JohnnyL's 1980 GS550L Cafe Build

[Spyder]

Very nice. I like the Black / Red looming. I'm going to look into some of that. I assume there are different colors? One small thing you haven't mentioned yet. Looks like you have the wiring all connected. DOES IT RUN ? ! ? LOL

[JohnnyL]

Ok. So I was going to explain everything we did with the wiring in detail but It's just too much for me to put into words. Brian Winger was a tremendous help in this department and I consider myself more than lucky that he was willing to offer his time to help me.

I will just say that we were trying to be as neat as possible with the wiring and all the wiring was put into red/black nylon loom. The M-Unit is incredibly cool and I wish my car, my KTM and everything I drive had this unit in it. I connected my my bike via bluetooth to my iPhone. Upon walking up to the bike, the blinkers flash and let me know that the bike is ready to ride. One click of the start button turns the bike on. The next click of the start button starts the bike. Double clicking the start button shuts the bike off. You can also set the range of the bluetooth. Walking out of range of Bluetooth and the blinkers flash to lock the bike and set the alarm. The alarm has nine settings for sensitivity. Depending on the sensitivity setting, when the bike is moved, the alarm is activated and the horn starts honking and the lights start flashing.

I had a problem with the coils being mounted too close to the mounting posts which caused a short. The M-Unit has fuses built-in. When I connected the ignition wire to the M-Unit, I immediately got a notification on my iphone that there was a short in the ignition circuit. Pretty crazy right? I made an offset plate for the coil mounting posts and the problem was resolved.

The brake lights can be configured for different settings via the phone app. You can have a normal brake light or you can have different settings for a blinking brake light before it goes solid. You can also set an emergency brake light for when the M-Unit senses hard braking, it will flash 10 times along with the blinkers letting people behind you know that you are coming to a hard stop.

Blinkers can also be configured in the app to either blink normally(quick on/off) or fade in fade out. One thing that I loved about my Harley Softtail was the auto off blinkers. The bike would sense that you made a turn and the blinkers would automatically go off. You can set the blinkers through the app to turn off after 10 seconds, 20 and 30. This is controlled by the brake. The timer is set when you release the brake. Apply the brake and countdown timer starts over. You can also set a 3x blink for lane change by briefly pressing the turn button before it locks. Also, if you have a headset in your helmet bluetoothed to your phone, you will hear a blinker noise when the blinkers are on! All geeky stuff that I love.

The app also has all sorts of things you can do with routes. You can record your route and rate it. You can also set reminders in the app for oil changes and other maintenance items. All pretty cool stuff that I look forward to trying out.

I did have a problem with my Acewell gauge. I'm still not sure what happened. The Acewell requires a red wire to go to switched hot and a brown wire to go to constant 12v for the clock. When I connected the brown wire to constant 12v, the gauge background lights came on even when the bike was off. And now, the background lights are on when the bike is turned on but there is no data on the screen. I disconnected the brown wire from the 12v and now when you turn the bike on, the background lights come on but there is no data on the screen. I'm afraid something is fried but I don't know what caused it. Dime City said they would take the gauge back. I went to order another one but they're out of stock.

Anyway...here are some pics of the wiring. I had to put in a back-up ignition switch but with the bluetooth keyless-go, I don't have to have a key to start the bike. I located the Amazon $12 scooter switch under the seat. I still have some tidying up to do with the wiring.

[bwringer]

The usual recommendation around here when someone rescues a GS and isn't sure of their goals is to get everything working the way it's supposed to, with some well-proven upgrades like suspension and brakes, then ride it for a while, see how it works, and then figure out what you'd like to change from there.

In stock form, these bikes actually work astonishingly well -- for example, Suzuki was the first and only manufacturer in the late '70s to really get frame geometry, handling, and most of the ergonomics (except handlebars...) right. The brakes on 1980+ models are quite good when they're working right. The others didn't really start to catch up until later in the '80s.


In this case, John began with a much clearer vision than most of where he wanted to go with this build, and a commitment to do things right. I'd say 95% of the "cafe" builds we see around here are stoners hacksawing frames in their Mom's back yard, then wandering away when their hours at Taco Bell get cut and the dogpile of mockery on this forum starts...

It's quite refreshing to see someone doing a quality job on a neat project like this! And of course, it's been pretty cool to actually be a part of it. I had no idea things like the m-Unit existed.

[MikeinSaudi]

Thanks JohnnyL, i had a great time in (and out) of uniform and got to spend 16 years working with very special people, keeps you humble when you work with guys that swim at the deep end of the gene pool!!

I used to work with a great US Army Master Sgt, (i don't share names), he and i became good friends. He used to repeatedly say, "*@%^$*@%^$*@%^$*@%^$ sir, sometimes you are the dumbest genius i know". Fun times!!

