Page 1 of 2
1973 Suzuki GTR550
Posted: Fri Aug 30, 2013 5:13 am
by Knut
Posting a few photos of a bike a friend built last winter. It's a 1973 GT550, ever so slightly customised to a modern caferacer/streetfighter, hence GTR. There is a lot of attention to details in this bike, and quite a few challenges and complexities were met during the building process but there are no compromises. There are parts from all Japanese brands and one Italian, and some aftermarket custom and selfmade parts. Too many details to list, I let the pics speak for themselves.
Re: 1973 Suzuki GTR550
Posted: Fri Aug 30, 2013 7:17 am
by oldjapanesebikes
Is that done by the same guy that did the GT750 with the radiator mounted behind the engine ? Some of the styling is similar and he was also from Norway.

Re: 1973 Suzuki GTR550
Posted: Fri Aug 30, 2013 7:58 am
by Knut
No, none of the 750's he has built have that type of configuration.
Re: 1973 Suzuki GTR550
Posted: Fri Aug 30, 2013 8:51 am
by oldjapanesebikes
Nice work !

Re: 1973 Suzuki GTR550
Posted: Fri Aug 30, 2013 8:57 am
by desmocat
Awesome job, nice work!
Re: 1973 Suzuki GTR550
Posted: Fri Aug 30, 2013 9:37 am
by Frank T
Very innovative, very nice, I like it!
Is that your H1 in the last pic?
Re: 1973 Suzuki GTR550
Posted: Fri Aug 30, 2013 10:14 am
by Knut
Yep, that's my H1

Re: 1973 Suzuki GTR550
Posted: Fri Aug 30, 2013 8:01 pm
by pearljam724
I'd like to hear video of it idling.
Re: 1973 Suzuki GTR550
Posted: Fri Aug 30, 2013 8:25 pm
by Suzukidave
Very cool custom

and this machine needs to be added to
viewtopic.php?f=21&t=5694" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Re: 1973 Suzuki GTR550
Posted: Sat Aug 31, 2013 9:54 am
by Knut
pearljam724 wrote:I'd like to hear video of it idling.
That can be fixed. Too bad it's difficult to catch the sound while riding behind it.
Re: 1973 Suzuki GTR550
Posted: Thu Dec 19, 2013 12:00 am
by SW550
Nice, never seen anything like it..
Re: 1973 Suzuki GTR550
Posted: Sat Dec 21, 2013 4:46 pm
by old racer
Very nice,
But tell me. why does the H1 have a drum brake on the front.
Re: 1973 Suzuki GTR550
Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2013 5:19 pm
by Knut
old racer wrote:Very nice,
But tell me. why does the H1 have a drum brake on the front.
The early H1 from 1969-1971 had front drum brakes. The effect was, well.. dubious. From 1972 with the H1B model it got a disc brake. However some 1972's were sold with drum brakes, as they were assembled with leftovers from the earlier production (brake, engines, ignition and some other bits), and named H1C. These are very rare today.
The H1 in the picture is a 1971 H1A.
Re: 1973 Suzuki GTR550
Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2013 5:26 pm
by Knut
SW550 wrote:Nice, never seen anything like it..
It's a one of a kind. I've seen many GT550 customs but very few as well and thoughtfully built as this one.
Re: 1973 Suzuki GTR550
Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2013 6:41 pm
by Alan H
Pointless the early H1 having any front brake at all as the front wheel was usually in the air.