74 suzuki gt750

[sprman4lissa]

I am thinking about buying a 74 suzuki gt750 "Water Buffalo"and i wanna know if they are a good bike or not.... They are selling it for $250.00 and it just needs the seat recovered and a new batt.. I don't know much about them at all just that it is a 2 stroke any info would help. Let me know what you think should i or not purchase... thank you

 

[Guy]

If I saw a GT 750 that only needed seat recovering and a battery for that money I'd snap it up.
They're a quirky, water cooled, 2 stroke triple that are very pleasant to ride and easy enough to work on for the most part. A little heavy on fuel, but fast enough and handle well (for the year). However, if it's been lying up for any length of time it will probably need crank seals replacing which is a major job and will cost a lot. Original points ignition is troublesome too and is best replaced with with an aftermarket kit.

 

[mistertoadie]

I had a '72 GT750. It was my first street bike actually back in '83. Mine was custom painted and was UGLY!! Had double leading shoe drum brakes on the front. I think the '74 had a disk. (lucky you). I really liked mine (except for the embarassing paint) they have automatic oil injection with a remote tank under the seat/sidecover. You'll want to make sure it is adjusted correctly, or disable it and pre-mix your gas to be absolutely sure. Very snappy for a big heavy old bike. Mine ran on 2 cylinders for a while before I realized it had a fouled plug. Thought I was getting around just fine, then noticed the cold pipe one day, swapped two of the plugs around and went for a ride, when that dead plug finally fired it felt like a rocket booster got lit. It would actually wheely pretty easy,(if you fanned the clutch). Just be prepared to be followed by a cloud of blue smoke.

 

[Guy]

The original drum brake model is far more valuable on this side of the Atlantic than the later disc models.
Running these things on premix is a real bad idea. Cruising at small throttle openings on premix will lead to oil starvation and can seize the motor. Especially as being water cooled, these bikes run very tight clearances. Besides, 2 stroke pumps rarely if ever give trouble.
Should have kept mine, like most of my bikes.

 

[sprman4lissa]

ok i bought the 74 Suzuki gt750 bike and need to know what front forks would interchange kinda like the crotch rocket style handlebars or whatever on a 74 Suzuki gt750 to make a cafe racer...well i'm sure you all know what i'm talking about....thank you

 

[almarconi]

Don't ruin that bike by modifying it. It is a interesting piece of suzuki history. Leave it stock and ride it.

 

[Guest]

I remember seeing one out of England that I think was done in Skol Bandit green colours.Very tasty.It was in a classic bike mag.Perhaps one of our Pommy mates (only mates if they give us a bit of a go at them thar ashes ) could enlighten us. Cheers , Simon.:-k

 

[waltfen]

I remember the Skoal Bandit one. I'll dig the mag out and scan it, in the meantime feast your eyes on these:

Old

Newer

 

[Dave8338]

Don't ruin that bike by modifying it. It is a interesting piece of suzuki history. Leave it stock and ride it.

GREAT ADVICE!!!

 

[sprman4lissa]

Thank you all!! I'm gonna leave it all stock... I will post some pic's of it later on... I do have another question though.. How would you polish the motor to give it that shine back? Thank You

 

[willie]

I've had my '74 Buffalo for close to 30 yrs now. Its the longest I've owned any of my bikes. It started out the same metallic orange as the one in the pic. Take a look at my photo album for what it looks like now. I put larger carbs and expansion chambers on mine and the sound it makes when on the pipe is soooo friggin nice. I suggest that you join a forum for Suz Triples. Smokeriders is a good one. I haven't found one containing as much info as GSR but they're great for contacts. Speaking of contacts, pun intended, ditch the point ignition for a CDI unit. Plugs will last yrs instead of months. Feel free to PM me for additional info.
Willie

 

[hampshirehog]

Have a look at the kettle club site - some pretty neat standard and 'not-so-standard' bike on there:

http://www.thekettleclub.com/

 

[tkent02]

Good old bikes, I'd like to find another good one.

 

[mistercooldust]

74 suzuki gt750

Crankshaft seals are the big thing to check because of the labor and expertise required to do correctly. $$$$. The steering bearings and swingarm are the next things to check on your list. Use aluminum engine antifreeze[silicate free] in the radiator. I used synthetic 2 stroke oil in mine and it knocked the gray smoke down but not out. Like others have said check out the Suzuki 2 stroke sites. They have excellent resources from all over the world. The engine is very durable but has its quirks. The bike is a touring bike not a sport bike so don't expect wheelies- just a good long ride. Your biggest problem will be the age of the bike and finding parts but they are about the coolest bikes in the world .

