A Good Looking Water Buffalo

[eddd]

Link (Be sure to scroll down to see all the pictures.)

 

I think I need a larger/second garage.

 

This one brings back memories. I had one with a Vetter fairing that took me all over the US and Canada two up and pulling a great little trailer.

 

I was attracted to the Suzuki because I didn't want to be like everyone else. Back then it seemed like everyone had or wanted a Honda CB750. My choice turned out to be a good one. Fuel, two-stroke oil, tires, and a chain every now and then was it ever needed.

[johnlt]

Wow, hard to believe that is original condition. Looks better than new.

[upflying]

I once owned it's smaller cousin, a GT380.

Nicknamed, "blue haze".

[Glenn Reed]

I had forgotten about the three into four exhaust they had.

 

Nice looking bike, especially given it's age.

[flars]

I had two of them. A 72 and a 74. The 72 came with shoe brakes. Shortly after I got it, Suzuki started to offer a dual disk front end for $150.00, which I pounced upon with great glee. The kit came with a front wheel with dual disks, forks, front tire, hydraulic stuff for the right handlebar, and a matching lever for the clutch side. I don't remember if it came with a new fender, but I think it did. Such a deal. I traded the 72 in on a 74 because I liked the color, and because the cam wiper on the points wouldn't stay lubricated. I had to spritz it with chain lube every so often to keep it from squealing. I wasn't the most mechanically inclined person at the time. I also put a Vetter fairing on it.

[hopz]

Bet its hard to start with the battery cables disconnected like that... just say'n.

[Bob_Minor]

I also had the baby brother GT380. I loved it and with it's reliability I found I could actually travel long distances and get home again. The main short coming was the suspension which had a lot in common with a pogo stick. My first BMW (a used R90/6) replaced it.

[KTM Doug]

Wow! All the motor looks like it was just polished. I had the GT550 that I installed a handlebar fairing sorta like a HD Glide. Rode it lot's of miles.

[Missouri Bob]

I bought this one last spring off of eBay. Since then, I've polished the motor, and replaced the tires and shocks. I've wanted one since 1972.

 

[eddd]

I bought this one last spring off of eBay. Since then, I've polished the motor, and replaced the tires and shocks. I've wanted one since 1972.

 

 

Very nice. The one I had was also a 1976. I bought it in Rapid City, SD. I had to delay heading out from Mission, SD to go pick it up until the roads were opened after a monster snow storm.

[fourteenfour]

I started out on a 380GT Suzuki, boy do I remember those days when the passenger peg would snap into place while I was trying to kickstart the beasty....

 

Had a friend in the Air Force with a blue 750 like the one pictured here, but I doubt it was ever that clean. Damn that bike was heavy

[Matts_12GS]

My brother had one of those, and my uncle taught me to ride on his GT550. I really would like to have one of those to play... Back to Craigslist I think....

[SAAB93driver]

A friend of mine's dad had one of these, it was pretty interesting being watercooled and 2 stroke. If those waffle grips are anything like the stock ones on my Honda CB 450 from the same decade they were designed by the devil himself.

[markgoodrich]

I bought a '72 brand new, just after the '73s with disc brakes came out, for $1200. Got a free Bell helmet the deal. It was my daily transport until December '75 when I sold it for...$1200, can't remember the mileage on it...we had a car, too, sold everything and went to South America for almost a year. The Buffalo looked gigantic parked next to all the other bikes at the University.

 

I've always wanted another, even though I know it would disappoint compared to modern machinery.

[lkchris]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzuki_GT750

 

My memory of these is that they arrived same time as the 240Z

 

 

[marty mayer]

First street bike I owned. I also put a Vetter faring on mine. Rode that bike all over the place. Never left me stranded on the side of the road, unlike my current ride. Still remember the burble sound when you would roll off the throttle.

 

Marty

[Secret Buzzard]

Surely someone has some memories to share about their RE5? Never owned one but they intrigued me at the time. Saw one at RIH a couple of years ago and my, how complex the throttle cable assembly seemed to be.

[g_frey]

You guys with all these dream bikes. a FRIEND AND I had a Maico? 250 in military green about then and I pushed it more miles than I rode it. Needless to say I am not eager to relive that. At the time I had neither a license nor insurance nor proper tools nor ANY TRAINING in riding, mechanics, or using my brain. Literally I once rode and pushed it 7 miles out of town and then pushed it all the way back. Since we had zero documentation it may not have been a 250, hell it may not have been a Maico. My dreams of riding all over the US were not fulfilled needless to say. It was sold very shortly after that. If I remember right it weighed about 800 lbs at the end of the seven miles and took three tries to get it over the small bump at the end of the driveway.

[beemerboy]

Nicknamed, "blue haze".

 

I love the smell of 2-stroke smoke in the morning, smells like.....victory. (former Kawasaki Mach III owner here)

[Rob L]

You mean this kinda blue haze?

 

 

This is a 1972 Titan 500.

 

 

Rode one in high school and loved it. I added a set of SS expansion chambers to this one. The noise upsets the "biker" crowd!!

[beemerboy]

Nice bike! Geez, I remember when the Titan was considered a "big" bike.....

[Rob L]

That was my main transportation in high school and for about 2 years afterward. I dated my wife on that bike (not the one in the pics)! I picked this one up in Mich a few years ago and returned it to stock.

[Missouri Bob]

Almost 40 years ago, I owned a GT550. The first time I started my GT750, its two-stroke aroma and exhaust burble brought back the memories.

 

Bob

[Don Miller]

That bike brings back some very good memories. My brother had the same color/year Water Buffalo with Vetter fairing and bags. Craig Vetter was a visionary; a man with a vision ahead of the times. My first road bike was it's little brother... a GT380 with a Bates fairing. Three cylinders, CCI oil injection and 380 cc's. WOW! At the time, I couldn't imagine why anybody would need (or could use) more power than that. Flash forward 40 years... a K1600GT in the stable. Back then I would have said "stodgy BMW? No way!" Hmmm. Way.