engine no.

[mickthecrane]

hi all. can anybody identify this engine no. please. a suzuki gs 1983, engine no. is gs5550146386. the no. is different from the v5 and and i got a feeling its a 1981 motor, are the gasket kits the same for all 550models?. also does anyone know of a site that is used for i.d purposes, would make life easier! many thanks, mick.

[Shifty]

Might be worth trying the Suzuki Owners Club and www.oldskoolsuzuki.info

[pagan_flame]

Hmm... the GS550 only ran until 1982, but the L ran 'til 87 and the Coathanger (Katana) 'til '83... and the Engine No should begin with GS550-

So we're maybe looking at GS550146386? That would put it in the zone for an 1981 4-valve.

This website should help:

http://www.suzukicycles.org/All-Suzuki/all_suzuki_models.html

(or info straight in here --> http://www.suzukicycles.org/_misc/identification.shtml )

... if you can find a Haynes manual for the year, that should have the engine numbers for the model runs at the front...

... or take the Engine No. to someone who supplies parts for it, they should be able to ID the engine year from their spares reference software etc.

[mickthecrane]

engine no is gs550146386. many thanks as yes it looks like a 1981 4 valve now. i believe most 550s are quite similar in respect of most parts so at least i know what year to look for now. the v5 says its an 83 but obviously the details have not been changed engine wise, its a kickstart too!. hopefully this budget project will be on the road before summer, many thanks again, mick.

[johnr]

if its a 4 valve motor, its a gsx550 not a gs550. completely different engine, and so completely different gaskets.

[mickthecrane]

confused now. cud you tell me if the 4 valve engine looks like the 550, 650, 750,etc cos now im confused. engine no is as stated earlier. a gsx you say, funny cos the engine looks identical like the 650 i have also. sorry to be a pain but local dealers engine no. i.d. does not go back that far!. many thanks mick.

[mick2]

yes looks the same, round cam covers on sides of head?
the gsx's had rectangular caps then none at all on th ef models

[mickthecrane]

yeh mate, round caps on side of engines. i have 2 550 engines, one kick start, and one 650 chop and they look identical. i have bin on web today 4 quite a while and the gs motors i have do not look like gsx ones. cannot get into susuki website to post message as i am sure they wud tell me year. got the rooling chassis one the go and just waiting for i.d from engine no now to do a bit more work on it before it goes in the frame. hoping to have it on the road b4 the summer. i know the frame is a cut down 83 year but engine no. gs550146386 does not ring any bells at mo. many thanks for your help , i am sure i will i.d it soon!

[mick2]

if its round cam caps then deffo a 4 valve m8.

[mickthecrane]

here is a new pic of latest build.....

[mick2]

hi thats a gs yeah and its 2valve, i was confusing myself lol:o
gs=2 valve
gsx=4 valve

[johnr]

if its round caps, its a 2 valve gs motor, if its rectangular endcaps its a 4 valve gsx motor. there is confusion because of the fecking americans. amazingly, when they were introduced in the mid 1980s, the gsx motors werent called gsx in the united states, cos they yank importers thought that gsx sounded too much like sex, and they didnt want to upset the god fearing righteous folks of downtown hicksville. so when we got the gs550, gs750 and gs1100, and they were replaced with the gsx550 the gsx750 and the gsx1100, the merkis just got the gs550 , gs750 and the gs1150. and confusion has reigned ever since, moreso since the www has made the world smaller!!.

but that is definately a gs550 motor. the question is, has it slide carbs or cv carbs? cos the heads for each are different due to the different inlet port sizes!!

[mickthecrane]

yes , slide carbs they are, vm22ss models. have located the manual and they are definately the carbs i got.
so thats it then, i have a four cylinder, 2valve, gs 550 suzuki for my ongoing project.
scuse me for being ignorant but spent most of my time on 750/4s, cant you tell!.
many thanks for all your input guys and as soon as i get it up and running i will post pics, thanks, mick.

[johnr]

fabulous motor. make sure you are totally anal with the ignition timing if its on points, as they have a habit of melting the middle two pistons if the timing is set wrong, remember to set both sets of points!! dont worry if its got a tappy tappy noise from the head, it will be cam end float. quite common on gs motors, and doesnt seem to stop them running to silly high mileages. keep the oil level right, if it gets too low the alternator can burn out. bn the suzuki reg rec if it still has it. otherwise, a vice free simple and very reliable and frugal(mine did over 60mpg on a regular basis) motor

[mickthecrane]

yeh cheers, like i said i hope to put this on the road for the summer, pics will follow. have three engines lying about and this one and the other gs550 motor bin lying around for two years in my son in laws shed. both were heard working in good order when we bought them and it just happens this one in the pic is the tidier looking of the two!.
had a 750/4 for nearly 5 years and loved it, sold it , miss it, and now this will take its place, hopefully........................
also got a gs450 twin thats very tidy, dont know nothing about that at all , but its very tidy and recently bin painted and polished on the engine covers etc, looking for bout 100 quid for that.
many thanks for info and drive safe, mick.

[mickthecrane]

forgot to mention, also my son in law has this lovely gs650 up for sale soon. not quite finished yet but run like a dream!

[minxy]

Dust em off and fire em up, Mick. I sold a GS550 motor that had been sat for 8 years and it fired first start - a follow up oil change meant the motor's still runnin sweet 8 years on.

I had both the GS and GSX 550 as 'starter bikes' and apart from some frame dissolving issues on the GSX, I cant recommend them highly enough. Enjoy.

[Grav]

Keep up with the maintenance and it will run forever. I have seen examples of the GS550 do well over 150,000 miles and still run strong. As they were a very popular bike cos of their bullet proof reputation, there's plenty of spares in the breakers, on ebay or tucked away under someone's bench...... :)

[mickthecrane]

cheers lads, a project that will last, heaven! a soon as its on the road or finished i will post a pic or two. thanks for all your input and i dear say i will have a few more hiccups yet! cheers ,mick.

[johnr]

plenty of folk over on www.oldskoolsuzuki.info who can help with any probs you have with it.