SUZUKI GT750 and GS Series

GT750

The "Kettle" is now a fairly rare sight. Also known as the Water Buffalo in the States, I had thought that they had all been snapped up by professional bike show exhibitors, and were only briefly brought out of a van for a classic show appearance, then put back in the van without even being fired up. Shame, because these things were fun. Hardly ever see one these days - Or so I thought…..

There I was, driving (sorry) up the A1, when out of a side road came a Kettle, followed by another, and another, and then about 70 more.

Suzuki GT750

Didn't realise there were that many left, and it seems my earlier remarks are a bit unfair to a lot of Kettle owners, as these ones obviously used their bikes as Mr Suzuki intended. I got an e-mail following an earlier version of this site, from Shaun Chandler, a member of the Kettle Club. It seems that those 70 kettles were on a run out from the East of England Showground as part of their Annual Rally. With around 450 members, many of them owning more than one bike, the Kettle is clearly not dead yet! Please accept my apologies and congratulations, Ladies and Gentlemen. Keep'em running, please.

Had another e-mail from Malcolm Evans of the same club, who had a bit of a crunch on that very club outing, but kindly pointed me to these pictures of very fine and original triples.

If you like Kettles, the club site is well worth a visit at http://www.thekettleclub.org.uk

 

 

The only triple I've owned is a GT380, the Kettle's little brother, but I rode several 750's and the less common 550. The 750 had a huge amount of torque, I think more than a Triumph Bonneville, which was a bit of a standard at the time. Not exactly fast revving as I recall, but handling wasn't bad for something so big and heavy. Funny thing, but I find that all Suzukis of this era handle exactly the same, and I have ridden most of them.

The thing most people remember is the distinctive sound these two stroke triples made. Wish I could find a sound file of one, then you could all enjoy it. Some unkindly liken it to a Hoover, but if you can make my Hoover sound like that I would be very happy. Strangely, the Kawasaki triples, with the same cylinder layout, sounded totally different. That deep Suzi burbling noise still attracts more attention than your average four.

Lottery choice? I think one of the later L/M models with front disks, in metallic blue.

 

GS Series

Here I will admit to being biased, as I rebuilt one of these, even if it was only the 550.. It's the bigger GS750 that probably marks the point where the Japanese, having captured the market with their engines, started to build decent bikes around them. It topped 120, stopped, and cornered, and the other manufacturers had to follow Suzuki's lead. The first 750 I saw had been production raced, and was parked outside my local dealers. Nothing had been done to it, other than to fit drop bars, and it had raced successfully "out of the crate". I still remember the state of its front tyre, which really confirmed how good the handling was. On most other bikes, the rider would have been sliding down the road long before the tyre got that bad.

Suzuki GS750

 

Suzuki GS1000 Katana

Other models followed, including the GS1000, and the pictured Katana model, which is still a stunner, but I don't think they made quite the same impact as the 750.

The development of the GS engine continued through the years, and while initially a stronger but pretty direct copy of the Kawasaki Z engine, it went from 8 to 16 valves, and through oil and water cooling in the GSX-R models.

Few of the subsequent models have been class leaders, apart from the original GSX-R 750, but the Suzi fours have always been decent all-rounders, and pretty much indestructible. Just look at the next 1970's four you see on the road - It will be a GS. Lottery choice? One of the first 750's, in blue, and with spoked wheels.

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