I had one from new in the late 70’s - I really liked it - great to see one running again. moved on to a Moto Guzzi Californian 1000 after, but I have fond memories of the GT550
Ì loved my GT550a, loved the chrome & (polished) alloy look....but man oh man did it drink heavily, on a serious thrash it once returned 17 mpg (imperial gallons). But it was so.much fun.
Good work! Never owned one (had a GT250 back in the day) but rode a couple of friends' GT550s, fun bikes as I recall. While they're torquey motors for sure I suspect the ancient, hardened rubber has a lot to do with your bike's burn-out ability.
Had various japanese bikes in the seventies and eighties varying from Honda CB250 to suzuki GT 750 and not one of them would start easily on the electric start.
Thanks for the comment! Unfortunately, you can't just ditch the oil Injection on this bike because the crankshaft bearings are sealed off from the combustion chamber and can only be lubricated through the injection ports. I have checked the oil Injection Pump and it works fine as it should, they are actually very reliable on the gt550's.
you can test it by disconnecting all the feed wires and then running it on a premix for a while and see the rate of the oil coming out of the lube tubes, I did that with my old 380. The oil pumps are pretty reliable
Yeah, don't ditch the oil injection system. That engine will seize up pretty fast without it, also you should put straight gas stop running the premix because it will run lean, the more oil you run the leaner the mixture gets, obviously make sure the oil injection system is fully functional before doing so.
I can handle the mechanical side of things but, electrical gremlins are the worst! Good job.
@@leewaken5059 Yes they are. Thanks!
Greetings from Thailand, watching your video takes me back to 1976 when I was 17 and owned a Suzuki GT380
Starter itself would be first on my checklist. Good catch on the ground strap.
Love the vid. I'm in my early seventies. I remember purchasing my brand new GT550K model triple back in December 1973. Loved that bike.
Bikes of that era are SO simple...I wish they still made 'em like that today.
I had one from new in the late 70’s - I really liked it - great to see one running again.
moved on to a Moto Guzzi Californian 1000 after, but I have fond memories of the GT550
Nice Mason, I really love how Nice that bike has turned out
electrical systems are the worst, but great to see you got it all sorted, that thing's a beast!
Always fun watching your videos mate !!
That bike is cool! I’ve detoured through your town coming back from Bedford when 70 was backed up.
Ì loved my GT550a, loved the chrome & (polished) alloy look....but man oh man did it drink heavily, on a serious thrash it once returned 17 mpg (imperial gallons).
But it was so.much fun.
Yep! My GT750 is even thirstier, but so much fun!
Good work! Never owned one (had a GT250 back in the day) but rode a couple of friends' GT550s, fun bikes as I recall. While they're torquey motors for sure I suspect the ancient, hardened rubber has a lot to do with your bike's burn-out ability.
Mate never let your brain out of gear, you may pay the ultimate price
Had various japanese bikes in the seventies and eighties varying from Honda CB250 to suzuki GT 750 and not one of them would start easily on the electric start.
That isn't an electric start like on more modern bikes. It is really meant to re-start a bike once warm. You may just be over-taxing it.
Watch the speeding though the streets. Random stuff happens ok. Side streets / people stepping out. Don't be part of some incident !
Awesome bike mate. But make sure that oil injection works. If I were you I would ditch the oil injection all together and just run mixed gas.
Thanks for the comment! Unfortunately, you can't just ditch the oil Injection on this bike because the crankshaft bearings are sealed off from the combustion chamber and can only be lubricated through the injection ports. I have checked the oil Injection Pump and it works fine as it should, they are actually very reliable on the gt550's.
you can test it by disconnecting all the feed wires and then running it on a premix for a while and see the rate of the oil coming out of the lube tubes, I did that with my old 380. The oil pumps are pretty reliable
Yeah, don't ditch the oil injection system. That engine will seize up pretty fast without it, also you should put straight gas stop running the premix because it will run lean, the more oil you run the leaner the mixture gets, obviously make sure the oil injection system is fully functional before doing so.
What is the red light on the dash?
Starter is dragging