Honda-SOHC
SOHC.co.uk Forums => Other Bikes => Topic started by: MCTID on August 18, 2020, 03:44:27 PM
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A rare photo from me.
My 1979 Suzuki GS750E which I traded a stack of old Triumph parts for last November and I tarted up over the winter, and have ridden a few times in the past month or so.....first time in the saddle in 6 years ! It's right what they say....it's just like riding a bike !
It's been a joy to work on....although it's a 40 year old bike, everything is just so well thought out and solidly put together.....and parts are easy and reasonably cheap to find.
Tried hard to keep the costs down and not to 'overdo' the bling or to be 100%/OTT original, as that would just be wasting money - as it's only worth about £3K, but I'm very pleased with it.
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Very nice Alan.
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Looks great Alan - always liked GS back in the day. I nearly bought one when they came out but had a Z1 and didn't want to lose the lower down grunt (compared to a 750). Waited until GS1000HC came out and bought one of the first 1000's sold by Queens Park Motors in 1978 (still have the receipt!). Great bike and went round europe with a mate on an early wire wheeled, single disc GS750. Good memories!
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Great looking bike Alan, well done👍. Is that the seat you had difficulty obtaining? It's got to be worth more than £3k though, Super Dreams go for more and I know which one I'd rather be on!
I remember a guy at college had one in 79 and he always had a crowd gather around it when parked.
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Dont remember having any problems at all with those in the workshop, valve shoms were a bit tedious to do but not as bad as a cbx!!
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It has been a real pleasure to work on....even though it was covered in 40 years of crud, it's probably helped to preserve it, but the thing that really impressed was how it's 'overengineered' so nothing seems to be under too much stress, and how simple and easy the bits are to access and spanner.
I know that back in 1979 Suzuki basically copied much of the good stuff from the Big Kwackers and the wonderful CB750K's but imitation is sometimes the best way - if something works and works well - why try and reinvent the wheel.
Of more interest to sohc Forum members will be the good peeps who helped along the way:
Bob the Seat recovered the saddle......he's got my original CB750K4 to refurbish at the moment - in the early Ducktail style one cos I just love that look; Restore my Chrome replated the old Header pipes and did a brilliant job; Marvin Silencers in Italy supplied the new pattern Silencers (shop around on E Bay as their prices vary so much - for the same parts) and the dings in the Tank - which were just a crying shame as the patina is otherwise lovely - were sorted by MPDR - http://www.motorcycledentremoval.co.uk/ and I'm astonished just how good the Tank turned out.......the OEM decals are no longer available and I really didn't want it plain black - as I had a similarly painted Suzuki GT500 that I crossed the USA/ Canada on in 1976 - so dead chuffed with it.
I'll do a bit more cosmetic stuff next winter....regrind the fork stanchions and polish the sliders, new brake lines in stainless braided and new coils and HT leads should see it good for a few more years without breaking the bank......any suggestions for somebody who can polish the alloys ?
After 6 years maybe I'll manage the DGR this year....my crusty old Neighbour was suitably impressed when he saw my swanky Dainese pin striped bike jacket last week and I'm sure I still have a bow tie and pocket watch that I used to top off my Royal Artillery Mess Kit all those years ago ! We shall see.
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Very nice. 👍
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Yes nice bike, could easily have come off a Honda assembly line! I don’t remember any up in Orkney, but I do remember at least two GS550E’s. one black with blue decals and one dark red/maroon/burgundy colour. Always liked the black one but struggled to just keep my MK2 Cortina on the road at that time so could only dream.
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I agree with you Alan about MPDR. They removed several large dents from my alloy Triton tank after the garage roof caved in (non-asbestos corrugated roof sheets crack after 15 years as I found out :(). I was amazed how MPDR removed the dents without opening the tank up from the bottom. The tank was made by the Tank Shop in Scotland. Its made of 2mm alloy sheet and fully baffled inside to prevent surging. Just how MPDR got the dents out to make it look brand new is something I'll never know but that's their secret! Worth every penny though.
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Still not got the hang of the SOHC photo thing there Alan, never mind a few more years practice should do it. For your alloy polishing get hold of the same guy that did your chroming, but beware it will come back mirror finished. Bit of a change for you working on a Japanese bike, I'm surprised you have any metric spanners, LOL. If summer would care to come back we could have a ride out to somewhere that has a teapot.