1972 Suzuki GT-750
Recently, at the Indianapolis MotoGP event, we spent considerable time with Suzuki as part of their celebration of 50 years in the United States Market. Suzuki’s huge Fan Paddock at Turn 2 offered owners and enthusiasts entertainment, services and a friendly family feeling … more about that later.
From humble beginnings in Santa Ana in 1963, Suzuki developed a reputation for performance and reliability in its two-wheeled machines, stretching from World MX championships of Joel Robert to the AMA Superbike championships of Mat Mladin and Ben Spies, Suzuki offered U.S. customers race ready machines with performance, style and heritage.
The marriage of an automobile division with Suzuki’s U.S. motorcycle operations ultimately hurt the company’s American business financially, and led to bankruptcy proceedings for the car business. Suzuki started its U.S. operations with a focus on motorcycles, and personnel we spoke with are happy to be focused on two wheels once again (Suzuki will continue with ATV and marine sales, as well).
Suzuki’s Fan Paddock at Indianapolis
The Suzuki Paddock at Indy was busy all weekend, and included, among other things, complimentary gear storage, motorcycle inspection, race team displays, special race viewing areas, unveiling of an anniversary model GSX-R1000, and the finals of a Hayabusa customization contest (see photos).
The Hayabusa customs on display were amazing. The level of effort and detail displayed in the bikes was phenomenal. An all white version won the nation-wide contest, but it was a bike designed to honor a deceased New Orleans policeman that really caught our eye. Lots of older Suzuki models were on display, as well. Posters of Suzuki advertisements run in the United States market at various times were pinned to both sides of a tunnel that formed the entrance to the fan area.
The customized Hayabusas were amazing!
Suzuki understands that new product drives the brand forward, and they promise that the 2014 V-Strom 1000 that will be introduced this Fall is the beginning of a new product cycle that will help put Suzuki back on a competitive footing with the other Japanese manufacturers here in the United States.
Suzuki’s commitment to enter the MotoGP championship series beginning with the 2015 campaign is evidence that the company is feeling both confident, and financially strong, once again.
Take a look at the numerous photos we have attached to this article, and search our Bike Reports section for tests on most of the significant Suzuki models introduced in the last 15 years.
The Hayabusa customizing winner, “White Out”
More Custom Hayabusas and Older Suzukis Spotted at Indy
Assorted U.S. Advertising by Suzuki
Funny story – was getting ready to go cross-country on my Gt-750 water buf (the ’74 I think it was – orange)and I accidentally stripped one of the two screws that held the ‘points’ (you remember them) in place. Replaced the screw with a little pointy sheet metal screw, then proceeded to rack up about 10,000 miles without a single peep out of the engine. When I got home to NY the points were dead-on perfect, so I just left that little sheet metal screw in there and rode the bike for a few more years. That trip included long stretches across the Mojave desert (117 degrees at one point), where the temp gage never got anywhere near the hot zone. Amazingly well engineered machine, and yeah I wish I still had it. But there is only so much room in the garage, and the basement, and the back yard, and sometimes the living room.
The first street bike I owned was a used and abused ’82 GS400t. Friends called it the Exxon Valdez due to the colourful oil slick covering the runoff after a rain shower. Still, it was reliable and got me out there.
Suzuki products are hard to top. Still riding the 1980 GS1000E that I bought brand new, still lot’s of fun.
Have to wonder, any RG500 gammas on display? It’s admittedly a grey bike, but there are probably more of them in the lower 48 than there are in its most likely country of origin, Canada. The wiley Canucks shagged the dickens out of them, sold them to us at a premium, and of course all our spares have to come from Canada or UK so they get to double dip of sorts. Those things are still the ne plus ultra of two stroke street bikes, particularly after they’ve been tuned to put 110+ hp down at the rear wheel. The amazing thing is you can do that and still get a reasonable (well, ‘reasonable’ is subject to interpretation) number of hours out of a ringset.
I saw a relatively pristine RG500 last weekend at Rice-a-Rama in Sutton, Mass. It was a great show/swap meet, with Zuki well-represented… someone even RODE their GSXR750LTD to the meet (for those unaware: the components of the dry clutch are unobtanium, and evidently once they’re done, they’re… done.)
