FREE GS550 First Start In 32 Years!! - GS550 Revival EP6

[@danmackintosh6325]

This is great watching, my son has just today picked up his own freebie GS550. His is nearly identical to this except for being "BMW R90-esque brown/orange" and it has twin front discs. Oh, and there's no sissy bar on the rack. This one had been stored outdoors with the carbs off for 12+ years but didn't stop him having the thing freed up and running before supper! :D Love seeing previously left to die machines come back to life, think the brakes are going to be a full on rebuild on this one, under the master caps was just crusty crystallised DOT3 dust

[@BrickHouseBuilds]

@danmackintosh6325 if it's a twin disc I'd assume it may be a 750. Very cool!

[@danmackintosh6325]

@@BrickHouseBuilds Ah, definitely not 750 sadly, frame # GS-550E & Engine # GS-550. It may well have had a 750 front end transplant in it's lifetime though as the fella who gave it away used to be a dispatch rider so there's every chance it's been down the road a few times & been repaired/upgraded with used bits. Brake-wise the front calipers have come around as has the rear master, front master/rear caliper need rebuild or replacement though. No matter what it is/how original it may not be, still super cool & I kinda want it myself truth be told! Thanks for the reply by the way, really appreciate you taking the time out to reply. Cheers

[@joelbrittenour8197]

No you have a system and it works. And your focuesed on the task at hand and very thorough. you inspire me on my Maintenance.

[@BrickHouseBuilds]

Thank you!

[@mohawkdriver4155]

I love watching vids about resurrecting old scooters. Can't beat free!

[@BrickHouseBuilds]

I love reviving them! I highly recommend my barn find cb750 playlist 😎

[@mikeohonda486]

YES! that sense of relief and joy when an engine fires up for the first time. Nothing like it.

[@BrickHouseBuilds]

Definitely! The oil pressure light had me a bit concerned at first but I still had no reason to think it was hiding a major flaw so I just had to trust it.

[@victorgomez9583]

I owned one of these back in the late 80s rode it year-round it was a great reliable bike, good times.

[@BrickHouseBuilds]

Yeah simple fun cruisers for sure

[@AlexJDuer]

Good stuff! I've got an identical bike in my garage thats sat for 20+ years. Your series is my road map to getting it running again. Many thanks!

[@BrickHouseBuilds]

Awesome! It will run you just have to go through it and do your checks! Thanks for tuning in!

[@davebarrowcliffe1289]

Did you do it? I'm curious...😊

[@AlexJDuer]

Made progress, but stalled just short of getting it running 😞. Time has been hard to find while working, 2 kids, and pursuing CPA license. Plan is to get back to it in July…the dream is still alive! Check back in another 2 years 😂

[@Zend1t]

I'm in about the same situation with my GS550 too but we'll get there, man! Totally watching this for inspiration. 😅

[@Thewatson77]

Such a great feeling bringing them back to life 👍🏼

[@BrickHouseBuilds]

Absolutely!

[@charlestomasino9161]

Is that a good idea to rev it that high after not running for that long.i got a 850GL

[@fernacticus]

I owned one of those in the mid 80s. An ordinary, slightly dull motorcycle that provided reliable transport for a while. However, that perspective is coloured by the fact that I was workshop foreman at a main Suzuki dealership at the time.Thus I was riding customers GSX750s (first gen) and RG 500s and XN85 turbos and stuff! Itwas a good bike that took me to Cornwall and East Anglia, where I now live. Nice to see it. Oh and ours had a dumpier tank and a flat seat and bars.

[@BrickHouseBuilds]

Yeah its nothing spectacular but just good. You likely had an E model which was a bit more sport oriented with bars, forks, seat, and tail setup

[@Eight20]

I can't believe how easily that started! Well done buddy!

[@BrickHouseBuilds]

Yea it didn't put up too much of a fuss! It seriously runs fantastic

[@davidburgain4624]

Thanks for your advice and expertise! I follow your job in France.😉 Just buy a 550e and a lot of stuff has to be done. Problem is that this bike has not met his success in my country…..so no second hand parts. It’s a nightmare. Thanks again.

[@qx1m]

J’ai le même souci avec mon GS550L de 1986, j’habite en Suisse et c’est pas simple de trouver des pièces non plus

[@timebadlyspent]

So good to follow this and looking forward to the mods, but please keep that seat. It looks awesome.

[@BrickHouseBuilds]

This was a few years ago now but I very much enjoyed this bike

[@kevinwager9284]

It Is Alive!

[@BrickHouseBuilds]

🤘🤘

[@Gus-cg9yp]

Hi, nice job and that engine sounds sweet, great !! It doesn't look very warm out there for a spin ..lol, thanks. Gus

[@BrickHouseBuilds]

No it was a terribly cold spin up the street lol. First ride video will be up in the next few days which was much warmer

[@Neronix91]

Wow! How can someone give a beauty like this away for free?

[@BrickHouseBuilds]

Well it was taking up space and needed a lot of work to get running. For that person to pay to have it done wouldn't be worth it.

[@grosbeakmc]

Another issue with filters like that is that they can't be primed. I like to get as much oil as possible in the filter to prevent momentary starvation on startup. You rotated the engine by hand and by the starter, though, which should help. Great to see it running after all this time.

[@BrickHouseBuilds]

This bike definitely wanted to run and proved to be a fantastic rider last year!

[@rebuildranch1225]

Thanks BJ another great video

[@BrickHouseBuilds]

I appreciate it!

[@leonardoherreraleon3323]

hi, grentings from Argentina

[@BrickHouseBuilds]

👋

[@Francey4782]

Musta been kept well, it looks mint!

[@BrickHouseBuilds]

Not really lol. It was not in the best shape but it did clean up ok

[@AlvinNye]

Ah, the memories...Almost died on one those back 83. That night i blew my 80 CX 500 up, (missed a gear and stacked a rod bearing up) i was wearing a Sony Walkman and didnt hear it. Anyway i got to buddys place in CT (in a pickup by a good guy with the bike in the bed) So we decided to run down to New London to troll for babes at the bars, okay not too smart. Well any on the way back to Norwich i was was really spanking that GS550 that i borrowed and came about 6 inches form being impaled on the Coast Guard Acadamy's fence. Yeah not too bright, big balls fueled with alcohol, not too swift.

[@BrickHouseBuilds]

Thats a heck of a memory lol

[@calvinhamm3748]

I'm into motorcycle builds to man, love the video

[@BrickHouseBuilds]

I appreciate you watching! Being into builds definitely went from a hobby into a business lol

[@calvinhamm3748]

Man I would love make money restoring these things. Do you sell all over the world or just locally.

[@BrickHouseBuilds]

@@calvinhamm3748 well I have yet to get a bike sold outside if the country but as of now I have custom bikes in New York, California, Florida, Arizona, Missouri, Texas and more. Its not an easy gig as it takes so much time to do but I do love it and get to do what I enjoy.

[@calvinhamm3748]

Well your a true inspiration, nobody builds things with their hands anymore let alone resurrects things from the dead. Keep em coming 💪🤜

[@BrickHouseBuilds]

@@calvinhamm3748 I appreciate that

[@ACECafeBikes]

Hey BJ, had a chance to watch this one start to finish today...that never happens. Once again, great video, great work getting it prepared to start, and then of course it did. I think this is a great series for people to watch the correct way to work through a project. With a little effort in the beginning Im sure it will prevent problems in the future. Looking forward to whatever surprises this will have in the future. Mike

[@BrickHouseBuilds]

I appreciate that! That's the info I want to push across. Do the work right the first time and it will be worth it!

[@BrickHouseBuilds]

As you may have seen on Instagram this definitely had a surprise for me lol

[@sushilchaudhary176]

Big fan sir

[@BrickHouseBuilds]

Well I appreciate you checking out the videos

[@bigdaddydiesel]

What battery fits in that? Helping my father in law restore the same bike. Great video, appreciate you documenting it.

[@BrickHouseBuilds]

I am not sure what the code is. Your service manual will have that information though

[@bigdaddydiesel]

@@BrickHouseBuilds got it thank you. One other question I had is the petcock has two outlets. And then it looks like there’s something else underneath on the tank. Where do those gas lines get plumbed to?

[@wsbill14224]

Oh yeah I forgot to tell you if you leave it stock the stock airbox works better than aftermarket stuff.

[@BrickHouseBuilds]

Only if you don't spend enough time making it better

[@chrissyrie318]

Hey BJ, First off, thanks for what you do. Having a tough time getting these carbs to run well. I cleaned them, all new parts except for the little rubber on the choke needles (haven't found new ones yet). It's super tough to start cold. Once warm, starts super easy. Carbs have been sync'd. Don't think I have any air leaks on motor side or airbox side. Once it's warm, it will get me around the block but not well. These CV carbs are a new thing to me. Any advise would be amazing.

[@BrickHouseBuilds]

Hey Chris thank you! First off I just found a great oring set for these carbs at cycleoring.com for a good price. All labeled as they should be. For yours, confirm float height for sure. Also, I assume you have good pilot jet rubbers? You have stock airbox or pods?

[@chrissyrie318]

@@BrickHouseBuilds Thanks for the quick response. I will check out the o ring kit for sure. Floats are perfect at .88 in all new rubbers and o rings other than the chokes and stock airbox. Once I get it running I will likely go to pods, but that's a whole other thing from what I understand with jetting etc.

[@markturnbough]

Love your videos. Thank you! Can you share a link to the carb boots you used?

[@BrickHouseBuilds]

Ah, I forgot that link!

[@BrickHouseBuilds]

www.ebay.com/itm/Carburetor-Intake-Manifold-Carb-Boot-Fit-for-1981-1983-Suzuki-GS550-GS650-R-L-/383431045408?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49292

[@markturnbough]

Thanks so much!!

[@armughan_11]

Hey, I need your help with my Suzuki, I’ve checked everything from carbs to current and timing but it’s not starting. Can you help me sort it out?

[@Bob-kp6sp]

Great series, I am following along with my own gs550 I bought non running for $350, got the carbs rebuilt following your videos and got it running. My issue is when it first starts it idles well at 1200rpm but after it sits for a minute or two the idle shoots up to around 2500rpm and just hangs there, the master idle screw you adjusted to lower yours down doesnt seem to change the rpm on mine. I am thinking its getting additional air somewhere but I cant seem to pinpoint it. It revs great and pulls hard but just idles really high. Ik this video is pretty aged up at this point but maybe you have some suggestions. Im thinking its probably a vacuum thing or something with the throttle assembly. Anyway thanks for getting me this far!

[@BrickHouseBuilds]

Could be vacuum but could also be a lean condition causing the hanging idle. Go over your mixture screw settings and confirm they are equal. Then try to back them out in half turn steps and see if that improves it

[@AV-108]

Being watching your video's of this super classic motorcycle and their are really great -- one thing, that rear pillion seat is just bugging me, please will you take it off? :)

[@BrickHouseBuilds]

Hahaha I hear ya. Just keep watching 😎

[@nicholasb4297]

I have a 1985 Suzuki GS550E. I'm looking for some carb intake manifold boots. Where fid you find yours?

[@BrickHouseBuilds]

These ones came from ebay I believe. You can also look at partzilla or cmsnl if you want OEM

[@kylekramer1108]

I watched your carburetor videos because I have an 81 gs 850 that I'm working on. I took it all apart and it's clean as a whistle, but the bike won't even start now. I found one of the adjustment screws stuck completely shut. Where you used the drill to get access to them. I forget the actual name of the part. My question is could that being stuck shut stop the bike from running? If so how would you go about getting it out? It's completely rounded off, no screwdriver will get it out, also I didn't messed it up thats just how I found it.

[@BrickHouseBuilds]

With the mixture screws closed it would be hard to start but with throttle you would be able to get it to run poorly. You need to confirm the basics like float height, choke operation, correct fuel and overflow line routing, good fuel flow from the petcock to the carbs, etc. If it has spark and compression it should run.

[@douwejense3595]

Do you recommend the cheap amazon carb intake boots? And could you share the amazon link? I need new ones for my GS450L. Thanks! Ps. Love the gs550 series. Great work!

[@BrickHouseBuilds]

They seemed to work fine for this. The link would irrelevant as you need different boots. Just go on partzilla and look up the correct part number. They may have some. Then search eBay id say

[@Pidot31415]

Fuck no. Mine cracked and turnt to shit.

[@Eco_nightmare]

Awesome,just got a 83 gs550es that has been sitting since 98. Is the motor pretty close to being the same as this bike your working on?

[@BrickHouseBuilds]

Preeeeety close but should have some various differences

[@BrickHouseBuilds]

Definitely pick up a service manual for your bike. Money well spent

[@Eco_nightmare]

It looks pretty similar 😅,I was going to follow this build to help me with mine. Thanks for the reply! Now I just have to get the key to work,it only works for the ignition and nothing else so I can't even get the gas cap open or the seat up lol.

[@scottmiller4034]

I just subscribed! Have a quick question, I have several older bikes that I shamefully left the gas in and they sat for years. How do you find the carburetor to be as far as cleaning them? I would like to get some of them running again. Thanks for your time!

[@BrickHouseBuilds]

I appreciate the sub Scott. Regardless of how long a bike has sat almost all have been different in ways of how messy their carbs are. I obviously have more tools dedicated to rebuilding carbs but you can accomplish a lot with some basic chemical, time, and elbow grease. The most time consuming aspect is cleaning jets/brass, and orfices in the carbs

[@scottmiller4034]

@@BrickHouseBuilds Thank you! I was wondering what size your ultrasonic cleaner is? I am thinking about buying one.

[@BrickHouseBuilds]

Mine is a 30l. They are just under $300 nodays but are very worth the money. I use it daily

[@scottmiller4034]

@@BrickHouseBuilds Ok, thank you!

[@Kosanho]

Hey BJ, really appreciate the videos. Working on an identical one myself, can you maybe let me know what type of tubing you used for the connections for the carbs? I’d like to get the same one. Also, can you give me a better idea on how these connect to the petcock? From my research it looks like the one in the middle goes to the petcock and the other 2 are draining lines? I also read that there is another line that is a vacuum line for the petcock but I only see 3 lines here so I’d like to know what you think. Appreciate all the help

[@BrickHouseBuilds]

Thanks Kevin glad they are helpful. I did a few carb rebuild videos on this bike you would find helpful if you haven't seen them yet. The clear fuel line comes from motion pro.

[@BrickHouseBuilds]

If you have a vacuum petcock you will see one vacuum port either on an intake manifold or a barb extending from one of the carbs. Two larger diameter lines that mount a bit higher are vents

[@Kosanho]

Thank you BJ! I’ve watched all of them lol at least twice. I’m not a mechanic, but just trying to learn the most I can and get my back to work. Do you remember the diameter of the fuel line you had to use ? Want to make sure I buy the right one.

[@BrickHouseBuilds]

Just 1/4" fuel line is fine. It doesn't need to be fancy

[@MastaKeahi]

If the bike is in neutral does the clutch lever still need to be pulled in to start?

[@BrickHouseBuilds]

Some bikes still require it yes

[@MastaKeahi]

@@BrickHouseBuilds Gotcha got the carb stripped down and cleaned. Tried starting today but no dice. It wanted to kick over a few times but nothing. Longest I got was about 10seconds. I’ll give it another go tomorrow!

[@BrickHouseBuilds]

@@MastaKeahi its more than just cleaning. Setting float heights exactly where they need to be, bench sync, mixture screws in a good base setting

[@MastaKeahi]

@@BrickHouseBuilds I wasn’t able to open up the plugs to get to the mixture screws like you could I really don’t trust myself to do it. I’ll have to try syncing them. The floats are the correct height when I put them back on I adjusted them.

[@MastaKeahi]

@@BrickHouseBuilds never mind I did bench sync them. I was thinking of the other syncing that uses the gauges.

[@wsbill14224]

You just did a lot of good work but you revved that engine up too much too quickly when you got it running, and I applaud you for getting it running. Those engines are great. I have a stock GS1000L from 1979. It's still a great bike.

[@robedmunds7163]

Would not have put the filter there, when it blocks you will have to take half the bike apart to get to it

[@BrickHouseBuilds]

You will see how I went about this in next episodes

[@kencreten7308]

Man, I have so many moron points. I'm sure many more than you.... My favorite thing to do is trying to do 5 things at once and failing miserably at all of them.

[@Michael-99022]

what material fuel line did you use?

[@BrickHouseBuilds]

Hey Michael, I use Motion Pro premium clear. Easy to work with. www.motionpro.com/c/motion-pro-premium-fuel-line

[@vxrtexrex263]

Hey, ive Got a Lil question maybe U can help me 🙈 ive Got an Gs 550 M Katana. It has the Same Carburetor and ive successfully Got that in after i bought the Bike without IT inside. Now ive Tried to Connect the Fuel Point with the Tank and Opend the Petcock on Pri so The Carburetor could fill but it seems to come Out very poorly with a Hose on it without a Hose the Fuel comes Out faster. Do U have any ideas? U think IT could be the Petcock? Iam really Struggling haha ITS my First own Bike so i would really Appreciate Ur Help 😅 Thanks a Lot ~Kevin

[@BrickHouseBuilds]

Hey Kevin. Step one is to buy a service manual for your bike. It shows everything on your bike and how to service it. Fuel pouring out could be a few things but either you have the fuel line connected to the carburetor vent instead of the fuel inlet, or your floats could be stuck. You didn't say if the carbs were clean or not. Try tapping on the carburetor bodies with the handle end of a screwdriver to seat the float needles. It works sometimes.

[@vxrtexrex263]

@@BrickHouseBuilds Thanks a Lot 🙈 . I think ive described it wrong. The Fuel that Comes from the Tank is very Less with the Hose Than IT was when the Hose is Off at the Petcock. Ive Tried that too See If the Petcock works at all. How IT Seemed IT did so i connected the Fuel Hose and then It was only dropping a Little Bit Like Drops Into the Filter to the Fuel line . Ive used Ur Video to See where IT should BE attached ive used the One in the Middle and there are two more connector Points Which i Would have identified as Vents a bit Higher. Thats why iam Struggling ITS nowhere getting Out ITS the fact it dont even get to the Carburetor or the Filter ITS Only drop by drop 😅

[@BrickHouseBuilds]

@@vxrtexrex263 you have a vacuum petcock. There could be issues with that but please Google their function so you can understand how they work and where to attach your hoses. A service manual has this information as well.

[@tonyfurneaux3399]

Music to loud.

[@BrickHouseBuilds]

Tony again can you pinpoint a specific moment for me to reference? You are the first to complain about that specific thing in 2 yesrs so I just want to make sure I am seeing what you are talking about

[@danmackintosh6325]

@@BrickHouseBuilds Tony to old ;)

[@sixfive0cycle]

I am enjoying your videos! I ride a GL650 and work on other bikes as a hobby. Have an 83 GS850 I am currently reviving. I have done a couple videos and posted them on you tube as well. Again, really enjoying the content here! kzbin.info/www/bejne/o5mxeqyVbdNpocU

[@BrickHouseBuilds]

I appreciate you watching! GS850s are solid bikes so that should be fun!