1986 GS550es wheels and suspension

[Guest]

PICS, Man, PICS!!!! :-D

 

[zig06]

Thanks!

The only thing that really bothers me now is that it's nice out and my bike is still under the knife.

Did some searches last night on this sight and some kind soul (I wish I remembered who) posted a phone number for Randy at Advance Precision 888-347-7262. He's willing to custom make a 530, 10mm offset, 15 tooth sprocket for me!!!!!!!!!! \\/ I'll post how that comes out.

It'll still be a couple weeks, machining it and then having it heat treated takes time. But at least I'll get it. PMF and a few others pretty much laughed at me over the phone when I mentioned the need for an offset sprocket for a 550, so I can install a wider tire. Guess where I won't be shopping in the future?

Anyways, I'm still looking at a couple more weeks. I'll post some pic's when I get a little bit closer.

 

[zig06]

Ok Ok Ok, here's some pic's. But please keep the messy barn comments to a minimum. I do have 2 other projects going ('81 RM250 and '82 PE175).

First, as it was before I started on it last fall.

And as it is now.

 

[zig06]

And even though the stock Katana brake torque arm is bent, I still needed to go a tad bit farther.

And here you can see the differences between the stock '94 Katana top triple clamp, and the issues with installing the '86 550 key switch.

Clearly, the stock 550 switch is bigger in every way. So using the Katana clamp, the 550 switch would be way too close to the steer tube. And it would actually hit the steering lock. This forces the use of the Katana switch.

On a more positive note. The Katana triple clamp steering stops (on the lower clamp) line up perfectly with the 550's frame. So no welding or machining is needed there.

Also, the pin out for the key switches appears to be identical, so when the new switch arrives (maybe this Friday) I should be able to cut and solder the old harness end on to the new switch and be golden!

 

[zig06]

Finally got the '94 Katana ignition key switch in and installed. As I suspected, it's wired exactly the same as my bike, but the connector is bigger. So sticking with my basic ideals of "modifying the part to fit the bike" I cut the new switch harness and attached the old switch plug to that (solder and heat shrink tubing).

I then had another issue. The bottom of the new switch came in contact with the fairing bracket, and the new switch didn't align with the steering lock bracket on the frame. But both were fixed with one simple mod. I cut 14mm off of the two bosses that the Kat switch bolts to. This moved it up and away from the fairing bracket and right in line with the steering lock bracket.

Sweet!

Also, when I installed the Kat front brakes, I was going to use the Kat master cylinder as well. But again, there were clearance issues. The Kat handle bars are a little bit narrower than my old bars, and when I went to bolt the Kat master on, the main brake line hit the instrument housing. So I reverted back to my old master cylinder and retained the newer 4 piston front brake calipers (my old ones were 2 piston).

From there the front brakes appeared to bleed out fine, so I believe that the older master cylinder should work fine with the newer brake calipers.

Now I'm down to just needing ONE MORE PART!, and that's my custom front sprocket from Advance Precision. I called him yesterday and he said that it should be back from the heat treaters by next Tuesday (May 20th). This means that I could have it by next Friday!! And that means that I could be riding that Saturday!!!

\\/\\/\\/\\/

 

[Guest]

I still have the '83 master cylinder on mine, works just fine with the Katana 4 pots. Those wheels look great on the older stuff, I stripped all the paint off mine and polished the edges and left the spokes bare aluminum.

 

[zig06]

I still have the '83 master cylinder on mine, works just fine with the Katana 4 pots. Those wheels look great on the older stuff, I stripped all the paint off mine and polished the edges and left the spokes bare aluminum.

How did you strip the paint off?? I was thinking that the factory used an epoxy paint or powder coated them.

I'm really liking your idea of striping them down to bare aluminum.

 

[Guest]

Paint stripper and lots of time and elbow grease. My wheels came from opposite ends of the country, (a story in it's self) front wheel had the original finish yet and the paint came off easier than the repainted rear. The edges have a slightly polished finish on them under the paint, they polish up very easily. I ground off the raised letters cast into the spokes too.

 

[Billy Ricks]

Be careful about sprocket selection. I believe my stock sprockets were a 14/45 combo. I now run a 16/42 combo using 520 sizes with a Regina chain. The new gearing puts the rpm at speed just where it was before the swap. The lower profile radials necessitate the gearing change. I used Vortex sprockets intended for a Kat or GSXR, don't remember which. If you go to JT sprockets website they give dimensions on all their sprockets so you know what will work off other models.

BTW, I have a set of Kat gauges if you're interested.

