New GS owner in Jersey

[Kirbot]

Well hello all!

I've been wanting a 70s Japanese bike for a few years now.
I bought a jacket about a year ago.... Somebody even gave me a helmet and gloves.
Getting the bike itself proved trickier.

To get a bike I needed... The desire, the money, and... to find the right bike for a good price.
I could only ever seem to have or find two of the three, at the same time...
Money, and desire, but no bikes for sale.... Money, bikes for sale, but other priorities and not enough desire... Etc


Until two days ago. I still didn't exactly have the money, but I was at an auction and I saw a deal I couldn't refuse...
It's a 1977 GS550

And after tax and the auction's buyer's premium, it came to $370.

Starts and runs (albeit on 3cyls)
It's not quite as nice as the pictures might suggest... But I think it's going to clean up pretty well.
The only big issue is, no title. But it looks like there are a few options to get it registered anyway.


My plan is just to clean it up, fix what needs fixing, and learn to ride.
There's a few small cosmetic things I might do, but for the most part, I'm just leaving it stock.

[Guest]

Good score! A little cleaning up, tearing down the carbs and cleaning them and a few other things and you will have a nice looking bike. You are in the right place for all the help you need.

[Mista M]

Good to see you made it over here, be sure to check out the newb info from Basscliff at the top of this section.

[LarryJ]

That's a pretty looking bike! You'll have a great time with her! Good luck & pay attention to the welcome message & all the guidance in it. Have fun!

[dorkburger]

Let the fun begin....Welcome and good luck.

[trtsmb]

Looks like it's in pretty good condition for its age. Don't forget to sign up for the motorcycle safety course. It's well worth the time and money.

[Allie]

Very nice bike! Go through all the mechanical things now and it will give you years of trouble free fun!

[storm 64]

Nice looking motorcycle. I have to get me a kick start GS someday...

[dorkburger]

Where are you in NJ? Judging from the background it looks like one of those open air auctions- Englishtown, Collingswood, etc.

[Kirbot]

Thanks for the welcome everybody.

I've already learned a few things just lurking around.
I only wish I had the cash to get right to work on this thing, but it's going to have to wait a week or two before I can spend anything on it.

On the upside, that will give me plenty of time to research and figure out what I'm doing, before tearing right in and making a mess of things.

Where are you in NJ? Judging from the background it looks like one of those open air auctions- Englishtown, Collingswood, etc.

I live in Tabernacle (Burlington county) but the auction is in Mickleton.
I've been going almost every sale for the past 5 years or so. I'm pretty sure this was the first bike I've ever seen there.

[dorkburger]

There are at least 2 members in your neck of the woods....

[Kirbot]

Good to know.
I'll have someone to beg if I get stumped working on the thing.

[Kirbot]

Well first of all..... Woo!
I haven't been able to spend much money on it yet, but I have spent quite a bit of time cleaning and fixing things up.

This big news is, it's running on all 4 cylinders now. There's a SLIGHT bog just off idle, so I probably still need to rebuild the carbs, but at least it dropped down the priority list some.
I also did a little polishing on the engine. I can't do much for the fins, or the case, but I decided to buff up all the removable covers. I still need to buy a no.3 JIS bit, so I'm not able to polish a few of the covers yet, but I got all smaller ones done. I also need to repaint the Suzuki badge on the points cover.
I also polished the pipes some more, and they came out pretty presentable. Aside from a huge ugly scrape on the end of one muffler. But it's low enough that when you're standing up and looking down at it, you don't really notice it.

And the other big news is... I road it for the first time! Just up and down the gravel driveway, but it's 600' long, so there's a little room to play.










That's my dad riding it. I couldn't take a picture of myself.
He started out on a Honda CB450 in the 70s, and he rides an Honda NX650 now.
I suppose I'm something of a traitor for going Suzuki.

The lack of safety gear is only because there isn't room to get it much past 15mph just on the driveway...

[Kirbot]

Turns out my mom did snap a picture of me on it, from the back porch.

[Guest]

That's a nice find and it's cleaning up well. If the low mileage is genuine then that's a real bonus. Once you swap the bars on it (what happened there????) I don't see too many problems getting this one on the road in time to enjoy a good summer of riding.