My '82 GS550MZ Refit

[Nessism]

Fantastic job getting the bike back on the road. This thread should be a sticky for others to read!

Haven't read about a valve adjustment yet, or maybe I missed it? Please do those valves if you haven't already, this is not an optional thing since the valves will burn if neglected.

Good luck and keep going....

[duaneage]

I'm in Wissahickon, the far east end of Roxborough. Maro, who I've corresponded with, is in Mt. Airy. You know Duaneage from Delaware. Doug G is nearby, there's a couple guys near Lancaster, some in South Jersey. I've been fighting with a 1979 GS 1000 that's almost ready. We should organize a Philly/ SE PA ride!

You need to get that 1K on the road. Let me know if you need any help;

[jknappsax]

Where in Philly are you?

I'm in Wissahickon, the far east end of Roxborough. Maro, who I've corresponded with, is in Mt. Airy. You know Duaneage from Delaware. Doug G is nearby, there's a couple guys near Lancaster, some in South Jersey. I've been fighting with a 1979 GS 1000 that's almost ready. We should organize a Philly/ SE PA ride!

Torqued a bolt after oil filter change, dealt with here. Lucky and elegant result.

got the new bolt, nut and drain bolt gasket, no more oil leaking. Sweet.

Clutch cable screw assembly now has the bearing in it, so I don't have to worry about the cable just popping out.

bled the brakes (as described here), though they feel a little spongy, so I may take another swing at them.

also working on the fuel gauge, being discussed here.

speedo/tach both work now thanks to the new cables. Though the tach needle is awful wobbly while in motion.

more to come I guess...

Lower left - they go... where the bolts go thru the sides of the headlight bucket

this was correct, thanks...

almost to baseline...

Yesterday I hung out with a fellow GSR member duaneage and got some more work done. It is so much easier when someone has tools and spare little parts the you end up needing while you're doing the work... makes it almost fun to work on this thing. here is what we did.

used vice grips to get the intake boots off. The o-ring in there were brittle enough that they fell apart when you applied any pressure to them.

Cleaned the boots (though best practice would have been to replace them, I just don't have the $100 right now to drop) and reinstalled them with the new orings and hex-cap bolts ($10 I bought extras) with a little anti-seize on them. So when I do replace the boots it should be an easy adventure.

added some weather stripping to the air filter box. Also, added a couple bolts that had just not been there before.

Finally synced the carbs properly. And this was our "duh" moment because it took a minute to figure out why #2 was off... yea, we didn't plug the vacuum hose.

after that my biggest issue-the idle hanging-went away. We went for a quick test run around the neighborhood, but there was still a problem. Throttle response was great, but I still wasn't getting power. duaneage tweaked the air/fuel mix screws (I believe backing them out another full turn, they were only 1 1/2 out previously).

Though there is still some small issues, the ride home yesterday was simply the best ride I've ever had on this bike.

Things to still do.

Compression test - no real need to do this, just want to know
clutch cable/ screw assembly - waiting on the part that holds the cable to the assembly should be here tuesday
Horn - need to fix the horn button... found a guy on here that makes the button, may be able to rig the rest from radio shack parts...


everything else in my previous post has been done as well.

I usually replace my brake switches with an inline pressure sensitive switch in the form of a replacement banjo bolt..

I ordered a replacement contact that came today. If it goes again I will look into replacing it the way you suggest.

______________________________________

Saturday is my first group ride, so to get ready here is the agenda for tomorrow.

- Oil change - Got a new K&N filter new oring

- Bleeding the breaks and replacing the fluid. The break fluid in the bike now looks like motor oil.

- put in new break light contact

- hook up new tach/speedo cables (and hope that was the issue)

- tweak throttle cable

- tweak clutch cable (being discussed here)

- engine compression test

- oil pressure test...


Aside from that I'll eventually have to fix the horn button, but I think we can call this thread done...



...for now

Cheap-ish and easy suggestion on your brake light switch issues.. Suzuki used a sliding adjustable contact to activate the light when the brake is pulled on the front.. The rear is sort of similar. I have found these things to be rather pesky to adjust, keep that way, and if the bike's been sitting outside long, sometimes corroded beyond further use.. I usually replace my brake switches with an inline pressure sensitive switch in the form of a replacement banjo bolt.. Looks and takes the place of the banjo bolt SOMEWHERE in your brake system, be it at the master cylinder, or at the splitter, or where-ever, but it has a pressure switch built in and wires coming out to splice into your existing harness.. They work without fail, and are only $15ish bucks.. IMO a wise investment instead of fighting those stock sliding pieces of junk..

You've got a rare one there... one of the neatest looking little GSs IMO, hang on to her, get her all spiffed up and be proud that you not only own one of the sweetest road going motorcycles ever to come out of Japan, but also that you did most of the work in getting her running again yourself. There is something about THAT that makes you really appreciate these bikes more. Im not sure Id love my GSs quite as much if I didnt have a hand in making them the powerhouse machines that they are again..

[Charlie G]

Congratulations on the "M" test!

cg

Congrats!! And go to Wally World (Walmart) and pick up a cheap two-piece rain suit (around $20) for being in the rain. Buy the next size up from what you usually wear and it should fit over your gear. Then you can at least laugh at all the other poor schmoes getting soaked while you stay relatively dry.

Brad bk

The rain stayed away till the ride home... I did pass and I now have M status.

Well I finally looked through your whole post. Good job and congratulations for not giving up.

Chris

Thanks bro, its still a work in progress

[mottyl]

Well I finally looked through your whole post. Good job and congratulations for not giving up.

Chris

Took the MSP written test last night, passed. I take the road test sunday... possibly in the rain.

Congrats!! And go to Wally World (Walmart) and pick up a cheap two-piece rain suit (around $20) for being in the rain. Buy the next size up from what you usually wear and it should fit over your gear. Then you can at least laugh at all the other poor schmoes getting soaked while you stay relatively dry.

Brad bk

After getting my bike all back together I was facing some huge power loss issues. I dealt with them here.

Turns out the break light fix was only temporary. I ordered a new contact along with the speedo and tach cables from here. I haven't used them before, but they are seriously the cheapest vendor going. In the mean time I pulled the contact in the front break switch so the light will work when the rear break is applied. Just a work around while I wait for the part. $38 for contact and cables.

Tires are now on. The rims needed to be drilled so that the new stems could be put in. $90 plus $10 for the stems. Guy said my breaks are good, but the fluid needs to be replaced. I am super happy that I decided not to do this part myself, they had problems at every stage of the process

Total so far 1343.92.

The only cost left to get to baseline is a new oil filter and inspection. 50ish

Took the MSP written test last night, passed. I take the road test sunday... possibly in the rain.

woo, well after 4 foot of snow and 6 days of rain work has continued.

Today I used the instructions here to fix my break light issue. The plastic part broke and had turned sideways. It is cleaned, re-installed and working--though it will have to be replaced eventually.

Everyone was correct with the carb issue. They were not on right and I was having issues. I took the time today to really get everything together tight.

After some troubleshooting it seems as though both tach and speedo cables are bad. Luckily these are pretty cheap and easy to replace. So, that and the tires are going on this or next week I should be able to pass inspection.

More work needs to be done, but most of it is just getting it back on a proper maintenance schedule.

Finally, I start the MSP tomorrow night. It takes two weeks to finish. So I'm thinking that by the time I get the cables, tires, and inspection, I will be a licensed rider.

Thanks again to all of you for your help, though I'm sure I'm not done asking for it.

the photo that says "cleaned carbs installed" .. you have the end boot facing the wrong way it looks like, inside the air box the 2 end boots are angled so that air is drawn from the middle of the box, it appears as though you have it facing downward possibly, i could be wrong but it looks like it is a not on there quite right.

Be sure to check into that so you don't end up with a leak that messes with your idle.

Good job thus far, these crazy old bikes are fun to ride once they run well.

[Nessism]

Looking good and keep going...

Noticed the carb boot screws still look like the origionals. Did you replace the intake boot O-rings? If not, bite the bullet and do it. Those intake O-rings are a cronic problem on these old GS bikes so you will be miles ahead doing the O-rings now. Also, please don't forget to adjust those valves. Neglecting them will result in engine damage.