Bringing a 78 GS 550 back to life. . .

[Guest]

Taking a break and starting to put things back together again. There's still a lot of cleaning and polishing to do,
but fun to see the motor reborn. . .

Time to check the valve shims. 6 out of 8 are in spec. Have to purchase some shims for the other 2 that are too loose.

 

[Guest]

Moving shims around I was able to bring clearances into a better spec range. Finally received a 0.02 mm - 1.00 mm feeler gauge.
I need a 2.65 & 2.85 set to bring everything to nirvana. After new shims are installed I'll button up the top and go back to cleaning and polishing.
I have to work on the front wheel assembly, then I'll be able to install the wheels, center stand and finally put the motor back in the frame.

 

[cowboyup3371]

If those are metric measurements then don't change 1 intake or exhaust as that is perfect. I would also get to the higher end on the rest of the valves. If you stay too close to the bottom end (.03) than you will have a greater risk of burning your valves in the long run.

Have you sent an email to Steve yet (username and real name) for his spreadsheet?

 

[Guest]

Good advice cowboy. I would assume that at 0.03 mm the shim would wear after awhile and still be in the 0.03 - 0.08 range.

Speaking of shims, I received my 2 replacements and for $7.63 in shipping charges I was curious how they would be packaged. . .

And of course they need packing peanuts. . .

I would think a small padded envelope would have been sufficient and cheaper. But hey, why complain, they made it on time and in one piece.

Finished shining up the front shocks. There are currently no leaks and they seem responsive, so for now, no reason to rebuild them.

I'm glad I've got the valves adjusted and the head cover on. Once I've got the wheels rebuilt and mounted, then I'll be able to mount the engine.

 

[Guest]

Time to work on the front wheel. I think we can make it look a little better than this.

Like the back, had to pull the spokes and shine them up, then treat them with Shark Hide.

The hub is about as clean and shiny as it's going to get. Really like the patina left over on it.

Ah, now the joy of figuring out how to lace a wheel. Of course YouTube is a great help, and your own photos can't hurt.

Outside spokes are done, now for the inside. . .

45 minutes later all the spokes are on, ready for balancing and truing the wheel.

Took me about 6 hours from start to finish, with a couple of breaks in between.

 

[Redman]

.............................., clean, paint the top end and polish the side covers to make it look pretty.

..........

I would say you did.

Wow!

And the wheels, and the frame and..... and.... and... and......

.

 

[Guest]

Thanks Redman. It's been fun. Looking forward to putting it all back together.

 

[Guest]

FYI: I love this thread!!:encouragement::encouragement:

 

[Guest]

Thanks bro. Hopefully things will come together soon. The back tire has a puncture in the tube from me trying to put the tire back on the wheel. I'll have to take it to our local bike guru to get it fixed. After both wheels are installed I'll be ready to put the motor back in.

 

[Nessism]

The bike is coming along nicely. Keep up the good work.

Sorry if this sounds negative but I used an Athena gasket kit when rebuilding a GS1000 engine and the base gasket couldn't take the clamp load; there was a lot of torque fall-off in the head stud nuts after the first few heat cycles and when retorquing the gasket extruded out of place. I posted a bunch of photos about this in different threads here in case you are interested in seeing. Also, be sure to follow the factory described method on how to position the cams during valve clearance checks. You can't just point the cam away from the bucket and get proper readings that way.

Good luck

 

[jboge123]

Nice to see someone else working on a 550. Here's mine I turned into a scrambler

 

[Guest]

Thanks Nessism for the heads up. Good information is never negative. I welcome everyone's thoughts if it helps me be successful.

Here's what the service manual says on checking your cam shims:

I mistakenly checked them with the lobe at 90 degrees. Glad you alerted me to this before I installed the engine into the frame. I'll recheck these at the proper position!
I'll pay more attention to the SM instead of the Clymer manual.

 

[Guest]

That is cool JB. I'll bet it's a lot of fun blasting around on that baby.

 

[Nessism]

Some manuals do a better job than others on how to position the cams. The critical part is to position the lobes so two adjacent valves are both on the base circle at the same time.

Simple way...
Point 1E forward at the gasket surface and then check 1E & 2E
Point 4E forward at the gasket surface and then check 4E & 3E
Point 1I at 90 degrees to gasket surface and then check 1I & 2I
Point 4I at 90 degrees to gasket surface and then check 4I & 3I

 

[alke46]

Good advice cowboy. I would assume that at 0.03 mm the shim would wear after awhile and still be in the 0.03 - 0.08 range.

I might be reading this wrong, but if you are at 0.03 and the shim wears after a while, won't it be too tight? 0.03mm is tight while 0.08mm is on the looser side of spec. It's better to be near the 0.08 side of spec than it is to be closer to 0.03.

 

[Guest]

Excellent! Thank you for the tutorial. Project for tomorrow afternoon.

 

[Steve]

Just took the time to read through this thread and have a few comments, if you don't mind. :-k

Good advice CBUOQ. The date code on these tires is 06-05-2017, so I'm safe. (As well as those around me).

You are close, but that is not the way to read the date code. You only read the last four digits, they are the week and year.
Your tires are from the 20th week of 2017, which happens to be rather close to June 5, but that is not part of the code.

I've hit a snag with my newly arrived gasket set. Ordered an Athena kit and it showed up with a damaged head gasket. Had to send it back for a refund.

As Nessism has already pointed out, the general wisdom on the forum is that you should have sent it back because it was an Athena set, regardless of any damage. If you put the engine together with another Athena set, be prepared to do it again.

Good advice cowboy. I would assume that at 0.03 mm the shim would wear after awhile and still be in the 0.03 - 0.08 range.

The shims are not the part that wears. The part that wears is the interface between the valve and the head. Not sure if the head gets compressed by several million valve closures or the valve itself wears or changes shape, but the clearance always gets less. The factory recommendation is 0.03-0.08mm, but several of us will go as far as 0.10mm on the upper end. The bike starts easier, runs better and seems to go farther between valve adjustments, but still need to be checked.

Finished shining up the front shocks. There are currently no leaks and they seem responsive, so for now, no reason to rebuild them.

When you see a set of forks that don't leak, you really have to ask: "are they dry because they are sealed very well or are they dry because all the oil has leaked out?" Have you actually put the proper amount of oil in there and exercised the suspension to verify that they don't leak? Based on the bits and pieces lying all over the work area, I am going to guess that you haven't. And, ... when you DO go in to change the seals, do yourself a favor and put some new springs in there. Sonic Springs are a good choice. The owner of the company is a member here and offers different rates that will give you a great ride, based on your riding style and gravitational attraction.

Here's what the service manual says on checking your cam shims:

I mistakenly checked them with the lobe at 90 degrees. Glad you alerted me to this before I installed the engine into the frame. I'll recheck these at the proper position!
I'll pay more attention to the SM instead of the Clymer manual.

It is WAY too easy to fall into the trap of trying to decipher that goofy picture. Unfortunately, it's even in the factory manual, but the factory manual has the text to explain it much better. Nessism explained it in a nutshell, but basically you choose the proper lobe position, then check TWO clearances without moving the cam. Go to the next position and check another TWO, and so on, until you get them all.

.

 

[Nessism]

Here is one of the Athena gasket failure photos. After first heat cycle the torque fell off a lot so I retorqued to 27 ft-lbs. I always check and recheck every couple heat cycles until the nuts hold torque. After about the third time I could see the gasket pinching out of the gap between the cylinder and cases...

 

[Guest]

Thank you Steve and Ed for your helpful comments and suggestions. If not Athena, then whom would you suggest? Vesrah? Whatever Z1 Enterprises, NCS or Gasket King sells?

I appreciate your insight on the valve adjustment. I just sent you and email Steve requesting a copy of your excel spreadsheet.

 

[Guest]

Vesrah aren't as bad as Athena. Maybe more successes than failures. The best choice is Suzuki. Might cost a little more, but failures are generally down to the mechanic rather than the gasket maker.

Personally I use OEM Suzuki for base gaskets, head gaskets etc. For things like the clutch cover and alternator cover, generic is normally OK.