'85 550ES (more rejuvenation than restoration)

[BigD_83]

I find that my 550ES runs a little warm and it is setup stock jetting Yours sounds like it is putting out excessive heat.

As far as the no start problem goes, I had a similar problem on the trip with my brother last year. When we limped it back to the house, it was clear that the R/R was toast. You've already swapped those out, and presumably tested the Honda R/R.

The stalling you mentioned is also reminiscient of how my 550 was acting when the R/R was going. When the revs would drop below 1000 +/-, it wasn't putting out enough current to run everything, and it would die. A simple bump start would get it going again.

The battery that was in my 550 ended up boiling dry when the R/R fried. Even though it still charges, it is not a long-term solution. In fact, it is the first thing to replace on my 550 this summer (I chose to not insure it this year because I'm not riding enough to justify having two bikes on the road)

Did you replace the battery after the R/R?

[detorn]

Did you replace the battery after the R/R?

no. but it was a newish battery, less than a year old. I hooked it to the charger while the bike is apart and it fully charged and sits now at 13.4

I'm going to redo the jets, clean all of the electrical connections again. test the oil pressure to make sure the pump is working.

if it still is flakey after that I'm going to have to give it up. Having to bump start it constantly is inconvenient, but when the gas tank starts getting hot its just not safe to ride.

also didn't mention that the new brakes won't stop squealing after 2k miles on them.

I keep trying.

[detorn]

oh, and the forks aren't holding air after 2nd fork seal replacement.

[BigD_83]

Just a thought...

The battery might still charge to 13.4V, but not be able to put out enough current to drive the starter motor. Any way you can load test it?

At the very least, you could stick a meter on it to see how low (the battery voltage) it is dropping when you first take it off the charger versus the first time it won't start up. As I mentioned, I boiled my battery dry with the failed R/R, which can cause al kinds of hurt. My battery still works, but perhaps yours went beyond the point of no return.

What kind of battery do you have? Lead/Acid, AGM, or other?

The brake squeal could be as simple as the shims not sitting properly. Is it constant, or just when you are braking?

[detorn]

What kind of battery do you have? Lead/Acid, AGM, or other?

The brake squeal could be as simple as the shims not sitting properly. Is it constant, or just when you are braking?

its a lead acid battery. I can, and will take it to be tested tomorrow.

the brakes make noise just under braking. i read to put brake grease behind the pads. I'm did that put haven't tested it yet. i also read to clean them and score them with sand paper which i did and to sand down the edge to round them off which i did, those two did not work.

[detorn]

cleaned out a bunch of stuff, put the stock jets in and put it all back together. Still nothing when hitting the start button. I can confirm now though that the gauge lights are dimming when the button is pressed. when jumping the solenoid it starts right up.

reading on the battery at 4K is 13.1ish

thoughts?

[BigD_83]

cleaned out a bunch of stuff, put the stock jets in and put it all back together. Still nothing when hitting the start button. I can confirm now though that the gauge lights are dimming when the button is pressed. when jumping the solenoid it starts right up.

reading on the battery at 4K is 13.1ish

thoughts?

Your charging number is low at 4K...that should be 13.5 or higher. That points to some voltage losses, and more electrical cleanups/tests are needed to make sure everything is good in the stator/ R/R / battery chain. However, I think you have isolated your problem above.

I don't think you had mentioned any issues with the solenoid before, but that seems to be the place to be looking.

[detorn]

battery tested good. after removing a suspect chunk of wire it started using the button. started off getting 13.9 at 5k went down to 13.5. the bike when it is off is getting the same 12.8 reading at the battery and the solenoid.

[detorn]

The electrical problem looks fixed. The suspect piece of wire may or may not have been an issue but it wasn't the only issue. The fuse box had problems as well. Two of the fuse holders, the ignition and the main, were loose, so I corrected that. It starts every time now. I'm going to swap the box back out to a standard one once I get a couple dollars, I suspect there may be more issues with it, but for now it is running.

As far as the lean issue I turned the pilot screws out one full turn. I'm going to run it like that for the weekend and see where it leaves me. I can say now though that it runs well enough that I accidentally I got the front wheel up while riding.

The next big issue to deal with is oil burning off/leaking. What needs to be done is the hoses on the oil circulation unit need to be replaced along with re-gasket-ing and sealing the entire motor. However if it stays at the level it is at now that will wait till the off season, because after two years with this bike I just want to ride and enjoy it for a couple of months. I may even let the next owner deal with those issues along with the cosmetics. I've rehabbed this thing enough that I can pass it on this winter.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread. This bike sat for over ten years before I got it, and without all of your help would have sat longer.

edit: I should also add, putting grease on the back of the break pads totally stopped the squealing.

[BigD_83]

Good to hear you have it sorted...what wire was it?

I'd still be a little concerned that the charging numbers are dropping at 5k, but the battery WILL charge at that output.

now you have to do something about that awful weather.

Let me know if you find an (inexpensive) source for the oil lines that feed the head. I have not been able to track down the proper banjo bolts, either. Seems to be a bit of unobtanium via the dealers.

Now go ride the snot out of it.

[detorn]

So i spoke too soon. After a day of working fine the bike won't start unless bumped again. It seems the battery gets a full charge (13.3 or something) off the charger and the bike behaves for a bit, but will only charge to 12.8 on it's own. I guess that half a volt is making the difference.


**edited out my meltdown**

[detorn]

swapped the stator, charging properly now. redid the fork seals they are good as well. going to have to redo the stator cover because the impromptu trix gasket didn't hold up. Also going to have to replace the solenoid.

question: are those things pretty much interchangeable?

I saw some people here using lawn mower relays from lowes, if I pick up one thats made for another bike but has the same wire out (link this), will it work as expected?

question answered here, short answer is yes, it will work.

[detorn]

sold. went to a great home. I got another GS



oh did I leave out the x-r part?