THERES A HOLE IN MY ENGINE!!!

Hey guys now that Clives got this new site i can show this thing that has been buggin me for a long time. Theres a hole in my engine right next to where the tachometer cable enters the engine cover. I would like to know if anyone elses 550 has this hole and what I should do about it if its not supposed to be there. It does leak some fluid although Its not much it does drain down on the engine and the bike. Ive considered plugging it with a rubber stopper or something like that, but I wanted to see what other bikes are like before I make a move.



Sorry the next ones a little blurry.



So. . . what do we think?

I'll have a look at mine tomorrow matey and lat ya know....

Yep, no cause for concern, I too have a hole just like yours.
No idea wot its for though.

Taken from another forum:

Thanks. . . A LOT!!!! thats been worrying me for a while now. But does yours leak a lot? mine leaks out what looks like gear oil. does yours do this too?

P.S. how did you draw on the pic and add text like that. Thats a useful trick.

I diddnt do the piccy Kyle I just pulled it off another forum. Mine doesnt have that hole as its a 380.

Just a guess. Might be worth just checking the tightness of the casing bolts incase the oil is leaking past the gasket or draining the oil and pulling the cover for a quick check that the gasket is good. I'm very new to Suzuki triples so maybe Clive or someone could give you a better suggestion.

Thanks Rit. You may be new to suzukis, but im pretty new to restoring bikes. (this being my first). I beleive that either the gasket is bad or the seal is just not tight enough. The bolts are on tight, so I think I'll have to take the casing off. Too bad I wont be able to get to it till April. My local classic bike show is next weekend and I just don't have the time to fix it. especially if I have to find or order a new gasket.

By the way, this is a general question. . . We have all thes new members, but they don't post anything. Whats the deal? C'mon folks At least put a pic of your bike up.

Go win your prize mate then sort it

The 380 is only my second resto. First was the KH on my site (sorry for swearing) I just love 2-strokes. A RGV would be great sometime before I get too old. 60 hp for a 250 is nuts!

Perhaps Clive is on his holiday from the cash he saved with this cool FREE forum is maybe why we have not heard from him I'm just happy to be here early to see it grow.

Well whatever the case is, This forum is a lot easier to navigate than the other.

And don't worry about speaking about the other bikes. . . I myself own a GS650 BMW.
Ha Ha. I guess we can't settle on just one bike. Even if it is bad ass. Clive has another bike too.

Yeah I read he had a hmm hmm Honda

Actually I will have a Honda one day to complete my jap set. I would be very happy for someone to donate a 250NSR hehe.

....actually I have more than the one....

I have the Honda 1983 CB1100F (Super Bol D'Or) going back on the road withing the month, 2 * X5's in pieces - not sure what to do with them yet, and an Yam XJ650 Turbo - not pretty, so I think I shall be scrapping that to fund my restos....

When it comes to sportsbikes, I'm a Kawasaki man - green blood and all that - I had a ZXR750H2 (hoover pipe jobbie) then a ZX7R - that was the one I crashed and broke my back on - so I'm a bit restricted now - it has to be COMFY, lol....

But, damn, I miss the 7R....

Speaking of Kawi's, I found a guy in California that has 5 H1's for sale!

Go for the resto's Clivey, did that Ninja ever get fixed or is it still in the shed tormenting you. Picked up another 550 over the weekend, I think its a bit of every model, looks worse than the one I posted on you site late last year ------ hope the missus doesn't find out. But she's sneaky and will look in the shed soon to do a roll call.

It's wonderful to see so many more like me on here. Besides my J and K GT550's I own a '75 xl250 honda, a '77 175sl hodaka, a '76 ironhead sportster and a '04 road king. I think people like us, that love the GT550, are inclined to appreciate all sorts of two-wheeled transportation.
Keep up the good work, everyone. I can't wait to see what problem our collective knowledge solves next!
Tim

Macca wrote:Go for the resto's Clivey, did that Ninja ever get fixed or is it still in the shed tormenting you. Picked up another 550 over the weekend, I think its a bit of every model, looks worse than the one I posted on you site late last year ------ hope the missus doesn't find out. But she's sneaky and will look in the shed soon to do a roll call.

The 7R was crushed while I was still in Hospital - the frame was bent - I don't know if you can see - by the crash bung - but think of it this way - if I didn't have the bungs that would've been my knee that got mashed! Very lucky - same as the fact I had back protection....

If it wasn't for either I'd be RFU!

I've got shot of the X5s and XJ now - just concentrating on the GT and the CB - spokes coming for the GT soon - that'll be fun to do, having never rebuilt a wheel before!

Clivey, I recommend you take a picture of both sides of the wheel before you disassemble it. When relacing one, it seems every way you cross the spokes looks like it should be right. Without a picture to reference it's a real pain. Also, the easiest way I've found is to lace all the spokesinto the hub, cross them and arrange them all as they will fit into the rim. Then gently work the rim onto the spokes without disturbing the indexing. (I zip-tied each crossed pair together) It took me a full weekend to figure out one wheel, but once the light bulb goes off it's pretty simple. I did three whole wheels the following weekend.
Good luck, Brother.

Nice one, thanks for the advice - I'll do that.

Is it hard to true them up - do they need much...?

Clivey, It's not terribly hard to true them. First, make sure your offset is correct then get the rim concentric with the axle. Don't worry about wobbles until it is concentric! The last thing you do is correct any localized wobbling by tightening the spokes on the opposite side. I don't use a truing stand just the forks and a straight edge against the rim.
Good luck. If you run into any issues, drop me a line.
Tim