Topic: Suzuki GT500: pulled out of the woods, where to even start?

[Sporkfly]

Here she is as of tonight.





Stainless rotor?


It's growing stuff.



Peeling chrome, typical.



Read this plug! Rusted, electrodes pushed together (how would that one happen do you think?)

[razor02097]

jeepers  

You have vegetation growing from the seat!  It's like a mobile salad bar  

I loved working on and "testing" the two stroke street bikes.  Its a good project you have there  

Fuel air and spark... If you can... check the compression


mix up some 2 cycle fuel and clean the carbs.  get new spark plugs and try to fire that puppy up

[Roach Carver]

make sure to keep it watered or the moss will die. 




step one- wash.

[Sporkfly]

Everything is seized up on this thing, it's been in the woods for something like 15 years. My first step will be un-sticking the engine and pulling it apart I think. Impressively, even the choke is seized. I'll be waking up early tomorrow to clean off the leaves.  

There's still oil in the oil tank and it's not rusted in the least! Score one.

So, how should I go about unsticking a 2-stroker? This is the first 2-stroke engine I'm ever going to play with.

[razor02097]

PB blast the cylinders... worth a shot

I'm pretty sure those had oil injection... don't trust it until you can service it.  Be careful what oil you pour where  

2 stroke engines are a lot... lot lot lot less complex then a 4 stroke... if you can work on these SOHC you can work on a 2 stroke.

[Sporkfly]

Yeah, it's oil injection. I'm digging the stainless rotor. Also, putting it on the center stand (ignoring the stuck rear tire because it was a bear to do just now) is going to be a breeze, they give you a handle right on the frame to pull up on!

I'll be picking up some penetrating oil tomorrow (transportation? the SOHC of course ) and clearing off leaves, removing various things that will need to be replaced and scrapping a few things, and of course posting progress before I head off to work. Hopefully I can free up the rear tire so I can use it to move the engine later in the week. It has an '83 plate so you have to think... It was in the barn for 10-12 years and then in the woods for 14-16, this sucker is going to be stuck real good. Checking on parts - O.S. pistons are still available at $84 a piece, rings at $28 a set, and head gasket is a mere $6 (!!!). Add in machine shop labor, throw in a few other parts/bearings/etc. and that's a pretty affordable rebuild I'd say, I only hope the crank and rods are in decent shape. No cam and no valves to worry about? Oh baby! I figure I can take a week or two off from this bike to rewire and clean up my Goldwing and then I'll be looking at 3 working bikes within the next year or two if I can spare the cash to do it. I know that's aiming high and it always takes longer than we expect, but...

[hoodellyhoo]

I said something similar in another thread but it's worth repeating- Most people would look at that, call it junk, and haul it to the dump. I see it and am incredibly jealous that you have it and I don't I am determined to one day own a two strke street bike just so I can listen to that ring ding ding exhaust. Good luck with it.

[Sporkfly]

I've actually accomplished two goals with pulling this bike out of the woods when my dad has long ago given up and forgotten about it - own a two stroke street bike (check) and own a twin (check). He clearly didn't give a two #$%*s (excuse my language, I'm not fond of my dad) about the bike as getting it on the trailer was a one man operation with a come-along, some cinder blocks and a spare tire. The cinder blocks and the spare tire were the second man, preventing the bike from tipping. He didn't offer to help me get it out of the woods, I started that process last year when I shoved it through the trees to the edge of the woods so it could get onto the trailer. Like I said, the back tire is stuck - I was sweating heavily and sore by the time I moved it a mere 20 feet. All that matters now though is that it's home. I just have to thank you guys for the encouragement, I definitely worked for it, yeah?

He considered it junk, like you say. He asked me if I was parting it out when I got it home... Why go through the effort of tearing it down just to sell the parts? With just a bit more effort you can put it back together and RIDE IT, that's the real profit.

Oh, and I just have to say, the first thing that's going is that damn sissy bar  , anybody want it? HA!

[MotoMartin]

This link is to a good Suzuki two stroke site:
http://www.motorcycleracer.net/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=2&sid=2c6a0c132a745e5ff1b209e706e74d1e
They have some great members, I was given a set of used pistons and some other parts for my Suzuki GT750 project, some really good people. Unfortunately their website had a major melt down a while back, they lost a lot of good info. Sundial Motor Sports who host the website actually specialize in racing T500s!
If you can fix a SOHC you can definately fix a two stroke twin. Good news is that many parts are still available for Suzuki's. Here is my GT750 before being fixed up, it may have been in worse shape than your bike, with many missing parts.

After...

[Sporkfly]

Just a few quick thoughts: I'll be using T250 swing arm, a GS750 hub and the GT500 sprocket carrier. Result will be a shortened wheel base and rear disc. Since it will require an overbore, I'll be looking into how much meat is in the cylinders and what pistons I can use to get a 750 out of it.

