1982 Suzuki GS550MZ Katana GS-Specialist nut & bolt level re-fresh

Hello and happy holidays from Akron Suzuki Works. 2014 was a good year around here with several sales at 'highest price to date'. Low -production models such as the Wes Cooley bike or the early 80's Katanas get the biggest premium of course. Thanks for looking and I'm happy to answer any questions via reply email but please understand. we make a living with our GS restorations. We cannot compete on price with the bike your buddy found on Craig's list. Fortunately. the Craigs list bikes typically can't compete with us for quality workmanship and GS knowledge. This bike has over $2500 in parts and shop time--and like you. we have to go out. find and pay up for good examples to restore. We enjoyed the Vintage Days bike event at Mid Ohio track this summer. I rode my red 83 GS 1100E down one day and had a steady stream of riders stop by to share great 'GS stories'. I displayed several other ASW bikes which drew just as steady a stream of riders as the red E. There were very few GS bikes or parts around. We saw only one Katana--an '81 1100 fixer-upper with an ask of $6500. According to Chris Hunter at the Bike EXIF web site. Suzuki is the most under-represented marque on the custom bike scene. So what's going on here? It's hard to say for sure but over the past 10 yrs I've seen the supply of nice clean original low miles GS bikes dwindle. Look at the typical GS on eBay or Craigs. lots of miles. a few owners some taking better care than others. 'could use new tires'. 'maybe needs the carbs cleaned'. This type of GS--1100 E. or 8-valve 1100G or 1100GL you can find for $1500-2500. My rule of thumb is to budget 1X of the selling price to sort the bike out to be a reliable daily rider--no matter what the seller tells you. (Yeah. I exclude myself here as GS's are what we do 24x7 around here so if we tell you it's sorted. get ready to ride). The clean original low-mile bikes often have ask prices near what I sell one for that's been updated mechanically. electrically and cosmetically. I saw a red '83 1-owner 1100E last year. all original including tires. $7500 ask. $7500 for a bike with 30-yrs of deferred maintenance?I get the most requests for 80-81 E's and 82-83 1100G's and GL's. The upshot of all of this is that if you are thinking of restoring a GS. you will either have to pay up for a good starting point. or invest a lot more to sort out a poorer starting point bike. I try to fit in the middle of that calculus--I find a couple of bikes a year that make sense to sort out (like this immaculate GS550 auction bike) and price them well below what it would take to get one done to this quality from most other sources. Our finished bikes are dry stored and displayed in our shop. We've done over 60 GS restorations in the past 8 years and seldom have one in inventory for more than a few months. You will find higher resolution photos at: http://suzuki-gs-bikes. smugmug. com/1982-GS550-Katana/ About the original KatanasThe German contribution to the Katana styling is a well documented story. Target Design provided the avant garde plastic and started a styling shift that has continued to this day. The ironic aspect to me is that Germany is famous for engineering. The Germans go to Italy for styling consults. In fact. Audi just bought Ducati last year. So why did Suzuki choose Germany for this project. I owned one of the first Norton Commando's in NE Ohio in the late 60's. It was the fastest production motorcycle at the time and turned out to be the last gasp for the British bike industry. I've owned a few more Commandos since that first one was stolen. while parked in front of Ray's Bar in Kent. OH 3-days before I was to ride it up to a little music festival in Woodstock. NY. The 750cc Commando with it's 360 degree crank sending the pistons up and down together. with it's worthless drum brakes and 'vintage' suspension was more dangerous than a "Harley's Sxxk" bumper sticker in a Milwaukee biker-bar parking lot. In retro it's hard to imagine how crude that Norton was compared to the Japanese onslaught that was about to come. About THIS 1982 GS550 KatanaThe 62xx miles shown on the clock appear to us to be original based on evaluation of common wear points and overall condition when acquired. The bike has been well sorted (details below). runs exquisitely pulling to the redline. Everything works as expected--gear position