I have the EXACT same bike and I'm doing the EXACT same things at almost the same time as these videos get posted lol. Discovered your channel just by chance. Just like yours, mine is a fun little side project not my main motorcycle. Traded a rifle for mine lol. Came with a title as luck would have it. Couple hours here and there working on the bike for fun. Very satisfying to bring it back to life and fun to ride. Love the videos. 👍🏼
My favorite part is when you say "Brick House builds custom motorcycles" as you smear the goop into the tank. Keeping your left hand nice and clean with a glove and your right hand smearing the goop without a glove. CLASSIC. Sounds about right...probably how I would do it too.
I had the same problem with fuel delivery with my 81 GS450. I cleaned the tank with muratic acid( carefully while wearing protection). The tank was clean but the fuel was not getting to the carbs.I removed the mini-fuel filter that I had put on. It has run great now going on 2yrs. Sometime the fuel filters block or slow the flow. If the tank is clean the petcock filter should be sufficent.
More good progress. Like some others I told ya a while back I have an 84 GS550L also with that terrible back rest and handlebars. Gonna definately get me a set of those bars also. If you are gonna sell that tail light lense I am interested as mine is busted. Also gonna need a new tank with terrible rust and hole eaten thru underneath. Struggling with my carbs(different than yours with the pair of carbs serving 4 cyls. Had it running real well after cleaning and new coils then after leaving for a couple of weeks it won't start. Good spark and compression...kinda baffled at the moment. Keep the vids coming.
Ya I been binge watching your stuff my guy. I just received a Honda 400 in boxes free and just bought a gs850g for 250 American dollars. Just discovered you yesterday or Friday. My first bike was a 78 gs550e or L
been following you for a while, my only project at the moment is a 95 katana 750 so really perked my ears up to hear you got one and I'm looking forward to seeing what you can do with it.
Send a shout out when you put the turn signals up on the auction site, got an 80 GS550L that needs some love. I will say I won't be bidding on the sissy bar hahaha. Looking good on the refresh of the bike.
@@BrickHouseBuilds Thank’s for the reply. I hate to say but That’s out of my price range right now and I am in the process of moving, finding work and mid life crisis stuff. If you still have them when things settle down I Will Holler Back At You. Great Work Enjoy Watching the Channel.
@@maxgood4361 oh you are actually wanting the stock signals? I'm completely joking about that price as we were talking about that rack on ebay for $1000 as a joke.
I am just putting my gs550e 1979 back on the road after 18 years of storage. Just came across your channel, like n sub,. Where did you get the large filter from?
Great content, your skills are obvious...if it was mine is might consider changing out those brake lines. My cx really stopped better after I swamped mine out.
Im amazed with how good the brakes feel even with these old lines lol. Good upgrade for sure but I think this bike will stay just like this until I sell it. More projects ahead!
I just started tearing into my 82 550( and yes that frikin rack was the first thing off after the seat) and when I took the air filter out the filter media looks just like yours did, deteriorated. I intend to leave it as original so where did you find a OEM filter? Or did you find some medium somewhere and cut it to size? Thanks for the great videos watched four of them this afternoon.
I appreciate ya watching Dave! For the filter I had some UNI foam media on hand so I cut and covered with that. Not sure you can get a replacement filter at a reasonable cost for these.
Oh this one was so bad it doesn't exist anymore! Im needing to order another one as I have to fix another tank leak now. Currently running 2 inline filters to do the job
@@BrickHouseBuilds It's a shame how the old tanks have aged.. I did the Por15 tank sealer kit on a kawasaki that had multiple pinholes from rust. It sealed completely.
Great video. I have the exact same bike. You saw it on facebook a few weeks ago. It was free also. The only thing I've done is verify that it's not locked up. I haven't done anything else to it yet until I get the title but I know I will have to clean the rust out of the tank and clean the carbs for sure. What do you think about muratic acid to clean rust out of a tank?
