GS550T Rear brake

[cowboyup3371]

Mobius, don't give up. This was my first bike and trust me, it was a saga for me too. I worked on my own cars before but never a bike and I've done things with it I never thought I could. Keep plugging away at it and you'll do fine.

[Suzuki_Don]

Mobius which New England do you live in, which state.

[mobius]

Thanks for the encouraging words Don and Cowboy!
I went around the forums and read some of the stories of the other GS owners and realized I'm not in such bad of a shape as I thought; but my only worry is ending up paying more to fix this bike than it would have taken to get a couple years old ninja.

Don, I live about 50 minutes west of boston

Sadly I won't be able to get to work on her until the weekend so I'll just try to gather as much information/guides as I can for now...Think I'll order the o-ring kit as well and have a go at the carbs while I'm at it. (any tips for taking the carbs out of the 550? it seems there is a lot less work space than the bigger bikes. am I right?)

[cowboyup3371]

It's not that difficult. Loosen up the air box and follow the tip by I think Suzuki_Don for moving it backwards. Loosen up the intake boots and slip the carbs out of the right hand side of the bike. While you are doing the carbs, you might as well replace the intake boot orings since they go bad and really make sure your intake boots are still pliable and don't have any obvious tears. I replaced my orings but the boots looked good. I intend to replace them next year anyway.

[Steve]

I just read through this and have a suggestion or two.

Suzuki Don has a good idea with mounting the brake lever and using that to try to rotate the shaft.

Cowboy has a good idea to pound it out, but I question the use of RUBBER. You need something with some sudden impact, not the gentleness of rubber.

Combine the two methods, if you have a helper. Try to rotate the shaft and hit it at the same time. Brace that side of the frame against the other side, then use a 2-pound hammer, but use a block of wood, so you don't mess up the ends of the splines any more than they already are.

Continue with the penetrating oil, just make sure it's real penetrating oil, like PB Blaster, Kroil, Deep Creep or a mix of ATF and acetone.

When you get it out (and you will), be sure to use a wire brush on the frame and the shaft to clean them both up, then treat them to a liberal coat of grease when you put them back together.

.

[Suzuki_Don]

Try this link for getting the carbs out.

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=167417

.

[mobius]

Try this link for getting the carbs out.

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=167417

.

that's just what I needed. Great idea!

Another carb related question (not significant enough to start a new thread):
I've noticed many of the people on this forum have installed separate air filters on each carb. Is this option available for the 550? does it improve performance? or purely for the looks?

thanks

[cowboyup3371]

Get your bike running right and then worry about going to pods. Start with a good baseline or you will be troubleshooting it from now until kingdom come. I say this due to the reading I've done on here and not trying it out. But it's still great advice.

[Steve]

I've noticed many of the people on this forum have installed separate air filters on each carb. Is this option available for the 550? does it improve performance? or purely for the looks?

Done properly, it can enhance engine output a bit. The trick is "doing it properly".

Some claim that the pods (as the individual filters are known) are lighter than the stock airbox, and they are correct. The difference is probably a couple of pounds.

They also claim it makes it soooo much easier to pull the carbs. Quite true, but why do they need to remove the carbs so often?
One of the reasons is to re-jet the carbs, which is necessary when you put on the pods. Proper jetting is seldom acheived on the first try, so the carbs need to be taken out multiple times to work out the jetting issues. If the stock airbox is left in place, you might have to pull the carbs once to clean them and install new o-rings, then ignore them. I refurbished the carbs on my wife's bike just over 5 years ago, they have been off once, and that was only to change the gasket on the cam chain tensioner. There is no need for constant fiddling with the carbs with the stock airbox.

Some also like "the look" of pods. Taste is a personal thing, not much we can do about that.

Some are into modifying their bikes in different ways, sometimes that requires removal of the airbox to put something else there.

On the down side of pods, if you get the "good" ones (K&N), they cost a LOT. You need to clean them occasionally, then oil them. The cleaning/drying/oiling process takes the better part of a day, so you may lose out on a riding day at times. Because they need to be oiled, you have to be very careful about how much oil you put on them. Too little oil and they won't filter properly. Too much oil and you can choke the air intake. Either situation affects your jetting, so you need to determine whether the filters are causing the problem or your carbs genuinely need to be adjusted (oops, they have to come off again).

If you opt for the cheaper pods, they don't need oil, so the amount of air they pass only varies with the dirt they might have caught. However, they are not meant to be cleaned, so when they get too dirty, you throw them away and get new ones. Hopefully they are the same brand and quality, or the jetting frustration starts all over.

Some riders have reported problems when riding in a turbulent siguation, like passing a truck or simply riding in a crosswind. Others have noted that if the filters got wet due to rain, they had problems. They also tend to be noisier.

By the way, get your brakes working properly before you try making the bike go faster.

[mobius]

Thank you for the detailed answer Steve.
As of now I don't plan to use them but it caught my eye me when going through the site and seeing a noticeable number of members that have them installed, thought it wouldn't hurt to add to my very limited knowledge of 2 wheelers.
My priority right now is getting the rear brakes fixed, as you mentioned; and getting the carbs in working order so the bike actually starts up and stays on.
other things to do include changing the chain (as you can see in pic#2) and maybe the sprockets too?

I'll get to work this weekend and keep you all posted.
Really want to have her ready for the next riding season, and with the help of the nice people on this forum I think that will definitely be possible.