First Street Bike Project - with a few questions

[SVSooke]

The ratchet straps do not need to go right to the top to work.You should be fine.

 

[Guest]

ratchets should work, do the same as this

I have some ratchet tie downs but they have hooks on each end that are not removable. I don't see any hooks on the ends of the ones in the picture. Do they come like that or did you have to modify those in some way?

Thx,
Sci85

 

[GateKeeper]

either cut them off or get new tie downs, like these

 

[Guest]

Well, I've been making some progress. Not nearly as much as some but still poking away at it. Been on the road a lot now so that's really slowing me down. Anyway, many thanks to 7981GS for the shims. I now have all my valves adjusted! I've been working on getting various parts stripped and painted. Brakes, airbox and battery box have been my focus of late with a few of the engine covers as well. I need to order a new left side cover as mine is pretty scratched up. Looks like it may have been down on that side in the past. So, without further ado, here are the pics...

Original rt front caliper before stripping...

Primed for paint which goes on tomorrow...

Battery box, arobox top and starter cover. I decided to go black on the engine covers rather than polishing because I think it looks better against the aluminum...

And bag o' parts from BS came today. Mostly brake rebuild parts, the engine cover Suzuki emblems, and new air boots...

Ahhhh, fresh gaskets...

And new tank stickers. Couldn't believe they still stocked these babies!

And lastly, the all important shiny new petcock...

Getting there.

 

[Good Times]

mmmmm.....fresh new parts and paint. Just so you're doing something. Lost of little things add up to an awesome bike.

 

[Guest]

Well, I finally got some time to work on the bike this weekend. Still scraping and painting parts. I'm getting close though to the point of getting the engine back into the frame. I'm really looking forward to that!

Got hit with a decent sized hail storm last week. Since the bike project was taking up the garage the cars took the brunt unfortunately. Not cool...

More parts painted and polished...

 

[Guest]

Ahhh, it's starting to feel like a bike again. Baby steps!

 

[Flyboy]

Awesome Sci, don't she just look content with her motor sitting in the cradle like that and don't you just love getting a box full of plastic bags full of red stickers.
Looking good, no doubt she is going to turn heads. Keep it up.

 

[GateKeeper]

Hey Sci85,,,,,I see your one step ahead of me, your engine is in,,,,and mine is still on the floor, collecting dust now....

Hope you get some time now, since you have been busy for the last little while...

So we will both be done

 

[Mad Mark]

dang Sci85 great job! thats going to be a fun little bike when your done.

this also makes me feel real lucky for how clean my bike is even though its been sitting for 10 years, and that i know the previous two owners and know they didnt mess with anything.

and baby steps is good.

 

[Guest]

So we will both be done

Yeah hopefully before the summer is over!!

 

[Missile99]

Nice work Sci85. Your bike is going to be a shining beauty unlike mine!
I have much cosmetic work to do and need to check those bearings you say people usually neglect.

These bikes are a lot of fun and are screamers. They have enough torque to allow them to engage from a stop with barely any revs. With all that weight in fuel up top I would expect them to handle poorly, but that's certainly not the case. They turn effortlessly and hold corners well. This is coming from a true beginning rider on his first bike.

What are your plans for the wiring harness? It shouldn't be too bad to revamp with some patience if you choose to go that route. We can all help you out. I spent a long, long time going through critical connections and troubleshooting too.

How was the inside of your tank? I suggest taking apart the gas cap along with the sending unit and cleaning them up. Pretty easy. Install a new fuel line too. With your attention to detail, these were probably on your list already anyways. I'm saying this because I would hate to see debris flow through when you have a new petcock and fresh carbs.

Keep us posted.

 

[Guest]

Thanks Eric. It's been slow progress the past month as I've been traveling a lot for work. But I did manage to finish up some painting and get some covers on and the brake assembly restarted. Plus, a new batch of parts came in today from (Ashley is the best...glad we have Boulevard to help us out) so with the long weekend, I hope to make some good progress.

I actually pulled the wiring harness out and layed it on the floor today and just kinda stared at it for about 10 minutes haha. I have much work to do. In fact, when I was disassembling, I noticed someone had run a completely separate set of wires for the blinkers. They were not even using the main harness! I still shudder when I think about it that piece of the build but it's getting close to time!

Haven't checked the tank yet but it was supposedly running when I bought it so I'm hoping it can't be too bad.

I'd love to see your bike. Please post up some picks. It will be invaluable having another 550M for reference so thanks!

Clutch cover, stator & stator cover, starter + cover, and front brake reassembly started...

 

[GateKeeper]

Glad to see you back at it....

looking good

.

 

[Redneck]

Holy smokes ist starting to look like a Motorcycle...

Keep it up...

Paul

 

[Missile99]

Looking real good Sci85. What paint did you use for the rotors/calipers? It seems like a close match to stock.

Too bad people can't take their time to wire things up carefully. It makes for a big mess that falls apart and is hard to troubleshoot.

I plan on setting up a photo account soon and uploading some pictures of the beast. A video is in the near future too.

See ya. Have fun.

 

[Guest]

Yep, it's starting to come together. I'm getting pretty excited as it takes shape. Gives me more incentive to get it done!

Eric, can you do me a favor and post a close up pic of your front master cylinder? I'm having a hard time finding a rebuild kit that fits the 550M and I am wondering if I have the factory one or someone replaced it with something else.

The paint I found that is real close to factory for the orange/red color is Dupli-Color engine enamel Chevrolet Orange-Red DE1607.

Thx,
Sci85

 

[Missile99]

Thanks for the paint info.
The master cylinder says Aisin 2 5/8 on the bottom side. I'm quite sure it's the original.

On a side note: I am the 2nd owner, the original owner is my next door neighbor. He told me that he bought this bike dirt cheap, around $1500. It was still in the crate. There was no demand because the styling was too wild and most people weren't interested. The bike is 2 months younger than me.
That means I am its elder and it should treat me good.

 

[Guest]

Cool. That helps. I am now certain that someone changed out the MC on mine. Can you confirm that the top has 4 screws holding the cap on?

Thanks Eric.

 

[Missile99]

Yep, 4 screws holding the cap on. I hope you find a good replacement cheap.