 

[Guest]

I've had my '74 Buffalo for close to 30 yrs now. Its the longest I've owned any of my bikes. It started out the same metallic orange as the one in the pic. Take a look at my photo album for what it looks like now. I put larger carbs and expansion chambers on mine and the sound it makes when on the pipe is soooo friggin nice. I suggest that you join a forum for Suz Triples. Smokeriders is a good one. I haven't found one containing as much info as GSR but they're great for contacts. Speaking of contacts, pun intended, ditch the point ignition for a CDI unit. Plugs will last yrs instead of months. Feel free to PM me for additional info.
Willie

EXPANSION CHAMBERS!!!! Please make a recording to a file if you can and add it to a post. To this day I can still remember the sound of my brother's GT550 with stock exhaust when he would give the throttle a good twist. And when he would let me ride it with him on the back he would poke me saying "you don't have to rev it when going through the gears!"

 

[willie]

2 memories come to mind re: the way mine runs with expansion chambers. A magazine editor approached me about doing a story on my bike when I lived in SoCal. I agreed and they sent a writer/rider over to interview me re: all the mods I'd done. The guy took me up on my offer to let him ride it and rode it down a long straight while I stood on the curb and watched. It sounds great whether you're riding it or not. Anyway, the guy comes back really impressed. I look at him and told him to try it again and this time redline it. He did and came back doubly impressed. He wrote a cool article that I still have laying around somewhere.
The other memory involves allowing a Suz mechanic to ride it that was a real authority on 2 strokes. He came back from his ride and said he couldn't understand what was causing the "problem" that he noticed. He described it as running great until it comes to the beginning of the powerband. He said he couldn't figure out where the other cylinder was coming from because at that point it sure felt like a 4 cylinder machine. lol
It's going to take awhile but I'll see what I can do about getting a soundbite to post.
Also, I know of a great source for getting the crank rebuilt if needed. He did mine and it looked so good when I got it back I thought it was a different crank and felt bad about hiding it inside an engine instead of displaying it in a glass case.
Willie

 

[sprman4lissa]

Ok i started working on the 74 suzuki gt750 bike and there is a problem i don't know how bad... Well the back will is froze or something i unhooked the back break & it's still wont turn... and another thin is i can kick start the bike over in neutral but when i kick it over in gear it won't kick over it's like it's locked up even when i hold the clutch in.... so if anybody that has an idea i would appreciate it.... I think i know why they sold it for $250.00 thank you

 

[supersonictoys]

well it stands to figure that if the rear wheel is frozen as you said and the chain is still on the bike the motor shouldn't turn over when in gear. remove the chain and try again. try turning the rear brakes lever with a large crescent wrench. maybe oil it up good with some wd40 and allow it ton soak for a day or two and try tapping on the rear brake hubs actuator shaft. sounds like corrosion between the aluminum brake hub and the steel shoe spreading actuator shaft(what ever its called). also , I wouldn't sweat the crank seals. suzuki had totally different crank seals than the trouble prone kawasaki triples did. I have seen gt750's that have sat for 15+ years and still run great after freshening up the tune up stuff. even saw one with 60,000 miles. also , don't run the bike without the injector system as I don't believe the top case is drilled to feed premix oil to the crank bearings. this was a pressure lubricated crank and not designed for premix at all. worst thing I can remember about working on a water buffalo was getting the cylinder to come off the cylinder studs ran through the water jackets and they would rust into the cylinder making them nearly impossible to get off. seems like suzuki had some kind of puller for removing them but I have also heard of people having to make their own 6 inch long home made hole saw which would fit tightly around the outside of each cylinder stud and would cut the rust and corrosion all the way down around each stud. what a hassle....

 

[atb1998]

YES for sure clean up and polish the engine. I used to own a gt750,. The guy i sold it polished up the motor and it looked 100 pecent better. Very different, yet fun bikes to ride. Watch that 2 stroke powerband, it WILL surprise you

 

[Big T]

Ok i started working on the 74 suzuki gt750 bike and there is a problem i don't know how bad... Well the back will is froze or something i unhooked the back break & it's still wont turn... and another thin is i can kick start the bike over in neutral but when i kick it over in gear it won't kick over it's like it's locked up even when i hold the clutch in.... so if anybody that has an idea i would appreciate it.... I think i know why they sold it for $250.00 thank you

1. The rear wheel bearings are frozen up - a PITA to get out and easy to replace. Pull the rear wheel off and set it on top of a bucket. Loosen the axle nut until it's just a bit past the treads (nuts are cheap). Put penetrating oil on the top side of the axle as close to the hub as possible. After a few hours, flip over and repeat oiling. It may take a few days to penetrate to the bearings, depending on whether you can remove the brake hub and cush drive. Then, tap (don't pound) the axle out, take the bearings out and go down to the bearing house and get some new ones. Clean up the axle and reinstall with grease

2. This may be how it is made. Check the Triples forum for better info on this

BTW, I just saw a nice shiny one listed for $6,000!!! locally. I saw it in person that day, very nice

There's all sorts of good info on polishing cases. Use the Search feature

$250 is a steal. It's bound to have some problems, that's why they didn't ride it anymore.

Clean the carbs. If you can get it to run and make it look 1/2 way decent, sell it next summer for some big $$$.

Then use that money to buy another GS