I rode around Lake Superior on an 81 850G. I rode it from Connecticut to Arkansas and back a few years ago. For a few years I commuted to work on an 80 GS450 until other responsibilities (i.e. kids) took over any time I had to work on bikes.
Over the years I’ve owned more Suzuki products than any other single brand. It wasn’t a plan and I don’t consider myself brand loyal, it just happened they had the right thing at the right time. They’re good at finding a market niche, but thats where it seems to stop as they don’t exploit it.
Example: the DR350 was a really good bike if they had continued to evolve it.
The Cavalcade was more comfortable than the Goldwing of the time, had more power and more features but they never continued to refine it. The SV1000 had a lot of potential both as it was and as the basis for a sport tourer along the lines of the Ducati ST3.
And finally, the DL650 (which I currently have an example of) should own that class of ‘adventure tourer’ but they continue to offer it with only a few tacked on accessories, lame suspension and much less engine than their competitors.
I hope the forthcoming DL1000 is truly something newer and better and not just another half hearted attempt. They make a good Vtwin and it deserves a good home.
Ugh…Is there anything more tired and played-out than customized Busa’s?
Certainly wouldn’t be a Boutique Cruiser, now would it?
Today’s Winner
True enough. I’ve seen a few (VERY few) bobbers that I wouldn’t mind taking for a spin, but otherwise I’m not really a fan of that genre either.
Choppers.
Looks like I picked a bad week to sell my GS1100E.
My 1979 RM125 was amazing. My 1982 RM250 was seriously amazing!
I used a 1987 DR100 to teach my kids and countless others to ride. Made an excellent camping bike, too.
My 1988 GSX-600 Katana made for a serviceable race bike against the 600 Hurricanes of the era, and the Suzuki Cup money was fun to chase. Some help from Vance & Hines made that thing a screamer in it’s day. (This was before the GSXR600 existed, for you youngins)
Today, a recently acquired 2001 SV650S takes care of my Suzuki requirements. I’ve owned and ridden a lot of bikes, but Suzukis hold a special place in my memories. Every decade-or-so they knock one out of the park, and I feel lucky to have owned some of those models (the RM250 and the SV). Looking forward to their next knockout bike; and may I suggest something along the lines of an SV850 to compete with the FZ-09? Imagine the possibilities.
Thanks, And the best of luck for the next 50 years.
MAN! There are some old dudes on here! I have only been riding for 35 years:).
Had my share of DL’s and SV’s. Loved em all but fairly plain and somewhat boring bikes except for the motor. Was a Honda/Yamaha guy in the 70’s and 80’s, but always wanted an inline Suzi.
Not sure any bike can (for me) beats my Tiger 1050 for comfort, speed, flexibility and agility. Time will tell.
I went on a 900 mile tour on my Hustler T250 when I was 17. Terrific memories. Riding at 90 mph in my tee shirt because it was so hot. Sliding in deep gravel at 80 mph because I didn’t see the road works sign, didn’t fall off until I got down to 10 mph. My buddy riding behind fell off his RD350 because he was laughing so hard at my fishtailing, trying to stay on top. A freak rain storm that stuck the carb slides on full throttle crossing mid town Auckland and over the Harbour Bridge for the first time. A dry battery frying my wiring at high speed – a friend rewired it at a camping ground. On the way home, the bike graunched to a halt in Palmerston North. I never knew I had to check the gearbox oil level on a two stroke! My dad and his trailer saved the bike. I learned to ride on that Hustler, and my friends on RD350s could never quite pull away on a mountain road. Those solid footpegs carved grooves in the road. Good times. And yes, when I sold it, I knew the spark plug threads needed redoing. Somehow the RD350 I replaced it with, never quite felt right. That led to the Honda XL350, adapted for better road handling, and a whole bunch of other stories.
I’m on my third Suzuki and would buy another….except that Yamaha has introduced the FZ-09. I hope that Suzuki gets a clue and builds something to give Yamaha’s FZ a bit of competition. Except for the GSX-R series, Suzuki isn’t exactly wowing riders with their line of V-twins.
Ah, SV/DL650? Ever hear of those?
