I had one of these way back. When the original silencers eventually rotted through I replaced them with a set of J&R expansion chambers (three into three) Once I'd dialled in the re-jetting it transformed the bike into an absolute missile. Tremendous fun! Very fond memories of that machine.
Hey could you reach out to me if possible. My father has the GT550A and as you said "When the original silencers eventually rotted through", we are having issues finding parts. I would love to chat about your replacements if that's ok.
@@Oscardin2 Not an awful lot more to add I'm afraid. The pipes were definitely "J&R" expansion chambers, 3 into 3. At that time they were rated very highly I recall. The main jets needed to go up by two to three sizes(?) Once you got the right ones fitted - you knew! That part was v much trial & error. With the correct size the bike pulled like a missile from around 3,500 rpm up. Absolutely transformed it! Good luck 👍😁 (Just to add, we're talking some ~30 years ago here. Not something I've recently done!)
Moin aus Hamburg ! Ich besitze auch eine GT 750 ( WASSERBÜFFEL ) Bj 77 Die ganzen Zweitakter auch von Kawasaki sowas kommt nie wieder Allein diese Geschmeidigen Formen traumhaft ich war am überlegen ob ich sie verkaufen soll ,bin auch nicht mehr der jüngste 66 Jahre Ich werde sie behalten ! Schön zu sehen das es Menschen gibt gibt die Diese schönen Motorräder erhalten ! Greetings from Germany Hamburg !
Suzuki should be very proud of how their fathers built these. They were extremely well made. Wonderful street bikes. Today, we have many excellent synthetic two stroke oils that burn very clean. We didn't have those back then, but we had some excellent two stroke Bel Rey oil that for a standard oil burned really clean. Pennzoil makes an excellent modern synthetic two stroke oil today. Great motorcycles. Wonderful to see them in the hands of riders who will take care of them for a long time to come.
You're so right! I took my Suzuki Titan 500 to a BSA dealership for its first tune up and the mechanic was very impressed with the build quality of my Titan. It was a great bike, sorry I sold it.
I’ve had all the Suzuki triples, two of each! 380A & B (the B since 1978, my pride & joy). 550A parts bike & 550B (naughty step bike that ate my wallet, eventually sold after two engine rebuilds, by which time it was brilliant but I’d fallen out of love with it). 750A (since 2009, another pride & joy), B was a wonkey bad others rebuild which I sold on. All good clean fun.
I purchased a 1974 green one in 1977. Loved it, fitted piper 3 into 1 expansion chamber, rebored/pistons, just a fantastic bike, 2 stroke three cylinder heaven,
A nice pair if bikes. The GT550 never seemed to be a common bike back in the 70’s, don’t remember seeing to many on the roads. The GT750, along with the CB750, seemed huge at the time.
I got a used GT550 for £850 in 1978. Went from Denmark to Monaco with my girlfriend as passenger. We had to adjust the carburetors in France. A friend of mine had the "Water buffalo" GT750. Later I spoke to someone who had the GT380.
I love these classic bikes. In the 1970s I had a Honda CB550 Four but my riding buddy had a Suzuki GT 380. In early 80s I had a GT 500 Titan. I got another Titan in the early 2000s.
God bless you guys for keeping these great machines running and in tip top shape. And actually RIDING them. A lot of us out here are so jealous. Keep it up guys and safe riding! 😂
Awesome video. I bought one of these to turn into a cafe racer with my dad as a father-son project and we're nearing completion. The bike was built almost 10 years before I was born. We could have restored it to standard spec, but decided to do a one-off custom build, as the donor bike wasn't in fantastic condition. Love seeing these bikes restored to their former, oem glory though.
great video guys I love the bikes. I had the Gt 250 when i was a young lad I never got round to getting anything bigger but would have loved the 750 kettle what a bike. anyway good luck to all.
Very nice looking bike!! So clean. Lucky man. I had a GT550 when I was in High School. Loved that bike. So much fun. Two strokes are my favorite. The 550 would pull the front wheel off the ground in first gear when it hit the power band. Plus the sound was lovely. Had the cops called on me once because I was accelerating too fast in the neighborhood, can't help it, sounded so good!!.
This took me right back to the time I started riding bikes in 1976. We lived in a small village in North Yorkshire, Sherburn in Elmet, there was a biker cafe there called Squires, also known as the milk bar. Still there actually, but it moved down the road due to the locals complaining about the noise at the weekends, it wasn't unusual for a couple of hundred bikes to gather there, even today it's the same. Anyway, Suzuki and Kawasaki trlples were extremely popular at the time, with Yams not far behind. So hearing these two was like going back in time. Personally I preferred 4 strokes so was always ribbing 2 stroke owners by calling them stinkwheels, all in jest of course. I test rode a selection of strokers courtesy of mates, of them all, my favourite was the Kawasaki KH500, didn't even get close to my '69 Bonny for handling though and they were real petrol guzzlers! Pretty soon though, the 4 strokes started to dominate, Honda of course, Z900, GS750 and 1000, Z650, etc, etc. Happy days, a golden era.
