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General discussion about Street two-stroke Suzuki motorcycles.

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Larry710
On the street
Posts: 34
Joined: Mon Sep 11, 2017 9:51 am
Country: Canada
Suzuki 2-Strokes: 1977 GT500

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Post by Larry710 »

Hi everyone,

I picked up my 1977 GT500 a few weeks ago. It wasn't/isn't even a rolling chassis yet, and have 3 boxes of part to reassemble.
I have started with the front end, and came to an abrupt halt. The previous owner took it apart to install taper bearings that were new still in the package that was marked for a Kawasaki?!?! I gave it a go and the bearings fit. But when I went to install the stem it seem I have conflicting information with the parts I have.
I am building from a t500 manual that appears to be as old as the bike itself and the detail is vague
http://www.bikebandit.com/oem-parts/197 ... #sch270332" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.bikebandit.com/oem-parts/197 ... #sch269714" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It appears to me that I have a stem from a t500 with two (different sized) threads at the top, yet my bike is a 1977! I am missing the washers and want to buy new parts to get the front end together, but even the dealer is baffled.

I am hopeful that my latest ebay purchase will help --> (it is being shipped now) http://www.ebay.com/itm/172711433615" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I thought I might try here to shed more light on my situation.

Thanks
Larry
titan performance
Expert racer
Posts: 1306
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2010 2:55 pm
Country: England
Suzuki 2-Strokes: TS100, T200, GT250, T500, GT500, GT550, GT750, GS750
Location: Southeast England
Contact:

Re: New Member

Post by titan performance »

Hi Larry, always glad to see another guy saving a 500. The bigger thread on the stem is for a lock ring that needs a C spanner to tighten, and the smaller is for the top nut.
The GT and T have different front ends, and forks and yokes are not interchangeable unless complete.
Keeping old 2 strokes alive !
Dave West
On the street
Posts: 28
Joined: Tue Aug 29, 2017 11:16 am
Country: Oklahoma
Suzuki 2-Strokes: T200

Re: New Member

Post by Dave West »

Greetings from Oklahoma from a fellow Canuckian.
bugspray
On the street
Posts: 24
Joined: Tue Jan 03, 2017 4:00 pm
Country: canada
Suzuki 2-Strokes: gt 500 x2

Re: New Member

Post by bugspray »

Where are you in Canada. I am in the Montreal area, I am building 3 GT500 cafe racers and have a whole slew of parts so maybee I can help
you out.
I also have beautiful hand made Aluminum tanks and fenders if you want to go the cafe route....works of art they are.

Remove the big GT tank, seat and fenders and underneath you will find one of the most fitting frames for a cafe racer Move the top mounting
points of the rear shocks ahead to the threades holes that are already there and use a 12.5 in. shock. The shocks
now have the same angle as the front forks,cut the frame off and Voila, just needs dressing up.
Larry710
On the street
Posts: 34
Joined: Mon Sep 11, 2017 9:51 am
Country: Canada
Suzuki 2-Strokes: 1977 GT500

Re: New Member

Post by Larry710 »

titan performance wrote:Hi Larry, always glad to see another guy saving a 500. The bigger thread on the stem is for a lock ring that needs a C spanner to tighten, and the smaller is for the top nut.
The GT and T have different front ends, and forks and yokes are not interchangeable unless complete.
Yes, however the parts diagram for the 1977 GT500 does not show the bigger thread or the lock ring/nut.
Larry710
On the street
Posts: 34
Joined: Mon Sep 11, 2017 9:51 am
Country: Canada
Suzuki 2-Strokes: 1977 GT500

Re: New Member

Post by Larry710 »

bugspray wrote:Where are you in Canada. I am in the Montreal area, I am building 3 GT500 cafe racers and have a whole slew of parts so maybee I can help
you out.
I also have beautiful hand made Aluminum tanks and fenders if you want to go the cafe route....works of art they are.

Remove the big GT tank, seat and fenders and underneath you will find one of the most fitting frames for a cafe racer Move the top mounting
points of the rear shocks ahead to the threades holes that are already there and use a 12.5 in. shock. The shocks
now have the same angle as the front forks,cut the frame off and Voila, just needs dressing up.
Great to hear, I am in BC. A cafe is what I have in mind, but first I have build it and get it running.

As you see I am having difficulty determining the parts that I have vs the parts that are on the diagrams I have.
old t500
On the street
Posts: 49
Joined: Sat Oct 24, 2015 9:43 am
Country: Canada
Suzuki 2-Strokes: T500

Re: New Member

Post by old t500 »

Hey Bugspray!!!

Welcome (belated now for sure...). Thanks for nudging me with an email message. Neat that you're in the St. Saveaur area....we ski at Tremblant quite often.

Is there a build thread going here??
bugspray
On the street
Posts: 24
Joined: Tue Jan 03, 2017 4:00 pm
Country: canada
Suzuki 2-Strokes: gt 500 x2

Re: New Member

Post by bugspray »

Well feel free to give a call on your way through and don,t forget there is good skiing in St-Sauveur too.
Warren
450 227 8972
titan performance
Expert racer
Posts: 1306
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2010 2:55 pm
Country: England
Suzuki 2-Strokes: TS100, T200, GT250, T500, GT500, GT550, GT750, GS750
Location: Southeast England
Contact:

Re: New Member

Post by titan performance »

How are you getting on with the steering head Larry? My GT front end has two different sized threads at the top. Not sure of the dimensions without measuring, but from memory the smaller is around 18mm...use of Kawa head bearings is a well recognised method.
Image
Keeping old 2 strokes alive !
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