Yeah, and the SV650S hasn’t been in production for a few years and I’m not into Adventure poser machines. Like I said, nothing exciting coming from SUZUKI these days.
Ok, I thought I was nuts following my buddy, on his V-Strom, on the Schafer Trail outside of Moab UT. My problem was that I was on a 04 Wing, I was dancing with the phat lady and he was laughing, scratching and having fun. Later, he switched from a 1000 to a 650 and sung accolades till hell won’t have it. He did everything I did on my Wing, with his Wii, but I sure couldn’t do everything he did. I bit the bullet and got a 12 650 Wii Strom and was shocked. I got a Adventure poser, will everyone think that I’m a modern day Teddy Roosevelt? How do I act, now that I’m a poseur? We decided to do some posing on a road trip but nobody really noticed us. We burned up 1200 miles on the Great Plains but nobody waved or said hi, must’ve been all the camping gear strapped all over, they just couldn’t see us posing. We rode over Baxter Pass in CO and didn’t see a soul in a 100 miles of single track trails. I felt like such a solitary poseur when I dumped my bike and my buddy made me take a picture of it on it’s side. It got even worse when we rode the White Rim Trail near Moab UT. I wanted to pose outside of some drug store/bar but nope, instead we rode 100 miles in 9 hours, just to pose where nobody was. The worst part of that day was I dumped my poseur machine 3 times and only my buddy could see me tearing up. I had to pose across 5 states in the next 2 days and my Wii was a superb steed. Comfortable, smooth, reliable, great range, responsive and all I can think of is another dirt road, another campsite, another state. It ain’t easy being a poseur.
Fantastic.
Best post of the month and it isn’t even close
Interesting story. You get an “A” for creative writing! Now quit bragging get get back on your bike and circumnavigate the planet.
Nicely put Hot Dog… if a poser poses and nobody is there to see it… is he really a poser?
Just put about 4,400 kms on my VStrom 1000 with my wife on the back and another 80 lbs of gear or so while we ventured the Oregon coast and back to BC. A past owner of another 5 Suzukis (also not brand loyal… was just the bike to own at the time) I thoroughly enjoyed our adventure tour and the Big Strom. If you don’t think Suzuki is providing any ‘Wow’ or hi-value product anymore, contact me and I’ll send you a photo of wifey and me up the 5,800 ft. summit of Mt. Buchanan, outside Kaslo, BC. It may not be the dirt-capable KTM Adventure but at only 2/3 the cost, it gets the job done and represents superb value.
DR650 forever!
the unsung hero of the Suzi lineup!
my dad became a suzuki dealer in 1980. i was 11 at the time – fantastic times, lovely memories. I wish I could buy and restore even a humble gt185. or maybe a white/blue gs1000s totally standard…….
In the spring of 1965 I purchased my first motorcycle….a Suzuki K11 sport. Just turned 16 and in control of a spirited 80cc 2 stroke powerhouse!! The gang of mates at the time in England consisted of owners of BSA Bantams (175′s) Honda 90′s, a Triumph Tiger Cub, an Ariel Leader 250, a Royal Enfield 250 Continental GT (Rich Bastard)and a Honda C50 Step Thru (with the baffles removed….sounded great!) I am just turning 65 and my Suzuki 650 Burgman answers all my needs. I have owned a lot of motorcycles in my nearly 50 yrs of riding. Favourites…Triumph, Hates….Harley, but I think I will end my riding career as I started, on a Suzuki.
I was lucky enough to own a new 1974 GT750 in metallic blue with a Windjammer fairing and a new 2002 Hayabusa in Silver/Grey and absolutely loved both of them. I have a soft spot for Suzukis that is for sure. I would give my left nu…ckle to get both of those back. I also owned a 83′ Honda CX650T Turbo, and a RD 400 Daytona Special. I certainly have owned some fun bikes in my day. I would still buy a used Suzuki GS of any size ’cause they are bullet proof, looked good and handled pretty well, even by today’s standards.
HAPPY 50th SUZUKI. Keep ’em coming!
I have a bunch of old Suzuki’s. I really wanted some sort of katana styled naked bike, after totaling my GSF1250, but purchased a CB1000R instead. I started on a Honda C200, but then bought a X-6 in high school in ’67, anyone have any spare parts for a DF1?
