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'85 550ES (more rejuvenation than restoration)

  • Thread starter Thread starter detorn
  • Start date Start date
What was wrong with the first set of brake lines that they were not perfect?
Just bumping to get this question out there again. I'm going with new brake lines from Raymond again, this time for the 650 AND the 550 (did a Honda Rebel before) and now that I know you'e gone through this with him, just wondering what the problem was.

Question 2...the valve cover fitment is really tight to the frame. Is it possible to get it out without removing the coils and every other little bit hanging around the frame, over the valve cover?
 
and now that I know you'e gone through this with him, just wondering what the problem was.

Sadly, I think I'm seeing a trend here. A month or so back, Gatekeeper and I ordered 2 sets for our FZ750s and they were quite a bit off in size and banjo position. I had sent him the full set of stock lines to measure and compare fittings and they came back with one front line (from the junction block) on the right side being too long by about 1" and both banjos crimped at the wrong angles. The back line was also overlong with an incorrectly angled banjo. I did manage to get them on but they look like snot.

Unfortunately and despite being a former multi purchase customer, Raymond refused to do anything other than offer to give us back our money. No offer to make it right.

I am still not happy and doubt that I'll buy from him again. Shame really, as I had previously thought very highly of him and boosted him here and on other sites.

Good luck with your order.
 
Pretty much why I don't trust custom work, I can wreck my own parts without having to pay someone else to do it for me.

Good work on the bike so far, and don't bash 64hp - the original CB750 only had a theoretical 67hp, weighed a lot more, handled a lot worse... And was touted as a superbike!

Once she is up and running properly you'll really enjoy her.

One tip for procedural work, read through what you have to do and familiarise yourself with the parts involved. Never over torque parts and always proceed carefully and thoughtfully. Mistakes do happen, but its what you do to prevent repeating them that counts.

Cheers - boingk
 
An update:

So I went quite for a while but the project has not died. I ran out of weather last year with the bike still not really running and it sat through the winter.

Though covered with a tarp it took a beating (next year I will have to shell out for a storage unit). Thankfully after getting some fuel, a battery charge, and putting some Duaneage on it, it came back to life. We cleaned or replaced a handful of electrical connection, new head light, clutch and choke adjustments, and some general tidying up I took it out.

After being on the road for two+ hours and heading home, the bike died. the same problem I was having when I put it away. Today I mounted a new to me Honda R/R courtesy of Duaneage, and I'm going to assume that is the last piece of the puzzle.

Tuesday I take it in for inspection with realistic hopes that it will pass.

So here is the list of all of the parts/work thats been done to this basket case of a motorcycle.

Sprockets
chain
tires
brake pads
calipers
brake lines
master cylinder
brake switch
petcock
fuel and vacuum tubes
gas tank
mirrors
choke cable
choke nuts
throttle cable
regulator/rectifier
battery
fuse box
stator w/cover
fork seals and o-rings
carb o-rings and gaskets
intake boots and clamps
turn signals
head light gasket
head light bulb
triple tree
gas cap
fuel gauge float
oil filter
coils w/leads, caps, plugs

and I'm sure I'm missing some stuff. On the still left to do front I've got:

turn signals (would like to find originals when I have the loot)
body work (the paint job I did was never that good and got worse over the winter)
cleaning (once again exposed to the elements too long, surface rust)
paint pipes, engine, carbs
check clearances
verify oil coolant system
install triple tree (I stripped the hole that holds the horn, I have the replacement tree, but its a big job
possibly rewire completely (I'm really not happy with how the wiring is done on this thing, if you've done major wiring upgrades let me hear about it)
LED turn signals (if oem doesn't happen)


thanks to everyone who helped
 
You had to post the cheese steak pics ?

You had to post the cheese steak pics ?

I transplanted from Philly in 2006 (with my 82 GS1100e in my van).

Scanning through this post the cheese steaks caught me unaware.
I was not prepared for the sight!

Can you send me one? Fried onions, mushroom, hot & sweets?

PLEASE .............

Excuse me.......I need a moment :cry::cry::cry::cry:
 
I transplanted from Philly in 2006 (with my 82 GS1100e in my van).

Scanning through this post the cheese steaks caught me unaware.
I was not prepared for the sight!

Can you send me one? Fried onions, mushroom, hot & sweets?

PLEASE .............

Excuse me.......I need a moment :cry::cry::cry::cry:

I'd give up the cheese steaks for your weather in a second
 
Still not right...

Two major problems are the bike is over heating like crazy. To the point the tank is getting warm. And being able to start it using the start button is hit and miss.

Friday the valves were checked and adjusted. On the way home the bike stalled like it was out of gas. I pulled over and tried to start it and got nothing. hitting the butting did nothing. I set the petcock to prime and sat for a half hour on the highway in the rain and was eventually able to bump start it to get home.

The next day it started right up. I went out and rode for an hour. I stopped for a soda and again the start button did nothing. no attempt to turn over, no dimming gauges. nada.

Again I sat. after a while I was able to bump it and got it to duanage's house. we swapped in some new leads to the battery. move the sense wire from the brake light to the battery. cleaned the solenoid, and charged the battery. It came right up when it was time to leave.

Next day, same problem. push button, nothing. wait. push button, nothing. bump start it, comes right up.

