'82 GS550L - Senior Project (Father/Son) Rebuild

[82 GS550L Basket Case]

Back in November/December 2011, my son Tanner and I bought a 1982 GS550L, with the intent that he'd rebuild it for his Senior Project at Columbus (GA) high school.

Over the summer, he tinkered with it, and there are a lot of parts in a pile in the shop. He's digging into it more seriously, now - he has to log 100 hours of work (with 25 hours of in-person mentoring time with a mechanic friend) and document every step of the way.

I've been a fan of forums since usenet back in the dark ages of the pre-web internet, and I LOVE this site ... so here's a rebuild thread. He and I will both be posting to it .... I hope.

I tinker, but I'm no mechanic, and this is WAY beyond anything I've ever done.

Here are a couple of photos to get it started (and to show him how to use the forums).

On purchase day:

Carb apart

The Worskshop

Yes, that's the Carb Rebuild Tutorial on the computer on the shelf. LOVE this site!

At the MSF Basic Rider's Course

I'm hoping there is much, much more to come.
One of the carb's broke during disassembly, and I'm hoping Tanner will take some pics and post them up so the experts here can provide some advice.

 

[Tim Tom]

Good luck to you both! I credit the father / son rebuild that we did on a '73 Triumph Spitfire when I was in HS with really igniting my passion for cars, which later shifted to bikes . The skills that I learned building that car have influenced more than I thought possible. Not only the mechanical stuff, but some great life skills can be found through a rebuild.

Anyways, welcome (again it sounds) to the site and good luck on the rebuild!

 

[82 GS550L Basket Case]

Many, many photos

Many, many photos

So it looks like either Tanner or somehow deleted all our posts from back earlier in the process. So starting over here ... without losing progress on the bike.

First question: We have a "spare" room in the house, with carpet that we don't mind trashing. If we move the bike in, it will give us more maneuvering room (the shop is pretty tight). Any significant downsides to working on it in the house? Major sanding, painting, etc. will still be in the shop, and when the fluids go back it it'll go outside. But it sure would be nice to have air conditioning while he tears it apart.

A couple pics ... comments VERY welcome!
The valve covers don't look too bad.

The electrics are, of course, a mess. But I think they're intact, for the most part, and should respond well to some TLC

If I recall correctly, the bolts are gone, but not broken off in the heads. We'll check tomorrow.

The mess of wires is scary - until you realize that almost all of them have matching-color mates on the other side of the connections.

Most of the chrome is actually in pretty good shape - dirty, of course, but not bad.

The PO was going to replace the shocks with hard struts and chop the frame. Fortunately, we got to it after he cut the springs on the shocks, but before he cut anything important.

There was no airbox on the bike when we got it - picked one p off ebay for $14 with shipping! Score! Now we need the filter cage/support and a filter.

The pipes aren't very blued (at the other end), but the chrome cleaned up pretty good, and the end caps responded very well to some wire-brush lovin'. (That was after this pic)

The chain is gunky, and the sprocket looks worn to me. Should the chain and sprocket be replaced, or simply cleaned?

 

[82 GS550L Basket Case]

some more pics

some more pics

Not sure what the cover under the carbs is called, but it's the rustiest part of the bike.

Oh, yeah - the PO also cut the tail light wires. Bonehead!

Homebuilt bike stand. Probably ditch this in favor of a simple lift when we move indoors - it'll take up less room.

front wheel

One more "before" photo

So much to do!

 

[cowboyup3371]

That cover under the carbs is your starter motor cover. Good luck on the rebuild.

 

[Good Times]

Should be a lot of fun. You'll create some great memories. He'll always remember that bike.

 

[82 GS550L Basket Case]

That cover under the carbs is your starter motor cover. Good luck on the rebuild.

Good thing he has a mentor who actually has torn down and rebuilt a bike or two, eh? He'd REALLY be hurting if I was supposed to be doing the teaching.

I'm gonna be spending a lot of time holding the camera ... as long as I can maintain my discipline.

 

[JEEPRUSTY]

Marvellous stuff
Wish I had a kid of me own.

Keep the pics coming this is a very cool thread.

 

[82 GS550L Basket Case]

8/12/12 Who put the bike in my bedroom?

8/12/12 Who put the bike in my bedroom?

Hey guys this is Tanner. My Fantastic mother and father allowed me to move the bike inside today. It was quite the task getting it across the yard and up 3 steps with no handlebars and no brakes. However, me and my dad accomplished the task. No pics of us moving the bike, but we also moved the tools and stuff up.

My mentors came over as well today and we talked about the bikes they've rebuit, as well as beginning the process to take the engine out of the frame. When my mentors came over, there was still all the wiring on the bike and the battery box.

