Cruising Image Conn Rod Kit for GT550

[yamahale]

Hi all, I have a keeper 77 GT550 that I have the crank out of. I am looking for info on the Cruisin Image rod kit. I realize that the OEM rods and lipped bearings are unavailable, and have researched the heck out of it and found that the aftermarket uses 5 of the 09262-25098 instead of just 2, and which replaces the 3 09262-25010 Suzuki calls for. From what I can determine, the only difference is the shield that seems to hold the oil to the bearing. There are many routes to go, I am trying to balance quality and cost. My thought is, if the rods are good to go in the kit, the $250 for the kit would be worth it just for the rods(compared to the $600 jrwdfa on Ebay wants for OEM), even if everything else had to be sourced from Suzuki, as I read the big end CI bearings are sketchy. A little background on me, I am a semi-retired bike tech since 1979 and have fallen in love with this bike, and want it reliable. I am doing all the work except for the pressing....any thoughts?

[yamahale]

wow surprised no one has any info, Bill Bune appears to use them, anyone have experience w/ them? I ordered the kit anyways so we will see.

[AndyF]

I have just replaced one rod and big end in my '72-76 GT550 bitza using a CI set, have only done 50 miles, but all is well so far.
I agree with you on the bearings, I thought they looked a bit dodgy, so stuck with the originals as they were ok.
I also fitted a set of CI pistons, one was almost a thou different dia to the other two, so I honed the bores to suit, fingers crossed.

[yamahale]

OK, I ordered and will get the kit within a couple weeks, I will check back and report....

[AndyF]

G'day, have just done a lap around Tasmania on the 550, 900 miles including a few fast runs (up to 90mph once or twice), nothing has let go, I'm very happy with it, considering I did all the work myself including the pressing.

Cheers, AndyF

[sportston]

You did your own pressing? Wow, that is impressive!

[yamahale]

Finally getting around to an update. After being blocked by CI for innocently asking about the bearing configuration I signed on as a guest and ordered it. You can tell what parts came from different vendors they way they were bagged. The rod kit(rod, pin and thrust washers) was basically the only parts I used from the kit, and appeared to be good quality, concurred by my crank presser. The main bearings were shaky, a couple of them spun notchily and were promptly replaced by genuine Suzuki parts from Paul Miller, partly because I didnt want to have to pre-mix as they dont have the shields(CI doesnt specify this!) and again this is a keeper, looking for reliability. The needle bearings were mottled and cheap looking, and showed 1mm more end play on the rod and crank pin static test than new OEM, which I used instead. The seals were all over the map, unmarked and plasticy looking and didnt get used, OEM again. I lucked out and found probably the last 3 oil guides in the US but thats another story. One of mine had broken and blocked the oil flow to the lower rod/bearing that wore out. I honed the cylinders and re-ringed only(was out of money by that time lol). After about 1000 miles the center piston started rattling so I took the top end off and found that the rods had no more play than new. I ordered the 1st over CI piston kit and my borer believed they are Mitaka, a reputable brand. The domes were about .5mm higher which actually I was excited about(more compression).However the circlips were very weak, and I didnt trust the rings, although those may be perfectly fine and are for sale. Anyways, another 1000 miles later it is still quiet and has great compression but a slight vibration since piston installation(was dead smooth with the stock pistons), I assume because of the probably heavier pistons. I kick myself every day for not weighing them all and making any corrections!