Triple the fun!! STROKE THIS!! Another project for me yeah!!

[bhppy101]

Lat night I picked up a first for me.....

1975 2 stroke tripple GT550!

Never had one of these...let alone see one up close! I know its not a GS...but I thought it would be interesting to get some advise on others on the forum that has had one.

I plan on Cafenating this one as well...but I won't go in such detail as the others since its not a GS.

I'll post a before and after pic.

[83'GK]

I know from a friend that knew alot about those bikes (he is dead now), and said they were known for having failures because the middle cylinder ran alot hotter than the other two and got cooked faster, but said they were pretty fast bikes. Looking at your picture, it looks like it is in great condition minus the seat. Does it run good?

[renobruce]

That's nice!! It should make for an excellent project. I'd love to get one, too... or a GT750. I saw this one last year at a VJMC show-n-shine and fell in love....





Nice score! :-D

[txironhead]

Aren't these bikes usually referred to as "water buffalos", or is that a completely different bike?

[bhppy101]

Aren't these bikes usually referred to as "water buffalos", or is that a completely different bike?

Nope...the GT750 was the water buffalo hense the radiator...They where water cooled

My GT550 is air cooled and the funny thing about it is that it has a RAM AIR badge on the motor casing.....lol.....Nothing to do with induction...but with cooling.

[bhppy101]

I know from a friend that knew alot about those bikes (he is dead now), and said they were known for having failures because the middle cylinder ran alot hotter than the other two and got cooked faster, but said they were pretty fast bikes. Looking at your picture, it looks like it is in great condition minus the seat. Does it run good?

He was absolutley right...the middle cylinder did run a little hotter on the earlier GT550's since mine is a 75...they ran production from 72-77...The later models...75-77 where known to be super reliable...

I got lucky finding this one stored inside in the desert with 4100 original miles on it! \\/

[bhppy101]

That's nice!! It should make for an excellent project. I'd love to get one, too... or a GT750. I saw this one last year at a VJMC show-n-shine and fell in love....





Nice score! :-D

Thats a nice 750!

I havent run the bike yet....I just took a fresh battery and some simple tools with me to make sure it turned over.

I hooked up the battery and the headlights came on and the right blinker was going because the switch was left on. That was a good sign! I pushed the starter button and it spun like it was never stored away!

Thats the nice thing about finding old classics in the dry mojave desert! It took me 2 1/2 hours to get there but it was definitley worth it. Only drawback was I got home at about 1:30am and had to be at work by 6am!,,,,,lol The things I do to get a bike!LMAO I will probably go back to this guys house... he had 4 GS750's just sitting in his little building. maybe about 20 different bikes in total. I only brought my little trailer that is good for 1 bike...maybe 2.....If I would have brought my toy hauler...I would have probably gone home with the whole lot!!!!!!!.....and would have been a single man when I got home!lol

That was a joke....lol....my fiance loves watching me create something that looks totally different and is amazed with how they look in the end.

The guy had a yamaha speed triple that was in great condition...but he couldnt find the title to it otherwise it would have found itself a new home!

[crag antler]

Congrats on a fun bike.
Nothing like the smell/sound of a fine running 2 stroke.
Try here for some forum based help also.

http://vancouver.globat.com/~sundialmotosport.com/phpBB2/index.php

[AOD]

I plan on Cafenating this one as well...but I won't go in such detail as the others since its not a GS.

Naw, this is a motorcycle enthuisiast website, so by all means share the progress of your cafentation with us!

Great find there...I love the original exhaust. I want to find some original pipes for my CB500, because it had the four megaphone thing going on.

~Adam

[Flaggo60]

Do a good job and I'll keep a spot in my Cool Bikes All-Stars photo file for it.

[Tal/IL]

I had a GT550 back in the day. Expansion chambers, rejetted, a little porting and they would flat get with the program. It's been so long that I don't remember the details, but one did have to be cautious when rejetting ,etc because of the center cylinder's tendancy to run a little hot.

[catfishk]

2 stroke; WING WING! so it mustn't have much engine braking like a dirt bike huh? crazy

that is a real cool bike i am sure. congradulations on the purchase!

[trdhrdr007]

My first bike was a GT380, I forget the year. It was also a triple & looked about the same as yours. I had a lot of fun on that thing, but I melted/blew a hole in the middle piston several times. I never did figure out exactly why it was happening, but $14 for a new one & a couple hours later I was back on the road.

[bhppy101]

well....I need to find a new set of carbs for this bike....the interior of the carb bodies were so eroded that they can't be salvaged!

I was surprised that the bike even started up! Before I took the carbs apart....I took out the airbox...and squirted some starter fluid in the carbs...and it fired away!

If anyone know where I can get another set of carbs for this bike...pls...let me know...thanks!

[txironhead]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Suzuki-GT550-GT-550-Carburetors-with-cables_W0QQitemZ260147980121QQihZ016QQcategoryZ35595QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem