550m

[dave 57]

hi there from australia, i`m asking if someone on the forum can help me, i have 2 kick start 550s and 2 1981 550m engines what are the differences between these engines i was hoping the cylinder head and kick start assemblies may be the same on both types of engines.
thanks in advance dave

[tom203]

Let's bump you up- I have no clue,but others will. Our 550 bikes lost their kickstarters in 1980. Do any of these bikes have 4 valves per cylinder?

[tom203]

Bump to the outback.....

[Guest]

I can give some info but not comprehensive. I have an '82 550M that is now 673cc. First off, the kickstart bosses are there to support the kickstart on the 82 (there was no '81 , the 550M came out as an '82 model, '81 was an 'E' model). The just removed the assembly and changed the right side case to eliminate the kickstart hole. As far as I can tell, they would be swappable between bottom ends.

The head assemblies are the same but with some minor differences. Again, I am know expert but I do know the valve covers are different with different hole patterns and number of bolts so you have to use the same model year cover.

If I were you, I would pull up the micro fiche for each year and compare side by side. That should tell you a lot of information.

Good luck!