Suzuki 2 Strokes

Going to be picking up a 74 GT550 tonight. Everything happened to work in in my favor with finding this so I got a great price that I couldn't pass up, especially with what I want to eventually build.

Anyway, it's rough, and needs work. Right now it doesn't start, probably needs a battery, new tires, electrical issues. Guy said he changed the 3 ignition coils and was able to get the bike to sputter, just needed to adjust the carbs and whatnot.

The bike is rough to say the least. This will be a tear down and rebuild as I plan to modify it to better suit my personal style.

So yeah, I'm from Clarksville, TN if anyone lives around there and wants to school me up on these as I have never owned one of these types of bikes... Looking forward to learning a lot with this one.

And the bike is now officially mine.

Already looking into the things I want to change. Plans are not in any particular order, just thinking as I go.

Of course I have to check the wiring and the carbs and get all of it up and running first.

Would like to get some 16" wheels on this thing, but not sure they will clear the brakes after looking around on this site. (Still attempting to get a feel for it and where to look for different things)

Going to bob the back end of it and bring the bike down a bit more with a larger set of tires, something that has a knobby look to it. Would love to get a wider rear tire on there (no, not 240ish) but something along the lines of a 160-180 would look pretty good to me, though don't know about what clearance I have back there at the moment...

Some flat "drag" bars up front with everything mounted below the handles.

And lastly, it's going to get a paint job and some upholstery work. Not sure what color I will go with at this point. Hell, I might break out some pasco pens and just start drawing..

Welcome to the site! Nice find! Needs some work though! I'll be in Robbinsville NC in August on my bike! I could use those crash bars if you're not going to use them!

Best of luck with 16" wheels. the bike's ass will be on the floor and you won't go around corners.
Suzuki knew what they were doing when they put a 19" wheel on the front and an 18" on the back.
I await photos of your mods with interest.
Bare in mind a 'standard' 72 model looks something like this after about 3 years of work;

Appreciate it guys. I am fully aware that I am in this one for the long haul. Don't have any expectations to have this thing finished in a month or two.

And after looking for the majority of the last several days, I don't plan to go to a 16. I'd like to match the front and rear rim size due to my undiagnosed OCD, but in the end I will most likely just run some different tires to give this bike the look I am going for, more of a "Brat style" if you will.

Also, I will be sure to toss the parts I do not use on here up on here.

A bit better ground clearance with a 19" rear to give matching sizes is better than a 18" front if you want to 'even' wheel sizes IMO. You can't really tell they are different normally, however.
I did one like that in 1972 - and Crooks Suzuki production raced one like that so it definitely works.
A smaller front wheel will put your speedo out.

I'm not planning on going with a smaller tire. I know going smaller or larger than the stock size of tire, I will cause the speedo to be off. I am simply a fan of more tire on bikes like these. Basically, a smaller rim with more sidewall.

Then again, I have been out of the loop on tire sizes and need to brush up on what is out there. I don't see why they wouldn't make a tire that is equivilant to the size of the stock setup, just for a smaller rim.

Stay with stock tire sizes. The 19" front doesn't steer as fast an 18", but that's actually a good thing for most people. These bikes are very stable, and that is also a good thing. If you really need to turn faster, later, then consider switching to an 18" front. 17's are too small for these bikes, let alone 16's.



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