1974 Suzuki Other

Clear

I am listing my 1974 GT750 Suzuki triple for sale. This bike will not be cheap, but the photos should help validate the extreme lengths and details that I went to in restoring this bike. I spent 1 full year on this bike and in excess of $14,000 bringing it to where you see it today. My reserve is less than that, so someone is going to get a bargain when you consider the cost to duplicate it since that does not include the 350+ hours of my labor that fits on top of that number. I'm downsizing and thinning out the bikes I don't ride. I really enjoyed doing this Suzuki, but it's been completed since 2009 when it won the VJMC 1st Place Best In Show - Suzuki in it's first year and ridden only 1,043 miles to date. Since it's completion, this bike has won 1st Place Best In Show in that same VJMC event for the 3 years I've taken it. I purchased this bike in 2008 on eBay wanting a new challenge and something different to build. I'd never owned one, nor had I ever ridden one until 2008 when I rode a friend's at Deal Gap. I fell in love with the design and made the same 1974 my next project. I found the Water Temp and Speedometer NOS gauges after I had put 823 miles on the bike. The NOS guage is missing those 823 miles. The frame and all black parts are Gloss Black powder coat. The engine was cleaned and detailed to a surgical level before being Silver powdercoated on top - matching the factory's Gray paint exactly. I went on to have the cylinder block, head, and water outlets powder coated Clear. The wheel hubs and fork tubes also have Clear powder coat. The shine will hold-up to road debris and for a long, long time. You'll notice the bottom crankcase and the waterpump cover are also Cleared. All of the aluminum is highly polished and sealed. I spent many hours with 1,000 and 2,000 grit paper wet-sanding those before taking them to the 10" buffing wheel. I did not want any waves or imperfections in those, so getting the surface to a mirror was best done by hand. You'll notice too that the all of the fasteners and small parts are plated in the correct White or Yellow Zinc. These were all done professionally. Those original "S" bolts were all re-finished too. All new bearings in the wheels, new spokes, new rims, and correctly numbered/sized 3.25x19 and 4.00x18 ContiGO tires mounted to the highly polished and Cleared assemblies. New Seat foam and cover from RB's was professionally installed onto a freshly powder coated pan in perfect shape - complete with all new decals and rubber. The paint is a Candy that my favorite painter spent hours getting matched to an original side cover. The paint is a 2-stage Urethane with 6 coats of Clear - never buffed. The stripes are applied under the Clear at my specific request. Those are new, NOS guages - not repaired on all three counts. Yes, the gear indicator works, but I've got an NOS one for back-up that goes with the bike still in the plastic. The 1974 is probably the toughest GT750 to restore there is. I chose this year model based on friend's inputs, but later learned that there is no such thing as NOS exhaust for it. This bike has the 1-year only 3 into 4 exhaust with the smooth, late-model ends but still having the connector tubing between cylinders that helped it generate it's very impressive torque down low. Designed specifically to increase low/mid-range torque and power, this attribute was dropped in 1975 when porting changes were made. Suzuki had the new RE5 Rotary that they thought you'd buy for touring. Gone forever would be the smoothness and grunt of thw 1974 models. As such, there are no NOS exhaust for this bike. I bought more than 12 pipes to get these near-perfect ones. I then spent weeks using a spot-welder dent puller to get these ready for new chrome. You will not be dissapointed, those weeks of work really were worth it. Returning from Barber's Museum in 2011, a small paint chip happened. I have it pictured, it's tiny - about the size of a knat's butt, but there. My painter cleaned it and applied Urethane clear. It's sealed and it's smooth to it's original finish - and I would never again put it on a trailer. The rack is a factory Suzuki option. The bike starts in 1/2 revolution. That radiator? I could only buy old, used ones and after 2 of the ones I had cleaned were found to be badly corroded inside, I had Griffin Performance Products in Greenville, SC make me one to match. This one has 3 times the colling capacity of stock. I've included comparison photos so you can see the differences. That piece cost me $425, but well worth the cost to have one made by the same company that makes them for the biggest names in racing. Feel free to ask me questions, again this won't be cheap. I'm posting the maximum of 24 photos that eBay allows, so if you don't see it - please ask. I have some local interest in this bike and I reserve the right to come to my senses and not sell it. I need the space, I don't ride it, and I'm being pushed by a close friend to get into Dual Sports riding. This sale will certainly fund the bike and the gear for that. If you have 0 (zero) or low feedback, you need to let me know why. I realize everyone has to start somewhere, but vintage bikes aren't the normal place for eBay newbies. I need serious bidders only. Good luck and I hope she finds a good home. Gordon