Charging system seems to be good. battery I think is okay, it is less than a year old. Has a replacement stator and honda regulator. new, after market coils. ideas welcome.

as far as the heat issue I ordered new stock jets. Lean jets were put in earlier to prevent what looked like a rich condition, now it looks lean. I am hoping the stock jets and leaving the petcock on prime will solve and stalling and heat problems.
 
I find that my 550ES runs a little warm and it is setup stock jetting Yours sounds like it is putting out excessive heat.

As far as the no start problem goes, I had a similar problem on the trip with my brother last year. When we limped it back to the house, it was clear that the R/R was toast. You've already swapped those out, and presumably tested the Honda R/R.

The stalling you mentioned is also reminiscient of how my 550 was acting when the R/R was going. When the revs would drop below 1000 +/-, it wasn't putting out enough current to run everything, and it would die. A simple bump start would get it going again.

The battery that was in my 550 ended up boiling dry when the R/R fried. Even though it still charges, it is not a long-term solution. In fact, it is the first thing to replace on my 550 this summer (I chose to not insure it this year because I'm not riding enough to justify having two bikes on the road)

Did you replace the battery after the R/R?
 
Did you replace the battery after the R/R?

no. but it was a newish battery, less than a year old. I hooked it to the charger while the bike is apart and it fully charged and sits now at 13.4

I'm going to redo the jets, clean all of the electrical connections again. test the oil pressure to make sure the pump is working.

if it still is flakey after that I'm going to have to give it up. Having to bump start it constantly is inconvenient, but when the gas tank starts getting hot its just not safe to ride.

also didn't mention that the new brakes won't stop squealing after 2k miles on them.

I keep trying.
 
oh, and the forks aren't holding air after 2nd fork seal replacement.
 
Just a thought...

The battery might still charge to 13.4V, but not be able to put out enough current to drive the starter motor. Any way you can load test it?

At the very least, you could stick a meter on it to see how low (the battery voltage) it is dropping when you first take it off the charger versus the first time it won't start up. As I mentioned, I boiled my battery dry with the failed R/R, which can cause al kinds of hurt. My battery still works, but perhaps yours went beyond the point of no return.

What kind of battery do you have? Lead/Acid, AGM, or other?

The brake squeal could be as simple as the shims not sitting properly. Is it constant, or just when you are braking?
 
What kind of battery do you have? Lead/Acid, AGM, or other?

The brake squeal could be as simple as the shims not sitting properly. Is it constant, or just when you are braking?

its a lead acid battery. I can, and will take it to be tested tomorrow.

the brakes make noise just under braking. i read to put brake grease behind the pads. I'm did that put haven't tested it yet. i also read to clean them and score them with sand paper which i did and to sand down the edge to round them off which i did, those two did not work.
 
cleaned out a bunch of stuff, put the stock jets in and put it all back together. Still nothing when hitting the start button. I can confirm now though that the gauge lights are dimming when the button is pressed. when jumping the solenoid it starts right up.

reading on the battery at 4K is 13.1ish

thoughts?
 
cleaned out a bunch of stuff, put the stock jets in and put it all back together. Still nothing when hitting the start button. I can confirm now though that the gauge lights are dimming when the button is pressed. when jumping the solenoid it starts right up.

reading on the battery at 4K is 13.1ish

thoughts?

Your charging number is low at 4K...that should be 13.5 or higher. That points to some voltage losses, and more electrical cleanups/tests are needed to make sure everything is good in the stator/ R/R / battery chain. However, I think you have isolated your problem above.

I don't think you had mentioned any issues with the solenoid before, but that seems to be the place to be looking.
 
battery tested good. after removing a suspect chunk of wire it started using the button. started off getting 13.9 at 5k went down to 13.5. the bike when it is off is getting the same 12.8 reading at the battery and the solenoid.
 
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The electrical problem looks fixed. The suspect piece of wire may or may not have been an issue but it wasn't the only issue. The fuse box had problems as well. Two of the fuse holders, the ignition and the main, were loose, so I corrected that. It starts every time now. I'm going to swap the box back out to a standard one once I get a couple dollars, I suspect there may be more issues with it, but for now it is running.

As far as the lean issue I turned the pilot screws out one full turn. I'm going to run it like that for the weekend and see where it leaves me. I can say now though that it runs well enough that I accidentally I got the front wheel up while riding.

The next big issue to deal with is oil burning off/leaking. What needs to be done is the hoses on the oil circulation unit need to be replaced along with re-gasket-ing and sealing the entire motor. However if it stays at the level it is at now that will wait till the off season, because after two years with this bike I just want to ride and enjoy it for a couple of months. I may even let the next owner deal with those issues along with the cosmetics. I've rehabbed this thing enough that I can pass it on this winter.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread. This bike sat for over ten years before I got it, and without all of your help would have sat longer.

edit: I should also add, putting grease on the back of the break pads totally stopped the squealing.

gtU6VVG.jpg
 
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Good to hear you have it sorted...what wire was it?

I'd still be a little concerned that the charging numbers are dropping at 5k, but the battery WILL charge at that output.

now you have to do something about that awful weather.

Let me know if you find an (inexpensive) source for the oil lines that feed the head. I have not been able to track down the proper banjo bolts, either. Seems to be a bit of unobtanium via the dealers.

Now go ride the snot out of it.
 
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