Suzuki GT550

By David Bice

THE VJMC OBJECTIVES ARE TO FOSTER THE PRESERVATION, RESTORATION, RIDING AND ENJOYMENT OF OLDER JAPANESE MOTORCYCLES. I THINK I’VE TICKED ALL THE BOXES WITH THIS ONE.

It’s all there … except what’s missing!

Hello fellow VJMC members. I have been wanting to tell the story of my resurrected ’73 K model GT550 for awhile, but wasn’t sure where to start so here I go.

As a Honda man most of my life and owning many different models over the years, I didn’t think I would ever be a 2 stroke smelly smoke blowing owner. But as a Central Vic. VJMC member I was impressed by a very nice candy gold ’72 GT550 that one of our members has, so one day in the course of my work as a freight driver I came across a bloke who said he had a Suzuki 550 waterbottle he would sell.

Knowing this wasn’t a 750 bottle I asked how much and he replied about $500 and his description was that it was all there apart from pipes which he said were readily available on Ebay (all banged up ones are).

I didn’t think long and said I would take it, but on the day

of pick up he was in Sydney working and his wife and brother helped me load all the bits and pieces in the car. It was then I noticed more than pipes missing so I ended up paying $400 for maybe half a bike and seeing it was Sunday morning headed straight to our VJMC coffee meet in Kangaroo Flat to ask the Suzuki experts what I really had.

Carl Schubert (aka Mr Suzuki) confirmed it was a K model and as cylinder head nuts were all loose suggested we take the head off to check the bores. I clearly remember his first words when I lifted it up, “Oh Oh, no-one’s home”, meaning no pistons! Not knowing where

All sorts of mechanical issues

Making progress

to go now I took it all home and laid it out on the shed floor to see what I had … and It wasn’t good.

Deciding to keep going I quickly found Ebay becoming my best friend, as I’m certain you all have with your projects. I needed lots of stuff and I cannot thank Carl enough for all his help in selling a complete front end with instruments and wheel guard as well as rear guard /taillight/indicators. Paul Furlong helping me out with a tank that didn’t resemble Swiss cheese like the one I had, and also putting me on to SA VJMC member Adrian Schilling, who remarkably had a NOS set of pipes for it (oooh lah lah thankyou Adrian for your help.)

Not game enough to freight them home, I embarked on the journey over to pick them up myself, and some 1300km later they were safe in my shed ready to go on.

Not sure if there’s enough room to list Ebay purchases but let’s try; oil pump and lines, pistons/ gudgeons / rings/ignition points plate/ points and condensers, which were in seriously rusted out. 1 x ram air cover/centre header pipe/ new engine mounts/ new seat from CMSnl.com / brake master cylinder/mirrors/ brakes/swing arm bushes and

The triple goes back into the frame

David’s view

many more parts along the way … but I’m sure the editor would like a couple of pages left in the magazine for other articles.

I also had some help from Andrew Casley and Craig Jenkins (Aqua blasting specialist) both VJMC cv members to spruce up my cylinders/heads/carbs/ramair fins/brake drum and rear spokes. Nice work and makes a big difference to what was a basket case of a bike.

About 13 months later I finished with what I had set out to do with it, which was nowhere near a concourse bike but a reasonably clean neat looking machine, and that Honda man in me rather likes his smelly old two stroker now.

It’s great to ride, with more torque and power than I would have imagined.

Once again I can’t thank the VJMC members enough for their knowledge, expertise and help along the way and this is what the club is all about, so anyone thinking of heading down this road just get in there and give it a go.

The finished result

Another payoff: enjoying VJMC rides