J
JE550B
Guest
Hi guys,
I've actually been lurking around the forum for a while but finally decided to document my project because everybody loves pictures. "Fix up an old motorcycle" was a bucket list line item that I decided would be better to get out of the way before having kids. So, in (2010), as a birthday present to myself, I pulled the trigger on a 1977 GS550 (B) that was advertised on Craigslist as "running" at the time it was posted. I chose this bike because it fit my budget as a second-tier hobby, was running (not really running) but needed a good amount of work, and was within walking distance of my house. The bike turned out to be a donation to a charity garage that needed to liquidate some overflow. My money went towards the installation of high-efficiency stoves in Guatemala, which is pretty solid work IMO, and I got a mid-to-long term project that gave my hands something real to do after staring at a glowing rectangle for 10 hours every day.
So the bike didn't start when I showed up to check it out but I liked the lines and my motorcycle buddy who came along convinced me we could get it running that weekend with a little work. We actually did, amazingly, get it running about four hours later after swapping spark plugs and messing around with the carbs ("should I just turn this screw here?"). Compression was alright and the electrics seemed to work (at least the lights and turn signals). The next few months saw new tires and bearings, complete rebuild of the front brake, new battery, a reasonable seat off eBay, new oil and filter, and I was able to ride it around the block despite (what I would discover later) a massive air leak at the intake boots.
Turns out my wife got pregnant a few months after I bought the bike and it basically sat dormant for the following four years. This thread is the story of its resurrection...
I've actually been lurking around the forum for a while but finally decided to document my project because everybody loves pictures. "Fix up an old motorcycle" was a bucket list line item that I decided would be better to get out of the way before having kids. So, in (2010), as a birthday present to myself, I pulled the trigger on a 1977 GS550 (B) that was advertised on Craigslist as "running" at the time it was posted. I chose this bike because it fit my budget as a second-tier hobby, was running (not really running) but needed a good amount of work, and was within walking distance of my house. The bike turned out to be a donation to a charity garage that needed to liquidate some overflow. My money went towards the installation of high-efficiency stoves in Guatemala, which is pretty solid work IMO, and I got a mid-to-long term project that gave my hands something real to do after staring at a glowing rectangle for 10 hours every day.
So the bike didn't start when I showed up to check it out but I liked the lines and my motorcycle buddy who came along convinced me we could get it running that weekend with a little work. We actually did, amazingly, get it running about four hours later after swapping spark plugs and messing around with the carbs ("should I just turn this screw here?"). Compression was alright and the electrics seemed to work (at least the lights and turn signals). The next few months saw new tires and bearings, complete rebuild of the front brake, new battery, a reasonable seat off eBay, new oil and filter, and I was able to ride it around the block despite (what I would discover later) a massive air leak at the intake boots.
Turns out my wife got pregnant a few months after I bought the bike and it basically sat dormant for the following four years. This thread is the story of its resurrection...
