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GS550L or GS550E ?

  • Thread starter Thread starter ReedSupport
  • Start date Start date
R

ReedSupport

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I found myself a bike that looked an awful lot like a 550L from about 1980. I'm not familiar with Suzukis (I know, for shame) and when I got it home I poked around to find something official. Well, I found a tag hidden behind the headlight with some bits and pieces marked on it. It looks like it says, on the bottom line, 550E and then six stamped digits (some kind of bike unique identifier, I suppose): 713523.

Thing is, the tag isn't as well attached as I'd expect for a permanent tag, and the bike really does look an awful lot like a 550L. The tag also says '577 LBS' just above the six digit number, which throws me a bit as I'm pretty sure the bike does not weigh nearly that much.

Can anyone help me out?

Edit: I forgot to mention, I'm in the UK but the guy I bought this from told me it had been imported, which I took to mean that it might not have been shipped here by Suzuki.
 
My 750L says 750E on the frame. Your bike is probably an L if you say it looks like one. There just dressed up different.
 
This thread is useless without pictures... :-D

A couple of snapshots would be worth thousands of words of speculation.
 
Yeah that lame little sticker is no good. Mine came off for powdercoating but it was pretty much ruined. I kept it just in case :)

Good luck figuring it out! Pics will go far in helping to identify it. Feel free to look at th gallery on this site.... you might be able to see a match in there.
 
Nessism said:
One telling indicator is the rear wheel size, L model is 16", E model is 18", and T model is 17".
Click to expand...

Now that sounds like a pretty definitive way to measure it - many thanks.

Having done some digging, I found that there is an 850 model that weighs 557 lbs, and from examination of the label what I thought said '550e' could indeed say '850e' (first digit degraded), which would at least make the label a bit more self-consistent. Although that presents the issue that I've never heard of an 850e.

Currently all the pics are high res shots of the label I've been fiddling with in order to make out all the detail. I'll get some better shots and post them. Thanks for your help.
 
Post the photos on photobucket (or similar) so you don't have to reduce the size. Regarding engine size, it's cast into the side of the motor so take a look on the cylinders.
 
To tell if it's a 550L, try to take the carbs off. Ifyou use all the cuss words you know and make up new ones it's a 550L.
 
ReedSupport said:
Now that sounds like a pretty definitive way to measure it - many thanks.

Having done some digging, I found that there is an 850 model that weighs 557 lbs, and from examination of the label what I thought said '550e' could indeed say '850e' (first digit degraded), which would at least make the label a bit more self-consistent. Although that presents the issue that I've never heard of an 850e.

There Wasn't One. If it has a Chain, it's NOT an 850.
Click to expand...
 
It does have a chain (note to self; grease chain) so it's definitely not an 850. Which raises the question, why is there a label on the front, just above the forks, indicating it is an 850? Could that be a part originally from an 850 that was swapped in?

Of course, the label might really say 550e (first digit corroded) in which case the puzzle is why does it specificy a mass of 557 lbs, which is suspiciously the mass of an 850.

New rule for bike manufacturers: more fúcking marking on the parts, please.

Edit: pictures coming.
 
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ReedSupport said:
Of course, the label might really say 550e (first digit corroded) in which case the puzzle is why does it specificy a mass of 557 lbs, which is suspiciously the mass of an 850.

New rule for bike manufacturers: more f?cking marking on the parts, please.
Click to expand...


See my posting above.

The engine size is cast into the cylinder block. Look at the area with all the cooling fins above the engine cases. Also, on the left side of the engine there is a serial number - which starts with the engine size. For example "GS550 - 12345". Have a look see and report back.
 
Aha! Having cleaned up the bike a bit, I find GS550E - 713523 engraved in some pretty solid block lettering on the right side of the headstock. There's no way that's someone playing around with labels. I had a poke around at the engine casing, but the rain threatened to start up so I couldn't get it out into the light.

So, certainly a GS550, marked as a GS550E, but possibly (hopefully) a GS550L. Does anyone know if the GS550L side panels are interchangable with any other GS550 model?

Many thanks for all your help so far, chaps. Much, much appreciated.
 
Did I mention that I own a bunch of GS550's :-)

Now, that i've come late to the party. There are few indicators of a GS550E verusus L. Two that ANYONE can spot. Look at the forks. Are they leading axle? If so, it's an L. Look at the back of the bike, is the rear fender metal? then it's an L. If it has a seperate gas cap it's an L. If the petcock has no lever on it, it's an L. If it has a gas guage, it's an L.

If there is a plastic tailsection, it's an E. If the front axle is at the bottom of the fork, it's an E. If there's a locking cover over the gas cap, it's an E. If the guages are all in one pod, it's an E.

The carbs are a royal pain in the butt to remove on both E's and L's.

You'll need to ask Planecrazy and Firsttimer, but I"m fairly sure all GS550's have the same size wheel. And that's 19" up front, and 18" out back. I'm double checking that on bikebandit now.(excluding the 1983-86 GSX550's)
 
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Thanks very much - the bike ticks an awful lot of 550L boxes, so that's the verdict. Thanks for all your help and advice, chaps. Knowing what model it is will certainly make fitting parts easier.
 
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