Well, not exactly new, but new to me  

'85 GS550E, 22k, first bike, needs a paint job and a few things, but otherwise good. I picked it up for $700 from a friend of a friend. Pretty good deal considering the mechanical condition. I think I'm going to sand down the paint and go with the unpainted sleeper look  .

Looks good for $700! Much better condition than my $650 GSF400!

Seriously though, loose that headlight and those bigarsed turn signals. Get a nice round headlight, and some decent signals, it'll look a hundred times better! Maybe put GSF500 equipment from the 90's on it?

Nice!  

im lookin at exact same bike in red for 200$,   needs carbs cleaned,2nd skips but thats an easy fix or just shift around it, tank petcock needs an O-ring, and needs tires from sitting.

Oh man, I love that old school paint job..........

Consider keeping the paint?

www.thegsresources.com or www.thegsresource.com

this forum/website specializes in the older GS models, like yours. Nice looking bike (esp for the money!)...

Hey I like that.  Whadda ya know?

I think the bike is old enough that you might consider duplicating the paint job that is on it.  It will certainly give more protection to the old metal (I'm assuming) tank, then sanding it off.  I think the bike will be more interesting as "original".  Heck, kawasaki has that retro looking 1200 out that looks almost identical to this bike...somebody must think it looks pretty cool.

I second the motion to keep the old school paint scheme.

Classic bikes like these are much more appricated (and appricate) better when they are as close to stock as possible.

Change the paint and it becomes just another old beater bike...

i agree, the old school paint looks cool + if you decide to sell it, you could sell it to a GS550 collector for much more if you leave the stock paint because they like bikes that are original...

welcome to the board

I like the old school paint job, too.

Laura

nice buy I like the paint and the front headlight and windscreen but do something with those signal lights I feel like they are waving at me.

Quote from: Puunjobbut do something with those signal lights I feel like they are waving at me.

have you seen our GS500 signals???  

damn that is a NICE bike!
i think i like it better than my '94!
it reminds me of a kawasaki gpz or a zrx
only things i would change are those black wings with the orange tips...what ARE those? haha
i might also get some different rearsets....those footpeg assemblies are huge!  they might grow on me though....
i cant believe i never bothered to look at a 550 before...

Thanks for all the comments guys. Pantablo, good links, I searched google for a while for a site like that with no results. I also forgot to mention that the bike's got a Fox rear shock installed.

As far as the paint goes, I might do a rattle can job temporarily since I have a friend who's pretty experienced with that. Also might just leave it how it is for now... I'll figure that out once I get this thing registered and insured (next week).

As soon as I get a little extra money together, I think I'll do get a full restoration of the original job, if for no other reason than to help the resale value. Though, with how well this bike runs, I don't know if I'll ever sell it. It'd be nice to have a more classic bike around if I decide to get an SV or 600R at the end of this summer.

As far as the turn signals go, I agree, they're monsterous. Does anybody know of a fender eliminator kit for an older GS?

Oh, and I uploaded couple more sunny profile pictures:

I do most of my riding on a bike like this.  A red one.  If you have a Fox Shock, the most glaring weakness has been addressed.  Pump 6-to-8 lbs of air in each fork leg and you're good to go.

For one year (83) this bike was the most advanced middleweight offered on these shores.  Then came the FJ600, VF500, and Ninja 600.  :guns:

Performance wise, the GS550 will match an EX500 in speed & acceleration.  Compared to a GStwin, the tires are skinny and the cockpit is fat.  At +40lbs, it handles and has the cc's to pull it.  It's a cheater 550 with 572cc's.

It deserves better than a rattle can treatment. :guns:  You'll regret it. Prep is a Buddha Loves You and you don't want to do it more than once.

yeah, the 18" rear and 16" front rims kinda suck, once i get mine, im thinking about trying to see if the 500 17" rims fit up with much hassel or not.  atleast 17" rear, could probly work around the 16' front.

First or Second Generation GSXR-750 wheels are probably a better bet. They have more modern sizes and look similar to the stock wheels.  You might even be able to swap out the entire front end...