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Hello from Indiana

JohnnyL

JohnnyL

Forum Mentor
Hi there! I am new to the GS forum and so glad I found this place. I just purchased this 1981 GS550L for $100. The bike turns over but won't run. I have pulled the carbs off and ordered a rebuild kit for all four. I have already soda blasted all the carbs. I also replaced the coils and spark plug wires as the previous owner had them hacked up with the wrong boots and poor wire splicing. I look forward to getting this bike running and then tearing it down to properly turn it into a cafe racer. I just finished building a cafe racer for my 16 year old son from a 1969 Honda CL350. I really enjoyed building the bike. So much that I have decided to build one for myself from this GS. My daily rider is a KTM Duke 390. I look forward to meeting you all! IMG_5760(1).jpg
 
Hi Johnny and welcome to the forum. I haven't seen many, if any, posts from India.

You'll probably hear in short time to avoid carb rebuild kits and soda blasting them. Costly parts you won't likely need and blasting media getting stuck in tiny passages. Most around here use ultrasonic cleaners.

The cafe bike looks like a fun and challenging build. How does your son like riding it?
 
LOL....I'm not from India. I'm from Indiana. I definitely needed to order a carb rebuild kit. The previous owner had buried the air mixture screw so deep that he stripped the head on it and I had to drill it out and use an easy out to remove it. The carb rebuild kits came with new air screws and bowl gaskets amongst other parts that need to be replaced. I neglected to mention that after I soda blasted the grime off of the carbs, I sprayed air and then carb cleaner through every passage to clean them out. Here is a side by side comparison of before and after soda blasting. I have had very good results with soda blasting and it's cheap. IMG_5786.jpg My son absolutely loves the CL350. Unfortunately he was only able to ride it a few times before winter set in here. He wanted to ride it so badly the other day that he braved the cold and rode it to work when it was in the low 40s here. Haha...
 
Thats hilarious. I just got fitted for glasses on Friday. Can't wait to get them. Indiana and surrounding areas have a bunch of members, as you probably know.

Must be a great feeling to see your boy enjoy what you worked hard to build for him. Did he work on it with you?
 
Haha! Yes! He worked along with with me on the entire project. We tore the engine right down to the transmission. We had every single bolt off of the bike and engine and rebuilt it from the ground up. He learned how an internal combustion engine works. He knows his bike inside and out. We?re pretty new to the old bike/cafe racer seen so we don?t know really anyone from the community but are anxious to meet some new people and get involved. We both want to ride in next year?s Distinguished Gentleman?s ride.
 
Very cool!

Again, welcome aboard. Look for a post about a rally in June near father's day out in Bedford. Something I've been wanting to attend for years but haven't been able to.
 
Welcome!

Yep, return those kits; they're junk. Read the newbie mistakes thread.

The kit gaskets are usually usable, but they're also available separately. See if http://www.cycleorings.com/ has an o-ring kit.

Cycle Recycle II here in Indy is a fantastic resource. (Although they and other otherwise respectable suppliers still sell those junk kits, as well as junk brake and petcock kits because there's a demand...)

There are some of us in and around Indy, and some scattered around other parts of the state. Looks like you're not far away from me; I'm on the NW side of Indy.

And yeah, watch the meeting place for the "Brown County" rally in June (which is really based two counties away in Bedford for various reasons...).

I usually figure out a date and start this thread in December for people who need to put in vacation requests.
 
Last edited:
Thanks Bwringer! I?ll definitely look into the Bedford gathering! Good to know you?re right down the road from me. I may be contacting you when I get to a point that I need help on this GS550. Lol...
 
Johnny, Welcome to TheGSR. Lots of knolodgable folks here.
And one of them is nearby to you, and already posted here.

JohnnyL said:
....
attachment.php
...
Click to expand...
You said you were going to make it into a cafe racer.
So I was thinking you have a fairly stock bike.
THen I see picture, what? that is already been hacked.


JohnnyL said:
.
attachment.php

.
Click to expand...

Ah, now, maybe I see what a cafe racer is.
What? even lower bars and rear sets...? .... and open pipes....?
 
Redman said:
Johnny, Welcome to TheGSR. Lots of knolodgable folks here.
And one of them is nearby to you, and already posted here.


You said you were going to make it into a cafe racer.
So I was thinking you have a fairly stock bike.
THen I see picture, what? that is already been hacked.




Ah, now, maybe I see what a cafe racer is.
What? even lower bars and rear sets...? .... and open pipes....?
Click to expand...

Yes...unfortunately the bike has already been molested with a lame attempt to cafe it. No worries though because I plan on rebuilding it from the ground up much like I did with the CL350. The CL350 has open pipes until mom said ?It?s too loud!? So I put baffles in the ends which quieted them down considerably. The CL350 only showed 740 miles on the odometer and after tearing down the motor, it looked to be true. There was barely any wear on the engine. It was in pretty sad shape when we bought it though. 60D9AF37-355C-4F5B-841E-6872117067A9.jpg
 
I am trying to navigate my way through this forum as it is new to me. I have read the newbie stickies. If I want to start a new thread about my build, where is the best place to put that? I'd like to have one thread where I can post my progress and ask questions specifically about my build. Thanks.
 
Baatfam said:
Projects/Rebuilds sounds right....

Welcome...:cool:
Click to expand...


Yep, post lots of pics!


And yeah, get in touch if you need a hand. For some odd reason, none of my bikes need anything much, so my only winter projects are remodeling the laundry room and maybe transplanting a lawn mower engine if I can find a better chassis.
 
Welcome to the site. Look forward to seeing your rebuild thread and following along, as well as meeting you in Bedford in June.
 
What he said, looking forward to seeing the bike and meeting you in Bedford next June.
 
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