Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Mid 80s 550cc proto sport bikes

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    #31
    There was a pretty immaculate one for sale around here for a while. 13K original miles, but it had been sitting for a couple of years. They are neat bikes. I'd enjoy owning one.
    "Thought he, it is a wicked world in all meridians; I'll die a pagan."
    ~Herman Melville

    2016 1200 Superlow
    1982 CB900f

    Comment


      #32
      Originally posted by Chris View Post
      My favorite mid-80s 500cc sport bike was the RG500 Gamma. So much so that I still have it.
      Same as above.

      Since it has been mentioned, I prefer a 16" front wheel bike, with an otherwise neutral riding position, than one of the current sport bikes, that attain the same benefits, forcing the rider in a bottom up wrists down position.
      And, with well sorted suspension in not either bad on raw tarmac.
      Last edited by Lorenzo; 11-12-2016, 07:37 AM.
      GS1000G '81

      Comment


        #33
        I just ride honda blade

        Comment


          #34
          The 16 valve version of the GS550 was the first pretty fast 550. I voted for it. It wasn't called a GSX in the USA. As far as owning, a Kawasaki GPZ or standard 550 would be the one I would probably want if I had to have one as an only bike. I would prefer the twin shock one. The two barrel carbs on the Suzuki put me off. I'll probably never own any of them in reality.

          I do like the Vision. If I wanted to play checkers or chess on the top of a motorcycle gas tank, it is the obvious choice. Just add some white squares of tape. Magnetic chess men and blue tooth in the helmet, and it could make the commute fly right by (and into a ditch, probably).
          sigpic Too old, too many bikes, too many cars, too many things

          Comment


            #35
            I dunno. The first GPz 550 came out before the 16 valve GS550, and it did the 1/4 mile in 12.7 at 102. That's not slow, and really only a bit off of the GS's 12.3 at 107.
            "Thought he, it is a wicked world in all meridians; I'll die a pagan."
            ~Herman Melville

            2016 1200 Superlow
            1982 CB900f

            Comment


              #36
              GPz550 DEFINITELY #1... retains the classic styling still but with touches of sport bodywork, AND WOW ARE THEY FAST AND LIGHT! Or add the GPz head/cams and the Wiseco GPz 610cc big bore kit to a standard kz550. Heck, I was pulling the front tire up slightly off the ground in 1st and 2nd doing small acceleration wheelies on a k&n pods/Kerker 4:1 1980 kz550 even. Very zippy, & lighter than a gs550

              GS550 77-82 #2 - grest bikes, very tough engines, 673cc gs650 top end swap makes this thing really awesome. The huge duration on these camshafts not only gives them an awesome exhaust sound (with aftermarket pipe), but also yields phenomenal gains when the bike is de-restricted with pods and pipe and properly re-jetted. Great bike with great mods available through the GS forums. Twinpot brake mod,GS1100E swingarm, gs1150/1st gen gsxr wheels or lacing up wider rims... very good platform

              #3 RG500 - VERY FAST!!!!!!!!
              '77 GS750 920cc heavily modded
              '97 Kawasaki KDX220R rugged terrain ripper!
              '99 Kawasaki KDX220R​ rebuild in progress
              '79 GS425stock
              PROJECTS:
              '77 Suzuki PE250 woods racer
              '77 GS550 740cc major mods
              '77 GS400 489cc racer build
              '76 Rickman CR1000 GS1000/1100
              '78 GS1000C/1100

              Comment


                #37
                On my 550 Seca i'm currently in the process of swapping an a fj600 engine (its a direct fit). Back in the day wiseco made a big bore kit for it which would punch it out to 652, unfortunately the kit is now obsolete. Person I know raced one back in the day and did 11.7 in the quarter.

                Comment


                  #38
                  The Seca 650 was a sweet bike, and at least in that model, you could swap in the 750 lump. The 550 was a little anomalous.
                  "Thought he, it is a wicked world in all meridians; I'll die a pagan."
                  ~Herman Melville

                  2016 1200 Superlow
                  1982 CB900f

                  Comment


                    #39
                    Yeah it definitely doesn't stand out in any one given category other than reliability. 15'000km on it this season and never skipped a beat.

                    Comment


                      #40
                      Don't get me wrong-I'm a big fan of the Seca. I never had one, but I like them a lot.
                      "Thought he, it is a wicked world in all meridians; I'll die a pagan."
                      ~Herman Melville

                      2016 1200 Superlow
                      1982 CB900f

                      Comment


                        #41
                        I had the 550 and 750 Seca. The thing I noted was the high quality chrome on the headers, never turned blue or deteriorated.
                        They also made a killer mean tone that no Suzuki ever could, not even the GSXR.
                        I'd like to attributed that to the sound engineers from the musical instrument branch of Yamaha.
                        "Only fe' collected the old way, has any value." from His Majesty O'Keefe (1954 film)
                        1982 GS1100G- road bike, body, seat and suspension modded
                        1990 GSX750F-(1127cc '92 GSXR engine) track bike, much re-engineered
                        1987 Honda CBR600F Hurricane; hooligan bike, restored

                        Comment


                          #42
                          That's a cool hypothesis, Bill. I remember liking the sound of my old XS11, too, and no V4 sounds better with a pipe than a VMax.
                          "Thought he, it is a wicked world in all meridians; I'll die a pagan."
                          ~Herman Melville

                          2016 1200 Superlow
                          1982 CB900f

                          Comment


                            #43
                            Same motor as the xJ600 and overall a great little package.

                            Comment


                              #44
                              16-valve version of the first GS550 quite fast 550. I enjoyed it. I intend to buy it in the future.

                              Comment


                                #45
                                I've owned 3 650 Secas, and a Honda first gen 550 4. Those are the only mid-sized Japanese bikes I've owned. I bought 2 each XJ650s new for $1695 each, at Beach Yamaha in Huntington Beach, CA, and gave them to my brothers. My older brother still has his. The last, I bought for about $500. It was real clean, but needed steering bearings (unlike Suzuki, they are loose ball, stock). It had a cheap aftermarket 7" headlight on it too. I had about $700 when it was on the road, with a stock 8" headlight. It was part of the loaner fleet when I was inviting relatives to go on tours. A 650 Seca has a lot of merit in my opinion. The CB550 was a heavy, and especially top heavy, poor handling slow, decently put together, unpleasant piece of crap in my opinion. Also, at the time, my main bike was physically not compact, but weighed about 420 lbs. It was not possible for me, at the time, to consider these smaller but heavier bikes as lightweights.

                                With the 650 Seca, it was an interesting comparison how Suzuki made stuff vs. Yamaha. The Yamaha 8" headlight has 2 chrome rings, it is made of steel, and there are adjusters built into it for aiming. Its pretty heavy, too, compared to the cheap plastic bucket my Suzukis have. I don't think the extre pieces and weight add much value. There is a brace to hold the seat up when you want to work under it. You always have to fiddle for a second to close the seat. It takes both hands. Suzuki uses gravity for that, and it works well. It came with a lock. I've never used it. It came with cheap loose ball bearings in the stem. That is value taken away where I can't see it. Fit and finish is better on the Yamaha, although I think Suzuki improved that in '82 and '83 over the earlier bikes.

                                I had a E Bay search for 650 Seca headlight for years, and did finally assemble a complete New-Old Stock 650 Seca headlight assembly, piece by piece. I may mount it on a Suzuki. I'm not sure. I did double my money selling the used Seca. I'll never do that with my Suzuki 850 and 1000 Gs
                                sigpic Too old, too many bikes, too many cars, too many things

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X