Repairing/Restoring my 1981 GPz 550

Hey All,

So glad I found this site.  I just got my GPz back (long story) and am finding it needs a lot of work.  This would seem to be the place to find help and have found lots already.

I am sure I will be asking lots of "newb" questions but will do my best to look for the answers already in the site first.

Paul

I'd like to extend an Arizona size welcome.
We like pics. What plans do you have for your GPz?

Welcome from Michigan. GPz are great looking bike. 

Welcome. The first year GPz550 was the best looking GPz 550 IMO. 

Thanks for the welcome.

First question . . . . is there a browser this website seems to like?  I have tried Firefox (on a Mac) and Edge (on a PC) and it doesn't seem to like either?  The "reCAPTCHA" is really a pita!

I am going to look for an FAQ on posting pictures as I am NOT doing it correctly.   I am trying to link to Photobucket and it is NOT cooperative?

Paul

I may be mistaken but there may be some restriction on new members posting photos.  A message to a mod would clarify this situation.  This applies to internal hosted photos, not those hosted outside.  

I like flickr.  Upload your photos there for free, then cut and paste the "BBcode" into the body of your post here and the photo will show up in high resolution.

If using the forum software to upload photos be sure to click "insert" or "insert all" before posting your new message.  Failing to do this causes the photos to show up as a tiny irritating small thumbnail, so people can't see your photo unless clicking on that.  Just say NO.

I am trying to link to Photobucket and it is NOT cooperative?

You need a left bracket then IMG then right bracket then photo address then left bracket them /IMG then right bracket

Hey Everyone – thanks for the welcome. 

Start off with some nostalgia.  Here is how I first became aware of the bike – sitting in sophomore World History class reading my new CycleWorld magazine instead of paying attention. 



Later I found one that was a year old in 1986 (remember how that used to happen in bike shops?).  It was already a bit rough with a lot of scratches and a 4into1 on it.  I bought it for $1100 and did get the original 2into1s with it (but no mounting clamps or spacers).  Rode the heck out of it though college and then life happened (marriage, kids, etc.) and it sat for years though the 90s.  I got it up and running again around 2005 once the kids got a bit more self sufficient.  I enjoyed riding so much again that I then realized I needed more "umph" and bought a brand new 2007 BMW GS1200 and let a friend in a town 3 hours away have the GPz for free. I was too sentimentally attached to it to sell it but wasn't interested in riding it and was at the leading edge of a divorce.  I told him he couldn’t sell it but I really didn’t expect to ever see it again. 

About a month ago his wife called me and said she wanted it out of the garage so I went and got it.  He says it hasn’t run since 2011.  Its pretty rough but not locked up and the starter is functional.  The brakes were locked up.  From what I can tell something may be up with the clutch.


I immediately took the brakes all off so it can roll freely. Rear master cylinder is toast (and I have already learned here that you don't come back from that one easily).  Lots of peeled paint all over it and a bit of rust on the frame.
 

So - lots of work to do there...

Got the carburetors off.  Realize someone I hired to work on it back around 2006 broke the carburetor bracket and it looks like there was a mouse in the airbox at some point!

 

Lots to do.

My plan - as of today - is to try to get it all cleaned up and functional.  If I can manage that, I will strip it all down and attempt to restore it.

Paul

Cool stuff! I’ll be following this one for sure. And not just because I ride a 550 and my name is also Paul, haha. 

LOVE the 1981 GPz 550!  I had a creampuff sample in the early 90's and selling it is my greatest motorcycle regret.  

Good luck with your project!

wrote:

I immediately took the brakes all off so it can roll freely. Rear master cylinder is toast (and I have already learned here that you don't come back from that one easily). 
 

Good story - thanks for sharing! I took a friend bike shopping once; we didn't find anything for him but I found my '81 GPz550. That was almost 30 years ago.

For the rear master cylinder, keep an eye on ebay. I got lucky: after searching for a few years, I found a good used MC in the US and then a[n] NOS piston in Canada a week or so later. You never know.

I have read that the rear MC from a Ninja 250 is a suitable replacement for the one on the GPz, but haven't actually tried it.

My $.02 - don't "strip it all down and attempt to restore it". Clean it thoroughly? Absolutely. Fix what needs to be fixed? Of course. But I would leave it as original as possible. The seat has been recovered, but there are aftermarket covers that look a lot like the OEM. Yours even has the black plastic rear fender piece, which is not common. Again, just my opinion but original would be better.

You can use a Ninja 250 MC for the rear, but you have to make two spacers and makeshift a pushrod.  It's pretty easy.  I have a post of it here somewhere on KZR.

EDIT: I found it.
www.kzrider.com/forum/5-chassis/531950-a...l=component&type=raw