KL250 / GT550 trade

[kzgeoff]

Yes, we have discussed that. He said that after riding it home he parked it in his garage and the next morning it had leaked gas onto the floor. That is why he drained the tank and carbs and then he never did anything else to it. Seems like a decent guy, so I take his story face value but... we shall see.

Can't wait to check the petcock.

[tz375]

Did I understand you to say that the guy you are getting it form rode it home when he bought it and didn't ride it again?

I get the Cafe Racer thing, but that bike has issues that may be expensive to fix and then you have to complete the cafe racer "build". I say may be, because we cannot tell for sure just by looking at the photos, but the forks are rusty, the crank seals may be shot, the motor may have other issues that you can't see until it runs.

To be honest, that is the sort of bike that follows me home as long as I get it really cheaply and I have enough spare parts, time and cash to make it all good. GT550's tend to melt the left cylinder when the left side crank oil seal hardens and fails. I would take a charged battery and gas can plus an auxiliary gas tank to see if it fires up on all 3 pots. The pipes are JEMCo chambers which are pretty good, if somewhat noisy.

Hey, winter is coming soon so you will have lots of time to attend to its issues and get it the way you want it before next summer.

Budget for brake rebuild, new brake lines, tires, cables, battery and chain and then add all the regular service costs plus Cafe Racer parts and be prepared to get the crank rebuilt if it needs it. Hope that it doesn't need it, but be prepared in case it does. And have fun.

[Coyote]

I hope it has a good current clean title. I don't know where you are, but in Oklahoma not even an act of god will get you one. I don't care if you have a whole stack of signed and notarized bills of sale - the answer is still NO. Last year I bought a 76 GT550 that had not been tagged since 2006. Cost was gonna be near $500 to get the tag up to date, and they would not transfer the title unless the tag was up to date. Finally found the right woman at the DMV and she got the whole mess including title transfer down to $311. The PO gave me $100 toward it out of feeling sorry for me so I got out for $211. Still a ripoff.
If the bike is from out of state and all you have is a Bill of Sale. you're plain and simply SOL. I went through that with a 77 Buffalo I bought in Kansas. I had to send all the paperwork and sign a power of attorney to this outfit in Maine. $150 later I got a Maine registration and a tag good for one year. I took the registration to the DMV and said I need a title. They tried to argue with me until I reminded them that Maine does not issue titles on bikes over 20 years old. They were reluctant and negative as usual, but finally issued me a title for the bike - in my name.

[kzgeoff]

I hope it has a good current clean title. I don't know where you are, but in Oklahoma not even an act of god will get you one.

Coyote, I live in a Chicago suburb but Norman, Oklahoma is my 'home away from home'. I have been training there (for my job) once or twice a year since 1997.

Yes, the bike has a clear title. Illinois is surprisingly a little better for old vehicles than a lot of other states. I was able to get a bonded title for a RD400F by having the bike appraised and then posting a bond for 50% of the appraised value. I had it appraised as I found it with twenty years of garage dirt so the whole process cost me less than $200. I paid my insurance company for the bond which was very inexpensive.

We made the trade today and I was trying to find the engine serial number but failed. I would like to find out if the numbers match... Where is it?

[Coyote]

Numbers won't match and haven't for a long time (real early 70's). Te find the engine number, look behind the headers. There is a boss on the front of the motor. The engine number is stamped on there. Can't miss it once you know where it's at. It's kinda above the front motor mount. I guess you found the frame number on the steering neck?
My 76 frame number is 64916. The engine number is 67999 so you can see they are nothing like even close. my bike is factory stock.

[kzgeoff]

Numbers won't match and haven't for a long time (real early 70's). Te find the engine number, look behind the headers. There is a boss on the front of the motor. The engine number is stamped on there. Can't miss it once you know where it's at. It's kinda above the front motor mount. I guess you found the frame number on the steering neck?