I've never used muraric acid for rust removal but only to clean brass carb parts. That stuff is potent. I usually do electrolysis and a mix of vinegar. Also elbow grease
@@BrickHouseBuilds you commented that the right bars can change how you feel about the bike and that is so correct! I never liked the bars on my GL650 then I put some goldwing bars on it and fell in love with the bike!
Not very hard at all actually. Lots and lots of sources out there. Sometimes OE parts take a bit of searching but overall not bad. I use partzilla, cmsnl, ebay, dime city cycles, and old bike barn a lot
Nice vid! I have a 82 GS650 and was browsing around for ideas on mods, those bars look pretty comfortable. Where can I get a sticker and a sweat shirt with your logo? It looks cool
Hey Matt, GS650s are cool for sure and much of the same stuff can be done for mods as well(obviously shaft drive has its differences) For stickers, t shirts, hats, hoodies just head to www.brickhousebuilds.com to see what I have. I appreciate you watching!
helo man first time here on your channel and the first video love that u working on a old suzuki. have a gs1000g that will be my first build ever so im glad to find your channel big up to u and greetings from sweden. not switzerland but Sweden :D ;) haha i will push the reed botom aswell.. maby u can bild on a gs1000 sometime in the future :P ;)
I literally just got back from a 2 hour drive from picking up the exact same bike .. did i get screwed at 750 bucks bike has 8000 original miles fires fired right up cold start no choke
I feel bad that I have to ask which JB 😅 The tank is surprising me with zero leaks. Filled it up past the hole and nothing! For the carb I've gone about 100 miles so far and all seems good.
So I actually got this same question the other day and it appears DCC no longer offers the exact bar. Something very close would be the daytona touring bar linked here. www.dimecitycycles.com/handlebar-7-8-inch-black-daytona-touring-g.html
I’ve been working on my 1980 GS 550 E off and on for five years making it into a “cafe racer”. Big mistake is that I did was replacing the air box with pods. Nobody has been able to get it to hold an idle. Any suggestions?
How many people have you tried? Typically a fuel mix adjustment get the idle sorted. Beyond that it requires jetting changes and possibly needle shims to get it dialed in.
@@BrickHouseBuilds I only had one shop work on it. They could get it to run but not hold an idle. It’s been sitting for about four years. I’m going to try to get it running by myself. It’s been very difficult to find anyone who knows how to work on these old bikes. Thanks for the suggestions!
@@BrickHouseBuilds another random question, doing a morty system on the gs450 and was wondering if you suggest hooking up the original shift indicator lights and such or if it’s too much of a hassle?
@@saltwaterworks Id say that would just be under your gauge backlight power so not a big deal. I havent looked at the gauge power distribution but I'd assume it run power or can run common power from a single wire
@@BrickHouseBuilds I appreciate the replies, I’m over at Scott Air Force base maybe if everything calms down we can talk about seeing your bikes in person haha.
i think my vacuum petcock is faulty so i just have an inline one with the vaccum lines capped off, would this cause running issues? the bike idles, but does ride as it falls on its face immediately under load, carbs are clean, but it also does not have an airbox as the rubber was all rotted out, so i just took it off
@@JustinBurito If you have no air filters and open CV style carbs the bike will not run well. Basically what is happening is that there is no vacuum to help lift the carb slides to give the bike the fuel it wants.
@@BrickHouseBuilds right, i heard, you say, you were going to use pod filters,i got cheap ones a while ago, and bike still never ran right with them got real K&Ns coming so hopefully that fixes the issue
@@JustinBurito Yea I'm always tempted to use pods on everything but never changed this setup. Cheap pods never help as they block the air passages at the inlet of the carbs. That messes with the vacuum signal causing poor running
1st time watch n & 💖 the GS 4 I have one Ive been tinkering on. it has the 4-1 that your looking for, mines a GS 1000L shaft not sure if its the same but sure does look lk it, anyway if it would work? i would trade you for your stock 2-1's if your interested let me know, mine is in GRT condesion can send pics? Im not sure you'll even get this? Its also also my 1st comment & Im pretty caveman 2 Tech, so0 I guess you would email me? ... I'll subscribe right now & wait ... ✌☻UT till then.
