Center Stand

Well the bike came with a center stand, but the side peg was busted off so it was totally useless. I bought one from a 80'something 650, but it was about an inch too short. I got a proper one at Allen's Cycle Salvage in Moncton, NB [http://www.cyclesalvage.nb.ca/] -website has not been updated in a while. He's got a good supply of stuff, but is kind of pricey. I also bought a set of soft saddle bags from him, that have worked great.

A sidenote: the saddle bags and windshield take away from the wicked old-school look. I might just sell them...

I took that rusty center stand, brushed, scraped, sanded it and then painted 2 coats of primer on it. I then put 3 coats of black rust paint, with light sanding in between all coats. Result:

Windshield

Bought a windshield from a Harley lady for 60$, a spitfire smoked one. The clamps are too big though, so I will have to stuff something in there to tighten it up. Right now it works, but is loose.

Chain Lubing

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joneman How often should I be lubing my chain though? Totalmotorcycle says to do it after every ride, and my friend says that stupid cause' I will just get oil everywhere and more dirt will get into my chain... Thanks!

oh my
well start with doing it every ride
then every second ride till you see how long the lube stays and and stays clean for the conditions you ride in

not sure what you buddy means by more oil causing more dirt

if you apply it then use a rag to wipe off excess there should not be a problem

__________________

Thanks to Calvin Blackmore, gsresources.com

Broken Speedo Cable, Front tire changed

So my speedo cable broke this past weekend on the way to buy a windshield, after I just got my front tire changed last Thursday at Fredericton's' Honda Sutherland Dealer for 45$ tax-in. The tire I bought at G Bourque in Moncton for 99$ tax-in shipped here, and its working good so far. I was just about to lube the cables, so it kind of suck that the speedo cable had to snap. From looking at other 78 550's, I can see that the routing of my cable is wrong. It seems to have quite a bit of stress on it.

I am thinking of buying the cable from bikebandits.com, an OEM one, but I would much rather get one in town and save the shipping and duty. Honda had one but it was a Motion Pro one, which from what I have gathered on gsresources.com, is crap compared to the OEM cable. I am going to call Macleans soon to see if they have the part, as they are a suzuki dealer. I also want to get a Clymer Manual, and so far bikebandit.com seems to have the best/same price compared to other sources.

Headlight adjusting screw

Another point I forgot to mention was that I had to change my headlight (the original's low beam did not work). It did not have an adjusting screw, which changes the direction of the beam horizontally, but the old light was there so long it didnt move at all. The new light vibrated really badly, making my bike annoying. I purchased a screw at a salvage yard, as it came with a nut and spring, but it was too long and I cut it too short. I picked up a screw and bolt at Kent friday and installed it - it worked great :)

If you need the length that I used for your own bike let me know by leaving a comment.

Pictures from Saturday Fun

Just wondering what the wire going into the plastic head/slide piece is...

















Plug #1 threads? I should figure out how to clean the threads, cause i just put my clean plugs right back into the mess

Also, I need to invest in a plug gauge as I dont have one right now...








Another clean carb (after having carb cleaner seat in my carbs for about 10 mins)













Gas I drained out of my tank... now donated to my dads' lawn mower











Bottom of tank - not really rusty at all :)














Petcock
Lower horizontal 'nipple' for fuel line, upper (45 degree) nipple for vacuum line
















Vacuum hose off petcock, with a small nick/crack on it and fuel line (the one with a white twist-tie on it)












Naked Bike =O


























Float bowl of carb
Drain Screw
Hose coming out of bottom - what is it?











Supervisor :P














Tinkerin' in the garage












Four plugs drying up, all clean












level of oil on the side kick-stand

Pictures and Video

Plug #1
Plug #2
Plug #3
Plug #4

Pictures of all the plugs before cleaning them in carb cleaner (soaking and using a toothbrush)
-above-



















Fuel flow of my gas tank through the petcock on PRI (prime)

Clean Carbs?

So yesterday I did the most "grease-monkey" work I have ever done! Haha I feel accomplished somehow..

I cleaned the carbs on my 550 by following the great instructions I got at GSresources.com:

1. Drain the Carbs (I had a drain screw on the bottom)
2. Put papertowel underneath to catch the gas, to see whats in your carbs
3. Put the drain screws back in
4. I put the Petcock on ON - this CLOSES the fuel flow (putting it on RES would do the same thing)
5. I removed the gas line and vacuum line from my petcock (gas line was the bigger one, vacuum the smaller one going up out of the petcock aka fuel valve) - no fuel flowed :)
   
6. I removed the gas tank, and drained it into a big juice container (only one bolt which is under the seat - I made sure this was the only by checking the parts micro-fiche on bikebandit.com)
   
7. The gas had a good flow, and was quite clean except for really fine sediment (Maybe I'll install an in-line fuel filter??)
8. I sprayed carb cleaner into the fuel line (the larger hose that came off the petcock)
9. Left it in there for about 10 mins', trying to 'swish' it around in the carbs

From the pictures of the paper towel that I used to drain the carbs on, I think mine are pretty clean :) I didn't try the seafoam option but it will be my next step if I have more problems.. I just didn't have any on hand..
















Through this process I noticed the little hoses coming off the carb float bowls leaked a little, or at it least it seemed.. also there was a bit of gas sluged around, and a bit around the petcock...

(This process is thanks to Calvin Blackmore and prosolar from gsresources.com at my thread http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=145163)

Here I am before the trip where my bike stalled a few times.. with my new heltmet and jacket

Below is a picture of the stuff that makes my bike move...

Plugs

I took out the plugs last night and cleaned them up with some mastercraft carb cleaner. All but plug #3 was really black and sooty - I post some pics soon - and after putting them back in the bike started really good and idled really nicely and had no problems going up to 4000 rpm and back down to 1500 rpm idle. I think this means that cleaning the carbs will really help! I am quite excited to get into it but man I wished I had more time!

I tightened up the seat a bit too and tried to get the adjusting screw for the headlight.. ended up cutting it too short so now its useless - Waste of 5$! I got it allens' cycle salvage http://www.cyclesalvage.nb.ca/, where I also got a centerstand (30$) and saddle bags (30$). On that same trip to moncton I got a HJC IS-MAX helment and Olympia Touring Cordura Jacket at G bourque http://www.gbourque.com/.

Bought a 78 GS550C in June

Well I finally took the NB Safety Services Motorcycle course, and successfully got my Bike license endorsement A, which means I can ride any size bike. I went out and bought a 1978 GS550C Suzuki Motorcycle, and it was working perfectly.

Now I am having some power issues and think I will clean my carbs and other things, as I am learning from gsresources.com Which is a great site!!

My next step will be to clean the carbs and check out the electrical system.

Here's a link to my thread on the GS forum: http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=145163