
Gettin There
Moderators: oldjapanesebikes, H2RICK, diamondj, Suzsmokeyallan
- Coyote
- Moto GP
- Posts: 3404
- Joined: Tue Oct 21, 2008 2:41 pm
- Country: USA
- Suzuki 2-Strokes: GT550x2, GT750, GS1000
- Location: Tulsa, Oklahoma
Gettin There
I was born with nothing and still have most of it left.
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1978 GS1000C
1976 GT550 ongoing money pit.
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1978 GS1000C
1976 GT550 ongoing money pit.
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- AMA Superbike
- Posts: 1681
- Joined: Tue Jul 24, 2012 11:45 pm
- Country: U.S.
- Suzuki 2-Strokes: 75- GT 550 / 76- GT 750
- Location: SW PA
Re: Gettin There
You sure are, bud.
Very little left to do now. Are you getting the tank and side covers painted ? Are you going to take the time to polish the engine covers and cylinder head cover ? Polishing is what will send it over the top in reference to appearance. You'd only have 5-7 days tied up if you take your time to do it right and shoot for a fantastic shine. Even though time consuming, wet sanding makes a huge difference. The final result is very rewarding. The frame looks fantastic. Quite often, people skip over a frame restoring a bike to avoid work. In my opinion. The frame is what sets a good to poor restoration apart. Is that a 77 ?

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- 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: Gettin There
Looking superb Coyote....it's a great feeling carefully reassembling all the new and refurbed bits.
Keeping old 2 strokes alive !
- Coyote
- Moto GP
- Posts: 3404
- Joined: Tue Oct 21, 2008 2:41 pm
- Country: USA
- Suzuki 2-Strokes: GT550x2, GT750, GS1000
- Location: Tulsa, Oklahoma
Re: Gettin There
It's a 76. Turn signals are generic el cheapos off eBay. Engine covers are powder coated black. Only polished out the points cover and the matching boss on the left side. Current ram air shroud has a satin finish created with scotch-brite. I have another getting blasted and powder coated with no gloss clear.. the entire top end will as blasted mat finish. Same as RedZone
I was born with nothing and still have most of it left.
.
1978 GS1000C
1976 GT550 ongoing money pit.
.
1978 GS1000C
1976 GT550 ongoing money pit.
-
- AMA Superbike
- Posts: 1681
- Joined: Tue Jul 24, 2012 11:45 pm
- Country: U.S.
- Suzuki 2-Strokes: 75- GT 550 / 76- GT 750
- Location: SW PA
Re: Gettin There
Be sure to post a link of a video when you're complete. I'm sure everyone will enjoy you sharing one with us.
- Coyote
- Moto GP
- Posts: 3404
- Joined: Tue Oct 21, 2008 2:41 pm
- Country: USA
- Suzuki 2-Strokes: GT550x2, GT750, GS1000
- Location: Tulsa, Oklahoma
Re: Gettin There
Oh, the tank and side covers had just been painted right before I bought the bike. Not my choice of color, but too nice to redo. It's black metallic. Really sparkles in the sun. It's super fine metalic, not metal flake thank god.
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I was born with nothing and still have most of it left.
.
1978 GS1000C
1976 GT550 ongoing money pit.
.
1978 GS1000C
1976 GT550 ongoing money pit.
- Jughead
- This IS the real me!!!
- Posts: 540
- Joined: Tue Dec 02, 2008 7:48 pm
Re: Gettin There
Looks good.wish i had time to work on another one.my poor 69 T500 is still tore down waiting on the hydraulic clutch from something i had on mind back in 10. 

Hang me from the Tree of Shame.Damn! I forgot the Rope.
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- On the main road
- Posts: 118
- Joined: Tue Oct 14, 2008 3:13 pm
- Country: USA
- Suzuki 2-Strokes: GT550 -- 1 running, 4 not, '80 TS185
- Location: Stroudsburg, PA
Re: Gettin There
It's looking good!
My 73 GT550 is in the process of collecting parts. I have a body set and I traded for a GS550L at Mid Ohio, so I have the mag wheels I want and all the parts to do a rear disk brake. I wish I could have found the GS550E for the 18inch back wheel, but a 17 will be just fine. I also have all the parts to rebuild my engine, which I wore out...75 lbs of compression after close to 50K miles and it wasn't wanting to start easily anymore.
My 73 GT550 is in the process of collecting parts. I have a body set and I traded for a GS550L at Mid Ohio, so I have the mag wheels I want and all the parts to do a rear disk brake. I wish I could have found the GS550E for the 18inch back wheel, but a 17 will be just fine. I also have all the parts to rebuild my engine, which I wore out...75 lbs of compression after close to 50K miles and it wasn't wanting to start easily anymore.
- Flywheel
- On the main road
- Posts: 126
- Joined: Mon Apr 22, 2013 6:38 am
- Country: USA
- Suzuki 2-Strokes: 1974 GT185
- Location: SW Pennsylvania
Re: Gettin There
Looking good Coyote...Maybe someday I'll do the same to my GT185.
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- AMA Superbike
- Posts: 1769
- Joined: Tue Oct 14, 2008 6:47 pm
- Location: Blythewood, SC, USA
Re: Gettin There
Nice Chris. Your shop still looks clean. I wish I could accomplish that......
Lane
Lane
If you stroke it more than twice; you're playing with it.
Too many bikes, too much time, ENOUGH SPACE, FINALLY! Never enough money.........
Too many bikes, too much time, ENOUGH SPACE, FINALLY! Never enough money.........
- Alan H
- Moto GP
- Posts: 3250
- Joined: Thu Feb 16, 2012 11:50 am
- Country: England
- Suzuki 2-Strokes: 4 x GT550s - J, M, A, B.
- Location: The Republic of South Yorkshire
Re: Gettin There
Check the wheel/tyre heights of the two wheels. You might find the 17" doesn't give enough cornering clearance unless you fit longer shocks. The GS550 swing arm fits straight into the GT550 frame btw, I'm doing a similar mod on my 550.jeff g wrote:It's looking good!
My 73 GT550 is in the process of collecting parts. I have a body set and I traded for a GS550L at Mid Ohio, so I have the mag wheels I want and all the parts to do a rear disk brake. I wish I could have found the GS550E for the 18inch back wheel, but a 17 will be just fine. I also have all the parts to rebuild my engine, which I wore out...75 lbs of compression after close to 50K miles and it wasn't wanting to start easily anymore.
Think of how stupid the average person is, then realise that half of them are more stupid than that.