Advice needed: '78 GS550

Hi all,
New to the forum, am looking at purchasing my first motorcycle. I want something to get around on and work on for fun. Been browsing craigslist and the old Suzuki's have caught my eye, as well as some of the Kawasaki's. Last night was the first time I ever even rode a motorcycle... a '78 GS550. Way more power than I need, at least at this point. I thought I was going to die. Felt in control just a little freaked out, I guess the fact that it was in the dark on a country road I was not familiar with did not help, and I'm not used to my helmet. I need advice on whether I should go for this bike or not.

This guy seemed to know what he was talking about. He's done some work to it, but is kind of a redneck so I'm not sure I trust his wrenching completely. Lowered it about 2", put "750 cams" in it (his words not mine, I know what a cam is but not what a 750 is compared to anything else). He revved it up real hard, farther than I would have pushed the engine, at least until I know what I'm doing. All of my experience with motors has been with diesel cars and trucks, this would actually be the first gasoline engine I've owned (they don't make many diesel motorcycles). Has an aftermarket air filter, and a butt ugly orange paint job. No turnsinals at all, did it have them from the factory? Needs new tires, 11k miles. Small amount of, small dent in the gas tank, looks like it fell over while parked or something. I would be repainting it this winter anyway. He swapped in a new battery in while I was there, before I drove it. It would run before he put the new battery in, but would die if it got below ~1500 rpm. It was dark, so I figure the headlight was taking all the power from the spark plugs, which would mean the stator should be good. I have heard bad things about the electrical systems on these things.

He wanted $900, I got him down to $750. I still haven't decided whether I should go for it or not. Hoping you all could give me some pointers. High or low? Should I run and not look back? I don't want to buy something he's already ragged out.

Thanks in advance. Oh, and if anyone could point me to a specific forum somewhere for the older Suzuki GS's that would be great.

GS550s have turn signals on pylons coming out of the headlight assembly. If they are missing, its a no-go.

a 750 cam would imply that he's stuck the cams from the larger 750cc engine on it (your has 550cc, hence a gs550), which I believe is bullshit. the cam is the little inlet valve on the top of the cylinder that lets air/fuel/exhust in/out of the piston chamber. upgraded cams can increase performance, but its not a guarantee placing cams on an engine is something that needs to be carefully considered, as larger cams could do more harm than good.

good condition its worth $485, I wouldn't pay a dime over 200 for it.

Bottom line, go find yourself another GS550 or something similar, I know honda, and kawasaki make similar shit durring the same time peroid. I'd keep looking...

Can you get some pics??

edit: I got a 1981 GS550, they are great bikes though.

I agree with GI Jack...walk away. I recently bought a '83 GS850 L for $900, and it's in great shape. It does need some carb work done, but it looks great and has not been tampered with. I'm sure that if you look around, you'll find another suitable bike in your price range.

ironically enough, one of my biker buddies out here
thinks I'd do well on his old 550...
how good are they as a beginner bike? It's a 4 cyl, right?
or are they really tame? His is beat to heck too...
weird. He got it for $50 and fixed it up...not a bad deal.

if anyone is wanting a good deal on a 78 GS550 i have one for 1000 just bought 2 brand new tires for it everything works great, only thing wrong is its missing a side cover, josht57@hotmail.com