My first bike was a 1971 TC90,can’t believe no one has mentioned the T500 Titan.I still want one!
Love the TC90 Blazer! What color was yours? I grew up with an Aspen Yellow ’71 which was already over 20 years old at the time. I have 4 TC90s now… a ’70, and 3 ’71s. My favorite one is my pristine ’71 in Aspen Yellow with only 978 original miles which resides comfortably on display in my basement. It gets to go outside for a ride now and then. Still has its factory-original IRC Inoue ‘Scramble’ knobby tires. Have many other vintage Suzukis but also have a T500 (’75) which is one of my favorite road bikes of all time. My newest motorcycle is a 2007 SV1000S… fantastic engine.
A candidate for toughest and most durable motorcycle model ever has to be the Suzuki GS450. Me and some buddies had a slew of these bikes in the 1980s. We rode them everywhere, including at monthly club road racing events. None of them EVER broke, including one that had been ridden to So Cal from new Jersey that had about 30,000 miles on it when it arrived. It was then subjected to an entire season of racing by a very competitive rider, including a 24-hour endurance race at Willow Springs by a rotating team of four. After the season it was then ridden back to New Jersey.
That was a GREAT year. Thank you Suzuki.
I picked up a GS450L on eBay a few years ago for a song. It was an oddly satisfying bike to ride despite (or maybe because of) being the very embodiment of mid-80’s Japanese cruisers (replace a few painted bits with chrome bits, replace standard bars with pull-back bars, replace flat seat with stepped seat, done).
I traded it for a nearly new EX500, that I figured would be more modern, more powerful and better handling. Even though the EX500 proved to be all of those things, I just didn’t enjoy it as much as the GS.
I’ve been waiting for a good example to show up locally, and I’ll grab one as soon as that happens. Unfortunately those that do show up tend to have been subjected to poorly executed bobber or cafe projects. I’m almost tempted to do a reverse customization, rescue one of these bikes and return it to stock.
Boy those photo’s sure brought back the good old days, with my RD350 and the sweet smell of oil…
My dad had the cherry red X-5 scrambler, which was my intro to dirt riding – ribbed front tire and all. That thing was a rocket on the street and a happy burbler sitting at lights. I’ve owned a GS550, a fun workhorse, and an ’83 GS750ES in the cool red/white livery. It was overshadowed by the Interceptor intro, but was a fine bike in it’s own right. Still riding my DR-Z400. Suzuki has meant a lot of good times to me, I hope they get something going now that the economy is better.
My first bike was a ’73 TS-50. In those days we also had a TC-125 and TM-400 in the family. Along the way I’ve owned TS-250, GN400, GS450, GSX1100F and a SV650S. I’ve enjoyed every Suzuki I’ve ever swung a leg over.
The 250 Hustler really put Suzuki on the street map back in the ’60s. On hole shots it blew the doors off of Honda 305’s and even some Triumphs. It was a real wheelie monster.
I had a Yamaha 305 street bike when my buddy got a new X6 Hustler. His X6 was always a little bit faster than my Yammy. Those X6s were BULLETPROOF !!! 8^ 0
I had a beautiful GS650G with shaft drive, sweet exhaust note, classic (almost British styling) and a high frequency vibration that put your hands, feet and butt to sleep in that order. I replaced it with a K75S BMW and it solved the vibration problem.
Kinda cynical dude. A real mood killer.
GS650G was a very good bike, with very little drive line snatch, but slow because of the weight and mass of the drive shaft, most every bike had some sort of vibration in the eighties. +1 to what Tom R says….
I also have a K75 (my 2nd) but I’ll bet the GS driveshaft/final drive splines don’t strip like the BMW’s are prone to doing. Our K’s are fine bikes but they sure ain’t perfect…don’t knock the Japanese bikes! My 1982 Yamaha Seca 650 was the most reliable machine I ever owned, bar none.
Was hearing rumors of Honda bumping up the displacement of the NC motor a while back – that and a reasonable increase in the rev limit would probably close the power gap.
I like the functionality of the NC but the engine power, and to some extent the styling, kind of make me decide against it. If the engine had another 10 horses while keeping more or less it’s current torque characteristics, I could handle the look.