I have the EXACT same bike and I'm doing the EXACT same things at almost the same time as these videos get posted lol. Discovered your channel just by chance. Just like yours, mine is a fun little side project not my main motorcycle. Traded a rifle for mine lol. Came with a title as luck would have it. Couple hours here and there working on the bike for fun. Very satisfying to bring it back to life and fun to ride. Love the videos. 👍🏼
Very cool and yea sounds like we have the exact same project going!
My favorite part is when you say "Brick House builds custom motorcycles" as you smear the goop into the tank. Keeping your left hand nice and clean with a glove and your right hand smearing the goop without a glove. CLASSIC. Sounds about right...probably how I would do it too.
The stuff was just wadding up in my glovr causing a lot of difficulty to work with. Definitely looked terrible!
@@BrickHouseBuilds Yeah, I figured as much, still gave me a chuckle, good to see you this week.
Just goes to show how a few simple changes can transform an old bike - nice job
Makes all the difference! Simple is usually always better
I had the same problem with fuel delivery with my 81 GS450. I cleaned the tank with muratic acid( carefully while wearing protection). The tank was clean but the fuel was not getting to the carbs.I removed the mini-fuel filter that I had put on. It has run great now going on 2yrs. Sometime the fuel filters block or slow the flow. If the tank is clean the petcock filter should be sufficent.
I like your GS 550 build because back in 1982 I had one that looked just like this one. Really cool stuff.
This was definitely a fun bike. I'm excited for my upcoming gs550 build starting with just a frame
More good progress. Like some others I told ya a while back I have an 84 GS550L also with that terrible back rest and handlebars. Gonna definately get me a set of those bars also. If you are gonna sell that tail light lense I am interested as mine is busted. Also gonna need a new tank with terrible rust and hole eaten thru underneath. Struggling with my carbs(different than yours with the pair of carbs serving 4 cyls. Had it running real well after cleaning and new coils then after leaving for a couple of weeks it won't start. Good spark and compression...kinda baffled at the moment. Keep the vids coming.
Ya I been binge watching your stuff my guy. I just received a Honda 400 in boxes free and just bought a gs850g for 250 American dollars. Just discovered you yesterday or Friday. My first bike was a 78 gs550e or L
Great deals!
A friend of mine told me that he places those very heavy duty magnets on the bottom the tanks and they’ll pick up any rust in it.
Not a bad idea
been following you for a while, my only project at the moment is a 95 katana 750 so really perked my ears up to hear you got one and I'm looking forward to seeing what you can do with it.
Send a shout out when you put the turn signals up on the auction site, got an 80 GS550L that needs some love. I will say I won't be bidding on the sissy bar hahaha. Looking good on the refresh of the bike.
🤣🤣🤣 the turn signals will be a bargain at $200 a corner!
@@BrickHouseBuilds Thank’s for the reply. I hate to say but That’s out of my price range right now and I am in the process of moving, finding work and mid life crisis stuff. If you still have them when things settle down I Will Holler Back At You. Great Work Enjoy Watching the Channel.
@@maxgood4361 oh you are actually wanting the stock signals? I'm completely joking about that price as we were talking about that rack on ebay for $1000 as a joke.
I am just putting my gs550e 1979 back on the road after 18 years of storage. Just came across your channel, like n sub,. Where did you get the large filter from?
Just a local parts store. Common item
Great content, your skills are obvious...if it was mine is might consider changing out those brake lines. My cx really stopped better after I swamped mine out.
Im amazed with how good the brakes feel even with these old lines lol. Good upgrade for sure but I think this bike will stay just like this until I sell it. More projects ahead!
I am looking at ur videos I luv all of them cause I pick up a 81 gs550l and ur videos helping me a lot
Glad they are helpful!
Great intro and the choke bracket looks fine
Thank you on both front! I much prefer a short choke down by the engine anyway.
Hands down the most fancy way to start a video!
