1980 Suzuki GS550L

[Landsvw]

I played a staff vs 8th grade boys b-ball team game 2 weeks ago. I was good for 5 minutes a quarter. Of course, we won. But I tell yah. Ibuprofen came in handy that day... I still mentally, have the skills but my body was screaming what the heck.

[cheesy]

Originally Posted by Landsvw

Yas! We are teenagers in old fart bodies. How did that happen?

I prefer Teenager in an AARP Body. I also never put any stock in “Act Your Age”.

Last week, it was my SIL and I against the grandkids in two hand touch football. They started out talking trash and the next thing they knew, they were down 36-0. Grandpa can still sprint. And paid for it the next three days.

[Landsvw]

ok fellers,
you asked for it. here's the carnage so far...

[Landsvw]

3 out of 4 intakes are bad. wiring issues, but i can easily fix that. not much else... carb 1 has a stuck slide and i drained them all and goo came out... so i'll be removing 4 bowls and cleaning 4 carbs. ugh... i will first do electronics tho. get spark and tidy everything up. know anyone who has some intake manifolds, cheap?

[Landsvw]

looks like 4 intakes for 29$ on Ebay. woo hoo!

[JerryHawk250]

Originally Posted by Landsvw

looks like 4 intakes for 29$ on Ebay. woo hoo!

That sounds cheap enough.

[Landsvw]

update: got the engine to spin. figured out a bit more of the electrics. worked on the front brake, as the caliper was seized but had a good used one. the master cylinder seems to have issues so i'll take that apart another day.

[Landsvw]

A little progress was made tonight. sorted some wiring and ordered an original fuse box with some undamaged wiring for 10$ from Ebay. Should be in next week. Evidently, original owner had tried to rig up aftermarket fuse panel, but, eliminated the pre-fuse (bigger one) and then, when they wired it all up, the ignition wouldn't turn anything off because everything had been run (the hot to the ignition and leading away from it) back to the aftermarket fuse box... was a mess... but, not irreparable.

Also found that the CDI ignition, the original one, was bolted to the bottom of the airbox. Someone had cut the wires and then just run it to another one (same kind luckily) and had it dangling in the frame... So, Not sure why they cut the wires and the plug off and then butt-connected it back together. I may fix it right or maybe just wrap the butt-connectors in black tape the way they had it...

I'd actually wager a bet that the original one works, seeing how this wiring is so crazy.

I absolutely love projects like this; when the machine is fundamentally sound but all this little cheap stuff is messed up. It's like a Jenga game with a running motorcycle as first prize at the end.

[Weldangrind]

We all know you're gonna fix the CDI wires properly.
I watched a video yesterday where it was mentioned that multi-carb setups need to have the sliders set to the same resting height; I've never heard that before. Most of my experience has been with single carbs, so it never occurred to me that the resting height of the slider was adjustable. Is there a provision for adjustment on your carbs?

[franque]

It's probably just syncing the carburetors. Usually, you're adjusting the openings of the butterfly valve on the throttle so that the engine is pulling the same vacuum through each cylinder. It's easier than it sounds, as long as there aren't any air leaks.

On a non CV carb, I'd imagine it's like adjusting the play in the throttle cables, if it's one cable per carb, or I could potentially see it being like adjusting the idle on a single cylinder piston valve carb, as generally multiple carbs don't have individual idle adjustment.

On my R80RT, you have to balance the carbs, and there's individual idle adjustment for each carb. It's a bit finicky, but not too hard to do if you're patient.

[OneLeggedRider]

Those are CV carbs and easy enough to balance with the proper equipment and a little patience.

[Landsvw]

i ordered partial wiring with 2 fuse boxes from Ebay. should be in Monday. However, I'm mystified because the 'main' fuse, looking at the old one, and at the new ones, doing google research and also looking at the wiring diagram doesn't do anything! I wonder if it's a throwback useless fuse to before they switched to electronic ignition? the older bikes seem to have the same fuse, but not the larger 4 box... it's really weird. anyway, i'll still hook it up like factory, and this should eliminate all the home made wiring. Moving forward!

[Landsvw]

Today I finished the front brakes (disassembled master cylinder). replaced the fluid. took apart speedometer since screws had fallen out of the face and the face turned so I couldn't read the mileage. Has 17,000 on it...

hmm, what else? waiting for electronics parts.

Oh, i took off carb bowls. 1 and 2 nasty. 3 and 4 ok. will do a Redneck rebuild (carb cleaner and put back together) and i think things will work ok.

[Landsvw]

ordered the 4 intake manifolds...

[Landsvw]

here's the schematic for this weird separate fuse that goes nowhere. There is a terminal in the box, but why is this here?

I'm thinking holdover from earlier models with points, but what the heck?

it's actually a separate fuse holder, not a 5 fuse holder like the schematic shows.

the white box is the fuse to nowhere (Like an Alaskan bridge I've heard about).

I've confirmed this with multiple pictures and searches, and mine, which has most of the parts there (but not the 4 fuse box because it's been replaced with an aftermarket which doesn't flow the current correctly).

OK, update. Official Suzuki sites with parts schematics are calling it a 'power source'. So, maybe it was designed for just that. If a person wanted to run extra electrics on their bike, this is the tap for that.