Wow, did I ever post to the wrong article!
Ummm Randy…. This is an article about Suzuki’s.
Everybody look at Randy.
Lol
Love how up-front and to-the-point some of these old ads are. Nowadays it’s all overloaded with gradients and strobe lighting, or some silhouette tells you jack sh*t, or you have some totally unrelated jet fighter in the background.
Boy. Advertising sure has come a long way….
Heh, guess a bunch of real motorcyclists read MD. Not one mention about how F—ING SUAVE those Hayabusa contest bikes are.
“His name is Raaaalph.”
Suzuki ownership is on my bucket list. I’ve come close a couple of times, but never quite did it.
Long live Suzuki.
And that guy in the red sweater holding his mothers hand as he prances toward the sparkly new Suzuki…….
Yeah…He does kinda look like Forrest Gump moments after he shed those those leg braces.
Arrgh. For one, brief, happy moment as I first looked a the top of the article, I thought Suzuki was introducing a retro triple to compete against the Honda CB1100.
I am sooo disappointed.
Suzuki’s problem is that is has no engines. How long are they going to rest on two V-twins to sell bikes? When the V-Strom is your most intersting bike, you can only go up.
There’s a silver V-Strom 1000 in the center of the first picture of the fan paddock, that was on display as it has over 300,000 miles on it with nothing much more than replacement of standard-wear components. Would have been nice to have touched on that in the article.
My first bike was also a Suzuki, a TS250 that my brother and I shared, great memories of boppin’ along through the desert trails and open land on that machine.
Love my silver DL 1000 – identical to the bike in the top pic, minus most of the mileage and the skid plate. Looking at the bikes I’m having a hard time deciding which I’d rather have more: The GS1100E with Wes Cooley handlebar fairing; or the GT750 “Water Buffalo” in either stock or cafe racer.
My first bike was a GT750 LeMans. I made many mistakes on that bike, including cafe racering it. But, I miss it. Still have the BMW I replaced it with.
From my first real bike,72 TS90 to my TM125,GS450E,GS1100E my latest SV1000 Suzuki, I can’t say I’m a strictly Suzuki guy but I’ve never had a bad one. I’m sorry they quit the triples and twins (V Stroms excluded). Seems they lost their edge, hope it returns.Love to see them name their bikes again. Hustler, Titan, Cyclone, Apache, Challenger,Duster,Prospecter,Savage,Honcho, Gaucho. They might sound corny but the alphabet soup groups are pretty tame, mainstream even. Ducati at least names a couple of theirs.
I loved my T 20 x 6 hustler. My VStrom 650 is the best ride to’ date
Sorry, a couple more Suzuki stories…a friend shopped for a used GS450. I drove with him to look at a used GS450 in superb shape. I was used to my GS1000. So when I got around the first corner from the owner’s house, I ripped on the GS450 in a low gear, resulting in a huge unexpected wheelie almost ending in a flip! Yikes! I learned to respect that thing!
He later bought a GS850, which I briefly test rode, one of the best bikes ever to roll a wheel.
One of my several GS1000’s was an E model (black w/white horizontal tank stripe), mostly stock except for Wiseco forged 1100cc piston kit. That bike made more mid range power than anything I ever rode including my own stock 80 silver GS1100 4V. Opening the throttle on the 1100cc 2V in the mid range was like being rear ended by a train. My buddy owned a well tuned 1100cc Multi-Strada, with Akropovic pipe and killer mid range power. IIRC, my old 1100cc 2V would walk away from his Multi Strada like it dropped anchor. (Handling wise would be exactly the reverse, obviously.)
My buddy Mike owned a Mr. Turbo 1100cc 2V GS1000, tuned by Sandy Kosman, who said it absolutely made at least 150hp. Even two up that bike walked away from my tuned GS1000 like I was in reverse.
Owned a blue GT750 (75 IIRC, was this the first production bike with dual disc?) and 75 GT550 (both triples). The GT750 won Cycle Magazine’s big bike shootout, beating Honda’s CB750, the GT’s only negative being fuel consumption and cornering clearance. In the mid size shootout the GT550 was a razor close 2nd to Honda’s CB550 (one strange GT550 quirk was too much throttle rotation). Even the GT380 kicked butt in its class.
