Suzuki 2 Strokes

Hello all,

I figure a proper introduction might be in order. I joined up here to learn more about the old triples, as. I had my eye on a weathered 550. I have been around bikes all my life, and currently have several Goldwings in various forms. My dad had an early 380 back in the day, and always liked looking at it. I like to tinker, so this project came about, and I figured it would be fun to have! This will not be a complete restoration, but more of a resto-mod.

So, here is the old girl I picked up for $100...we will see in time if it was worth it!



It does run, just not well...one of the crank seals is sucking air, so I know a crank rebuild is in it's future. The carbs have been recently rebuilt by the prev. owner (who I met on a Wing forum). He was going to do a rebuild, but lost interest once he added up what it would cost.

She is a tad crusty out front!



Not sure how it was sitting for a time, but the back is pretty good!



I have decided to pull the front end off, and put a Hayabusa front end on it, and pull the rear off and put a GS500F swing arm and rear wheel to slightly modernize it. I have thought about shaving the head on it when it gets tore down, but other than that, she is going to be a runner. Possibly some newer exhaust too!

One thing that needs attention is the gauge cluster...can the lenses be changed out on these?



Anyway, that is the project in a nutshell...if the pictures are to big, I do apologize, and will try to resize them. The IPad I am working on may not represent the true size of things.

You got a bargain. It is an excellent starting point and the gauges can be polished out. Many folks here have done it.

I have a 78 GoldWing myself.....welcome.



Lane

A 100$? Was the owner mad? The money of a second hand bicycle in the UK.

Yea, I figured it was probably worth it. Fella I bought it from had also paid $100 from the original owner...a guy he knew...original owners name was Squirl, not sure why, but several folks have had a hand in working on it, (no doubt the other hand with a cup of some sort in it)...so the tear down will likely find some interesting things.

Good to know the gauges can be saved...will have to figure out how to do that.

As I had said, I have an assortment of Wings....a 77 with a 1200 engine, dual Webers and NOS, a 78 with a Motorvation Coupe Royale hack on it...currently getting a 1200 With EFI put in her. Then we jump up to an 02 1800, and for kicks we tossed in an 01 Valkyrie Interstate to keep at my folks place in Tennessee.

Yeah...that was a STEAL!!!

titan performance wrote:A 100$? Was the owner mad?

You have to be careful in these things. Remember the saying, "There is no such thing as a free kitten."

Dude, you STOLE that thing for $100. Mine was in way rougher shape than that and I'm embarrassed to tell you what I paid for it.

I don't think I have leaky crank seal issues, but I won't really know until I get it running. Compression test was well within acceptable limits, so I'm holding a good thought.

Clock glasses can either be dremmeled out and replaced with glass or use brass/jewellers polish to get the 'sunshine scratches' out of the polycarbonate.
Lift the barrels and fill the cranks with diesel. Turn the engine slowly and occasionally for a few days. It'll soften the seals and also any rust on the bearing faces - drain it all out before trying to restart. It worked for me - twice. It may not work for you with running it - if the seals are torn on the rusty faces, then they are toast.
Lots of GT550 advice on here.
I really like them, my first was 'back then' in 1972 when they were new and I have several now, in various stages of being sorted!

I've never heard it run, prev. owner had run it, and found out it didn't want to idle. Leak down test showed the middle cylinder was getting air from the right one.

I have already purchased the seals to fix it as best I can figure, and Bill Bune lives about 25 miles from here, so I will most libel have him push the crank apart, and replace them.

Thanks for the info on the gauges...the tach looked a bit worse than what I figured could be polished out, but I can always be surprised!

If I go all out and shave this head a bit, do I need to chop the head into three pieces, or can she stay one piece?

Thank you to everyone that has contributed to this site! It will make this task a little easier to tackle!

I did a 550 head back in 72/3 and took 20 thou off (in one piece) and it was OK.
Remember that you've got a 40+ year old bike and engine there.
With a bit of port polishing it gave a bit extra, but really these are a torque-y engine and not for buzzing all the time, so any changes you make won't make much difference anyway as you'll hardly use the higher revs.
7000 is usually plenty, although I did go a bit daft in the Isle of Man this year.
It certainly cleared all the crap out of the engine and exhausts!!

Yea, you are probably right...she will be rebuilt, but it is still 40 years old. I know more of sled engines and making them go fast, but have concentrated mostly on 4 strokes for two wheels.

I figured, as long as it was apart, might as well clean up the porting a touch, and see about skimming the head. I figure this exhaust is probably clapped out, so a set of chambers are probably in order.....