© Joe Douglas. 2016

Scooters, Bikes & Trikes

Scooters, Bikes & Trikes

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The GS550 was a four cylinder four stroke  with a six speed gearbox and was much loved by couriers who reported bikes with over 100,000 miles on the clock with no significant problems.

I moved on to it from a 250cc single, a significant increase in size, power and speed and sophistication. It was a very nice ride with one feature I thought was useful, self-cancelling indicators. I’ve never had them on anything since and have always fitted a bleeper to remind me to cancel.

It developed an very strong, engine resonance at exactly 5000 rpm. 200 rpm either side and it was not noticeable. Unfortunately 5000 rpm was 60mph in top gear. Fixing the problem would require a complete engine strip so I avoided steady running at 5000rpm  for a few months before trading it in.

Kawasaki GS550