1982 GS550M Katana Rebuild

[Fjbj40]

Fantastic job so far! Keep it up she will be a beauty when your finished

[mv577]

Fantastic job so far! Keep it up she will be a beauty when your finished

Thank you!

[Kiwi Canuck]

Great job on the rebuild, thanks for posting such a detailed well documented rebuild thread.

I have just started a rebuild on a GS 650 E which looks mechanically similar to your bike so I'm able to pick a few valuable details from your posts which is a bonus for me during my rebuild process.

Seems we have the same thoughts on buying all the NOS parts we can find, it's hard to resist when you know it's NLA from Suzuki and you see one for sale.

I seem to remember you purchased painted trims for the speedo and tach but in the previous picture it looks like you installed chrome ones, change of mind?

Also what about the paint job for the bike, did you get that done yet?

One other question I had was regarding the engine emblems, did you order the emblem cover for the generator and ignition covers from Parts Outlaw and if so can you post a picture of them.

Did it look like the original one?




Cheers,

David

[mv577]

Great job on the rebuild, thanks for posting such a detailed well documented rebuild thread.

I have just started a rebuild on a GS 650 E which looks mechanically similar to your bike so I'm able to pick a few valuable details from your posts which is a bonus for me during my rebuild process.

Seems we have the same thoughts on buying all the NOS parts we can find, it's hard to resist when you know it's NLA from Suzuki and you see one for sale.

I seem to remember you purchased painted trims for the speedo and tach but in the previous picture it looks like you installed chrome ones, change of mind?

Also what about the paint job for the bike, did you get that done yet?

One other question I had was regarding the engine emblems, did you order the emblem cover for the generator and ignition covers from Parts Outlaw and if so can you post a picture of them.

Did it look like the original one?




Cheers,

David

Hey David... sorry I'm just seeing this post now.. thanks for the props! These rebuilds are fun huh!!

It turned out that the painted trims didn't fit... I was bummed... I believe they were UK spec... so maybe different gauges??

As for the paint job... I'm sticking with the stock paint color... the parts are at the body shop now... I have new OEM emblems etc for it as well...

I haven't ordered the engine emblems yet so I can't answer that one... I did find NOS covers though!!!! so there will be emblems ordered at some point

Good luck with the build!!!

Mike

[mv577]

Had a few minutes to mess around with the bike... got a few small jobs done... First off I installed a new stator into my NOS case cover...





It's an aftermarket stator so we'll see... one thing to note was I had to redo the wire ties holding the wires to the stator in order to make it long enough to route through the cover... fit was fine after that...

Through on the new Regulator / Rectifier after that.... pretty straight forward here...





I then decided to put on the inner fender... the fender I bought was from a different model GS550 but looked right and was in good shape so I grabbed it... Turned out it fit well but was a little long at the top where it met the outer rear fender... I easily trimmed it down to fit with a utility knife and painting tape as a straight line... the other difference was it was missing the two top mounting holes that connected it to the outer fender... once it was in place I just drilled the holes through the bottom and was able to use the stock hardware to screw them together...







Mounted the outer rear fender next... straight forward... It's a NOS part but has some marks and blemishes here and there... best I found by far and it looks good on the bike



Turn signal mounts...

[mv577]

Rear turn signals... aftermarket... may be replaced at some point as I'm not 100% on them... but ok for now...





Pulled apart the seat latch and license plate bracket for clean up and paint...





Seat latch all cleaned up... and yes I know it wasn't black before but I thought it looked good



Seat latch installed...



License plate bracket all painted up and installed... hey it's the little things!!!

[mv577]

I got to work on a lock set I bought... My seat latch lock broke when I took it apart and I need a gas cap so when the set popped up cheap I bought it... they were in great shape but I'm having success cleaning them up...

Seat latch lock rebuild...





Helmet lock....





Ground down and being painted...



Getting ready to rebuild the seat lock... I realized at this point that I needed the end arm from my original lock that links to the actual latch... the set I bought had a different end...



Seat latch lock installed... I used brake clean to get the grime out and graphite to lube them... they work great now...



Haven't finished the helmet lock yet

Oh here's a tech tip for you.... when you're cleaning and lubing the lock cylinder... don't drop it on the garage floor... those little plates and springs like to go EVERYWHERE!!!! ugh... I found the plates... but had to steal springs from an old lock... and spend 30 minutes trying to figure out what order they go in lol... fun fun

[mv577]

Started breaking down the gas cap that came in the used set...





As you can see the rubber seal is crap...



Anyone know if I can get just this seal??? Or any ideas on making one???



Started painting it in the meantime... forgot to take a pic of the finished paint...

[Swk426]

I'm very interested in how this comes out. Just sold this guy last spring. Your doing a great job.

[nvr2old]

It's fun watching small components being refurbished. Piece at a time till they're all done and come together for a finished project and nothing left untouched.

[Swk426]

IMG_2501.jpgSecond try

[Newbomb]

Mike
you are doing a fantastic job documenting your restoration here.I bought one of these at my local dealer Spring city cycles in saratoga springs NY as a one year old leftover.it was a great first bike I traded it in a couple yrs later on a 82 GS1100E and have owned about 15 or so GS1100's and a couple more 1000 Katanas.I used to live on this site but then had kids and took a break for while.now I just picked up another 83 1100E and can't wait to start restoring it

Rich

[mv577]

Well life is what it is and the bike was pushed to the side of the garage for a while again... Slow and steady I guess!!! A few updates on its progress... first off I got the body work back from the shop!!! You have to love shinny parts!



The tank when I brought it home...






Decals applied.... loving it!





Front fender installed...

[mv577]

I then started working on the front brake lines... I decided to do braided lines and went with Goodrich... There weren't any great kits that I could find for the bike... I've never used these type of lines where you put the line and end together as needed... but I have to assume they work or they wouldn't sell them lol



Putting it all together... and actually I messed up here by putting one of the longer lines in the wrong place... but I caught it before putting it on the bike...

[mv577]

I then grabbed the rear hub and axle and started cleaning those up...



I forgot a before picture but here is the new bearing being pressed into the cleaned up hub....



Cleaned hub, new bearing and seal...



New sprocket installed... I had bought new bolts, nuts and those washer things... however when I went to use them they were all too small... so I ended up reusing the old stuff, cleaning it up the best I could... and found some new nuts lying around that seemed to work...