Suzuki T500 Restoration/Cafe Project

[Cragdog]

I'm running stock pipes and uni pods on my gt550 as well. Seems to be running fine for the time being. I haven't registered it yet so I haven't been able to tell how it performs in the upper range, but the carbs have been cleaned and rebuilt with the keyster kit (yes I know the opinions) and is OK for now until I can get it on a decent ride. Just my 2 cents..


Your project is coming along nicely. Keep up the good work!

[celt_rock]

Thanks! Just got my seat today and have started in on it again after months of taking care of the kids, renovating our 100 year old house and taking family trips. I've started putting the carbs on this evening but am all confused now as I go to hook the throttle cable up to the oil pump. Seems I'm missing a piece? Doesn't look familiar at all but then again I stripped this down over a year ago. I'm about to start trolling the net here looking for a diagram of how that throttle cable hooks into the oil pump. I'm pretty sure I'm missing a little piece...

[yeadon_m]

There should be a small white plastic 'barrel' piece which slips into the oil pump arm; the cable end nipple goes on that piece. If it's missing you could rig up an alternative attachment method while you hunt for a spare.
Good luck, Mike

[Suzukidave]

diagram http://www.ozebook.com/compendium/T500parts/image14.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[celt_rock]

I got the carbs, seat and swing arm grease nipple installed this evening. This old girl is night and day from when we first met

Before


After


Here's what's left for as far as I can tell:
De-rust the fuel tank
Restore petcock (or find smaller newer one)
Replace/refit fuel lines
Pod Filters
Wiring harness
Front and rear signals
Acquire a rear brake light switch
New tires
Make a spot for the battery

This seems like a huge list but it's so far from where I started with this thing. I'm
beginning to see a light at the end of the tunnel! A couple of things on my list to
learn about:
1. How exactly do you sync carburetors and
2. What are these scary things called points and how does one master them.

I'll have to start trolling youtube again for tutorials. Thanks for all the help so far!

[celt_rock]

I'm running stock pipes and uni pods on my gt550 as well. Seems to be running fine for the time being.

Thanks for the info, what made you pick Unis over K&Ns? That's what I'm trying to figure out right now...

[Fritz500]

This seems like a huge list but it's so far from where I started with this thing. I'm
beginning to see a light at the end of the tunnel! A couple of things on my list to
learn about:
1. How exactly do you sync carburetors and
2. What are these scary things called points and how does one master them.

I'll have to start trolling youtube again for tutorials. Thanks for all the help so far!

1. With the carbies in place and no air cleaner in the way I make sure the slides are set to the same level when the throttle is closed. Use the slide adjuster screws on the side of the carbies to get that right. Make sure both slides lift at exactly the same time when you open the throttle. Use the adjuster nuts on top of the carbies to set this precisely.

2. Buy a clamp-on timing light and a set of feeler gauges. Replace those shitty Suzuki points backing plate screws with button cap Allen/hex head bolts. Set the gap to 0.3mm to 0.4mm when the points are fully open. Start the engine and adjust the timing to match the timing marks using a timing light. Whole job takes 10 minutes.


Cheers

[celt_rock]

Thanks for the tips Fritz!

[Cragdog]

How's your bike coming along? Any updates?

[titan performance]

It's been good to see the transformation Celt......great work, another 500 saved !
Going back to an earlier post, I think you said the bike was a 75?, and therefore didn't need the oil dam conversion.......are you sure about this? May be worth checking the engine number. I only mention it because you have the gear change shaft that goes right through, and in my experience these were only fitted to early motors. Of course, it could be an early shaft fitted in a later motor, but worth considering.

[celt_rock]

My engine number is 76277 and has 1400cc stamped on the engine block.

Man I hope it's the right one, I'd hate to have to tear it all apart again! Though
I probably should as one of the top bolts broke off as I was buttoning everything
up. I'll have to tap that out and get a replacement. I figure that one bolt out of
20 may not matter too much...

[titan performance]

Later engine with earlier style shift shaft then....

[celt_rock]

Well, it's almost a year later and I finally have a day to work and so I'm working on getting the wiring sorted. I'm at a bit of a disadvantage because when I picked the bike up the wiring harness was a rat's nest and not one wire was where it was supposed to be. I've been working from the tail forward as that part is pretty easy to figure out, I think I can even follow JBCB's directions on how to wire in the tympanium (seems straightforward enough, just waiting for the battery box to arrive) but then I get to the headlight wiring. Holy cow, brain looks at all those wires and colors (and that's just on the diagram) and everything goes fuzzy. Does anyone have a good photo of their wiring harness, where the connectors go and where they have it all attached to the frame? I've been searching all day and haven't seen a comprehensive set of photos.

[ConnerVT]

Does this help?



I'm not sure a picture will help, as it takes a bit of tracing wires around a bit. Also sorting out in your head what color does what, when looking at the schematic and the bike. Good luck!

[celt_rock]

Perfect, that picture was just what I needed.

Schematic seems to vary from what I've actually got. For one thing, I have a brown wire for a parking light coming from the main harness but no mate (nor a parking light) on the dash of my bike. Also seem to have more yellows than connectors and fewer b/w than I have connectors for. I'm just going to push everything together and cross my fingers...