New GS550 Owner

[Glitchies]

Hello good people!

Today I decided that I needed a challenge. I have been wanting to get a bike for years, but never got around to it. That changed today, kinda. When I bought my house, there was an old bike in the back in the bushes that I forgot about. Turns out it is a '79 GS550. I pulled it out of the bush today to take a look at it, and to see how much "joy and passion" is going to be needed. It is actually in not bad shape considering it was in the bush for at least 5 years. And the rubber looks surprising good. The previous owner said it had good compression when put away, he was just having electrical problems.

So you can expect to see me asking a lot of stupid questions around here for a while. I am a mechanic by trade, so it isn't like I'm new to working on machines, but as I am an Aircraft Mechanic, there probably isn't a lot of cross-over knowledge other than basic mechanics, how engines work, electronics, that kind of thing. Oh, and how to follow a manual. That will probably be my first question.

Is there a good recommended tear-down "Haynes-type" book I should be buying right off the bat?
(this is probably answered somewhere here already, I know how to use the search function... I'll use that now.)

Anyways, Hope you are all having a good day! I'm off to do some searching and poking around this forum.

>> Here is a link to my first photos of it. <<

 

[Nessism]

Welcome and good luck. You can download a factory Suzuki manual from this link, along with a lot of other useful information. Also please check the Newbie Mistakes thread linked in my signature so you know some of the things to watch out for.

http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff/

Edit: 12,000 km is barely broken in. Hopely the speedo didn't turn over but even if it did that doesn't mean it's worn out. There was a member here that put 120,000 miles on his 550 before selling it to someone else that kept riding it.

 

[Steve]

Those tires look scary, the rest of the bike looks like a decent starting point.

.

 

[fbody_mike]

Looks like some fun there.
I think Reagan was still president when those tires were made. Looks like the battery did some leaking too.
Great pictures, take more as you tear it down, everyone enjoys those.

 

[Jwar10]

Clymer Manual for 1979 GS550

Clymer Manual for 1979 GS550

I just bought a 1979 GS550L that is not running. My goal is to get it running and convert it to a scrambler. I ordered the CLYMER manual for this exact model & year. It is a complete breakdown of all the bike's systems. The repair manual for mechanics with in-depth diagrams and how to's. Ironically, the guy who sold me this bike said the same thing about compression. I suspect I am having electrical issues with it as well. I just started going through the bike last weekend. Maybe we can troubleshoot together as we go through the bikes.

Here's a link to the manual. But I think it can found on Amazon as well. https://www.clymer.com/suzuki-gs550-1977-1986-m373

Link to my bike when I got it and at various stages of tearing it down. https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipPobywE5wYXQfmuKw5l8iRo802GUWl-Aw2HJrtI

Just removed the tank this weekend. I'll keep this updated. I added a pic of the vision of my bike when complete that I edited in Photoshop. The front fender is still showing but that will be gone. Also I ordered bobber style handlebars in black. Those would be the only things different than in the picture of my concept.

 

[Jwar10]

Scrambler Concept

Scrambler Concept

Here is my vision for my GS550L. I already ordered the low bobber style bars...so thats the only thing that would be different than the pic. This is going to take a lot of work and will be a learning curve to get it to look like this.

 

[Nessism]

I just bought a 1979 GS550L that is not running. My goal is to get it running and convert it to a scrambler. I ordered the CLYMER manual for this exact model & year. It is a complete breakdown of all the bike's systems. The repair manual for mechanics with in-depth diagrams and how to's. Ironically, the guy who sold me this bike said the same thing about compression. I suspect I am having electrical issues with it as well. I just started going through the bike last weekend. Maybe we can troubleshoot together as we go through the bikes.

Here's a link to the manual. But I think it can found on Amazon as well. https://www.clymer.com/suzuki-gs550-1977-1986-m373

Link to my bike when I got it and at various stages of tearing it down. https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipPobywE5wYXQfmuKw5l8iRo802GUWl-Aw2HJrtI

Just removed the tank this weekend. I'll keep this updated.

The factory manual should be considered the bible of bike repair info. Only use that Clymer for backup because it's full of suspect info.

 

[Jwar10]

Thanks Ed!

Until now, I had only heard good things about Clymer manuals. To do this conversion, I am going to be modifying and eliminating certain aspects of the bike to get it to look like I want. When all is said and done, I may have a very cool paperweight!

 

[Steve]

I have not compared manuals for the 550, but I do have all three manuals for my 850s: Factory, Clymer, Haynes. I would rate them in that order. Each has a small detail that the others might not explain quite as well, but for overall ACCURACY, the factory manual wins, hands down.

.

 

[Guest]

I have not compared manuals for the 550, but I do have all three manuals for my 850s: Factory, Clymer, Haynes. I would rate them in that order. Each has a small detail that the others might not explain quite as well, but for overall ACCURACY, the factory manual wins, hands down.

.

I've owned several 550s - I'd go with exactly what Steve says.

 

[Dharma-man]

Welcome!

 

[scratch]

Have a .pdf of the factory and a hard-copy Clymer for the bench, quick refference and to take notes in. I've grown really fond of the now tattered Clymer and it's oily smell but, when things get serrious it's the factory copy I turn to.
That said, there is possible excuse, no fathonable reason not to have a .pdf of the factory book. There's one on each computer & even keep a .pdf of the fsm on my phone so I have it to turn to on the road

What I'd like to score is an original assembly manual that the dealerships got... anyone have a copy?

 

[roeme]

(...)

What I'd like to score is an original assembly manual that the dealerships got... anyone have a copy?

Not sure what value an assembly manual (if there even was one) would add to the factory service manual? The latter is comprehensive.

If you're referring to the part lists/schematics/fiches, they're available from/viewable on numerous online sources, and original fiches often can be had on ebay and the like.
Also, some members here have some original fiches (or real good knowledge) in case a part number really eludes you.

 

[Jwar10]

Got my hands on a factory PDF manual. Thanks for the scoop! I was told the factory manuals are not as detailed for rebuilds, restoration or advanced repairs. Having seen one now, I realize that is strictly not true! Nice to have a couple manuals in the library.

 

[Lanerover]

New to both GS ownership as well as riding. I got a 1981 GS550T - partly because I didn't want to spend a lot on a bike that I may make A LOT of mistakes with. Though reading the top mistakes newbies make is buying an older bike is one of them . Did about a year and a half of riding on it before I was sidelined by an electrical issue. Right now it is back to running but from reading posts in the forum I think the idle issue may be down to poor seals on the intake side.

 

[Grimly]

... first photos of it

Those are some interesting blueing marks on the exhausts. I wonder if the PO had attemped to de-carbonise the mufflers with the old oxy-acetylene trick - fire the torch in the muffler, get the carbon burning then whack up the oxygen to burn the carbon out. It's an old two-stroke trick that works, but makes the pipes look like that.

 

[Griffin]

So long as the chrome isn't cracked and chipping, that coloring can (usually) be removed using "Blue Magic" polishing cream and a ton of elbow grease.