indicator. horns signals. gages--everything. We go to the nut/bolt/wire level to make the bike as reliable as possible for 'it's next 30 years'. This would be a nice example to take to vintage events or. as one client does. leave on display in his office lobby. It is non-trivial to sort out a 30+ yr old bike which has been stored for most of its life. We have many hrs of carb tweaking (float level adjustments. choke circuit richening. mid range needle shimming. fuel/air screw adjusting. etc) to get this bike running the we want them to. Of course it has new OE-spec Dunlop tires. tubes. brake cylinders rebuilt. new pads. drain hoses. plugs. wires. battery. stator. charging system connectors. fuel lines. oil and air filters. and any other maintenance item you can think of. Condition detailsoriginal exhaust is excellent but not perfect condition showing some minor imperfections and blems; probably about as good as it gets for a bike that is actually ridden. original seat shows very nice but has a few small nicks and a slight tear on the seat edge not visible when seat is installed. there are a few paint blems. a bb-sized nick on the fender. a couple of small paint repairs on the tank. No dents or cracks in the plastic. side covers are excellent. bottom line; an excellent example but it is not a new bike. If you are bothered by a few cosmetic blems or imperfections you should look at a new bike. Offered at a modest reserve price that reflects the work we have into the bike. This is what we cover in our re-newal processFORKS. BARS. LEVERS. SWITCHES. CABLES Fork seals -replace Fork tubes polish small pits Fork springs-replace with progressive springs from progressive. com Throttle cable-replace Brake lever. check/replace. lube pivot clutch lever. check/replace. lube pivot service or replace brake switches tach drive-replace shaft seal tach cable-replaceAll other switches (check. repair or replace as required)ENGINE re-torque head bolts Cam box gasket. seals-replace Adjust valve clearance-replace shims as required All other gaskets (replace as required): Clutch cover. Stator cover. CDI cover Fiber clutch plates (replace with Suzuki OE as required) Change Oil. replace filter (Suzuki OE filter) 4 qts Castrol 10-40 MC oilTRANS & FINAL DRIVE Check sprockets Clean. adjust chain R&R rear wheel. check rear wheel bearingsBRAKES Flush/clean resovoirs (this one got the front MC replaced) Inspect/rebuild calipers as reqd front pads-replace rear pads-replace bleeders. caps-replace brake lines inspect/replace as requiredEXHAUST remove & detail replace 4 exhaust port sealsCARBS Remove. disassemble. bead blast bowl's. soak and clean passages Rejet to improve midrange Repace pilot jet plugs. o-rings. gaskets as required Replace air filter drill choke pick-ups to improve cold starting polish #1. #4 float bowl and vacuum covers replace #1. #4 cover fasteners w nos replace airbox intake tubes and clamps adjust low speed idle F/A screws adjust vacuum to synch carbstest ride between steps on jettingTANK. BODYWORKS. CHASSIS drain. flush tank. inspect for corrosion. re-line if required rebuild/replace petcock as required Remove & test rear shocks Strip clear coat. sand and polish alloy cases Replace ignition and stator cover stickers Remove. clean and rebuild forks with new OE seals. replace sliders. etc as required Prep & paint engine with high temp Alumiblast engine paint Fasteners (replace w nos hex as required) -stator cover -ciutch cover -clutch dowel pin -clutch act shaft seal -replace neutral light sensor and seal -polish/replace fasteners as requiredSwing arm and steering head bearings inspect and replace as required Remove / inspect plastic body parts Replace tires with Dunlop 404 OE spec replace tubes (corrosion on valve stems) replace rotor retaining lock tabs. bolts on front and back wheelsCharging system -check components. clean grounds. replace connectors -stator replace w/ rick’s electronics 5-wire -verify charging system in spec for both amps and voltsWheels -detail. hand polish after removal of tires -wheel bearings (inspect. replace as reqd) Frame paint -touch-up and detail while bike is disassembled Removable chassis parts: clean and detail as required powder coat or epoxy enamel stove black as required side stand center stand brake torque tube engine mounting plates rear turn-signal mount tabs Seat-inspect. clean Battery-replace

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