Kwack gt550 question

Ive just sort of inherited one of these
its 1989 vintage im assured it runs n rides fine
(its not arrived here yet )
i know the despatch boys love em to death as they go forever n ever
so
what are its weak points ?and whats the air pressure in the suspention
supposed to be ?
many thanks in advance
Dave

 

Not much, I think it's about 8psi, but someone who knows better will be
along shortly.

The rear shocks have a balance pipe which runs under the seat. They can
be worn through by the seat, it's a bit of a let-down when it happens.
My one dragged the clutch a bit when hot in traffic, but I found Mobil-1
cured that. The real problem was getting to neutral from 1st at a
standstill. Headlight always seemed too dim on a standard bulb. If yours
has the plastic badge on the tank, then rust can lurk behind originating
at the mounting points. The filler cap on the shaft at the back wheel is
the same part as a Z250C rocker box cap. The gear change linkage can go
sloppy, I don't know if they ever went to direct gear lever connection.

 

All utter bollocks. Well, the front suspension is lowish, but the rear
shocks take up to about 50psi IIRC (the 750 did, and that has the same
shocks). And you can use an airline if you''re very careful.

This is indeed true.

 

Aye, I think the rear is ~60psi, but the front is very low, only about
11 psi - I'd use a bicycle pump, and one of those pencil air gauges to
measure it. Remember to unload the front suspension when you're doing it.

One of my very first posts to ukrm:
http://groups.google.co.uk/groups?hl=en&lr=&c2coff=1&selm=

 

In message <>, Verdigris

I had forgotten that. Oh yes bleeding fiddly job too.

 

Yeah, I used a handpump for the front, but an airline was fine for the
back. You just used a careful finger on the airline trigger. But then
there's a huge difference between 50-odd psi and the nominal pressure in
the front.

 

It was somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the

It's the relatively tiny space available to pressurise in the
forks/shocks. One millisecond too long on the trigger and you've shot
off the scale (or blown a seal).

 

I think you're right.

I wouldn't use an airline on any Z/GPz/GT front forks - IME the
seals aren't that good.

Spot on, that was what I used for 18 months of z550 ownership and 13
years of GPz550 tenure.

 

Nor would I. I was referring to the rear shocks.