Suzuki GT750 TWO STROKE !!! Tune UP and RiDe WATER BUFFALO waterbuffalo kettle 

I had a ‘73 in red I rebuilt and cruised from UK down to South of France and back, never missed a beat. Very comfortable and very fast. As others have said, tachometer over reading a huge amount. Also you mentioned having to pull hard on brakes- something wrong if so as even fully laden with top box, panniers and tank bag I could use 2 fingers on the front brakes and those big discs would make the front tyre howl…..I do miss that bike!

As far as the power range goes on a proper tune, the GT was tuned for good mid range power. It could deal with traffic all day long in the city and then the 1975 and newer bikes were retuned to add 5 more HP on top as a result of the Kawasaki Z1’s acceleration. So to remain competitive the GT was given a boost on top but the midrange was still very good. With a set of proper expansion chambers, a slight port and polish job and proper tune, the GT turned into a wolf and Z1 sleeper killer. They would go from a high 12 second 1/4 mile bike to an 11 second 1/4 miler. It was really easy to make the GT go fast. The exhaust pipe change out dropped over 30 lbs in weight, bringing the bikes weight to under 500 lbs dry. After the basic mods, the CB750 bikes were toast and stock Z1s wear just a challenge. Making a 2 stroke go fast was a much simpler project than any 4 stroke bike.

Listening to a well tuned two stroke start brings the hairs up on the back of my neck like nothing else.

Message from England Usually get bored of the road test but your commentary and chat was great and kept things really interesting Ive Just bought a mint restored “kettle” (we dont have Buffalo’s here lol) Legendary machine here

You mentioned twice you can't ride the Yamaha RDs cross country. Well, not exactly RDs, but my buddies and I rode Yamaha R5's from Nebraska to California and back without problems back in 73. I'd say that's far enough to qualify. Great bikes. Also, I'm helping restore a GT750 for a friend right now. It's going to be a beauty!

THIS LOOKS TO BE A 1974 IF THE EXHAUST IS ORIGINAL. The lack of a radiator fan leads me to believe it is a 1975 but owner could have removed it in any case. One of the most important adjustments you can make on these bikes is the oil pump adjustment inside the oil pump actuator housing. There is an alignment mark that you need to make sure is properly set so you inject the correct amount of mixture into the cylinders. These bikes are just a really nice cruiser that has good power to handle traffic, passing and ramps. The engine is fairly smooth and non intrusive. The front brakes are very powerful for this time period, if they have been properly maintained. A bike of-this vintage should have had the calipers rebuilt with new seals as well as the master cylinder. Those seals would be hardened by now and lead to stiff or reluctant brakes. I rode mine from San Diego to CT. In 1976 at age 19 and the bike was flawless during the ride. Equipped with a Windjammer clone fairing, an EZBerg seat, an adjustable back rest for my back and that was it. 3,000 miles and 6 days is all it took back then. A stop over in Pittsburgh to visit the family is why it took 6 days. A year later i traded the GT for a new Gold Wing and that was a mistake. The GT was a better all around bike than the Gold Wing and more fun to ride. The Gold Wing was just too one dimensional a bike for me and it was gone in 6 months for an R90/6 BMW, but that is another story. I was sorry i sold the Water Buffalo GT. She was truely an iconic great bike. I still miss her today.

I did own a Suzuki GT750 the same year as.this one you rode and also the same colour and l fond memories of riding from Sydney to Adelaide across the hay planes cruising on 160kph approx 100mph for kilometre after kilometre

Something I never expected to hear " 2 stroke cruiser"! Love the episode! Thanks man.

Over the years I had the smaller Aircooled GT380 Trippple and GT500 Titan twin..both excellent bikes for cruising with good gas and oil consumption if you didn't race it..Yes they are heavy and not too powerful BUT these 2 strokes where built to last..Can't say that about other 2 strokes I've had.

I took the baffles out my dad's bike. He was pissed until he figured out that they needed replaced and were super easy too put back in. Last time I ever went 100mph plus as a passenger on a bike that had Dunlop nylon tires. The nylon was hanging out is the only reason i know they weren't steel belted. Never had any problem with the oil injection and only replaced plugs and kept the chain lubed. Awrsome bike! New supra powered by bmw

Had one. Really liked it.. Windjammer and bags.. Went from KC to DC north to Niagra Falls through Canada to Detroit back to KC. Never a problem..

The Kawi triples require experienced riders, lots of extra parts and knowledge of how to fix everything. If not you will not be riding for long. They are dangerous but are good to burn out and the 750 can haul 3rd gear wheelies if you have the ability .

One thing I’m gonna pull you on buddy and no offence made or intended. Number one. That baby ain’t anywhere near as heavy as a GoldWing other than that another great vid as always. And yes you’re correct in that at tacho needs help. Lol. Steve UK

Mine was a ‘72 Purple Waterpumper with a dealer installed Bates fairing. Wonderful bike with lots of 70’s chrome and a nearly indestructible engine, twin leading shoe front brakes and single leading shoe rear. I fitted Bettor rear shocks with the hope of curing the willowy handling on this heavy, under-sprung, under-framed big bore (for the time) bike. They didn’t. Suzuki intended this bike to compete with the stunning, class leading Honda 750 four NOT the widow maker air cooled Kaw 750 triple. On the highway the GT750 LeMans was sublime and unrivaled semi tourer for the day.

Had my GT750 now for 41 years, toured Europe on it in the 80s and will never part with it.

Nice touring cruising machine 😊

Beautiful bike, it sounds amazing! Nice job man.