"Oh hey didn't see ya down there" I gotta have fun with it lol
@@BrickHouseBuilds the problem is, you now have to do better for the next into, or make this your regular intro
@@Eight20 I actually thought of this and am worried about how ill up my game 😅😅
I just started tearing into my 82 550( and yes that frikin rack was the first thing off after the seat) and when I took the air filter out the filter media looks just like yours did, deteriorated. I intend to leave it as original so where did you find a OEM filter? Or did you find some medium somewhere and cut it to size? Thanks for the great videos watched four of them this afternoon.
I appreciate ya watching Dave! For the filter I had some UNI foam media on hand so I cut and covered with that. Not sure you can get a replacement filter at a reasonable cost for these.
Don't forget about the petcock filter. Mine was full of varnish just like what was in your carbs.
Oh this one was so bad it doesn't exist anymore! Im needing to order another one as I have to fix another tank leak now. Currently running 2 inline filters to do the job
@@BrickHouseBuilds It's a shame how the old tanks have aged.. I did the Por15 tank sealer kit on a kawasaki that had multiple pinholes from rust. It sealed completely.
@@lilTryhard I've used essentially the same stuff with good luck but this tank is not clean enough to even try that yet
Great video. I have the exact same bike. You saw it on facebook a few weeks ago. It was free also. The only thing I've done is verify that it's not locked up. I haven't done anything else to it yet until I get the title but I know I will have to clean the rust out of the tank and clean the carbs for sure. What do you think about muratic acid to clean rust out of a tank?
I've never used muraric acid for rust removal but only to clean brass carb parts. That stuff is potent. I usually do electrolysis and a mix of vinegar. Also elbow grease
It looks a hell of a lot better now lol .. nice work! and love your channel .. thx
Many thanks Mr Pizza! The bars and signals made a huge difference on this thing
Haha. Best video opening so far!
😅😅😅 I think I had too much coffee before shooting it
@@BrickHouseBuilds The "secret" was in the coffee?
@@anton1210 yup! Just straight gounds...chew and muscle it down lol
I am so with you on the bars! Never liked the pull back style!
The only ones I've been a fan on were on a chopper and that was only because they looked cool as hell!
@@BrickHouseBuilds you commented that the right bars can change how you feel about the bike and that is so correct! I never liked the bars on my GL650 then I put some goldwing bars on it and fell in love with the bike!
New sub,lots of great info, have a line on a 78' how hard is it to get parts, gaskets,pistons etc.
Not very hard at all actually. Lots and lots of sources out there. Sometimes OE parts take a bit of searching but overall not bad. I use partzilla, cmsnl, ebay, dime city cycles, and old bike barn a lot
Nice bike man !!!! Which JB did you use for the tank? I super enjoy your channel! !!! You videos help me a lot, many thanks!!!
Thank ya. The item is linked in the description
Nice vid! I have a 82 GS650 and was browsing around for ideas on mods, those bars look pretty comfortable. Where can I get a sticker and a sweat shirt with your logo? It looks cool
Hey Matt, GS650s are cool for sure and much of the same stuff can be done for mods as well(obviously shaft drive has its differences) For stickers, t shirts, hats, hoodies just head to www.brickhousebuilds.com to see what I have. I appreciate you watching!
That intro was great haha.
Im glad it's going over well as it was spontaneous as can be hahaha
helo man first time here on your channel and the first video love that u working on a old suzuki. have a gs1000g that will be my first build ever so im glad to find your channel big up to u and greetings from sweden. not switzerland but Sweden :D ;) haha i will push the reed botom aswell.. maby u can bild on a gs1000 sometime in the future :P ;)
Welcome and glad you like the videos! I have plenty to keep you occupied
I literally just got back from a 2 hour drive from picking up the exact same bike .. did i get screwed at 750 bucks bike has 8000 original miles fires fired right up cold start no choke
Not at all. I have a grand in this one with all the paperwork and necessary bits to make it run. Free isn't free so you did fine
How is the JB Weld holding up? Did it really fix the problem?
I feel bad that I have to ask which JB 😅 The tank is surprising me with zero leaks. Filled it up past the hole and nothing! For the carb I've gone about 100 miles so far and all seems good.
@@BrickHouseBuilds that’s awesome. I love products that work like they’re supposed to. Thanks for letting me know.
