GS550 M Katana - Seat

[minx0071]

Hello All,

I am trying to find a GS550 M seat....been struggling a bit so far.....mine is rotten on the edges, so could possibly weld but it might be too bad.
Does anyone have one for sale ? Or, does the 650 seat fit the 550 ?
Also, I am after a front master cyl....ebay etc quite expensive and don't actually have the correct ones....apart from USA !

Thank you.

BR
Mark

[fossie]

The 650 seat won't fit the 550.
Does the master cyl have to be the correct one? Any replacement will be nearly 40 years old so pretty gash. The original res just sat on the actuator part with a flimsy seal in between.
A more modern item will fit .
Alternatively get a replacement seal kit for your old one.

eBay Germany is the best bet at the mo for a 550 seat.

[minx0071]

Many thanks for the reply, greatly appreciated.
I nearly bought a seat from Germany a couple of months back...but missed out last minute...I will persist.
Master cylinder plunger is seized so need a new one for sure....after one month soaking in marine penetrating oil, still seized...will only machine out unfortunately ! I just wanted to keep the bike totally stock, but anyway, I will find another.
Thanks again.

[craik]

I have a seat I bought off Ebay a while back for my Suzuki GZ 650 Katana on the chance it might fit, but in the end, it didn't.
It was described as a "SUZUKI GS550M GS550 GS-550-M KATANA GS650M CUSTOM SEAT HANG 2 COVER CAFE".
It might fit your bike. Maybe Fossie knows if it's the same size or what bike it's from?
Here's a couple of pics:
https://ibb.co/doEB6a
https://ibb.co/c8CsCF

[fossie]

Interesting , but I think it will only fit the machine it was chopped for.
However the rear part of the old seat could be welded to the front part of this one if the front part is less rusty.

[katscott]

I used a gsx400f master cylinder on my 650 Kat( as I managed to knacker my original ) with a new seal kit. I checked via original part numbers and the 650 was the same as 1100et and the 400f same as the gsx750et. If memory serves me correctly. I wasn't happy with the inflated prices for the 650 master cylinder on ebay either. The 400 one was much cheaper.
That is the 1980's 400f

[minx0071]

Many thanks for the help everyone, greatly appreciated.
Craik, is it possible you could please photograph the rest of the back of the seat....with maybe a tape measure running along the side to give me a rough idea ? I think Fossie is correct but just to be sure ! I am planning on weld repairing my old seat....so I think the cheaper option favourable....
Also thanks for the master cyl info.

[fossie]

There is a seat on eBay for a 650G in all black...... Now the 650 seat won't fit the 550 EXCEPT the 650 jap market one. This seat looks like it has an original black one which was only on the last model 650s in Japan .......or unfortunately Europe . May be a message to seller asking him to measure it.?
It is on for £60 or offer.

[minx0071]

Very interesting....I have asked the question.
Many thanks Fossie for sharing your knowledge....I will confirm outcome.

[craik]

@minx0071
There are some more photos of the seat here in a zip file:
http://s000.tinyupload.com/index.php?fi ... 4429928988
DSC00870_resize.jpg includes a tape measure.