This project will take some money, so chances are it will be slow, but I'm just pitching ideas to get started and have direction. Time to fill the cylinders with penetrating oil. And thanks for the link, Martin, nice 750! Was the engine stuck when you acquired it?

[scartail]

Nice project! I have a '67 Suzuki T20. It would be nice to have a 500.

Good luck with the project!

[Sporkfly]

Found a T350 swing arm on ebay, $4.99 with $25 shipping. I don't know if I'm ready to start buying parts just yet though...

On another note, the heads are off. The right cylinder is pretty nasty and I think it's the primary reason the engine is stuck. I won't be going any further today, but it's a start. I'll get some pictures of the cylinder(s) tomorrow. One thing I can say is the aluminum (?) head gasket makes head removal infinitely easier than the fiber gaskets in our SOHC4s. I'm finding various things on this bike (such as the handle for getting it on the center stand) that make me wonder, "Why didn't Honda do that?"

[razor02097]

I use the grab bar on my 650 to get Rina up on her center stand.

typically the air cooled 2 strokes can get away with all metal gaskets due to the lack of any valves and mechanical things that require oil.

Does it have iron sleeves in it or do you have plated walls?


Be careful pulling the jugs you don't want to damage the fins  

thats going to be a killer town terror when your done man keep at it  

[Stormer]

jeepers  

You have vegetation growing from the seat!  It's like a mobile salad bar  

Funny, that's the first thing I saw...

[MotoMartin]

And thanks for the link, Martin, nice 750! Was the engine stuck when you acquired it?

No, it actually ran but not very well. When I removed the head, I found that one piston had a hole in it, and piston rings (on the holed cylinder) that were off a different bike - that didn't really fit . That's the thing with bikes that have been permanently parked there is usually a (big) mechanical reason. On my 750F I hoped the reason the PO had parked it, was because it had a puncture, but on further inspection one of the valves was damaged.

[Retro Rocket]

Beautiful water bottle Moto Martin, i just love the old GT 750's..

Mick

[Beans]

man those bikes are awesome saw one in town along with a yamaha and they ripped.  they even kept up with my brother inlaw's  gxsr1000. 

[Sporkfly]

And thanks for the link, Martin, nice 750! Was the engine stuck when you acquired it?

No, it actually ran but not very well. When I removed the head, I found that one piston had a hole in it, and piston rings (on the holed cylinder) that were off a different bike - that didn't really fit . That's the thing with bikes that have been permanently parked there is usually a (big) mechanical reason. On my 750F I hoped the reason the PO had parked it, was because it had a puncture, but on further inspection one of the valves was damaged.

Actually, yeah, I think there was some mechanical reason this bike was parked. With only a little over 7k on the clock I can't even begin to guess what it would be  But knowing my dad it could very well be something simple. His shadow was parked for 3 years because he had a near miss with a trailer and bent the foot peg and brake pedal to point towards the back of the bike. I'd have fixed that on a weekend.

[Beans]

Its funny how just the simple things on a bike people just put them away and don't fix it.   When I bought my dirtbike it was a easy fix but the PO just let it sit because he didn't know why it always leaked gas out of the carb.  It ended up being the float bowl was stuck.  But I can't wait to see what u do to this project looks like its going to look sick when done. 

[razor02097]

Its funny how just the simple things on a bike people just put them away and don't fix it.   When I bought my dirtbike it was a easy fix but the PO just let it sit because he didn't know why it always leaked gas out of the carb.  It ended up being the float bowl was stuck.  But I can't wait to see what u do to this project looks like its going to look sick when done. 

When i got my RM250 the PO said it wouldn't start.  Ended up being a spark plug. 

[Ricky_Racer]

Just for inspiration...     RR

[Beans]

Its funny how just the simple things on a bike people just put them away and don't fix it.   When I bought my dirtbike it was a easy fix but the PO just let it sit because he didn't know why it always leaked gas out of the carb.  It ended up being the float bowl was stuck.  But I can't wait to see what u do to this project looks like its going to look sick when done. 

When i got my RM250 the PO said it wouldn't start.  Ended up being a spark plug. 

     


Its funn finding deals like that u find them cheap make them run and sell it for a profit.

[oldjapanesebikes]

This link is to a good Suzuki two stroke site:
http://www.motorcycleracer.net/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=2&sid=2c6a0c132a745e5ff1b209e706e74d1e

Another really good T/GT500 resource site is here and you can also find Service Bulletins here

Ian

[turboguzzi]

when you find them like that, making a vintage racer out of it makes lot of sense

sundialmotorsport are a great source if you want to go that way

TG

[zoo mob]

Seems like good info there, but I've been waiting for days to have my registration for the forums activated so I can post.