Oh happy days I had a Rd 200 about 4 different RD 250 starting with a round tank and then two GT 500 ,S 1st one had drum brakes and then 1 with a front disc brake then a GT250 A and final two stroke was a GT 550 which I loved until my brother wrote it off for me and then I moved onto four strokes 1st being a Honda 550 f1 this brought back happy memories 👍
@@robertwells3500 The peasant kids at high school owned a 380 or a 550 but we all laughed at them because they weren't Kwaka 500 or 750 triples. How times have changed.
I owned one of these and rode it for many years. He says it is reliable... As long as you set the points and timing ever 3,000 miles they were great. Later I bought one of the early models with 3 separate throttle cables, what a PITA to keep 3 carbs, 3 sets of points in sync and timing spot on. Had a riding buddy that had a 72 CB 750 and I could take him in a drag race.
Two strokers are so outdated. They stink, they drink and they are noisy. No wonder there are no new ones to by since decades - apart from micro engines like 125 or smaller. Good that I never sold any of my bikes (several GT 500, GT 750 and a TS 250). Even though I am riding VMax (both 1200 and 1700) meanwhile, these old 2strokers had more torque at lower revs that the 4 strokers of these years. Amazing. Suzuki's GT series to me are the most simple but beautiful bikes ever. Esp the GT 500 - a bike can't be more classic than that one. I never liked the ram air cylinder covers. But the bikes in this clip are both in fantastic conditions. Chapeau, well done.
Lovely bike, I personally don't understand some people's obsession with originality. Thankfully it doesn't extend to tyres and rear shocks. It's nice to have an original museum pieces but it's even nicer to ride a classic with sensitive upgrades that increase the pleasure.
I had one in black and gold. I'll be honest, it wasn't one of my favourite bikes - I always thought the front end felt too heavy. But I wish I'd kept it all the same. I sold it to get a 350LC Yam.
I have the road riders on a cx500. Haven’t noticed any cracking so far & they have been on a couple of years or so. Will bear it in mind though, just in case.
I miss my 2-stroke riding days. What a shame they’ve been mostly banished from the roads, due to the tree-hugging, lentil-eating yogurt-knitters and Eco-Loons.
I have had the chance to ride both bikes, but the GT750 is a lot heavier than the GT550 and although I could lift the 550 onto its centre stand, I was unable to lift the 750. Maybe it was just down to knack, but I found the grab rail was too far back to lift it up and backwards. Maybe being a 10 stone weakling didn't help.
Wow. I could have sworn from memory the GT 550 was also water cooled. My mate had one while I had a Kawasaki Z650, and his was water cooled, but it must have been a 750.
Gt380 and 550s were air cooled triples, whilst the only water cooled model was the GT750, known as the kettle, for obvious reasons. I feel so lucky to have lived my youth in the 70's.
I'm looking for the instrument light bulbs it's a Toshiba A 12 2 Amp seems they are discontinued any advice? Thank you in advance Terry. 1973 GT 750 Kettle.
Like I was saying in the video very similar speed wise I think, just the engine revs would be lower on my 750 at any speed, and of course mine would have a more torquey motor 🙂
Hi enjoyed the video. Could you ask Phil if he would be interested in buying a mint fuel tank and side panels off a gt 550 a in black , Kind regards Dave
👍🏻 Great. I have tried to add my email but RU-vid will delete any comment where I have added the full email address. Any other ideas of how you can get into contact with me?
@@davidwilliams68 Oh really, yeah I guess they don't want email addresses all over the comments. Are you on Facebook? If so just look up Phil Green, he's in charge of the VJMC Chilterns section (he's actually the section coordinator) you will see a link to my video when you're on the right page.
Id take those pipes off, store them away with some WD-40 and covers to keep safe if you want to ride that a bit. Original pipes are SO hard to come by. Put a three into one on for now.
I'm reaching out here, and any advice would be welcome. My Suzuki GT550 , twin leading front drum brake model, owned since 1978, last ridden in 1984, 15,000 original miles, is a total non runner, obviously. I'm hankering to put it back on the road, retirement imminent. Not nuts and bolts resto, just running. Where would I go to get my baby up and running after all this time, at some reasonable " ish" cost, I realise it won't be cheap. If it took a year or more that'll not be a problem. Could anyone suggest somewhere, hopefully in the South of England, and if not that, Nationally, for a proper job. Thank you.
Sorry, I don’t know of anyone, I do everything myself so I never call on anyone when I restore my bikes. I would suggest to buy a workshop manual and have a go yourself. Good luck
@@mcmechanic864 Thank you for your prompt reply. I was always a Suzuki two stroke nut, from 125 Stinger, 250 Hustler, TS 250 Trail, Gt 500 and now my stored 550. From going to Brands Hatch in the 70's for the Uk / USA Trans Atlantic meets, I'll always be a Suzuki stroker lover. Keep up your amazing work and videos, I've only just latched onto them.
Very thirsty and a small tank. Mine did just 85 mies before hitting reserve. The original shocks are terrible. Only a single disc on the front, mine had twin discs. Paid £90 for it in 1986 [10 years old]