Maybe my memory is a little fuzzy but this bike weighed maybe 540 pounds heavy but not Goldwing heavy right? The Suzuki triples 750, 550 or 380 were never meant to compete performance wise with Kawasaki triples as I remember. The GT 750 was more a competitor of the Honda 750 at least in my group back in the early 1970s. As a boy racer only the Kawasakis would do maybe a Suzuki GT 750 when we got old....say 28 years old.😄😄 Back in the 1980s I did some good running GT 750s with chambers at the drag strip ocassionally. I really enjoy you working on some the 1970 bikes...good memories. 👍

So you can't ride an RD across the country? I bought a 1977 RD 400 new and used it as a cross country and round town bike. By the year 2000 I had put 87000. miles on it. The only time it broke down on the road was when the clutch cable hanger gave way but I was able to repair with nail on the side of the freeway. Several times I traveled 1300 miles in 24 hours. I have gone back and forth across the USA several times. Sure it needed a top end every 25000 miles and a crank rebuild every 40,000 miles but I never had to adjust valves. Once I put on electronic ignition the plugs lasted 5000 miles. It has been as reliable as any bike.

Hey man. Nice views of Ocean Drive, in CC. Grew up there and I bought and rode a new 1973 red GT750 for four years as a daily driver. I installed a Craig Vetter fairing and a set of Showa bags. I put more than 35,000 miles on it with normal maintenance - chains, sprockets, tires. Never had to replace spark plugs because I ran unleaded gas. I tried a three into one expansion chamber exhaust, but it ruined the quality of the motorcycle (too noisy) and did not add much performance. Another guy liked the noise, so I sold it and put the original pipes back on. A piston port two stroke engine idles similar to a four-stroke engine with a high overlap camshaft. Neither engine has much low-end torque, but they do make horsepower. But in any two-stroke engine (motorcycle or outboard) scavenging the cylinders requires good gas flow and low RPM does not flow much air. The Suzuki is ported much tamer than Kawasaki's engines, so its power curve is not as abrupt making it more of a tourer. The liquid cooling kept the engine from sticking the middle cylinder under high loads. I always said that Suzuki just grabbed one of their outboard boat motors and stuck it on a motorcycle.

Sweet bike and video, gt750 is one I want to have in the collection! I'll contribute my own 2 cents which is to also use a heat gun on the intake boots when installing or removing to keep them soft. That's also how I removed the stuck carbs on my old bike, heat gun the boot then pull.

That oil of wintergreen and Isopropyl alcohol works great to soften rubber intakes .

I just pulled one with the black tips on the mufflers out of a garage that was rented out for storage and it was abandoned. its rusty and missing a few parts but I talked to the owner about 8 years ago and he said it ran when he stored it so I got my work cut out for me

Nice example this one. I had two L models, one the same colour as this. After boiling the carb boots soak them in brake fluid overnight.

First bike was a 50cc two stroke scoot. Getting harder and harder to find any still on road anymore. Nice work on this one.

@10.10 Starts talking about two stoke torque and plunges over his knowledge cliff.

Whereabouts did you find this? I'm riding the struggle bus here in Detroit. They are all over in the UK, those guys are snatching our US bikes up so fast it hurts. I'm in the "Motor City" sure, but it's like finding Bigfoot around here.

Had one in copper colour road al over Canada and states never had a bit of trouble except at the top of mollas pass tried to adjust carbs for altitude BIG mistake

Beautiful bike. I hope you going to start back on the salt flats bike soon. Ride safe, Bro.

Had one at uni, that's one fast bike

Love the old kettles!

The tachometer is clearly broken. I think there is a fix for that but you need to disassemble the tachometer.

I notice that the bike isn't wearing registration plates, don't you have to display them in your country?

Nice bike, freind had one, and it was frigging fast, why dont your roads have any markings on them?

For some reason the rev counter is way off. Nice bike.

Rev counter is miles over reporting. I don't think you went over 5k revs.

Did you ever shift out of third gear, as the "Tacho" was way around, and the "Speedo" was a low reading, yet the engine was revving real hard.

Off memory, I think this and the gt550 not sure about the 380 is the only 2 stoke road bikes with electric start, also those head bolts need another polish

There’s a company in the uk that makes the airbox & carb rubbers, they’re called legend motorcycles

Toyota SUPRA`, at 13 O Clock ( 13'20" ) !!!! Go Gettum Casy. Love seeing this old Buff back in the stable.

Something wrong here , I had a GT750A and it pulled like a train from low revs , spin the wheel pulling away without dumping the clutch and no way did the revs go that high . Has this engine been ported ?

Howdy, I have searched for the petcock, can't find. Please help.

You can easily get new carb boots 🤣✌️

Its been a while since I rode my GT750 last time though it is still sitting in my garage next to my other bikes but to me it looks like your tachometer has the wrong gearing. It shows at least 30% to high revs. The gear of the wire that connects the tacho with the engine has a gear and yours seems to be wrong. The jumping indication also tells that there is something wrong with that wire. Cool video though thumbs up

And the roads got a lot better to ride on too. Less pot holes and unpaved roads.

Always wondered why the name "WaterBuffalo"!

What is the bike worth in it's condition?? Beautiful

Powerband...Hit it.

I knew the tach was wrong, no way you can ride these to the red line in town , seen you were at 6000 rpm ' 40MPH, yeh not in 1st gear,

The rear suspension is wrong for that year. They Are 72 only The ones you have one.

What the Hell is with the background crap music. Can't anyone just make an information video with this crap!

What a load of rubbish, I had a KH triple for years and did virtually zero maintenance and it was fine. That stupid whistling background music, I won’t be watching again, bye.