 

[zig06]

Paint stripper and lots of time and elbow grease. My wheels came from opposite ends of the country, (a story in it's self) front wheel had the original finish yet and the paint came off easier than the repainted rear. The edges have a slightly polished finish on them under the paint, they polish up very easily. I ground off the raised letters cast into the spokes too.

Sounds good. Both of my wheels came from the same bike and both are still a painful purple/blue, so I will be trying this as after the first ride. Because after the first shake down ride, I'm planning on new tires. Size wise it looks like I'll be going with 110/70 and 140/70. Oddly enough I've spent all this time and effort just so I can install new radials and yet, I have no clue as to what brand and style I should run.

How does Dunlp Sport Max's sound? I'm really just wanting a good all around tire that I can pile some miles on going back and forth to work. And still have enough grip to put a smile on my face over the weekends.

All suggestions welcome.

Be careful about sprocket selection. I believe my stock sprockets were a 14/45 combo. I now run a 16/42 combo using 520 sizes with a Regina chain. The new gearing puts the rpm at speed just where it was before the swap. The lower profile radials necessitate the gearing change. I used Vortex sprockets intended for a Kat or GSXR, don't remember which. If you go to JT sprockets website they give dimensions on all their sprockets so you know what will work off other models.

BTW, I have a set of Kat gauges if you're interested.

You know, you've just opened up a huge hole... I never accounted for the rear tire getting smaller. I was only looking at the current sprockets and the final drive ratio. So in many ways I was just trying to get back to my stock 14/48 (3.43 final). But I was only able to get a 15 tooth counter shaft sprocket (the 10mm offset required that I go no smaller). And right now I have a 45 tooth rear on the bike... Even worse, I don't remember what rpm I was running at say 70mph. So, what rpm are you turning at 70mph? And just to be sure, what bike do you have? Also, for now I'm set on the gauges, but I may be ready to upgrade once I hit the road. What year and model Kat gauges do you have?, and could you please send a pic of them to my home email address? (zig06@altelco.net)

And I finally got a new camera, so expect some better pictures in a couple days.

 

[Guest]

I have Sportmaxes on mine in those same sizes. I think those are great for what you're looking for, for as far as grip vs treadlife. Rear wheel came with the tire on it from Billy Ricks, so I can tell you that he is a great guy to buy parts from. I am in the middle of installing the tach and speedo from a '94 GSX750 Katana into the dash area of my fairing. Trying to make it look decent is going to be the "fun" part of it.

 

[zig06]

Got some pic's to share.

This shows how close the Kat handle bar mounts come to the original gauges, and why I had to use the original front master cylinder.

Here's the gauges from the rider perspective. It's a tight fit, but overall, it should be fine for the first part of the summer.

And finally, here's a shot of the Kat front end with the brakes mounted, and even some smaller turn signals. These signals are brighter than the OEM's, and to me, they look better.

Spoke with Advance Precision and my sprocket is done!!, hopefully I'll see it before the long weekend!

 

[zig06]

Ok, I finally got my offset sprocket. I ended up going with Randy at Advance Precision (888-347-7262). He delivered a top notch product on time and on budget.

But when I installed everything, while the sprockets ligned up perfectly, the chain was brushing the frame... Sure, I could have left it alone ~ but what fun is that??

So, here's what I just did:

I decided to cut the sprocket carrier down by 7.5mm. I did this at work with a rotary table on a vertical mill. The actual cutting only took a few minutes but the set up was almost an hour. Plus, our rotary table is over 100 pounds! I got it concentric to just under .001", and for me, that's good enough.

With the carrier cut down, I'll be able to use a standard (non offset) counter shaft sprocket, and have plenty of chain clearance. I'm having new tires installed tomorrow (Bridgestone BT-45's), once all of that is done I'll take some pictures.

Stay tuned.

 

[zig06]

Ok, so here's the cut sprocket carrier installed. The OEM bolts for the rear sprocket are now too long now (because of the 7.5mm that I removed) and they are made specifically for this application. So, to make up for he lack of threads, I added a 4.5mm spacer under the bolt which was enough to give me enough theads to lock the sprocket down.

Here's what the chain clearance was before the "carrier cut".

And after the cut.

It's hard to tell, but the chain really did rub against the boss that the foot peg bracket bolts to, before I cut the carrier. Now I have lot's of room, and I do not need to use an offset sprocket. Matter of fact, I can even use a standard rear sprocket too. So it's a win win deal!

