TOPIC:

I came home with a 1980 550 LTD from my friend's dad who was cleaning out the barn. He said it had to go, and I walked with the bike, a title, and my wallet was $1 lighter. I was able to get the valves to move with a little oil under the spark plugs, and with new plugs, a battery, it surprisingly fired right up. Acorns and bugs flew out of the thing and it was a bit of a smoke show, but after changing the fluids, bleeding the brakes, and running some seafoam through the gas and oil tanks, she settled right down to a nice idle with pretty smooth power up to 8k rpms. I had to chase some wires to get the brake lights working, but I think at this point it'll pass inspection. I'm off to the RMV to get her on the road, and take a longer ride. Starting a topic here to keep track of my work.

Does anyone know what the tool list is that came stock with these bikes? I really want to have a repair kit onboard because I'm sure my good luck so far won't last.

Also, when I was getting the brake lights to work, it seems to be at the cost of the brake lamp.

To start it was like this:
Press rear brake pedal - brake light on, brake lamp on
Press front brake lever - brake light off, brake lamp off

Now it's this:
Press rear brake pedal - brake light on, brake lamp off
Press front brake lever - brake light on, brake lamp off

I guess that's the next thing to debug as it seems to run fine for the time being.

Congrats on your find and getting it going. It's a great feeling isn't it?
How about a few pics?

Really nice find, congrats. A few things:
1) You sound like you are very handy, kudos, but I strongly recommend you get a factory service manual. Not a Clymers, Chiltons, whatever. Wiring diagrams, tools lists with the part numbers, all of it is in the factory manuals and you can likely pick one up off of eBay for $20 or less.
2) Get JIS screwdrivers as they are different than Phillips head, the latter will likely result in stripped heads.
3) Modern oils are really bad things for wet clutches. The typical economy choice is Rotella or other diesel engine oils. Position A is JASO rated motorcycle oil.
4) It would be a really good idea to bleed the brakes with fresh DOT 3 fluid. Many/most here would recommend disassembly of the master cylinders to get the goop out.

I'm no genius or father time. This is the standard pitch provided to all newbies to the older motorcycle world on these forums. Share some pics and again, congrats.

For the tool list try the diagrams at Partzilla. You might be able to find a tool kit with pouch on eebbaayy, but they can be kind of pricy. If there isn't one specific or inexpensive for your 550, try a tool kit from another model.

Brake light. loudhvx has manuals & wiring diagrams on his motorcycle stuff page.
I don't know what's wrong with the brake light & meter stop lamp, but the 550-C1 should have an outage indicator switch which is part of the brake light circuit. The outage switch on my 81 650-CSR functions to flash the stop lamp if the brake light bulb is burned out or if there's a problem with the brake light circuit. The owner's manual should describe it.
....

Be sure to adjust the valves. Most people neglect that bit of maintenance and then the engine gets damaged when all the clearance goes away and the valves hang open. loudvx has some critical information regarding the valve cover installation which MUST be followed when you get to that point.

Good luck

Thanks so much for all the pointers! There's a lot I don't know, my background is in cars...

AJS - thanks for pointing out the oil issue. It shouldn't hurt to change out the oil to what you recommend right? I'd love to learn more about a wet clutch, I've never really heard of that. I'll do some reading. Also, thanks for the tip on screwdrivers. I see a lot of near stripped screws, and I'd rather not have to replace them.

Martin - thanks for the direction to partzilla. I'll see what I can find. I don't need an OEM kit, happy to put together the tools I need to fix it and make a pouch or case that fits under the seat. Just want to make sure I have the right tools in there.
Regarding the brakes and lights - after riding for a few miles they seem to work intermittently, and sometimes I get the flashing brake lamp bulb but the brake light still works. I'm going to clean all the connections before I dive deeper into this puzzle, as most of the bullet connectors and wires on the bike are showing some mild to medium corrosion. Easier to start from a place where I know all the wires are working correctly.

Nessism - Valve adjustment huh? I know very little about motor internals, but I got this bike to learn with so I'm happy to take a swing at it. I'll read up on loud's valve cover information and see what I can find about fine tuning the valves. It sounds like there's a little tapping in the motor, maybe this could fix that?

Also, a picture for you guys. Thanks so much for all your input, it's really helpful.

A genuine factory service manual will be invaluable as you get the bike back to its prime.

Under the Articles tab above, (if you are on a phone or tablet, those tabs may be hiding under a light green rectangle with three white horizontal lines) you will find a link to service manuals. Near the bottom of the list is the 400, 500, 550 manual. It is in PDF format and is downloadable for free.

I was able to print and bind the factory service manual at work (we have some pretty nice equipment) and have been leafing through it. There's a ton of information to soak up, but you're right, it will be very valuable. Thanks for the tip.

Brake light update: I was able to get the brake lamp working again as it should. Turned out many of the connections behind the headlight were heavily corroded. A little sand paper to clean up the contacts and the light system works as intended. Nice!

Check the underside of your seat pan. That's where the OEM tool kit is stored. It may still be there.

DeoxIT is big help with corroded connectors. I understand what you did with the contacts to get the lights running. Kudos. Keep in mind there is a very delicate plating on most connectors. When you sand, you remove it and they are more susceptible to oxidation after removal of that layer.

www.amazon.com/s?k=deoxit&hvadid=2289379..._sl_9b0esdpjsu_e_p38

hardrock - unfortunately only the straps remain. The tool kit itself is gone. I was able to find a list of the tools it had, and have bought some to keep on the bike with me.

ajs - thanks for the note, I didn't realize the connectors were plated. I'm considering rebuilding the wiring harness, but I'll see what the engine internals look like this winter before I commit to a project like that. I'll keep an eye on them for more corrosion in the future.

That doesn't look too bad for $1. I think you did good.

There is a warning about the valve cover in my signature that you should read before removing/replacing the valve cover.

Also, if you follow the other link in my signature, you will find several more links to other downloadable manuals.
I suggest you save all of them on the computer. Sometimes you will have to check across a few sources to confirm things.

There is also a link to a website dedicated to your carbs. They are TK-22 carbs.

There are a couple things that may be incorrect in the various manuals related to your bike.
When it comes time to do your fork oil, the manuals may have the levels and/or volume wrong.
There are a few discussions about it on Kzrider so a google search might help when the time comes.
Also, the AC test voltages for the alternator output are swapped between 1-phase and 3-phase. My site in the links has a page with a bunch of alternator output details.
The clutch actuator adjustment instructions may be vague depending on what type of adjuster you have. My site has a link to a graphic with the correct procedure for the ball-ramp type of adjuster.