So I have been perusing about on the forum recently and ran across a couple posts alluding to the possibility of putting the top end of the 650 on the 550 for some increase in power and/or displacement. The thought of gaining some power is alluring.
I have a 79 GS550E and I'm not unhappy with its performance. However, it is in need of some work and if I can get some more performance reasonably, I will. I plan to rebuild the engine during the winter and was toying with a few ideas including the one mentioned above. I already plan on replacing the exhaust, air box and jetting, mostly because the exhaust is in bad shape.
I want to know:
1. Is the 650 swap possible?
2. What all needs to be replaced/How involved would it be if the engine is already disassembled?
3. Would the potential gains be worth the hassle, time and money? In other words, would it cost so much and be such a pain to tune after that it isn't worth it? (If it's going to cost more than a couple hundred dollars, it's likely out of the question.)
4. Are there some alternative that would be more economical? (Example - Swapping Cams, Upgrading Internals with aftermarket parts that are made for the existing engine)
I have a 79 GS550E and I'm not unhappy with its performance. However, it is in need of some work and if I can get some more performance reasonably, I will. I plan to rebuild the engine during the winter and was toying with a few ideas including the one mentioned above. I already plan on replacing the exhaust, air box and jetting, mostly because the exhaust is in bad shape.
I want to know:
1. Is the 650 swap possible?
2. What all needs to be replaced/How involved would it be if the engine is already disassembled?
3. Would the potential gains be worth the hassle, time and money? In other words, would it cost so much and be such a pain to tune after that it isn't worth it? (If it's going to cost more than a couple hundred dollars, it's likely out of the question.)
4. Are there some alternative that would be more economical? (Example - Swapping Cams, Upgrading Internals with aftermarket parts that are made for the existing engine)