1982 GS550M Katana Rebuild

[mv577]

and moving on I rebuilt the rear master cylinder... a simple yet vital element of the bike...



I also installed my new rear brake light switch... it's an aftermarket from Z1 which I bought because of cost... I ended up installing a rubber grommet in the hole from my trusty Harbor Freight grommet kit which made the install perfect... without it the switch was loose in the stock mount...



The wire leads off the switch were also too short... I ended up making a nice extension using the wire from my spare harness... came out nice... but I forgot to take a picture of it... I also used a new stock spring because I had already ordered it...

The master, switch and other electronics installed...

[mv577]

and last for tonight... I started looking into the exhaust... well first I thought I would throw on the rear foot pegs since I had all the parts come in... when I realized that the foot pegs use the bracket on the stock exhaust to keep from spinning... there's a slot in the bracket that a dimple on the foot peg bracket sits in to secure the peg... well my stock exhaust is junk so I had planned on a 4-1 aftermarket... but I want to retain the pegs...

My first thought was to modify the brackets from the stock exhaust, which I had kept when throwing out the exhaust...

Here's one of the brackets...



My thought was to cut it... bend it a bit... use some of the extra foam I have and have the bracket sit against the frame stopping the peg from spinning... this is what I came up with...







It didn't look too bad... but honestly in my mind it really took away from the way I wanted the bike restored... I was never crazy about the idea of aftermarket exhaust to begin with... it's just finding a good stock set is next to impossible... well in the US anyway... long story short... I scraped that idea... and am spending a butt load of money getting NOS exhaust from the UK lol... my left pipe came today!



Light pitting... but in great shape... I started cleaning it up with steal wool... I'll put some real time into it and I think it will look great... I've found a right side and am just waiting to finalize the sale (Seller is away)... hopefully I can grab that next week!!!

For a center section I had already bought a used piece from a salvage yard in Washington State... I think it will clean up enough to use... since it's not as visible as the side pipes... Here was about 30 seconds with the steal wool... already looking better... elbow grease to the rescue soon there!



Another shot of the NOS pipe...



and of course... as she sits now

[mv577]

So it's been almost a year since I last posted... I wish I could say I have got a lot done but unfortunately the project had to be pushed to the side for a while... I'm just now getting back into it... Toughest thing is to remember what I have already, where I was, how things go together etc... It was easy when I was working on it everyday... now not so much...

So I'll start with some pictures I did take last year but didn't post...





Front turn signals installed...





Mirrors installed...





Front footpegs installed...

[mv577]

Assembling the gauges...



Headlight and gauges installed...



Gauges installed...



Left hand controls and mirror...

I have yet to put my motor back together although I have had the head and cylinders back from the engine shop for a long time... that is my most mounting challenge, mentally anyway... I bought an engine stand to help facilitate assembling and finishing the engine...






Trying to clean it up...



Pistons are looking new!!!

[dorkburger]

Life gets in the way at times. We've all been there.
Great work so far.

[Wallowgreen]

Good to see you post up again Mike! I was just rereading this thread the other day because I'm about to redo the front forks on mine. I remembered you'd installed replacement sonic springs and wanted to find which version you used. The 550 kat springs were only used on 2 other models the '81 & '82 650E, progressive doesn't list anything for the 550 kat specifically and sonic is pretty general in what they list. As I didn't find details in the thread about what you went with in the end, do you remember which you got? If not I'll contact sonic direct as I've decided to try those springs this time.

Either way, looking forward to more progress on your machine. It's going to be a great looking bike when done!

[mv577]

That is how the bike sat since last year... fast forward to now and I'm hoping to make some progress soon... I have been acquiring parts over the last year as they come up on Ebay... I actually bought another gas tank after struggling with the fact that the one I got from the UK didn't utilize a fuel gauge... Nice thing too is the one I found in Montana is rust free inside!!!! Score... I'll post pics soon as everything is going to the body shop in the next week...

I haven't stopped my international shopping either... I found this NOS front cowl in original box with all the hardware in FINLAND!!!