Also owned a slew of GS1000’s including 79 and 80 S models.
My buddy owned a gorgeous light metallic blue 77 GS750, spoked wheels/single front disc (gold and blue pin stripes). The 1000’s obviously made more power and torque. But strangely, overall I might have enjoyed my buddy’s 750 more, being just a bit lighter, more tossable, less reciprocating engine mass, sweeter motor noise, smoother motor, with a sweet rush coming on the cam @ 5500 RPM.
Must have read the original 76 GS750 Cycle Magazine review twenty times. Cycle showed 133 mph on the speedo down hill on the LA freeway. After ripping on it for a good while, they parked it, it sat there cooling down, and it seemed like it was asking for more abuse. The said the motor was a mini-KZ900, but much smoother, with handling that blew the Kawi into the stone age.
Cycle could not stop raving about the GS750, the supreme 750 till 79 when the DOHC Honda arrived with more peak power and even better handling (had one of those too).
Man, riding back then was so much fun!
I’d love a well tuned GS750 2V or the latter 4V model.
Suzuki pioneered dual discs on the 73 GT 750
Agree with the earlier comment. I’m currently on a Duacti and Triumph but have a real soft spot in my heart for Suzukis, going all the way back to my first of the brand, a 1991 GSX1100G. Fun bike, got comments all the time. Had a TLS, a TLR, an SV1000S, all great bikes. I think my next track bike will be a GSXR750 or 1000. I hope they regain the footing they once had. Re-entry into MotoGP will help if they are competitive.
Get the 750 for the track…
my 2 cents
What, no Madura?
Oh thanks man. I’d forgotten that model until you brought it up.
Even the RE5 is more memorable,
BTW, that dude in the red sweater in the T-305 Raider ad looks, ah….the proper words escape me.
Awesome?
No, I don’t think that is the right word…
Goose
Agile?
He looks like the woman with him is “Just a friend.”
re: “Agile?”
LOL.
happy…? special…?
Pretty sure its not his Mum. She’s just a “preppy” girlfreind. Not the best add though!
The first Cougar? ” I bought you something darling” ……
hahaha…..
First Suzuki ads, then Chesterfield, next… the Presidency. We love you Ron!
Unfortunately, that’s the way most of us dressed back then. I remember my 1st pair of “elephant bell” jeans with those ridiculously wide bottoms. I was 16 and riding through town on my shiny new ’72 Yamaha R5C. The wind would blow those cuffs up around your knees. As I approached a stop light, I saw the most beautiful girl in the word at the corner, waiting to cross the street. I slowed down, hoping to catch a red light and speak to her. I caught the light, and and my pant leg returned to its resting position, OVER TOP OF THE KICKSTART LEVER. As I rolled up to the light, I tried to put my foot down, but it was locked to the peg. At a dead stop, instead of being Mr. Smooth, I dropped the bike directly in front of her. Didn’t go quite like I planned, but apparently I made a lasting impression. 37 years later, we’re still married. I think she married me to keep me from killing myself…..
Great story… Young, victim of fashion winds up meeting the love of his life! Classic!
And they wonder why they don’t sell kick starts anymore..
Lol..kick starters are useful at times…elephant bells not so much
… like a young Mr Rogers?
Mr Rogers?
Also, he appears to have lost his right leg below the knee. Photo editing must have been an afterthought in this era.
Had a lot Suzukis as a young motorcyclist-GS 450S, GS550ES, GS850, GS1000, GS1100E-really cut my teeth on these. They were fun and durable, and I have great memories from them. Though I have migrated to European bikes for the past 15 years, Suzuki is the Japanese brand for which I still have a soft spot in my heart.
I want the GT750!
The most bulletproof MC I have ever owned is my `91 VX800 in 50 years of riding. I still have it but it needs valve adjustments @ 85K miles. If I didn’t have other bikes to ride it would still be road worthy. 1 of these days I’ll get it back on the road. I have a LOT of touring memories on it. I keep most my bikes a long time.
Always liked those vx800’s.
I have had a lot of bikes and several Suzukis were amongst my favorites.. 75 GT 750, 81 GS850G, and 83 GS 1100E. Great motorcycles.