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Spamys GT550 rebuild

Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2014 3:15 pm
by Spamy
Howdy all. I havent posted too much on here, but Ive been reading posts for a while and decided to post a few pics of the current rebuild.

Bought it a few years ago to make it a cafe bike. I couldnt bring myself to bring a grinder, torch or anything else to it. So I rode it, a piston let go and now she is getting a new life. I planned on just rebuilding the motor, but I couldnt help myself and decided to restore everything that I could.

Many pictures are missing, and many more will be loaded soon.

Got the crank rebuilt...
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Put it in the case to check for alignment...
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While waiting for a few seals and items I started to clean up the bike and put it back together...
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Re: Spamys GT550 rebuild

Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2014 11:55 am
by Spamy
Here are a few picture updates.


Cleaned up the instrument cluster.
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Finished cleaning up the wiring and reinstalling it. As well as installed the other parts.
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Just gotta figure which jugs are the best of my 3 sets, clean them up and put them on.
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Waiting for a few more parts, but getting real close to having it complete and back on the road. Hope to ride it again before it gets too far into winter.

Re: Spamys GT550 rebuild

Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2014 10:10 am
by Spamy
A few more updates here...

Engine in case...

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Time to start putting the top end together...

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Re: Spamys GT550 rebuild

Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2014 12:30 pm
by Alan H
Very nice. Carry on the good work - another 550 saved.

Re: Spamys GT550 rebuild

Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2014 5:56 pm
by Cliff
Before you go too far, did you prime the oil lines?

Re: Spamys GT550 rebuild

Posted: Wed Nov 19, 2014 2:17 pm
by Spamy
Thanks for the tip. Yeah, I tested the check valves and primed the lines with a syringe. Hopefully its all good.

Its one of those things that you do everything to prep and hope it works great. It should, but its so important it keeps you up at night thinking about all the details to keep it from seizing up or breaking something again.

Got her fired up. A bit rough. Im gonna go over the timing one more time with a fine tooth comb. Left cylinder is getting hotter than the other two. I may put new plug wire ends on, dont trust the current ones.

Heres a quick vid...
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Re: Spamys GT550 rebuild

Posted: Wed Nov 19, 2014 3:39 pm
by Alan H
If one pot is getting hotter, then it just may be that the carb feeding it is open a tad more than the others.
Put your hand at the back of the exhausts and 'feel' what it's like as regards 'the same' as the other single exhaust.

Re: Spamys GT550 rebuild

Posted: Wed Nov 19, 2014 10:14 pm
by Cliff
Like the colour! Here's a pic of mine!Image

Re: Spamys GT550 rebuild

Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2014 3:44 pm
by Spamy
So far she is all together and looking great. Everything works great, except the way it runs.

The right cylinder doesnt want to fire. Its getting spark, tested it out of the cylinder and the plug is firing ok. Seems like its getting gas because its getting pushed to the pipe and leaking out of the drain hole. Not really sure why its not firing ok. The left cylinder gets hot, the middle is not as hot and the right is cold. When I pull the plug its semi wet and not charred at all, like no detonation at all. Really seems like its got spark, air and fuel.

I figure next Ill recheck everything on the coils to make sure the wiring is all ok. Ive already changed the points and condensors with no change. The carbs have been bench balanced and should be close to spot on. New NGK LB05F plug ends have been put on.

I suspected perhaps some plug fouling so I put some new plugs in. What I would normally expect is that it would run great after that, at least for a few minutes, but nope, same deal on the right cylinder.

The coils all worked fine before the rebuild, so maybe its just some loose wires. Of course I hope for something easy like that. I did scrub up the coils pretty good, maybe messed one up.

Any suggestions?

Re: Spamys GT550 rebuild

Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2014 10:00 pm
by Cliff
Do a compression test. What hole is the fuel leaking out of? The bottom of the exhaust pipe? Check for a stuck needle in the float bowl?

Re: Spamys GT550 rebuild

Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2014 10:40 am
by T350guy
WOW nice work on the 550.

Re: Spamys GT550 rebuild

Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2014 6:08 pm
by Cliff
T350guy wrote:WOW nice work on the 550.
Mine?? Thanks!

Re: Spamys GT550 rebuild

Posted: Sun Nov 30, 2014 5:55 pm
by Spamy
Yeeeeehaaaaw, shes a runner! Runs and looks great. Made my day.

The problem was something super simple and super stupid. Accidentally switched the black wire and the black/yellow wires coming from the coil to the points. So the right and center spark was swapped.

Put the wires in the correct connections, put it back together and it ran like a top!

If this rain stops Ill have to give it street run and catch some bugs in my ear to ear grin.