What performance mods for '85 GS550ES? (power, handling, etc)

[criticman]

Thanks Skreemer.

Looking forward to the pics and I agree 100%...make the bike the way you want it...or in my case, the way I want it.

I'll edit my sig with a link to new pics of the bike. It came today. We jumped it off of my Mustang and got it running. Mmmm, I love it already!

 

[skizz]

Okay, i was just looking through this thread and i noticed that it would be ok to put a GSXR 600 or so shock onto a GS. is the same true for my 1981 GS550L? Im wondering because im having a problem with a crossthreaded stud on my left shock, and i know that it is welded to the frame. I also need a new pair of shocks, so im thinking that if somebody can take a moment or 2 to explain to me how this is done (mounted and angled etc. or a pic) then i can get rid of my old cruddy shocks, and the stud at the same time! tell me what you think...

btw i am also new to this forum and it has been a big help so far!

~jason

 

[criticman]

Yeah, a Walk-Thru w/ pics would be awesome on the shocks.

 

[AOD]

I won't ever call anyone a puss for doing what they're comfortable doing. However, your crash comment is uncalled for. Going fast in a straight line, is a completely different subject from being an idiot and not leaving myself space to make a mistake. I ALWAYS leave myself room to make a mistake, usually several.

I also made no refrence to my frequency of speeding, or where I did such testing. Is it really any worse to be doing 50% over the speed limt in a straight line with half a mile of visablity versus doing double the limit on a curvy road? Even tripple? *cough*Dragon*cough* Where you have yards of visability? I'd be happy to discuss the sanity of the alteratives.

I did not encourage this guy to try to get the bike going that fast. It's nice to know it's there. Wanna know something more retarded? If you think talking about top speeds are retarded... To drive at a safe speed on i-94 northbound out of chicago, you need a vehicle cappable of 90mph. If what you're in/on/under/over/hanging from can't do 90, you're a sitting duck.

It does seem I have touched upon a bit of a sore spot for you.

Not a sore spot at all, just a concerning spot, in my opinion. Hearing a rider who's already gone past his limits (single vehicle crash) talk about riding at excessive speeds as you mentioned is disheartening to me.

I may talk up the Dragon as a nice playground, but until you ride it, you can't really talk about it. Sure people push it there, but Joe Nardy, Ryan, others on this site have followed me through it, and I've followed them. Ride it hard, push it, sure. But push it too far, no. I rather go down there than at 121 MPH on a 'straight road with 1/2 mile visibility' any time. You're in control yourself at those speeds, but physics is in control of you if mechanical or nature's friend interveens.

Keep in mind I lived in Chicago 23 years prior to moving out here, I'm well aware of the roads and traffic.

~Adam

 

[criticman]

Since this has become quite an eclectic thread...

When I bought my helmet, gloves, and jacket on Tuesday, the 60ish old man that helped me was awesome. Apparently he lost it doing 85, knees to the ground cornering on a mountain road. He landed on his head, which was protected by an Arai helmet, then he and the bike wound up in a ravine. His GSXR1000 was totaled, but since he was wearing full leathers and a helmet, he was fine and managed to get the bike home.

Just another example of how wearing the proper gear, even if you do something stupid, you have a better chance of coming out of it unharmed (or at least alive and bruised).

 

[Nerobro]

Yeah, a Walk-Thru w/ pics would be awesome on the shocks.

I can do a walk through in two or three pictures. It's just THAT simple. All you really need to do is unbolt the stock shock, and bolt the new one in.

Adam, I apreciate your concern. There were a lot of lessons learned that weekend. However, that weekend is over, and those lessons are learned. I hope I have your trust that I'm riding responcably and well within my limits. I ride what I preach. I should share stories of morphix and his genius.

 

[skizz]

Thanks a ton nero... that walk through would be great, for some reason i still dont think im on the same page as you guys though, you see, my bike (1981 gs550L) has 2 rear shocks, and im assuming you mean to replace both of those with upside down GSXR shocks... thats where i got lost. unless of course you meant to exchange both of my shocks for one GSXR shock. thats where i thought about just getting rid of my old shock studs as well. so yeah, that walk through would be very handy.

Oh and one more thing. if anyone has a parts bike or an "extra" chain guard that would fit one my bike, im in the market...

Thanks in advance (you guys are great)

~jason

 

[Nerobro]

skizz,

while I have LOTS of advice for the dual shock 550's, nothing discussed here really has any bearing on your bike. 77-82 and 83-86 GS550's are completely different beasts. And when I say completely different, the only things they share are rear wheel diameter and width, keylock cylinder, front fork diameter, headstock dimentions, and handlebar diameter. I don't think I"m forgetting anything either......

The GSXR shock will not fit your bike. At all. But there are a lot of shocks that will fit. Most of the aftermarket companies make shocks that are quite suitable. In just about any price range.

If you have the same questions for your bike, I'd reccomend starting up a thread for your bike ;-) adding it here would be like talking about 1100's and 650's in the same breath. My fast bike is a 1980 GS550E... *grins wildly*

 

[skizz]

heh, sorry about that. for some reason i read something wrong towards the beginning then. ill start a new thread if necissary, but thanks alot and im sure ill be asking more questions in the future.

 

[550ERAT]

I also have the blue and white 83 gs550E. I have had the bike for about 10 years and instead of buying something new, would like to freshin' it up I like the shock upgrade and can't wait for the pics/walk thru. How bout the fork springs? easy to install? I am also having a fuel issue now. The bike would only start and run on choke (happened all of a sudden) now it won't start (if you twist the throttle a few times, it'll fire and die qwik) I have checked all the fuel lines, gas cap and petcock, all good. The carbs are being cleaned now. Are there any other things should look for? As for parts.....I need the little fuel door that covers the petcock, any help there? Other than that, the bike is clean with only 15000 miles. Thanks in advance.