Thank you, Coyote, for that information. I found the engine number and like you said, it is way off from the frame number. My title lists the VIN as the engine number instead of the frame number. This is first bike where the title didn't match the frame... I'm guessing that what the state doesn't know won't hurt them??

Engine #: 69384 (matches title)
Frame #: 66394

[yeadon_m]

You have a GT550A model:
http://www.ozebook.com/compendium/suzi/ ... /page2.gif" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
A model engines started #64464
A model frames started #61315

B models:
Engines from #73451
Frames from #70364

Cheers,
Mike

[Coyote]

I'm surprised your bike is titled by the engine number. That's the way it is in a lot of countries, but the USA is not one of them. I guess they figure that engines get swapped out or changed, but the frame number can never change. All the bikes I have ever owned were titled by the frame number..
If I wanted to tear out the motor and replace with a BSA 441 single, it sure wouldn't be the same bike but as far as the DMV is concerned -- it is. Titled by engine number never made sense to me.

[kzgeoff]

You have a GT550A model:
http://www.ozebook.com/compendium/suzi/ ... /page2.gif" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
A model engines started #64464
A model frames started #61315

B models:
Engines from #73451
Frames from #70364

Thank you Mike, great info!

[kzgeoff]

I'm surprised your bike is titled by the engine number. That's the way it is in a lot of countries, but the USA is not one of them. I guess they figure that engines get swapped out or changed, but the frame number can never change. All the bikes I have ever owned were titled by the frame number..

Same here, I wonder if there was a parts bike with a good frame / bad engine and a crashed bike with a title. I'm tempted to apply for a corrected title since there's only two digits off.

[diamondj]

There are Harleys that a registered by engine number rather than frame. 60's & 70's I believe. Could be someone went through the retitle process on that bike years ago and was a Harley person or found the engine numbers first and thought they matched the frame?

The Newtronics ignitions for the triple Suzukis were kind of a one size fits all kit where the plate on one side fits the 380/750 and on the other side fits the 550.

Looks like an interesting project! I think I would swap out the pods with Uni foam filters so you can get the right side to fit a little better.

The gas leak could be a stuck or sunk float. I had that happen on my GT550 after it sat for a couple of years. Ran it with the float stuck and it pissed gas all over the garage after I shut it off.

[kzgeoff]

There are Harleys that a registered by engine number rather than frame. 60's & 70's I believe. Could be someone went through the retitle process on that bike years ago and was a Harley person or found the engine numbers first and thought they matched the frame?

Very possible, same thing my Harley buddy said.

The Newtronics ignitions for the triple Suzukis were kind of a one size fits all kit where the plate on one side fits the 380/750 and on the other side fits the 550.
Looks like an interesting project! I think I would swap out the pods with Uni foam filters so you can get the right side to fit a little better.

I like the foam uni filter idea and will look into that option, thanks!

The gas leak could be a stuck or sunk float. I had that happen on my GT550 after it sat for a couple of years. Ran it with the float stuck and it pissed gas all over the garage after I shut it off.

I do plan to pull the carbs to at least clean and inspect them, check floats and levels etc. Thank you.

[kzgeoff]

Experimenting with a KZ550 gas tank. A PO did a crappy Kreme job and I have a couple extra Kawasaki tanks. I prefer the Suzuki tank on the Suzuki though. I might try it with the Kaw seat and tail though...

[tz375]

That doesn't look too bad at all.Maybe it's the shape and maybe it's the bright shiny look versus flat black.

IIRC some states titled bikes by the engine number. WI was one I thought worked that way back in teh day and maybe some others.

As was mentioned earlier, Suzuki engine and frame numbers were rarely that close back in the day.

A buddy of mine in Grayslake has a 72 550 that he just got running. Now he needs to buy a set of chambers for it.

[Coyote]

Tank looks good on there. More aggressive stance then the rounded GT tank. If you change, I claim dibs on your GT tank. . Been looking for another tank (and side covers) for a while now. My body set is too nice to forfeit, but I want my bike to eventually be white. Just like RedZone only white.

RedZone