Help identifying a motorycle

[tadakan]

----EDIT----
Just found the signed title from the PO so I know what the rubbed off characters on the VIN tag are. Big thanks to Steve for the quick reply and the cool fact about it being one of the last 1980 MY bikes.
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Hi All,

I bought an old GS550L a couple of years ago and I've been working on it as time and money permitted. Along the way I didn't take care of business and register the bike when I bought it :chargrined:. I think you can probably look at my profile and see a few posts going back a while so hopefully this doesn't come off as too suspicious.

I'm finally getting close to being able to ride the thing and I'm digging through my file cabinet trying to find the signed title from the PO and not having any luck yet. So... I'm looking for help figuring out any additional identification for the bike.

There is a decal with a stamped number on the fork post, that is labeled VIN but does not appear to be long enough.


Is that really the complete vin, or is there somewhere else on the bike I need to be looking for it? There's also a stamped or engraved number on the engine case but I think that's the engine serial and not actually unique?

Thanks in advance...

Tom

 

[Steve]

Before VIN numbers (sorry about the redundancy ) were standardized in 1981 to 17 digits, what you have there is, in fact, a proper number. Unfortunately, it's a bit confusing, as it starts with "GS550E", even though you say you have an L. If you look just "above" the VIN decal (actually more to the right side of the steering neck), you will probably see the number stamped there, as well.

What I see as your VIN is GS550E-723134. The engine number is just that, the ENGINE number. On Suzukis, they never matched.

By the way, with an assembly date of 6/80, you have one of the last of the 1980 bikes.
Assembly of the 1981 bikes started by August, some say it might even have been as early as July.

.

 

[tadakan]

Thanks Steve! Neat information about it being near the end of the year run.

I finally dug down far enough and just found the signed title from the PO so that will hopefully make life a little bit easier when I get the to DOL. I'm really looking forward to riding this thing finally!

As you say, the title calls it a gs550LT, but the vin is gs550e, a bit confusing. It does have the stepped seat of an L(though not the stepped frame of the later Ls) and it had the cruiser-style handlebars, although I've replace them with somewhat straighter bars already.

Thanks again!

 

[Steve]

One more tidbit: NOWHERE on the bike will you see a "T". :-k

That was simply Suzuki's way of designating the model year, which was 1980.

In full "Suzuki-speak", you have a GS550LT.
To the average person on the street, you have a 1980 GS550L.
It is redundant to say you have a 1980 GS550LT.

.

 

[Kiwi Canuck]

Thanks Steve! Neat information about it being near the end of the year run.!

By my calculation, you have the 17,898th 1980 GS550L bike made, as the starting VIN for that model was 705236.

David.