[JohnnyL]

Thanks JohnnyL, yeah i am semi-retired ex-military ( >20 years as an intelligence officer). While i am sure you are being modest brother i genuinely am new to spannering so i will need and ask for help. My bike came in bits from a friend of a friend who was starting a cafe racer. it is stripped and he had done some work and bought a load of parts so it was a real bargain at circa $600 US. My intention is not to do anything cosmetic initially to the bike, just rebuild and get running to prove everything is good to go. Then strip and customise. Does that approach sound about right...or would you suggest anything different.

Im not very bright but i take instruction pretty well By the way, i do know that its pretty stupid to buy a bike unseen even if the guy selling it is genuine and a good mechanic builder, but i just couldn't wait and was hoping it would have been there for my Christmas leave.

Well first off...thank you for your 20+ years of service!

Your approach sounds perfect. This will allow you to get to know the bike. When you're ready, strip the bike down and customize away. Just be prepared to empty your wallet when you do get around to customizing. LOL.

You say you're not very bright but you're an intelligence officer....LOL...I like you already.

[MikeinSaudi]

You're very welcome MikeinSaudi! I'm happy to hear you are inspired. Are you in the service?

I wouldn't call myself a "highly skilled mechanic". I'm just not afraid to take on projects and to learn along the way.

Please let me know if you need any help once you get home and start on your GS550 re-build. I'd be happy to provide any assistance I can.

Thanks JohnnyL, yeah i am semi-retired ex-military ( >20 years as an intelligence officer). While i am sure you are being modest brother i genuinely am new to spannering so i will need and ask for help. My bike came in bits from a friend of a friend who was starting a cafe racer. it is stripped and he had done some work and bought a load of parts so it was a real bargain at circa $600 US. My intention is not to do anything cosmetic initially to the bike, just rebuild and get running to prove everything is good to go. Then strip and customise. Does that approach sound about right...or would you suggest anything different.

Im not very bright but i take instruction pretty well By the way, i do know that its pretty stupid to buy a bike unseen even if the guy selling it is genuine and a good mechanic builder, but i just couldn't wait and was hoping it would have been there for my Christmas leave.

[JohnnyL]

Thanks for taking the time to post so many pictures and info about your build. For me its been fascinating and inspiring, i know people write stuff like that occasionally but honestly bud its great.

I get back from Saudi Arabia at the end of Feb and will be starting a re-build on a '78 GS550. Unlike you i am not a highly skilled mechanic so i will be revising your post repeatedly before getting home.

Thanks again bro

You're very welcome MikeinSaudi! I'm happy to hear you are inspired. Are you in the service?

I wouldn't call myself a "highly skilled mechanic". I'm just not afraid to take on projects and to learn along the way.

Please let me know if you need any help once you get home and start on your GS550 re-build. I'd be happy to provide any assistance I can.

[MikeinSaudi]

Thanks for taking the time to post so many pictures and info about your build. For me its been fascinating and inspiring, i know people write stuff like that occasionally but honestly bud its great.

I get back from Saudi Arabia at the end of Feb and will be starting a re-build on a '78 GS550. Unlike you i am not a highly skilled mechanic so i will be revising your post repeatedly before getting home.

Thanks again bro

[steve murdoch]

Nice bit o' kit.
Cool touch with the etching.

[JohnnyL]

Just a quick update. Brian helped me pretty much wrap up the wiring last Saturday. I'm still trying to figure out how I am going to post what we did because I'm still trying to wrap my head around it all.

I finished cutting the new triple clamp tonight. The bike is literally a few days away from first start up. Time permitting that is. Work seems to be getting in the way all of a sudden. Grrr...

[JohnnyL]

Engine paint looks great, what brand and color code did you use? I also like the look of the flat or satin black with the stainless or chrome bolts/screws ... I will be taking this page out of your project and using it on my current 81 CM400T cafe project. Nice job!

Thanks! The paint is Harley Davidson texture finish. It comes in rattle cans. I’m pretty impressed with the paint so far. I plan on doing some testing on the junk cases. I’d like to test fuel resistance and how hard it is to scratch.

Alloyboltz.com has polished stainless steel bolt kits for all different models of bikes.

[Mr.humbucker]

Engine paint looks great, what brand and color code did you use? I also like the look of the flat or satin black with the stainless or chrome bolts/screws ... I will be taking this page out of your project and using it on my current 81 CM400T cafe project. Nice job!

[alke46]

I'm pretty impressed with the amount of work you get accomplished in a small amount of time.
You certainly are more enthusiastic than I. I have to double then triple and finally quadruple my work to be sure I have it right.
Really enjoying following this build. Can't wait to see it at Brown county in June.

[steve murdoch]

You have done more in a week than i would l do in a year.
Fantastic, Johnny.

[JohnnyL]

Looking back thru your build when you first torn down the engine the original gasket doesn't look like it covered the holes either

Thanks! You are correct and it was indeed the correct gasket. Those holes are open to the air through the fins. No need for a gasket to cover those holes.

The engine is rebuilt(correct this time) and back in the bike. I took my time today(about six hours) and removed the engine from the bike, tore it down, rebuilt it and put it back in. Everything turns over nicely and I'm pretty happy. Just in time for Brian to come over tonight to help me with some more wiring.