I took the carbs off about a month ago and have been attempting to get them as clean as possible. However, i ran into a problem with two of the carbureators. I have numbered the carbureators to make sure i put them back the way they came off the bike. I have been struggling to get the Air jets out of carbs three and four because the tiny little screw head is stripped. Any ideas on how to get them out? comments are appreciated.

Carbureator four has a problem with the piece that holds the float in place. There will be a picture in the thread. Anyone know where i can get a new carb?

 

[82 GS550L Basket Case]

Now all the wiring is out, and we also got the exhaust off.

The bolts we pulled out came out without any problems at all - didn't even have to work hard. The PO broke a couple off, though - one is broken flush with the head, and the other has enough to grab with vise grips.

We also learned about an impact screwdriver, and how it can break screws loose that I can't get loose any other way.

Some cleaning and polishing to do, and we will post more as we go.

 

[82 GS550L Basket Case]

How do i paint my exaust pipes?

How do i paint my exaust pipes?

This is Tanner. Today i removed my exaust pipes from my bike. I have a few questions.
1. Are the exaust headers supposed to be welded to the mufflers like this?

2. I plan to paint my pipes black. Is this the type of paint i should use for the exaust pipes?

All comments are VERY much appreciated. Thanks guys.

 

[cowboyup3371]

Hey Tanner, check out this thread for a easy way of fixing a broken float post.

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=159769&highlight=broken+float+post

As far as your exhaust, yes it is supposed to be welded there like that. That paint might work but please follow the curing instructions to the letter. I didn't and my pipes look like crap. I will say too be careful about letting brake fluid drip down on them before curing.

 

[82 GS550L Basket Case]

A couple questions.

A couple questions.

This is Tanner again. Today i began the process of cleaning/de-rusting the exhaust pipes. I have been using wire wheel to remove the rust and grime from 30 years of sitting. They are looking pretty good, but not great.

Should I be worried about these dents?

Some before ...

First question is: The way the pipes have almost 2 shades on the metal. Is this supposed to happen or am i just having problems with user error?

Second question: If you look at the picture you will see there are spots on the pipes where it looks, bumpy, for lack of a better word. There is one spot in particular that it seems that maybe there is a piece of metal welded onto the pipes. I hit this with the wire wheel for about 10 minutes, and you can see the area around it cleaned up somewhat, but not the scaly part. Should this be able to come off? if so what is the most effective way to get it off without damaging the pipes?

 

[82 GS550L Basket Case]

A quick one - the schrader valve on the right fork looks rusty, but the other one is clean. When it's time to do the fork seals, are these replaceable?

 

[JEEPRUSTY]

The rust on the valve is not a problem
You cannot get the Schrader valves from Suzuki anymore but I am sure you could put in a new core is need be but that is unlikely.

The multi colour you are seeing on the collector pipe is fine it is likely happening because of the changes in the metal that occured when it was welded.

The flaky bit looks like a bit of gasket material from days of youre.
It should file of no problems but look inside the male and femal parts of the pipe to be sure the metal is sound.

It sucks about the header bolts but beware NO EASY OUTS!!!!!!!!!!!
Only sorrow and mayhem will come of them, There are a few threads on removing bolts with heat, Teutonic spite and a left handed drill bit.

 

[moon]

Try what jeep said first but if it don't work and you have tried every other option try welding a smaller bolt to the broken one just be careful and don't weld the broken one in

 

[82 GS550L Basket Case]

The rust on the valve is not a problem


It sucks about the header bolts but beware NO EASY OUTS!!!!!!!!!!!
Only sorrow and mayhem will come of them, There are a few threads on removing bolts with heat, Teutonic spite and a left handed drill bit.

Teutonic spite? Where can I buy some of that?

 

[JEEPRUSTY]

You cannot buy it rather you must channel it across generations of your DNA

Sorry dude I was using a bit of colourful language there is no product

 

[Flyboy]

Awesome project there and it looks like you guys are going to be having a barrel of fun along the way, will be following with interest.
The Jeepster beat me to it, as far as the exhaust bolts go......NO EASY OUTS they will cause you a world of misery and strife, believe it to be true.

Yes that "bump" on your exhaust looks like nothing more than 30 year old packing from the joint, should chip off easily enough with a small chisel.
All in all, looks like you guys have a good solid bike to work with there.
And no doubt you will be "thanking" the PO in some colourful language a few times before this build is done.....

 

[82 GS550L Basket Case]

So I've got the exhausts themselves pretty shiny, but the flanges are filthy. What is the best way to de-rust and clean these, without taking them off? Unless there's an easy way to get them off and back on again.

(This is before I cleaned the pipe)