Suzuki GT550

[Suzukidave]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzuki_GT550" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; reading down to the section " GT550 Engineering Changes And Modifications " this is the first time i have read that Suzuki had trouble with the spark leakage to the ram air cover .

[Suzsmokeyallan]

Dave did you know that our very own Uncle H2 Rick wrote that article for Wikipedia? Notice his green 76 GT550 model bike further down the page on the right side, taken in his driveway.

[oldjapanesebikes]

If you click on 'view history' in the upper right of the wikipedia page you can see the list of contributors

[H2RICK]

this is the first time i have read that Suzuki had trouble with the spark leakage to the ram air cover

Yes, Dave, there's a service bulletin covering this very subject. Maybe Ian can direct you to where it's to be found. I have the original bulletin from Suzuki Canada and I believe it's posted along with a collection of other bulletins I have.....but the original stuff was all on mraxl's site which is now run by Ian, IIRC.

[Suzukidave]

Yep .. found the update from suzuki http://www.oldjapanesebikes.com/mraxl_G ... etins.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; .. i just never heard it mentioned before ?

[H2RICK]

Well, Dave, most 550 owners have never had any problems......unless they rode in the rain a lot......and with the front brake being as bad in the wet as it is, riding in the rain was/is religiously avoided at all costs by most 550 owners.
BTW, the 380 got the same mods, IIRC.

[Craig380]

Well, Dave, most 550 owners have never had any problems......unless they rode in the rain a lot......and with the front brake being as bad in the wet as it is, riding in the rain was/is religiously avoided at all costs by most 550 owners.
BTW, the 380 got the same mods, IIRC.

Heh, the usual mod was to throw away the factory caps and fit some nice brick-red NGK ones

[Alan H]

The original J that I had in August 1972 had the caps thrown away within the first week and Lodge rubber plug caps fitted. It was ridden on a daily basis for about 6 years mind as it was my only transport.
That's what will go on these 550s as I resto them. Nothing wrong with the 4LS brake either, works well in wet or dry unlike the disc. I fitted a disc kit in '73 and was so impressed after a few rainy days I swapped a mate for his 4LS and fitted ferodo green linings. That would easily outstop a disc at the time. He was happy as his bike never saw a wet day.

Originality is fine, but if it's going to shorten my life expectancy, you can keep it!

[Craig380]

Brilliant pics, Alan

Are those spotlights, or ex-World War 2 anti-aircraft searchlights?

How on earth did the generator put out enough juice to power those?

[Alan H]

Well spotted Craig!
They were the headlights, both 7" 55/65w units IIRC.
Right side was a Cibié headlamp and the left one was a Quartz Iodine. Best lights on any bike in the world in 1973 I reckon!
The spot in the normal headlamp position was a Lucas square 8. Never had a problem with battery or charging, and I ran the bike like that for a few years.
Hopefully the third (J) resto will look something like the top right pic in the collage. As near to standard as possible.
The first one is a K which will be as standard as possible, the second an M with some mods for better braking and a 3-1 spannie.

The original bike (notice the damaged tank in some pics) was eventually 'custom painted' and then I made the mistake of swapping bikes with a mate who owned a Honda 400/4. The pics were the result. I rebuilt the 550 and straightened all the bits, fortunately the tank and side panels came off OKish, but then the bike was sold at about 5ish years old.
I didn't have another bike for many years after this - family, jobs etc. etc. But {arnie voice} I'm Back!!{/arnie voice}

[Craig380]

Excellent

Love the Triumph chop in the pictures too. Ah, the 70s, eh?

[Alan H]

That was a genuine T120R, but to keep it 'original' he fitted fork slugs so it could be put to standard when it was eventually sold. The owner aso had a GT550J in blue and ended up with the disc kit I bought.
He now rides a Blade and has an early GXS1100 Suzy, so still has taste!

[tz375]

At first I thought that T120 was a 59 with single downtube frame but looking again it appears to be a duplex frame 60-62 model. I have forgotten most of what I knew about Triumph twins, but I thought the T120R was a unit model only.

Either way it's nice to see bikes from back in the day.

[Alan H]

I can't remember all the stuff about Triumphs now, there were so many models in the pre-unit range. I remember two mates had the earlier twin downtube frames and they were better than the later single downtube jobs. I had a T120 (1967 model) in 1975. Paid £95 for it, spent a tenner on some oil and rattle cans as the paintwork was poor, ran it for a year and sold it for about £150. Gawd knows what it would be worth now!

[tz375]

I ran a few triumphs way back when including a T100 with alloy barrels, big bearing bottom end with a Thruxton one piece crank and high comp pistons. The longer stroke 650 crank was a boon and it allowed me to use a Magneto for sparks and encapsulated alternator with a cap instead of battery.

Back then they were so cheap and parts were easy to get. I had a race kit intake manifold and chopped monoblocks and 3134s and all the gear - you could back then it was cheap and available.

I built a 62 pre-unit T120 for a local shop and raced that for a year or two. That was a very long time ago and I have also forgotten a whole lot since then.