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1982 GS550M Katana Rebuild

  • Thread starter Thread starter mv577
  • Start date Start date
Good to see you post up again Mike! I was just rereading this thread the other day because I'm about to redo the front forks on mine. I remembered you'd installed replacement sonic springs and wanted to find which version you used. The 550 kat springs were only used on 2 other models the '81 & '82 650E, progressive doesn't list anything for the 550 kat specifically and sonic is pretty general in what they list. As I didn't find details in the thread about what you went with in the end, do you remember which you got? If not I'll contact sonic direct as I've decided to try those springs this time.

Either way, looking forward to more progress on your machine. It's going to be a great looking bike when done!
 
That is how the bike sat since last year... fast forward to now and I'm hoping to make some progress soon... I have been acquiring parts over the last year as they come up on Ebay... I actually bought another gas tank after struggling with the fact that the one I got from the UK didn't utilize a fuel gauge... Nice thing too is the one I found in Montana is rust free inside!!!! Score... I'll post pics soon as everything is going to the body shop in the next week...

I haven't stopped my international shopping either... I found this NOS front cowl in original box with all the hardware in FINLAND!!!







I'm going to send it to the body shop to help with paint match but that didn't stop me from mocking it up on the bike to see how it looked!!!



Mounting hardware replaces the stock headlight screws...







I love it... period correct... adds a little something to the front... I'm Psyched!!! and as you can see the bike got moved out to the garage... which will be better when using chemicals but there isn't any heat out there.... yet...
 
Wallowgreen said:
Good to see you post up again Mike! I was just rereading this thread the other day because I'm about to redo the front forks on mine. I remembered you'd installed replacement sonic springs and wanted to find which version you used. The 550 kat springs were only used on 2 other models the '81 & '82 650E, progressive doesn't list anything for the 550 kat specifically and sonic is pretty general in what they list. As I didn't find details in the thread about what you went with in the end, do you remember which you got? If not I'll contact sonic direct as I've decided to try those springs this time.

Either way, looking forward to more progress on your machine. It's going to be a great looking bike when done!
Click to expand...

Hey Wallow! Thanks... it's good to be getting back into it!!! Can't wait to ride it!!! someday lol

I looked up my order from Sonic and it shows I ordered

1 x GS550 0.90kg/mm Sonic Springs (03S-090) = $84.95

I am 185lbs if that helps... I remember talking to Sonic and making sure that these were correct even though they only said GS550 and they assured me they were....

Hope that helps!!
 
mv577 said:
Hey Wallow! Thanks... it's good to be getting back into it!!! Can't wait to ride it!!! someday lol

I looked up my order from Sonic and it shows I ordered

1 x GS550 0.90kg/mm Sonic Springs (03S-090) = $84.95

I am 185lbs if that helps... I remember talking to Sonic and making sure that these were correct even though they only said GS550 and they assured me they were....

Hope that helps!!
Click to expand...

Perfect! Thanks mate.
 
BTW, you're a lucky... person! finding a good US gas tank AND a NOS cowl. Getting envious lol...
 
So the bodywork has been dropped off at the body shop and the seat at the upholsterer... Told them to take their time hoping if it's a side gig maybe the cost won't hurt as much :p

Next... although not EXACTLY part of the build but helpful in its completion... I made some upgrades to the workshop (aka garage)... I added much needed light and a heater... Being such a small garage the heater takes no time to warm it up...





I then got to work on cleaning and painting the front fender support... something that's been overlooked and while I'm trying to get back into the swing of this restoration I figured I might as well knock it off the list...





I ended up putting rubberized coating on the under side like I did with the rear fender...



 
I then decided to start rebuilding the calipers... I grabbed the rear first... Here's everything laid out ready to go...



Pistons and seals installed...



Some new shoes...



Bolted together...



A brand new caliper!!!









So pretty!!!! :D
 
I then went to start on the front calipers... Dragged out the parts I bought last year and remembered I had bought aftermarket pistons and seals... I don't recall the motivation for that decision now as I did buy OEM for the rear... But I quickly realized it was a bad idea...

Here's my starting shot with everything laid out...



and that's it...... opened up the pistons and they aren't even close to the right size... I'm ordering the OEM piston and seal set... That's what I get... I did clean and paint the caliper bolts and nuts in the meantime... Although since I'm ordering the pistons and seals I may just order new bolts... we'll see



So in keeping with the brake motif I decided to finish the rear brake pedal... I had started it last year by getting the master cylinder rebuilt and installed just to find out that the swingarm was in the way of putting the pedal on... So I started by unbolting the shocks and lowering the swingarm... Everything went smoothly after that...

A new old stock brake pedal anyone???



Everything installed...









I know I'll have adjustments to make once the brakes are functional but it's all set for now :)

OH! and continuing the shop build I got me a new compressor... so I've been wiring and piping this baby... maybe a blast cabinet is in my future!!! ;)

 
Flipping through this thread and came across the rear caliper tear down... found this an interesting comparison!!! :)

OLD:



NEW:


:cool:
 
Great job on the rebuild, thanks for posting such a detailed well documented rebuild thread.

I have just started a rebuild on a GS 650 E which looks mechanically similar to your bike so I'm able to pick a few valuable details from your posts which is a bonus for me during my rebuild process.

Seems we have the same thoughts on buying all the NOS parts we can find, it's hard to resist when you know it's NLA from Suzuki and you see one for sale.

I seem to remember you purchased painted trims for the speedo and tach but in the previous picture it looks like you installed chrome ones, change of mind?

Also what about the paint job for the bike, did you get that done yet?

One other question I had was regarding the engine emblems, did you order the emblem cover for the generator and ignition covers from Parts Outlaw and if so can you post a picture of them.

Did it look like the original one?

25995423445_700a469a56_c.jpg



Cheers,

David
 
Last edited:
Kiwi Canuck said:
Great job on the rebuild, thanks for posting such a detailed well documented rebuild thread.

I have just started a rebuild on a GS 650 E which looks mechanically similar to your bike so I'm able to pick a few valuable details from your posts which is a bonus for me during my rebuild process.

Seems we have the same thoughts on buying all the NOS parts we can find, it's hard to resist when you know it's NLA from Suzuki and you see one for sale.

I seem to remember you purchased painted trims for the speedo and tach but in the previous picture it looks like you installed chrome ones, change of mind?

Also what about the paint job for the bike, did you get that done yet?

One other question I had was regarding the engine emblems, did you order the emblem cover for the generator and ignition covers from Parts Outlaw and if so can you post a picture of them.

Did it look like the original one?

25995423445_700a469a56_c.jpg



Cheers,

David
Click to expand...

Hey David... sorry I'm just seeing this post now.. thanks for the props! :) These rebuilds are fun huh!!

It turned out that the painted trims didn't fit... I was bummed... I believe they were UK spec... so maybe different gauges?? :(

As for the paint job... I'm sticking with the stock paint color... the parts are at the body shop now... I have new OEM emblems etc for it as well...

I haven't ordered the engine emblems yet so I can't answer that one... I did find NOS covers though!!!! so there will be emblems ordered at some point :)

Good luck with the build!!!

Mike
 
Had a few minutes to mess around with the bike... got a few small jobs done... First off I installed a new stator into my NOS case cover...





It's an aftermarket stator so we'll see... one thing to note was I had to redo the wire ties holding the wires to the stator in order to make it long enough to route through the cover... fit was fine after that...

Through on the new Regulator / Rectifier after that.... pretty straight forward here...





I then decided to put on the inner fender... the fender I bought was from a different model GS550 but looked right and was in good shape so I grabbed it... Turned out it fit well but was a little long at the top where it met the outer rear fender... I easily trimmed it down to fit with a utility knife and painting tape as a straight line... the other difference was it was missing the two top mounting holes that connected it to the outer fender... once it was in place I just drilled the holes through the bottom and was able to use the stock hardware to screw them together...







Mounted the outer rear fender next... straight forward... It's a NOS part but has some marks and blemishes here and there... best I found by far and it looks good on the bike :)



Turn signal mounts...

 
Last edited:
Rear turn signals... aftermarket... may be replaced at some point as I'm not 100% on them... but ok for now...





Pulled apart the seat latch and license plate bracket for clean up and paint...





Seat latch all cleaned up... and yes I know it wasn't black before but I thought it looked good :p



Seat latch installed...



License plate bracket all painted up and installed... hey it's the little things!!! :)

 
I got to work on a lock set I bought... My seat latch lock broke when I took it apart and I need a gas cap so when the set popped up cheap I bought it... they were in great shape but I'm having success cleaning them up...

Seat latch lock rebuild...





Helmet lock....





Ground down and being painted...



Getting ready to rebuild the seat lock... I realized at this point that I needed the end arm from my original lock that links to the actual latch... the set I bought had a different end...



Seat latch lock installed... I used brake clean to get the grime out and graphite to lube them... they work great now...



Haven't finished the helmet lock yet ;)

Oh here's a tech tip for you.... when you're cleaning and lubing the lock cylinder... don't drop it on the garage floor... those little plates and springs like to go EVERYWHERE!!!! ugh... I found the plates... but had to steal springs from an old lock... and spend 30 minutes trying to figure out what order they go in lol... fun fun :p
 
Started breaking down the gas cap that came in the used set...





As you can see the rubber seal is crap... :(



Anyone know if I can get just this seal??? Or any ideas on making one???



Started painting it in the meantime... forgot to take a pic of the finished paint... :)
 
Last edited:
It's fun watching small components being refurbished. Piece at a time till they're all done and come together for a finished project and nothing left untouched.
 
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