Hello from New England - GPZ550D1

Thanks for letting me join the forum.  I've been off a bike for a many years, but am returning to my beginning: a 1981 GPZ550D1.  I learned to ride on a friend's D1 back in the 80's and when i found this one locally, well, it followed me home.  It needs work, but it's not a write off.  I've turned wrenches on cars, but not on bikes so please pardon any painfully dumb questions i may toss out when I find myself stuck.  

Welcome to KZRider 
 Lots of great members here to help you make your bike perfect 
Dave

Welcome nice bike 

Howdy! She looks pretty original, down to the 4-into-2 exhaust and the plastic fender behind/below the license plate; those were often the first things to be removed/replaced.

What sort of work does she need? Guessing from the newspaper she might be leaking a little.

LOL.  Yes, she was leaking more than a little.  I traced it down the oil lies running to the oil cooler.  I had a local hydraulic shop replace the hoses and fittings.  I also found the oil drain plug was stripped.

Forks and rear shocks are being replaced.  I searched here and went with Progressive springs front and replacing the shocks and springs at the rear.  Rears seem simple enough to replace, but working on on the front forks will be a first for me.  Brakes are spongy as heck but work, but i am still going to replace the lines to be safe.  

Body work looked good from 20 feet, but the tank was very faded and is dented, and most of the plastic was cracked or had holes drilled in it.  I repaired the plastic but I can't get the dent out of the tank so I'm going to leave that to a pro and also have all the bodywork repainted at the same time.

Tires need to be replaced.  Horn doesn't work, and neither does the speedo.  I expect I'll find more once i start getting deeper into it.  

Other odds and ends need to be replaced but they are serviceable for now (for example, turn indicators scratched and cracked on the left side, the clutch lever is broken, stator cover is also gouged-up, etc.).  I'll replace those as I find those pieces.  

If it gets on the road by the fall I'll be very satisfied.  

Nice bike.  Be CAREFUL about the screws that look like Phillips head screws.  They are NOT Phillips screws.  They are JIS (Japanese Industrial  Standard) screws.  Using Phillips screwdrivers on them will damage them for sure.  Buy a set of JIS screwdrivers or screwdriver tips and trust me, you will not regret it.  Ed

Thank you! 

Welcome!

I ride my D1 almost every day...
I rescued and restored her in 2020.  
Nicknamed her "Pussycat" 

You may download lots of useful info. and manuals right here:  www.kzrider.com/filebase/category/14-kz550

Cheers.

Howard

 

wrote:

Nice bike.  Be CAREFUL about the screws that look like Phillips head screws.  They are NOT Phillips screws.  They are JIS (Japanese Industrial  Standard) screws.  Using Phillips screwdrivers on them will damage them for sure.  Buy a set of JIS screwdrivers or screwdriver tips and trust me, you will not regret it.  Ed

Hey Ed, have you seen this video?  Regular off the shelf cross point screwdriver performance test.  Modern screwdrivers work fine on JIS screws, and vice versa.  There are just junky ones and good ones.  

Welcome. As you can tell by my handle, I'm a big fan of the GPz's. The 550s are special. I wish my 750 handled as well as the 550 I had in college.
It looks like you have a plan. I would add foundational; items like steering head and swing arm bearings. And, if you are going to replace the brake lines replace them with SS. Galfer makes a set and offers good customer service. 
Oh and bookmark this page:  Partzilla 1981 GPz550  

Welcome aboard.
Also, the master cylinders and calipers need to be rebuilt. Overhauling the hydraulics is part of the scheduled maintenance, and is often neglected. Doing this will give you the opportunity to carefully inspect the innards of the systems to insure there is no damage from corrosion or creative repairs. Remember, good brakes save lives.

The D1 550 is one of my favorite KZ's.  I had a creampuff sample and stupidly sold it back in the day, and regret it now.  

Agree with the suggestion of a full brake system teardown.  Also, do the same to the carbs.  The choke flaps like to fall off, and when that happens, the engine ingests the flap...which doesn't do it much good.