Which handle bar is that? Because the link no longer shows the exact one
So I actually got this same question the other day and it appears DCC no longer offers the exact bar. Something very close would be the daytona touring bar linked here. www.dimecitycycles.com/handlebar-7-8-inch-black-daytona-touring-g.html
I vote new tank. Can source them everywhere and you won't have to look at the waterweld
Well I ended up using the jb marine weld and a couple years later its still holding. I sold the bike to a friend who rides it often
They're called US spec bars if l'm not mistaken. Are you in the US?
No particular sped based on country. Just specs based on what measurements they have. Yes I am in the US
I’ve been working on my 1980 GS 550 E off and on for five years making it into a “cafe racer”. Big mistake is that I did was replacing the air box with pods. Nobody has been able to get it to hold an idle. Any suggestions?
How many people have you tried? Typically a fuel mix adjustment get the idle sorted. Beyond that it requires jetting changes and possibly needle shims to get it dialed in.
@@BrickHouseBuilds I only had one shop work on it. They could get it to run but not hold an idle. It’s been sitting for about four years. I’m going to try to get it running by myself. It’s been very difficult to find anyone who knows how to work on these old bikes. Thanks for the suggestions!
Really following this one, curious where you would find a four to one for this exhaust as I can’t find any 2-1 for my gs450 I’m building.
Well I've seen the delkavic one but not available everywhere
@@BrickHouseBuilds another random question, doing a morty system on the gs450 and was wondering if you suggest hooking up the original shift indicator lights and such or if it’s too much of a hassle?
@@saltwaterworks Id say that would just be under your gauge backlight power so not a big deal. I havent looked at the gauge power distribution but I'd assume it run power or can run common power from a single wire
@@BrickHouseBuilds I appreciate the replies, I’m over at Scott Air Force base maybe if everything calms down we can talk about seeing your bikes in person haha.
@@saltwaterworks that would be cool!
Just picked one of these up, but the wiring is trashed. Do you know of any aftermarket options
Hmm, not sure who may make a harness for one of these outside of spark moto. You could likely find a used harness on ebay though.
Thank you. New to motorcycles so its a little over my skill level.
do you have anything blocked off to the carb that would have went to the vacuum operated petcock?
Nothing is blocked off as I have the vacuum line from the carb going to the vacuum petcock as factory
i think my vacuum petcock is faulty so i just have an inline one with the vaccum lines capped off, would this cause running issues? the bike idles, but does ride as it falls on its face immediately under load, carbs are clean, but it also does not have an airbox as the rubber was all rotted out, so i just took it off
@@JustinBurito If you have no air filters and open CV style carbs the bike will not run well. Basically what is happening is that there is no vacuum to help lift the carb slides to give the bike the fuel it wants.
@@BrickHouseBuilds right, i heard, you say, you were going to use pod filters,i got cheap ones a while ago, and bike still never ran right with them got real K&Ns coming so hopefully that fixes the issue
@@JustinBurito Yea I'm always tempted to use pods on everything but never changed this setup. Cheap pods never help as they block the air passages at the inlet of the carbs. That messes with the vacuum signal causing poor running
Is that governed? I just finished a total gs650 rebuild and it’s governed can’t find much info about these bikes
Governed in what way? These do not have the technology able to speed limit them.
@@BrickHouseBuilds I’m not sure how to explain it like the top end of gears 1-3 the tach doesn’t bounce it just revs at one high rpm
1st time watch n & 💖 the GS 4 I have one Ive been tinkering on.
it has the 4-1 that your looking for, mines a
GS 1000L shaft not sure if its the same but sure does look lk it, anyway if it would work?
i would trade you for your stock 2-1's if your interested let me know,
mine is in GRT condesion can send pics? Im not sure you'll even get this?
Its also also my 1st comment & Im pretty caveman 2 Tech, so0 I guess you would email me? ...
I'll subscribe right now & wait ...
✌☻UT till then.
Hey Rick thanks! The bike has been sold so no need there for exhaust but I appreciate it. I'll actually be seeing the bike this weekend!