And for what it's worth, the best tool that I found in checking the chain alignment was this:

Yup, a simple piece of extruded aluminum 3/4" x 1/2" x 30", $3.75 at my local hardware store. Tried a laser, a 1/8" piece of stainless steel TIG welding filler rod, and straight math. All worked ok, but none of them gave me that warm fuzzy feeling that I was after. So on a guess, I decided to try the aluminum. Spent some time making sure that I got a straight piece (most were very good).

When I got home I just made sure that the wheel was in line according to the tic marks on the swingarm. I then clamped the aluminum piece to the rear sprocket, far enough in to sit above the front sprocket. And to my amazement it matched up perfectly with what I have expected. And it was far easier than any other method. So as far as I'm concerned, this is "the way"!

The tires are now mounted and I even took a test ride! Didn't go far and now it's running late, but things are finally going my way!

 

[zig06]

But I do have this little chestnut. Now that I don't need my off-set sprocket, it's for sale (just don't tell my wife!). It cost me $75 plus $20 shipping (I had Randy 2nd day it to me). Right now I'm taking "the best reasonable offer".

530, 10mm offset, 15 tooth:

It's got one 5 mile test ride on it.

 

[zig06]

Well, except for some minor testing and tuning ~ I'm done!! \\/

Here's a summary of what I've done to this bike so far:

As I bought it in February 2007.

And what it looked like in September 2007, before I decided to change the wheels.

And finally, this is what it looked like just a couple days ago in May 2008, right before my "new wheels" test ride.

Ok, now that I?m pretty much done (for the summer ~ maybe paint for the winter??), I feel like I need to sum things up before I close this out.

My bike is a 1986 GS-550es. It is a good all around bike, but the tires were getting worn, and the forks are not exactly smooth. When I started looking around for new tires, the options that I found were extremely limited and just not up to the standards that I needed (I do want to try the occasional track day).

So, I started thinking about doing this last November, and after reading several postings about similar projects I decided to pull he trigger. My project got a real kickstart when I found a ?94 Katana 750 rolling chassis (forks, wheels, brakes, etc.) basically everything that I needed, and I got it all for $125. Another huge plus is that all of the parts were coming from the same machine, so that just made it easier when I had to order something. Like handle bar ends, or fork seals and even the ignition switch.

There was one ?third year? part. I?m saying ?third year? because it?s not from the original ?86 550 or the ?94 Katana. It was the swingarm and it came from a ?85 GS-700. I did that because it bolted on and it could handle the wider Katana tire. I could have used the Katana swingarm or the 550 swingarm, but that was going to require cutting and welding, and that means that I would have to make a jig to keep everything lined up. And when I discovered that the 700 arm did everything and didn?t need any welding, plus it?s aluminum (the others were steel), it was an easy decision.

When you read through my postings you?ll notice that I did run into a few things. Like I really wanted to use the Katana?s front master cylinder and brake lever setup. But when I tried to install it, I discovered that the brake line ran directly into the instruments. Or instead of using an off-set counter shaft sprocket, it?s better to mill down the sprocket carrier. That way the chain doesn?t rub the frame.

One thing that many of you might have noticed is that I really didn?t care about how the bike looked when I was done. Yes, I did paint the wheels, even I had to draw the line at the purple wheels? But my intent for next winter is to do a frame off restoration. So it?s only being ignored just so I can ride it this summer.

Look for a posting in the Appearance Forum next winter.

But for now, I?m going riding!!

 

[Guest]

Looks great! I like it!

 

[zig06]

Thanks, it's been a lot of work to get it to this point. And yet, there's so much more to be done (ie. a paint job).

I am open to suggestions on a color sceme. I would like to stay with the black wheels. Mostly because the black came out pretty good. The dark gray that the forks are was the color that I had in mind for the frame. But if I did that then it may be too much to paint the rest (tank, fenders, side panels and fairing) silver.

Got any suggestions?

Also, the new Bridgestone BT-45's seem to handle pretty good. But I haven't seen anything on a recommended tire pressure. Anyone with a suggested started point?? (like 32psi front and rear?)

 

[Guest]

I've been running the 33 front 36 rear that is printed on the vin decal on my sons' '90 600. BTW where is Allendale?, I work for Alro steel that's based in Jackson.

 

[zig06]

Allendale is almost a spot on the map. If you can find Grand Rapids, then look for M-45 heading straight west out of Grand Rapids. It goes all the way to Lake Michigan ~ so don't go too far! But about half way between the Lake and "GR", is Allendale.

It's also the home of Grand Valley State University. Which has won the Division 2 National Football championship 3 or 4 times over the past 6 years.

I seem to think that there's some steel company in the industrial part of town (all 4 are in one spot...). Does Alro have another plant close by?

Thanks for the PSI recommendation!, I'll give it a try and report back.