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1982 GS550M Katana Rebuild

  • Thread starter Thread starter mv577
  • Start date Start date
M

mv577

Guest
Greetings... New member and first time posting so I figured I might as well jump in the deep end and start a complete restoration!!!! I've been around bikes for 25+ years, racing and riding, but this is my first attempt at a restoration. I figured I watch enough shows on Velocity it's time to get my hands dirty!! I started looking for something interesting to work on and came across the Baby Katana and this site. After reading the history I became intrigued, I liked the look of the bike and the fact that is seems to be somewhat rare in the states. Luck have it I came across a listing in NH on Craigslist and am now the proud owner of a 1982 GS550M basket case!!!! Lol. She's a mess but only has 9,300 miles on it! I grabbed it for $300.00 which I thought was fair... So here we go!

Here's the bike when I brought it home:









The wiring is a mess, parts are missing, bolts are rusted.... but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel... I look forward to being a PITA to all of you with a lot of questions throughout this build! ;) and yes I will search first!!!

Thanks for looking... this should be fun!!!!

Mike
 
gustovh said:
Welcome, I have a few extra parts should you have a need,

V
Click to expand...

Thank you for the welcome everyone!

I definitely need parts! Things I can think of right now...

- Airbox
- Side covers
- Left / Right handlebar switches
- Mirrors

I'm sure I'll need more though... I just started decon! :)
 
Welcome to the nut house Mike.

I did a restoration on a baby Kat a few years ago, got mine after it had stood in the Seattle rain for 15 years! Somehow, I kinda doubt yours is any worse and I can tell you she'll come around and turn out nice in the end...

P3101636_zps823a6f4b.jpg


Keep your eye on ebay, parts (including body panels) come up at reasonable cost from time to time usually in batches when a machine bites the dust. Hope you don't need a tank though, they're like hen's teeth.
 
Wallowgreen your bike looks great! I've been scouring eBay and already have parts enroute...;) my tank is rusted inside and has some dents but I think it's salvageable... I've been reading on here about cleaning and sealing it...

One silly thing I am having trouble locating are the back reflectors and spacers... MA requires them for a legal inspection and I want to put it back to as close to stock as possible... :D
 
Last edited:
Here's a few more shots from when I brought it home. I've started tearing the front end apart and cataloging what I have vs. what I don't.



24781458053_070dde2769_c.jpg


When I removed the calipers I found a nice mix of fluid and rusty water since the line at the master cylinder was disconnected... Hopefully a clean, rebuild and repaint will save them!



Rats nest of wiring... ugh... I can see some tampering which should be fun to decipher and correct.

 
Last edited:
Welcome. Good luck with the project.
If you become frustrated you can always shoot it up with Nerf darts, then resume work with no harm to the bike:p
 
Welcome to the site! Looks like a great bike to restore. I found this site 5 years ago when I was doing my first resurrection, I am now addicted.

I am not too far from you and will be happy to help in any way I can. However, I am a little concerned with your location, as I see several firearms that are not on the MA Approved Firearms Roster.
 
Way to go you guys.
This thread will be in the Vortex before the end of the day. haha.

I am surprised that rear wheel turned at all looking at that caliper.
 
I love it... lol... Hey every kid needs a Nerf arsenal!!!! :cool: I cannot confirm nor deny if I happen to grab some off the wall from time to time... :p

VMass thank you for the offer!!! Don't be surprised if you here from me! Can't beat experience!!!

Steve... believe it or not it does roll!!! I was also able to manually turn the rear wheel and spin the motor when looking at it to confirm it wasn't seized... :)
 
Can anyone point me to a resource, or just tell me ;), which model GS550 air boxes will work in the Katana? This seems to be the hardest part to source right now... although I have found air boxes from other 550's that visually look correct...

Thanks in advance!

Mike
 
mv577 said:
Can anyone point me to a resource, or just tell me ;), which model GS550 air boxes will work in the Katana? This seems to be the hardest part to source right now... although I have found air boxes from other 550's that visually look correct...

Thanks in advance!

Mike
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, it looks like that bike has a model specific air box, only used on this bike for one year:

[h=1]Parts Search Results[/h]
[h=3]Assemblies where 13700-47320 is used[/h]
 
Thanks Vmass! I had looked at the parts fiche and seen it listed as a one year... wasn't sure if anyone successfully used another box in there...

Have you bought from Motorsloop? I'll grab that now if it's legit lol
 
mv577 said:
Thanks Vmass! I had looked at the parts fiche and seen it listed as a one year... wasn't sure if anyone successfully used another box in there...

Have you bought from Motorsloop? I'll grab that now if it's legit lol
Click to expand...

I have not. Proceed with optimism and caution!
 
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