I'm going to send it to the body shop to help with paint match but that didn't stop me from mocking it up on the bike to see how it looked!!!



Mounting hardware replaces the stock headlight screws...







I love it... period correct... adds a little something to the front... I'm Psyched!!! and as you can see the bike got moved out to the garage... which will be better when using chemicals but there isn't any heat out there.... yet...

[mv577]

Good to see you post up again Mike! I was just rereading this thread the other day because I'm about to redo the front forks on mine. I remembered you'd installed replacement sonic springs and wanted to find which version you used. The 550 kat springs were only used on 2 other models the '81 & '82 650E, progressive doesn't list anything for the 550 kat specifically and sonic is pretty general in what they list. As I didn't find details in the thread about what you went with in the end, do you remember which you got? If not I'll contact sonic direct as I've decided to try those springs this time.

Either way, looking forward to more progress on your machine. It's going to be a great looking bike when done!

Hey Wallow! Thanks... it's good to be getting back into it!!! Can't wait to ride it!!! someday lol

I looked up my order from Sonic and it shows I ordered

1 x GS550 0.90kg/mm Sonic Springs (03S-090) = $84.95

I am 185lbs if that helps... I remember talking to Sonic and making sure that these were correct even though they only said GS550 and they assured me they were....

Hope that helps!!

[Wallowgreen]

Hey Wallow! Thanks... it's good to be getting back into it!!! Can't wait to ride it!!! someday lol

I looked up my order from Sonic and it shows I ordered

1 x GS550 0.90kg/mm Sonic Springs (03S-090) = $84.95

I am 185lbs if that helps... I remember talking to Sonic and making sure that these were correct even though they only said GS550 and they assured me they were....

Hope that helps!!

Perfect! Thanks mate.

[Wallowgreen]

BTW, you're a lucky... person! finding a good US gas tank AND a NOS cowl. Getting envious lol...

[mv577]

BTW, you're a lucky... person! finding a good US gas tank AND a NOS cowl. Getting envious lol...

I know!!! Persistent ebay surfing and willing to pony up the $$$ has paid off!! lol

[mv577]

So the bodywork has been dropped off at the body shop and the seat at the upholsterer... Told them to take their time hoping if it's a side gig maybe the cost won't hurt as much

Next... although not EXACTLY part of the build but helpful in its completion... I made some upgrades to the workshop (aka garage)... I added much needed light and a heater... Being such a small garage the heater takes no time to warm it up...





I then got to work on cleaning and painting the front fender support... something that's been overlooked and while I'm trying to get back into the swing of this restoration I figured I might as well knock it off the list...





I ended up putting rubberized coating on the under side like I did with the rear fender...

[mv577]

I then decided to start rebuilding the calipers... I grabbed the rear first... Here's everything laid out ready to go...



Pistons and seals installed...



Some new shoes...



Bolted together...



A brand new caliper!!!









So pretty!!!!

[mv577]

I then went to start on the front calipers... Dragged out the parts I bought last year and remembered I had bought aftermarket pistons and seals... I don't recall the motivation for that decision now as I did buy OEM for the rear... But I quickly realized it was a bad idea...

Here's my starting shot with everything laid out...



and that's it...... opened up the pistons and they aren't even close to the right size... I'm ordering the OEM piston and seal set... That's what I get... I did clean and paint the caliper bolts and nuts in the meantime... Although since I'm ordering the pistons and seals I may just order new bolts... we'll see



So in keeping with the brake motif I decided to finish the rear brake pedal... I had started it last year by getting the master cylinder rebuilt and installed just to find out that the swingarm was in the way of putting the pedal on... So I started by unbolting the shocks and lowering the swingarm... Everything went smoothly after that...

A new old stock brake pedal anyone???



Everything installed...









I know I'll have adjustments to make once the brakes are functional but it's all set for now

OH! and continuing the shop build I got me a new compressor... so I've been wiring and piping this baby... maybe a blast cabinet is in my future!!!

[mv577]

Flipping through this thread and came across the rear caliper tear down... found this an interesting comparison!!!

OLD:



NEW: