84 GPZ550 SAVED

I bought an 84 GPZ 550 for $250. Its been sitting since 1988. Its all there except the windscreen. The petcock had been left on and the gas turned to crust. Today I removed the tank and carbs. The carbs are badly gummed up. The throttle blades won't even move. I changed the oil and filter, removed the plugs and shot some WD40 in the cylinders. I cleaned all the battery connections and jumped it to a car battery. The engine turns over pretty fast without the plugs in it. I bought a couple feet of plug wire and 4 new plug boots from my local bike shop but have not made it that far yet. The right handle bar bracket was broke and I bought a similar set from a local motorcycle salvage. I'll post up some pics tomorrow

GOOD ON YA!

Go slow, don't force stuff, buy a factory service manual.

Post up some pics!

Oh yeah, other boiler plate standard stuff...

Order your parts from Z1 Enterprises, Shinko makes good tires and won't break the bank, braided stainless brake lines and HH pads make big improvements in braking performance, tapered roller steering head bearings are a good investment, and Lou D knows everything about your bike.

Here's some pics. I did not take one when it was together. I probably paid too much but I see the potential. Buy cheap and put a little money in as I can afford is my only option anyway. I just hope the motor is OK.

HAFROD wrote: I probably paid too much

NOPE! Any time you pay less than a dollar per cc, you're ahead of the game.

I'd go ahead and take the whole thing completely apart, clean everything, replace anything that's worn or rotten, give everything a nice coat of paint... should be ready for Spring!

$250 dollars looks like a great price to me. Is this your first project or not.? I went down the route of taking everything apart on my first project and later regretted it. I wished id have just done the bare minimum to get it roadworthy and took it from there.

What mileage has the bike and what state are the brakes in? Its things like brakes that bump up the cost of a project.

That tank can soon be de rusted and the carbs sorted.

their is a Gpz 550 specific forum that is worth a visit .

good luck

chirpy999 wrote: I went down the route of taking everything apart on my first project and later regretted it.

Why on earth would you regret doing the job right?

Taking everything apart straight away doesn't necessarily translate into doing the job right. :laugh:

martin_csr wrote: Taking everything apart straight away doesn't necessarily translate into doing the job right. :laugh:

That's true, but I believe in being thorough. Your mileage may vary.

If a bike's been parked for 25 years, what are the chances that the carb holders and airbox boots are dry rotted? How about the rubber brake lines and seals? What kind of shape do you think the master cylinders are in?

I prefer to err on the side of caution, to go ahead and plan on doing more work than perhaps I end up doing. I've known several guys who thought they could just half-ass it, then were disappointed when their projects required more work than they'd planned. This is why you see uncompleted projects go up on craigslist.
My advice: hope for the best, prepare for the worst, go in loaded for bear.

I'm wanting to get it running 1st before I go full bore on it with paint and tires. I want to be sure the engine is Ok

I bought two sets of carbs from ebay. I can't wait till they get here so I can try to fire this thing off. Its had waaay too long of a sleep.

I got my carbs in today. Don't know what brand the jet kit is though. There's no label or paperwork. I'm going to put it all together stock 1st anyways. Hopefully it runs good. Anyone think of anything else I should do or check before starting this bike? Its been sitting since 88. I'm in process of a tank cleaning. I changed the oil and filter and put in a few ounces of zink additive. There's a lot of other things before riding, but want to hear it run first