Scott's GS550m katana cafe build

[Guest]

Hey guys,

New to the GS community - man there's so much information here! Picked up an 82 GS550M Katana for cheap and thought I'd strip it down and do a cafe build. I'll do my best to document it here but can only get out to the garage in the weekends, so updated content might be slow.

Bit about myself; I'm from NZ, work in IT, been riding a Ducati Monster for about 3 years, and just started racing Moto4 (FXR150).

With that out of the way, here's what she looked like on the ute.



Reasonable amount of ageing, looks like it's been left outside for a couple of years. Bought a rotary tool to clean up the components when they come off.





I'm actually impressed at the condition of the frame. Paint is still good and no rust. Will be sanding and powdercoating eventually though.




Oh look two sets of keys! Score.



Needed lots of WD40 for all the seized screws



Next steps:
- take out the loom and see if it's complete
- drop the engine
- make space in the garage!

[mikerophone]

Your bike, your choice, but yes, similar to your other thread, one more "please don't chop it up!?" plea.

Such a cool bike on stock form, but yeah, it needs some love either way. Lots of rust and oxidization and it's gotta come apart, so I suppose make it your own...

One tip I have for you - WD-40 works fine as a water displacement/rust preventative or lube, and here we use a product called PB Blaster to break free stubborn bolts and fasteners, but I've found a cheaper homemade alternative, a 50/50 mix of good acetone (not your ladies fingernail polish remover) and ATF. A little heat from your torch around the bolt or nut, soak, heat, soak and break 'em free!

[Cyrano]

Hi Scott and welcome to GSR. I echo what mike says, I wouldn't pick a Katana to chop up just because they look so good as standard. And I second the use of penetrating oil and patience to remove rusty bolts. Particular care will be needed on the header bolts.

Overall it's a nice find and you're lucky the frame is still in good shape. Don't worry about slow progress, they all turn out that way despite the best intentions. Good luck.

[trevor]

Nice bike...it was my first street bike as a 16 yearold back in 1982..looking forward to you bringing it back to life!

[scottp]

I'm hearing the pleas! Problem is, everything that makes this bike a katana (handlebars, seat, side fairings) are either missing or not saveable...
Only thing intact is the tank, which I'll be selling to replace with a normal GS tank (people screaming at their screens about now).

[lurch12_2000]

I'm hearing the pleas! Problem is, everything that makes this bike a katana (handlebars, seat, side fairings) are either missing or not saveable...
Only thing intact is the tank, which I'll be selling to replace with a normal GS tank (people screaming at their screens about now).

The seat is original but without the side covers the Katana tank does look odd. The mufflers are not original either. I'd say sell the tank for good $ and use it to finance your café makeover. Café bikes are much more useful than bobber makeovers and look a lot better too with a good color scheme. Get it mechanically sorted out first before sinking $ into the looks. What paint color scheme were you looking to do?
For the purists here, if it takes a lot of $ and time to source original stuff then better to have a daily runner to enjoy than a 3 year restoration project with no road time that I doubt you would get your $ back on.

[Cyrano]

I'm hearing the pleas! Problem is, everything that makes this bike a katana (handlebars, seat, side fairings) are either missing or not saveable...
Only thing intact is the tank, which I'll be selling to replace with a normal GS tank (people screaming at their screens about now).

You do it your way, Scott. We can't see what shape the bike is in so are unable to make an informed decision. The only thing is now you'll have to do an excellent job. No pressure!

Good luck, mate.

[scottp]

Some progress made this weekend;

- Pushed the GS up the ramp onto the workbench and did the 'tip to the right' method for dropping the engine. Was a bit of a wiggle but got there in the end.
- Stripped top end down. Nothing broken, looks okay but haven't checked any clearances/measurements against the specs yet.
- Got the frame ready for de-tabbing. Can decide whether to relocate rear brake cylinder or roll with the big mounts - suggestions?
- Started dismantling carbs and callipers.
- Bought a new GS tank! Apparently it's never been on a bike before. It's the 77-78 era so will need to fabricate some mounts to fit with the 82 mounts. Will definitely also change the colour - not keen on the orange.

I have to apologise for this week's photos. They were taken with my phone and the garage is very dark without power!