1977 Suzuki GS550 Chopper Project

Anticipated appearance when finished

1. Right View

Stock 04/18/2004

I purchased this 1977 Suzuki GS550 for $250. It runs and drives fine. It leaks gas out of the #2 and #3 carbs (dirty needle valves?).

I'm targetting a $500 total build budget.

1. Stock Front
2. Stock Rear
3. Stock Right
4. Stock Left

Lowered 04/30/2004

I removed springs from coilover assemblies and removed rear fender/seat assembly. Battery, carbs and airbox have been removed. Seat removed. The plastic inner fender is sitting on tire while the new steel trailer fender is being narrowed. Fuel tank is just sitting on frame.

1. Rear View
2. Left View
3. Front Quarter View
4. Rear Quarter View

Miscellaneous work 05/27/2004

The VM22SS carburetors are now cleaned and rebuilt with 4 Keyster #KS-0250 kits ($17/each from S.C.I.). Headers/pipes have also been painted in VHT Hi-Temp White ($12 from Jegs.com) and wrapped in some left over fiberglass header wrap. A taillight ($9) and bobber seat ($43) have been purchased on eBay and I'm just trying to figure out how to mount them next.

1. Cleaned/rebuilt carbs
2. Keyster KS-0250
3. Refurbished pipes

Preliminary Fender work 06/01/2004

This is the fender project. I picked up a galvanized steel fender from a trailer supply place online for $16. Just a cut down the middle and take out 3/4"; then spot welded the two together - damn I hate not having gas for my welder. I'll get around to MIG welding the seam later when I decide how much fender to chop.

1. Fender uncut
2. Fender cut
3. Fender spot welded
4. Fender Top View
5. Fender Top Quarter View
6. Bike Rear Quarter View

Preliminary Fender fitment 06/02/2004

I did a lot of trimming and grinding on the frame now to accept the fender. This is the first fitment and I tacked the fender to the frame to see if it would work well. There is roughly a 1/2" gap between the fender and the tire. Soon I will bob the fender about 4"and weld on a platform for the Harley taillight to sit on; then fabricate brackets for the fender to attach to the bike with.

The chop has now begun. As you can see by the pictures, I cut off the rear seat supports on the frame. Now the frame terminates less than an inch after the shock mounts.

1. Front Quarter View
2. Rear Quarter View
3. Left Side View

More Fender work and other 06/14/2004

I splurged and bought some velocity stacks for the carbs on eBay. I have concerns whether or not this will create a lean condition with the carb jetting but I'll find out when I start the bike. Hell, at least they look pretty.

I decided to weld the shocks shut instead of fabricating struts. Turns out the shocks are made of steel so welding them was not very difficult. The welds are fugly but functional.

The fender project is progressing. I built a little platform for the bobber taillight to sit on and a bracket for the fender to support on. I also stitch welded all of the spot welds on the fender. Now all that is left is 8 hrs with a grinder and some body filler and the fender is ready for paint. Have I mentioned before that I hate welding w/o gas. I'll be the first to admit that I'm teaching myself to weld; but it would be much easier and cleaner to weld MIG at this point.

1. Velocity Stacks 1
2. Velocity Stacks 2
3. Welded Shock
4. Taillight Platform
5. Fender
6. Fender Welds

Tank body work 06/23/2004

I sand-blasted the fuel tank to get rid of the old body filler that was poorly applied before. Now there's fresh body filler on the tank and I've blocked it out.

I've also gotten a look at what the bike will look like, I may still lower the front forks but not just yet. I have to make a final decision on the handlebars (dragbars alone or dragbars and risers).

1. Fuel Tank before sanding
2. Fuel Tank left view
3. Fuel Tank right view
4. Fuel Tank top view
5. Bike front quarter view
6. Bike rear quarter view
7. Bike left side view

Miscellaneous work 06/30/2004

Well the bike started tonight. I have to adjust the carbs so it will idle properly, but I'm almost there. I fixed the bent front turn signals also.

The bobber seat is now mounted securely. I have fabricated mounts to the frame and used Honda valve springs for my springs (I don't weigh very much and they work perfectly). I've also fabricated struts to hold the fender to the rigid swingarm.

I had to purchase a new battery ($42) and tires are on the way. All that is left is the body work to the fender, finish wiring the taillight/turn signals, and fabricate a license plate mount.

1. Bobber Seat springs
2. Bobber Seat springs
3. Bobber Seat mount
4. Bobber Seat mount
5. Mounted Bobber Seat
6. Front end of bike
7. Rear Quarter View

Miscellaneous work 07/07/2004

The new tires are mounted that I got from 2 eBay auctions ($56 each). The bike looks totally different with white walls on it now.

• Front: Avon Venom-X (100/90-19)
• Rear: Maxxis Classic (120/90-18)

Minor details are added too. I buffed the front fender, painted the front forks in high gloss, cleaned the rear hub assembly (20+ years of grime and shit), added some pinstripe decal to each side of the white stripe on the tank.

OK, here's what sucks. The bike won't start now. After I had it started before, it just won't kick over now. I've changed the plugs ($5 and gapped them too) and cleaned the petcock (which works in reverse of the way it should for some reason). The electric start does not work so I have to use the kick starter. It just won't kick over but there is fuel and spark available. Trouble shooting the problem right now.

Oh, and the budget is blown. I got a good deal on the tires so I splurged. Total now is $576.

1. Left View
2. Front Tire
3. Rear Tire
4. Front Left Quarter View
5. Front Right Quarter View
6. Front View
7. Rear Left Quarter View
8. Top Rear Quarter View
9. Top Rear Quarter View 2
10. Rear View

Miscellaneous work 07/20/2004

Well, I disassembled all four carburetors and they were clean. I reassembled them and the bike started right up. The bike is still running rich so I will have to sync and adjust the carbs pretty soon. I've also ordered a new petcock and a tune-up kit with points. I'm going to make sure everything is good before I adjust the fuel/air settings.

The fender is almost done. I keep adding more welds and hammering it into shape. I want to use the least amount of body filler as possible. I've also cut off the platform I built for the Bobber Light. It wasn't turning out right and looked odd. I also bobbed the fender another 2" and moved the mounting struts back some.

I fabricated a license plate mount. It is attached the the left side welded shock. It also has a mount for the Bobber Taillight. The electronics for the taillight didn't work, so I ended up gutting the stock taillight assembly and modifying it to fit inside the Bobber light housing.

I purchased a set of dragbars on eBay for $20. I will hold off on lowering the front-end for now since I could not acquire a set of 35mm clip-on handlebars.

1. Left View
2. License Plate Mount
3. License Plate Mount and Bobber Light
4. Rear Fender
5. Dragbars
6. Dragbars

No progress 04/27/2005

Well, it's a year later and the bike still doesn't run. but it sure does look good just sitting there. I'm gonna pick up some risers so the brake hose is not crowded and when my garage is free i'll get back to timing it again. Here are some updated pix.

1. 1
2. 2
3. 3
4. 4
5. 5

Electronic Ignition 05/07/2005

My Dyna III electronic ignition showed up today (eBay $100). It was super simple to install but the bike would still not start. After farting around with it for a day or so I decided to disassemble the carbs again to see if that would work. Well once I put the carbs back on the damned bike started. But it will only run with the choke on and it kept leaning out. I need to go up 2 jet sizes on the carbs and I also believe my floats are leaking; therefore, not floating. I'll try and get some jets and floats and that should finally make this bike rideable.

I also bought a set of risers for the dragbars since the front master cylinder was hitting the triple trees. $30 from www.casporttouring.com. They did not exactly fit the bike, which I didn't expect them to, so I hogged out the wholes.

1. Dyna III Ignition
2. Risers
3. Running bike

More Carb Work 01/11/2006

Man, I suck.

OK, here's where we are at. I guess I'm a moron and completely measured the floats wrong when I rebuilt the carbs. They are set too low so when the bowls finally fill it floods the bike out. Well I bought a spare set of carbs and tested the floats to make sure they were not leaking. All is fine, I reset the float height and it's ready to go back on the bike. Hopefully this is it and the bike will finally be mechanically sound.

I also now have a real welder teaching me techniques. So hopefully in the next month or so we'll convert the rear to a real hardtail.

Even More Carb Work 05/31/2006

Yep I still suck.

So I disassembled the carbs for about the 50th time again and submerged them in carb dip per someone's advice. I guess Suzukis are prone to gumming up if they do not run for a period of time. And guess what again? I still can't set the float level right; so I set them again.

Viola! It runs again. Rode it a few miles but now it will only run with the choke on all the way. And it DRINKS gas like none other this way. Well I've sent it to a guy who knows what he's doing and he's gonna jet the carbs and sync them for me. After that I WILL NOT TOUCH THEM AGAIN.

Hardtail project is next on the block.

Shit never ends 06/18/2006

Basically if you want something done AT ALL, you have to do it yourself. Well the "expert" took one look at the bike on the back of my truck and stated, "I don't know if I can get parts for that". What the fuck is that all about cuz he works at a "bike shop" and it would take me 5 minutes on Google to find Mikuni jets for a VM carburetor. Fucking asshole.

So the stock jets are #80, and according to quite possibly the most helpful site ever, I need a set of CW11/22 #85 jets for the bike. I'll probably take a stab at syncing the carbs too since it seems like I have to do everything else for it.

I also put the stock handlebars back on because I can tell the drag bars are only good for Popeye to ride with. I kept the risers on though.

Hardtail 06/26/2006

The tubing is bought and I'm trying to figure out the settings on the welder before I start to hack up the frame. Picked up another tank from Cycle Recycle for $25 off of a Kawasaki KZ. It fits much better than the stock GS tank.

So here's one of the plans. 4" stretch, 2-3" drop in the front forks, headlight moved up and gauges relocated. This is with the stock handlebars and the risers.

1. comp 1

No Progress 10/09/2006

Stupid jets were the wrong size; back to square one. Might end up just drilling the stock jets out since it's becoming impossible to find the right ones.

On a lighter note I think I have the plans and measurements for the frame modifications. In order to run a 21" wheel from a YZ80 (which I found on eBay for $18) and a cross tire I will have to rake the front end a bit for the wheel/tire to clear. Well it looks better I think.

1. comp 2

Carbs are fixed 05/28/2007

Long story short, they were all fucked up. I met a guy in my welding class that knows these carbs inside and out. He took them home and adjusted them inside and out and put the stock jets back in. They are currently in a plastic bag waiting to be put on and ran.

I started cutting the engine cradle on the frame to fit the Kawasaki tank on it. Ready to rake the neck and build the hardtail.

More dorking around 08/19/2007

Well I've been working on my GPz lately so the lift has been occupied. But I have the materials gathered together to make the hardtail and I think I have the final measurements figured out. So I'm just ready to start hacking it up.

I changed my mind once again (big surprise). I'm going to run a Sportster tank on the bike now. There is just going to be too much work to get the Kawasaki tank to fit on that frame.

And I'm having a really difficult time finding brake rotors for the 21" YZ80 wheel that I was going to put on it. Apparently every year of YZ80 ever built had a different hub so you have to know the exact year in order to get the correct rotor for it. So for now I'm going to stick with the stock 19" wheel.

I've also acquired a set of low rise handlebars but I'm keeping them on the risers since I'm going to frisco mount the tank.

1. comp 3 (1" stretch and rake)
2. side
3. front quarter
4. rear quarter
5. rear

Hardtail the stupid bike 06/22/2008

So I ran out of money to work on the other bikes and decided to get moving on this project again. I bought some steel tubing from Home Depot a while back and some nice tubing off of eBay about a year ago (roughly $30). I'm not gonna make-believe the Home Depot stuff is good so I don't recommend it; the wall thickness is not enough but I'm sure i'll strengthen the structure enough to now worry about it.

I already cut off the rear section of the frame and I set the frame down on 4" of wood blocks to set the ride-height. The bike will have less ground clearance once I put the exhaust back on.

First thing was to remove the old backbone from the bike and replace it. I took the nice tubing I had, 1 3/4" I believe, and had some leftover tubing from an old swingarm laying around and sleeved it to the old structure. Measure 5x and cut once people.

Next I extended the wheelbase 4" so I don't look like a monkey fucking a football while riding. I cut two 4" blocks of steel, cut the swingarm in a straight section, then spot welded the blocks into the swingarm gap.

As you can see now my welding skills don't suck as much as they did when I started this project.

1. New backbone 1
2. New backbone 2
3. New backbone 3
4. New backbone welded in 1
5. New backbone welded in 2
6. Cut swingarm
7. 4" stretch 1
8. 4" stretch 2

Hardtail the stupid bike (continued) 06/24/2008

Anyone with one of these Japanese bikes knows that the engine cradle is fairly wide. Well when I cut the old backbone out I was left with the cradle opened up. I was going to torch these up and bend them to the new backbone and weld them. Great idea on paper but just about impossible to do in my garage with no help. So I cut the cradle, then slugged the tubing and angled it back in to make things much easier.

1. New cradle
2. Cradle detail
3. Cradle to backbone
4. Side view

Hardtail the stupid bike (Day 3) 06/26/2008

Next up was actually creating the structure that supports the rear wheel. Using the ultra craptastic tubing that Home Depot supplied I torched the center of a tube and drew it over my ghetto tubing bender... and crimped the tubing. So I took another piece of tubing and heated it longer and drew it over slower to match a TIG wire I bent to match the angle I needed. This worked better so I did it to another piece for the other side of the bike.

Now I could go on-and-on about how I got the tubing to fit but to be honest, I'm just a fucking maestro with a cut-off wheel and flap disk. So after 2 disks and lots of sparks and fire on my jeans I got the 2 upper tubes to fit. MIG 'em in and call it a night.

1. Ghetto Fabuloso bender (4x4 post with two brake rotors welded together)
2. Fitment to axle plates
3. Merge to backbone
4. Merge to cradle
5. Tail section
6. Tail and backbone

Hardtail the stupid bike (Day 4) 07/05/2008

Well, looks like I bought all of the cheapshit 1" tubing in town cuz there is no longer any available. I ended up biting the bullet and ordering some good stuff that should be here in a week. That means that I can't finish up the lower tubes on the hardtail for a bit.

Not much progress has been made except for a brace welded in between the upper hardtail tubes. I took the bike off of the lift to see what it will look like and I'm quite happy with the results. I can't wait to get if finished up.

1. Side shot (frame)
2. Quarter shot (frame)
3. Rear shot (frame)
4. Side shot (with Sportster tank)
5. Ironhead seat
6. Softtail seat
7. Solo seat
8. Side shot (solo seat and front fender on the rear tire)