 

[Nerobro]

I also have the blue and white 83 gs550E. I have had the bike for about 10 years and instead of buying something new, would like to freshin' it up I like the shock upgrade and can't wait for the pics/walk thru. How bout the fork springs? easy to install?

Fine fine fine fine.. I'll post pictures. you'll kick yourself when you see how eash it is. Fork springs are really easy to. Just be sure to cut the fork spacers square.

I am also having a fuel issue now. The bike would only start and run on choke (happened all of a sudden) now it won't start (if you twist the throttle a few times, it'll fire and die qwik) I have checked all the fuel lines, gas cap and petcock, all good. The carbs are being cleaned now. Are there any other things should look for? As for parts.....I need the little fuel door that covers the petcock, any help there? Other than that, the bike is clean with only 15000 miles. Thanks in advance.

Your idle and pilot jets are plugged. The pilot jets you can extract and clean, the idle jets can only be cleaned in place. I've detailed how to clean those already in this thread. The idle/choke jets are siamesed on these carbs so there's only one per carb. (like one diaphram, and one float, and one float valve)

 

[emjay]

Great bike, by the way. I've been looking for one of those. I have a cruiser and also want a sport bike.

I redid my front forks myself recently with $70 Progressives and 15W oil and it went fairly well and made a big difference. I cut the PVC spacers with a mitre saw with the pipes clamped in place to get a nice square cut. I found a junk bike with 1000 miles on it that was sitting on it's side. The rear shocks were in excellent condition, so I put them on mine for now as I'm short on cash at the moment. When money's better I'm purchasing new rear shocks.

Concerning the air filter, I replaced the stock foam filter with a K&N filter. Easy job and cheap and made a noticable difference. No special adjustments needed, just oil the filter up and install it in the box.

 

[550ERAT]

Thx Nero....A couple of more questions. Do you reccomend one rear GSXR shock over another? Can the rear swingarm be changed to a bigger one to get a bigger tire outback? And, where can I find a new upgraded exhaust (4 into 1), I cannot find anything new anywhere. Thx again..

 

[Nerobro]

Great bike, by the way. I've been looking for one of those. I have a cruiser and also want a sport bike.

I redid my front forks myself recently with $70 Progressives and 15W oil and it went fairly well and made a big difference. I cut the PVC spacers with a mitre saw with the pipes clamped in place to get a nice square cut. I found a junk bike with 1000 miles on it that was sitting on it's side. The rear shocks were in excellent condition, so I put them on mine for now as I'm short on cash at the moment. When money's better I'm purchasing new rear shocks.

Concerning the air filter, I replaced the stock foam filter with a K&N filter. Easy job and cheap and made a noticable difference. No special adjustments needed, just oil the filter up and install it in the box.

Emjay, you're talking about a 77-82 GS550, not the 83-86 models. The 83-86 models have a monoshock rear. And IIRC use 15w oil stock. The progressive springs cost the same....

 

[Nerobro]

Thx Nero....A couple of more questions. Do you reccomend one rear GSXR shock over another? Can the rear swingarm be changed to a bigger one to get a bigger tire outback? And, where can I find a new upgraded exhaust (4 into 1), I cannot find anything new anywhere. Thx again..

The 750 and 1000 shocks tend to have more adjustablity. But that's the only reason to choose one over the other. The bike weights are simmilar so the spring weights and damping doesn't change much.

Why do you want a wider tire? Wider tires mean you need to lean more for a given corner. That's NEED not go faster for a given corner. You don't have enough horsepower to seriously endanger the stock size rubber so I wouldn't worry about it. If you're really concerned about traction, get a set of perelli sport deamons and forgetaboutit.

I can't find 4-1 exhausts either. :-/ Again, it's a don't worry about it for now thing. I"ll take a look and see what I can find.

 

[550ERAT]

Thanks...The wider rear tire is more for looks than anything else, but not a huge deal. I found a whole bunchof shocks on ebay so I guess I'm goin shopping.

 

[emjay]

Emjay, you're talking about a 77-82 GS550, not the 83-86 models. The 83-86 models have a monoshock rear. And IIRC use 15w oil stock. The progressive springs cost the same....

I was aware of that fact. I was basically just pointing out that the front forks aren't too pricey or difficult to redo, and that swapping the stock filter for a K&N is even cheaper and easier and well worth it. I only mentioned replacing my rear shocks as well to indicate most of these old bikes need new shocks.

I didn't intend to confuse anyone. I just wanted to affirm that some simple improvements can be made to improve the bikes performance.

 

[Jethro]

Why do you want a wider tire? Wider tires mean you need to lean more for a given corner.

Not if he gets the right rim to go with it.

 

[Nerobro]

no jethro. Wider tires mean you need to lean further for a given speed corner. What happens is that your contact patch moves further when you lean over. So your bike needs to lean even further to keep the CG over the contact patch.

In fact.. putting a wider tire on a narrower rim reduces this effect. ;-) Though that screws up the shape of the carcass.

 

[550ERAT]

When I change the rear shock from stock to the GSXR model. I know I have to remove the center stand to put it on but does it stay off? and do I re-use the mounting bolts, get new ones or use the ones from the GSXR? Also, the canister attached to the shock, what goes in it? Thanks, and no stone breaking of this is a really stupid question, thx.