resources! With the help of many really great people, I finished the 550 Katana that spring and I have been riding her on and off since then.
Unfortunately, since this was a non-running bike, I had no chance to check out the engine itself. And although she fired up nicely and didn't smoke or burn oil, I did discover that she had suffered some abuse as 2nd gear would not stay in place under any load and a pretty bad knock developed in the lower end. Needless to say, I knew that I would have to rebuild the engine and transmission at some point. Sooner rather than later.
So, I went looking for a suitable 550 donor bike but never quite found the right engine at the right price. However, after a couple of months searching CL, I came across a young fellow selling the engine from a 1998 GSX 600 Katana. I looked up the specs on this engine and found it was slightly smaller in size and weight yet produced almost 30 more HP than the 550! Ok, now we're talking.
I've never done an engine swap in a motorcycle before but with the prospect of having 30 more ponies under my butt I figured what the heck, time to learn how to do an engine swap!
So, here she is.
I plan on tearing it down and checking everything out before attempting to put her in the bike. The engine was pretty bare but luckily willman on the forums just happen to be parting out a 1990 GSX 600 and had most everything I needed to complete the engine itself.
This will be a slower build because I travel during the week. And once again, I will need my fellow GS brethren to complete this project. There is no way I can do this one alone. So many thanks in advance!
I hope you enjoy it. I searched high and low and never found this swap outlined in any detail on the net so hopefully this will be good info for future projects.
Sci85
Luckily I found what is one of the best forums I have ever been a part of on the net; The GS Resources! With the help of many really great people, I finished the 550 Katana that spring and I have been riding her on and off since then.
Unfortunately, since this was a non-running bike, I had no chance to check out the engine itself. And although she fired up nicely and didn't smoke or burn oil, I did discover that she had suffered some abuse as 2nd gear would not stay in place under any load and a pretty bad knock developed in the lower end. Needless to say, I knew that I would have to rebuild the engine and transmission at some point. Sooner rather than later.
So, I went looking for a suitable 550 donor bike but never quite found the right engine at the right price. However, after a couple of months searching CL, I came across a young fellow selling the engine from a 1998 GSX 600 Katana. I looked up the specs on this engine and found it was slightly smaller in size and weight yet produced almost 30 more HP than the 550! Ok, now we're talking.
I've never done an engine swap in a motorcycle before but with the prospect of having 30 more ponies under my butt I figured what the heck, time to learn how to do an engine swap!
So, here she is.
I plan on tearing it down and checking everything out before attempting to put her in the bike. The engine was pretty bare but luckily willman on the forums just happen to be parting out a 1990 GSX 600 and had most everything I needed to complete the engine itself.
This will be a slower build because I travel during the week. And once again, I will need my fellow GS brethren to complete this project. There is no way I can do this one alone. So many thanks in advance!
I hope you enjoy it. I searched high and low and never found this swap outlined in any detail on the net so hopefully this will be good info for future projects.
Sci85
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