78' GS550 project.

[brslk]

Moving along very quickly.....good job

Those rims will look good once they are cleaned up, I hope the spokes will come out just as good, if not you can paint them, or get them dipped and electroplated, or get new ones as a last resort

I did try to clean up the spokes but they are a bit too corroded to polish up.
I think will paint them black. It just seems like to much work / cost to have them dipped and plated or to replace them.
They will probably provide a nice contrast to the shiny rims.

As far as moving along quickly, It doesn't seem that way sometimes.
I'm sure I could wrap this up in about a week if I had the cash and parts available. As it stands I am hoping to have it done by spring before the garage gets knocked down.

If not, I am going to see if I can leave the garage as is until the house is knocked down and the new one built and then do the garage.

Bruce.

[brslk]

The horn mount?

Daniel

Is that where the horn is supposed to mount? Mine was mounted on some home made looking bracket on the front of the frame.

Bruce.

[Erki]

Looks good. I have a 76 750 as well that looks very similar to your bike. Except I have a disc brake on the rear.

[nutsandbolts]

Yes, it's always time or money but the bike has good bones to work with. You'll be proud of yourself when you finish it. Keep it up

[brslk]

Strong Edmonton presence here.

Didn't get much done again today.
I did use a Home depot gift card I got for Christmas to get a few things I needed.



The funny thing about these grinders is the one on the left is one that I paid $20 for about 20 years ago at a flea market. It gets used almost daily and is going strong.



The one net to it is a Canadian tire $20 (on sale) grinder that lasted about a week until it was toast and I had to replace these.



So far so good. The next one is a $150 Milwaukee grinder that is about a month old and is already making odd sounds.

The one next to it is a Princess Auto $15 special that I can't really comment on the quality of it as I rarely use it because of a crappy designed switch.

I thought these screws were bad.



But I managed to break them loose with the help of an impact driver.

Not so lucky with these ones on the other side though.




These were also very useful in removing the screws



on these.



I am at the point now that I gotta start ordering parts and remove the engine.
Moneywise... this is not a good time of year for me to be ordering parts so the rest of the build might be a little slow for the next little while but I will keep updating as it progresses.

Bruce.

[Erki]

I hear ya on the money thing. Its all fun till you gotta start paying out. If you have a small dremel cut wheel, cut a straight notch in the stripped screws and use a flathead. It worked for me.

I love $20 grinders. I've got mine at princess auto. 1st one lasted 5 years and 2nd about a year, and 3rd is going strong.

Yeah hopefully this Edmonton crew can get together this summer, Maybe have a coffee, go for a ride, or tinker on some bikes.

[Guest]

How much engine work are you planning on Bruce? Myself, I am torn. Looking into the intake and exhaust ports, the intakes look good but the exhausts are nicely carboned up. It's got 14K miles on the clock...It really adds to the bill opening it up but part of me wants to get it all done now why the bike is apart and the engine is out. At this time, I'm thinking I will just bite the bullet but it's going to be painful...

Sci85

[brslk]

How much engine work are you planning on Bruce? Myself, I am torn. Looking into the intake and exhaust ports, the intakes look good but the exhausts are nicely carboned up. It's got 14K miles on the clock...It really adds to the bill opening it up but part of me wants to get it all done now why the bike is apart and the engine is out. At this time, I'm thinking I will just bite the bullet but it's going to be painful...

Sci85

I hear ya. I am in the same position. The intakes look good also but here is what the exhaust ports look like.






Some are better than others but none of them look great.

The bike ran good when I started so I am having a hard time justifying the cost to myself, even though I know it should be taken care of while (as you said) the engine is out.

I'm leaning towards not doing it but damn you... not sure now...
The cost and extra time is the killer for me.

Bruce.

[GateKeeper]

Hey Bruce.....

Do like me, I have started on the cleaning, polishing, stripping, sanding, and so on, of all the parts, takes very little money, and will keep you busy for a while.

and maybe paint a few things in the process, let them sit and cure, gets that paint nice and hard and cured, and parts will be ready for install...when you are

This way I am not spending any, well very little money, but still keeping the build going....

[brslk]

Hey Bruce.....

Do like me, I have started on the cleaning, polishing, stripping, sanding, and so on, of all the parts, takes very little money, and will keep you busy for a while.

and maybe paint a few things in the process, let them sit and cure, gets that paint nice and hard and cured, and parts will be ready for install...when you are

This way I am not spending any, well very little money, but still keeping the build going....

I've been doing that a little as I went along and intend to do exactly what you said. I am going to start to work on the tank, prepping for paint but I really want to polish several things but have zero experience at that.
Any tips or advice?

Bruce.

[Guest]

Funny Bruce, your exhaust ports look almost like mine...

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=185189&page=2

It wouldn't be so bad if it were not for the cost of that freaking head gasket. At $90 bucks that's just nutty.

You know, in the end I'm sure it will run fine the way it is. You could even make a leakdown checker with your compression tester if you have one and check the valves condition just to make sure.

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=186558&highlight=compression+gauge

But I don't want to have to be pulling that engine out again 5k miles down the road ya know? And it sure would make painting a lot easier since I could have the head blasted or hot tanked. So, to heck with the money, I'm doing it!

Sci85

[GateKeeper]

I posted this in Sci85 thread, but I can do it here as well

just get this

http://www.princessauto.com/pal/product/8270449/Misc.-Surplus/8%22-Polishing/Buffing-Kit

I see you have the grinder already

the more you use sandpaper first, and get rid of as many scratches first, the better the polishing will come out.....

go up to 1000 grit if not higher, and then hit the part with the polishing wheels and compounds

[Guest]

Hey Bruce, I posted a reply about the exhaust ports and polishing over on my project thread...

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?p=1561178#post1561178

Sci85

[Guest]

Oops, we must all be online at the same time. Just checked my thread and saw the replies haha....I'm a prolific night time poster LOL!

Sci85

[Guest]

Oh, one other thing. Once you polish up that first piece and step back to admire the beauty, I warn you now you will get buffitis. Heck, I got it so bad I started buffing non-moto parts haha!

Sci85