Water Buffalo – 1972 Suzuki GT750

In Japan, Standard by Mathieu Guyot-SionnestLeave a Comment

When Honda released the CB750, the other Japanese manufacturers had no other choice but to respond. Kawasaki made the choice to develop a little bit more power than the CB750 with the Z1, but Suzuki chose to stay with their specialty of two-strokes and in 1972 they released the GT750 “Le Mans”.

Looking at the success of the 4-cylinder 4-stroke engine, it was actually pretty bold from Suzuki to keep their 2-stroke engine. They basically used their knowledge and technology they had from the T500 Titan, a 2-stroke 492cc parallel twin, added a third cylinder and the GT750 engine was born. But the major innovation Suzuki added to their machine was liquid cooling, which lent itself to the international nickname of “Water Buffalo”. Indeed, the GT750 was the first mass production bike from Japan that featured it. The other particularity of the bike in terms of design is the presence of 4 pipes for 3 cylinders. With its dry weight of 507lbs, the bike could reach about 110mph and supported high speed cruising. In the end, the GT did not manage to be considered a superbike nor a sport bike, and riders essentially used it as a cruiser. To get more information about the GT750, please read Motorcycle Classics.

The GT750 (VIN: GT75023320) presented in this article is in very good original condition with its original paint and 8k miles. The bike was in a long-term storage before the seller restarted and serviced it. The bike has been gone through with new fluids for the gearbox, engine, radiator and fork. The battery is new as well as all the spark plugs. The bike has currently no title, but every document is available to make one. The seller indicates he can do it before the sale if needed. The bike has two dings on the tank and a scratched seat, other than that, it looks very clean. Here is a video of a cold start:

Find this GT750 in Bakersfield, California for $8,500 here on Craigslist.