GT750 L/1974 Frame Label and Decal Placement

ilbikes · Post by **ilbikes** » Sun Mar 29, 2009 8:49 pm

Guys, I have looked through the resources site and through the hundreds of photos that are on a CD a friend sent me. I am not able to find pages in detail that will show where information and warning stickers and labels go.

I imagine an owners manual specific to the 1974 model would be perfect for that task, but I have not found one of those yet.

Thanks,
Gordon

pjmcburney · Post by **pjmcburney** » Sun Mar 29, 2009 11:18 pm

Hi Gordon,

I've been down this path as well, I'll tell you what I know...
There is/are NO specific pictures or otherwise reference for these decals in any manual.

My owners manual shows some but not all, and only in passing, not clear concise references.

If you have the decal kit from Reproduction Decals, there will be seven decals that go on the frame and tank and two for the calipers (I think).

I'll start from the rear:

Tyre placard - centre of rear guard about 10mm above the edge,
Chain decal - centre of LH shock shroud about 10mm from the lower edge,
Battery hose decal - on inner (plastic) guard equidistant between frame rail and guard support bracket on RH side (visible when you lift the seat),
Tank decal #1 (brake fluid warning) - centre of tank behind filler cap approx 20-30mm (closer to the cap than the rear of the tank),
Tank decal #2 (coolant warning) centre of coolant access flap,
Handlebar decal (rev warning) - centre of handlebars between mounting clamps,
Fork decal - line it up vertically centred with the top caliper bolt on the RH fork leg and horizontally so all of it can be seen looking at the fork directly from the side.
Caliper decals - self explanatory, however they are a poor reproduction as the originals are stamped aluminium (like the 'liquid cooled' badges), not a decal.

I think that's all of them. I'll take some pics of mine (not that they're perfect mind you) to give you a better idea.

The Frame /Engine number decal goes equidistant between the upper and lower of the stem tube, on the front (duh) and more on the left than the right.
There should be a couple of rivet holes or marks on your stem tube, use these as a guide and line the decal up directly over them.

BTW, the 'liquid cooled' badges on the barrels should have a fully-crossed Q in 'liquid' for the L's (and possibly some M's).
They come up on eBay every now and then, keep your eyes peeled...

Cheers
Paul

ilbikes · Post by **ilbikes** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 5:47 am

Thanks Paul - this will get me there!

Regards,
gordon

H2RICK · Post by **H2RICK** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 9:46 pm

Caliper decals - self explanatory, however they are a poor reproduction as the originals are stamped aluminium (like the 'liquid cooled' badges), not a decal.

Actually they SHOULD be silkscreened on 2 or 3 mil adhesive-backed chrome Mylar.

pjmcburney · Post by **pjmcburney** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 11:23 pm

H2RICK wrote:
Caliper decals - self explanatory, however they are a poor reproduction as the originals are stamped aluminium (like the 'liquid cooled' badges), not a decal.
Actually they SHOULD be silkscreened on 2 or 3 mil adhesive-backed chrome Mylar.

Do you mean they are that way on your bike as OEM, or that that's the way Suzuki should have made them for longevity or other reasons?

The ones that come from Reproduction Decals are in fact silk-screened on adhesive-backed mylar... but IMHO they're inferior in quality to the stamped ones.

Cheers
Paul

H2RICK · Post by **H2RICK** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 12:07 pm

Yep, my 550A has them on chrome Mylar....silkscreened NOT embossed.
I like to think I know a little about this because when I had a real job, I had to find outfits that did this kind of stuff. We needed data and warning plates for a product we were producing. Detail freak that I am, I investigated the whole subject from A to Z. Weatherability, ozone resistance, resistance to common automotive chemicals, blah, blah, blah. Interesting stuff....if you're a detail freak.

pjmcburney · Post by **pjmcburney** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 5:49 pm

H2RICK wrote:Yep, my 550A has them on chrome Mylar....silkscreened NOT embossed.
I like to think I know a little about this because when I had a real job, I had to find outfits that did this kind of stuff. We needed data and warning plates for a product we were producing. Detail freak that I am, I investigated the whole subject from A to Z. Weatherability, ozone resistance, resistance to common automotive chemicals, blah, blah, blah. Interesting stuff....if you're a detail freak.

Oh, ok. I wasn't aware Suzuki Produced them like that, I though Repro Decals just recreated a decal that was close the the original.

The stamped ones I have on my bike do, and have, lost their colour a bit over the years and are now a light gold-brown shade instead of the original dark brown to black.

When I refurbished the calipers I carefully peeled them off and reattached them when finished. I tried the decal-type ones and they work fine and look ok, but the stamped badges look smarter.

Perhaps the decals came out on the later bikes as part of the overall cost-cutting in the GT range.

I know the original stamped badges are like rocking-horse s__t these days...

Cheers
Paul

tz375 · Post by **tz375** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 9:50 pm

Gordon,

I don't know if you have ever been over to the Smokerider's site, but one of the guys there posted pics of all the badges and their locations.

http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/GT7 ... 0Pictures/

Suzukidave may have a copy of them somewhere in his extensive collection

spike · Post by **spike** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 3:03 am

Sadly, the cost of making a die for embossing these repro decals is prohibitive…

Suzukidave · Post by **Suzukidave** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 8:42 am

http://suzukidave.myphotos.cc/suzukidav ... %20badges/

pjmcburney · Post by **pjmcburney** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 4:38 pm

Suzukidave wrote:http://suzukidave.myphotos.cc/suzukidav ... %20badges/

Hey Dave,

That's some good work!

I trust you'll be finding equivalent locations for these decals on your new (project) bike.

The brake warning sticker would be especially ironic...

Cheers
Paul

H2RICK · Post by **H2RICK** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 5:48 pm

Linky won't work (for me), TZ. Yahoo wants a signin name and password.....

Dave, that's exactly my brake warning label shown in your one pic.

Paul, I'd be curious to see a high res pic of YOUR brake warning label if you have one. Maybe an Oz only thing ?? What year is your bike with the embossed label ??

tz375 · Post by **tz375** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 7:45 pm

H2Ric, sorry the link didn't work which is why I hinted that Mr Dave might be able to assist and he did. A gentleman as ever. Thanks dave

Suzukidave · Post by **Suzukidave** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 8:51 pm

Happy to help

pjmcburney · Post by **pjmcburney** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 9:49 pm

H2RICK wrote:Linky won't work (for me), TZ. Yahoo wants a signin name and password.....

Dave, that's exactly my brake warning label shown in your one pic.

Paul, I'd be curious to see a high res pic of YOUR brake warning label if you have one. Maybe an Oz only thing ?? What year is your bike with the embossed label ??

I have an L. I've got a few sets of these from various other calipers in my collection, I just thought these were the OEM style.

My caliper labels/decals/badges look like this:

The light's not the best (it's a bit dark in the shed), but you get the idea...

Cheers
Paul