new project, where to begin?

[OhioEric]

Greetings Boys!!
picked up a new project and am curently enjoying the euphoria associated with the score!
Picked up an 81 suzuki 550 for cheap. PO said it wouldnt turn over....i get there and say, "Thats a really decent looking bike, too bad it wont turn over..." I'm figuring the engine is frozen... Dude says "Yeah, close though, watch." presses the starter ; AND the engine spins!!" ---just doesnt start!
I manage to keep calm while i say " i'll take it." SCORE !

Carbs have been off, he told me so....gave me an unopened paint can of gunk carb dip. and Heynes manual.

i checked for spark; got one.

...10,100 miles. was a guy in his mid 20's...said "i aint no mechanic..."

i'll get a photo as soon as i can...

where would you go from here? ...LIFE IS GOOD!\\/

[the_journeyman]

Wow! Sounds like a good score!

You've got spark you say? Give the carbs a good cleaning and see what happens!

JM

[KGB]

Read the stator papers first

then make alist of electrical do check----or redo

[mark]

Its really hard to say here, you could have it easy or have to check a lot of things.....just hard to say.

First thing I would do is get a new good battery, fully charge it and try to start the bike. Put the bike on PRIME for a minute or two, use full choke, NO throttle and try to start it. (check oil of course first!) Maybe you'll get lucky.

If it doesn't, check your plugs and see if gas is getting to them. They will be wet if gas is getting to them. If not, well, check back, there's a lot of things that could be from carbs to petcock etc. You probably have a carb rebuild in your future, but who knows?.........maybe again you'll get lucky.

Also, right away I would do a compression test to determine the basic condition of your motor. If the bike won't run you won't get the best results, but it will let you know if you have a motor that is basically in good shape or has any major internal problems.

Go throught the bike well, check wires and connections for rust, do basic routine maintenance before your ride it, make sure your brakes function well, have enough fluid etc.

[OhioEric]

carbs not attached properly . gas tank not connected.....new battery...

[Texatl]

Sounds like the '80 GS750L I just picked up for $200. Ground wire fried- PO gave up. Funny thing tho, he's an electrician. He never even attempted replacing the wire.

I checked it out and took it on the spot!

Sounds to me like you got a good find! Congrats.

[OhioEric]

i kind of like to do things on my bikes by myself....you never know when you can actually learn something...LOL !!!

lets say i need some new carb parts ....off ebay...what years or model carbs will interchange? any ideas? suggestions where to look?



and thanks, guys for the replys !

i'm still delirious from the hunt...

[xDUKEx]

eric where in ohio are ya from ???? im close to chillicothe, 1 hour south of columbus. i have rebuilt carbs, cleaned carbs, replaced about everything on my bike. not because the parts were bad. just up graded every thing on my bike. what are the carb boots like, good condition??? have you cleaned the carbs?? i have lots of stock parts .do you have an ohlm meter???

[TheCafeKid]

Yah where ya from boy'o? Always lookin for new GS contacts

[n1elkyfan]

Another Ohio guy here welcome to the board.

[OhioEric]

Thanks Guys! I feel good about the welcome...

i got the idea there were SW Ohio GS owners here from lurking over the years...thats why i wasnt looking for a new bike, let alone a project...BUT if a GS came along...an E or T... ... hey......the temptation was too great and i caved ...

i'm outside Fairfield....towards Hamilton...

i got to get calmed down; gather my wits...start working logically...

I'm absolutely stoopidly in love with that heap...

there's nothing like that first few days with a new project...

of course , YOU GUYS wouldn't understand....LOL Double LOL !!!

-Eric

[Nessism]

If it were my bike I wouldn't even try to run it as is. The carb boot O-rings are sure to be hard, thus leaking, and the carbs should be completely cleaned, and the O-rings replaced, as a mater of course for a 25 year old motorcycle.

The carb clean up series is available on the GS Resources homepage http://www.thegsresources.com/gs_carbrebuild.htm and Robert Barr sells the carb O-ring kit http://www.cycleorings.com/

You are also most likely need a new air filter, battery, and of course the carb boot O-rings, so either order on-line from Bikebandit.com (or similar) or a dealership.

The brake system may also need rebuilding - easy job. Honestly, it's hard to say what needs to be done but the carbs and boot O-rings are a must do if you want the bike to run well, and stay running well.

Good luck and welcome.

[OhioEric]

one of my problems is that the clock is ticking... and with thanksgiving travel next 2 weekends then Xmas season cash crunch, then the freeze of jan and feb...
i'm in a jam calender wise...

how long does the carb cleaning take....if you havent done this before?
one hour? Eight ? 16 ?

i'm going to try some starting fluid...i got to know if it'll run...

i cant go 3 months without knowing...

thanks for the links! ideally, it'll fire up for a few revs; and then i'll do a rebuild of the carbs over the winter...in my nice warm basement! LOL !

[TheBigRed]

I'm going to assume, since you stated you were looking for an E or a T, that this is the T model from 81??

Carb cleaning (proper like) will take you the better part of a day. Depending on the condition of the carbs. Maybe longer. Won't really be able to tell until you jump in and see what they look like on the inside. If they are really bad, you may end up having to dip them in carb dip for a couple of hours each.

And I'd recommend only doing one carb at a time in the dip, so you don't get parts mixed up between carbs.
As suggested, check the carb cleanup series linked above.

BTW, we want to see pictures.