1978 GS550ET top end inspect/rebuild

[Nessism]

Those O-rings pinch into a groove around the liners. Bet they are there, but tucked in tight. Maybe try a pin to see if you can find anything soft tucked into that groove. If they are in there just leave them be.

[Nicholk]

O rings

Nope, def not there:



Talked it over with my mate who assisted and we are both confident that nothing fell off. We suspect that these came off/out during the vapour blasting and they just forgot to mention it. Sadly I never thought to phgotograph the u/side of the barrels so have no record to check....will not make that mistake from now on............rather too many photos than miss something else..!

Taking barrels for honing tomorrow....2-3 day turnround so poss by the weekend.

[Nicholk]

Valve lapping advicereqd

OK, back to the bike work after a long time away. Skimming done, cylinder honing done, now progressing to valves.
The problem I have is pitting of the valve seats. Started to lap but very quickly ran into problems with my hands/fingers....rheumatoid arthritis really sucks at times..!!
Fortunately I have a good friend who loves this sort of thing and he volunteered to do this for me. It's taking more work than we thought to get rid of the pits and there is now a minute lip beginning to form on the valve itself. I'm going to try a get photos but would like to know if anyone has come across this? Am I looking at recutting seats.? If I am can I still use the valves.?

[Nicholk]

Valve lap advice reqd

Here are the photos of the worst example. There a 3 a little better and 4 that are OK.

[Nicholk]

Well, back to the rebuild after yet another enforced break......ongoing illness relapse. Sometimes life does like to remind you it's not all roses...!!
Still, back on my feet and starting the build again.
Hit the first issue with the rings....for which I opened a separate post.....sorted now.
Had a thought then that there must be plenty of people on this forum that have done this work already.
Thought I'd ask the question:

Any particular foibles involved in the top end rebuild.?

Seen a few issues in previous posts but mostly looks straightforward.
I hope so 'coz it's been a while since I stripped it down..!

Lining up a couple of friends to assist with fitting barrels so will be a week or so before this happens.
Meantime the rest of the bike is getting looked at.......

IAAqXNl.jpg

My dining room table at the mo'....
Still loads of elbow grease reqd.

All tips gratefully received....

[Nicholk]

Interesting to read the various posts on the use of sealants on gaskets etc. I think the only one I will follow is perhaps a smear of grease on the rocker cover.

[Super]

Great posts and great pictures. All of us here on GSR appreciate your efforts. Keep up the good work!

[ShadowFocus603]

I do the grease on the rocker cover as well simply because that's usually the only part that gets removed with regularity (valve adjustments) and I like being able to re-use the gasket rather than shredding it each time.

[Nicholk]

Ok, long gap between posts. The Gods of restoration did not smile for a long time.
Had to cope with lots of issues including the build of a self contained annexe for my Father.
This was followed by an "off" on my Triumph........once again gravel takes another victim.
Fortunately was wearing all the gear but was using single skin leather summer gloves.
Slide protection was fine but the initial impact hurt.
Result was broken knuckles and a couple of days in hospital.
permanently ride with the Alpinestars from now on regardless of temperature.

Still, after 2 years the rebuild is back on.
Rings installed.
Pistons fitted,
Gasket surfaces final cleaning done.
All valve seals and valves fitted after lapping.
New studs installed into block.

Then had to wait for both my biking friends to come free at the same time to assist.
OEM base gasket fitted as per most peoples recommendation.
Barrels installed with all 3 of us working to ensure the rings went in smoothly....my ring compressor fell
foul of the garage poltergeist and was nowhere to be found!
Cylinder head on with brand spankers nuts, cams installed and everything torqued down.
Once again however the garage poltergeist intervened.....that and my failure to check and recheck the manual.
I had failed to install the camshaft guide due to the above mentioned pg hiding it.
2016-08-18_13h36_45.jpg

Luckily it was fairly easy/flexible enough to install with the chain in place.

Checked the cam clearances and ordered the new shims reqd.
Used the tie wrap trick from this site......works perfectly.....once I got the hang of it.
Now it's just waiting for the shims to arrive.
In the meantime I've got lots of work to do cleaning/checking the rest of the bike before
calling on my friends again to refit the engine.....and complete the rebuild.

Cost me several beers and a bbq for the previous assist....probably the same again for the next time.
Well worth it..!

Hopefully won't be 2 years before next post..!!!

[Nicholk]

DSC01628a.jpg

Engine as is from rear.

[Nicholk]

DSC01629a.jpg

Engine as is from front.

[Nicholk]

Shims arrived and fitted. Gaps rechecked and a brief moment of panic as it seemed I'd got it all wrong.
Took a deep breath and then realised that 0.3-0.8 feeler gauges good...........0.03-0.08 gauges is very,very bad..!!
Result...all gaps fine and some very choice name calling to myself...!!

Now lots of cleaning up of the rest of the bike.....gonna take time as arthritis means work has to be short time before probs kick in.

Not looking forward to going through the wiring and connectors especially

[k.graham]

0.3-0.8 feeler gauges good...........0.03-0.08 gauges is very,very bad..!!

Am I missing something here? I'm looking at the Suzuki service manual and it has 0.03mm- 0.08mm tappet clearance spec.

Anyways, great thread you have here! really valuable to have so many detailed photos!

Thanks for posting!

[Nicholk]

Yup......missed a zero off all figures.......oops.

[Nicholk]

Now to the rebuild of the brakes.......managed to dismantle all but the front brake master cylinder.........well and truly seized and impossible to get out. Seems like it may be common from the posts where people have swapped it for a newer model.....Bandit. On to the re-assembly.

Brakes comp.jpg