ASL1125

On 5/7/2023 at 5:54 PM, 1004ron said:

WOW that looks brand new - I remember them - they were legend one of the first bikes to go water cooled - I couldn't afford one of those in that era and had its smaller brother the GT250 Ram Air, then later the Kawasaki Z1000.

Let me tell you something that might warm your heart.  The all-time best motorcycle rag still to this day was Cook Nielsen's Cycle Magazine (RIP.)  In the early-80s Cycle did a yuge mid-size street bike comparison including of course Honda's renown CB500-4 and Suzuki's GT550 and GT380 (the latter both 2-stroke triples.)  GT550 (a bike I owned) won and possibly by their all-time biggest margin, CB550 being #2 and IIRC GT380 #3.  I owned both the GT550 and CB500-4 (I owned about 80 bikes.)  The GT550's only weak point was a lack of cornering clearance; it had tons more torque and was simply a better bike in every way.  And the triple sound was fantastic, though the 4s sound great too.  

I am extremely impressed; it looks like show quality.  The color is fantastic.  IIRC Suzuki put the same color or just barely different on the 1976 GS750, the first truly great handling Japanese multicylinder sport bike. 

I had a Suzuki GT750, a '73 IIRC, but mine was the much darker blue metallic, not nearly as nice as this beauty.  A reliable pro mechanic that loved the GT750 engine, said that its complicated lubrication system makes it more complex than Honda's CB750 engine w/chain driven SOHC.

Amazingly, considering the 2-stroke architecture, the GT750 made more low-end torque than Honda's 4-stroke 1977 CB750 SOHC I owned later.  The GT's air-box is pretty loud, IIRC rivaling the exhaust level under heavy load/high acceleration.   

The GT's worst offense was its limited cornering clearance; IIRC the 3-4 exhaust system ground first. 

The GT's' dual front discs just totally outclassed Honda's CB750 single front disc.  I recall the first time I saw the GT on the Marin Sunday Ride, just staring at the dual discs like it was science fiction.  We were taking our break at the dam just a few miles S of Fairfax, CA, just after the coasting race down the fire-road, a race that starts just above Bolinas Lagoon.