74 water buffalo, CL, ct

[chuck peterson]

https://newhaven.craigslist.org/mcy/5727599433.html

Looks like a great start to a restore

[steven c]

Came close to buying one but ended up with a 77 XS650. Always liked them.

[Lannis]

Had a '76 back in '82.   The "Rose Colored Glasses" review remembers that it was a really nice road motorcycle.  Smooth, easy cruising, strong pulling, good stopping (for the day).

And no maintenance (rose colored glasses OFF now).    Had 80,000 miles on it, got 1200 miles per quart of injector oil, adjust the chain, check tire pressure, and done.   No oil changes, no valve lash checks, no points to check, just ride it.

I'd really enjoy another, I think.

Lannis

[sdcr]

https://newhaven.craigslist.org/mcy/5727599433.html

Looks like a great start to a restore

Brother in law had one in the 80's.

IIRC, these came with footpegs that were not hinged, to lift when they touched in a turn. He had a few , Oh $&)$#! moments on that bike.

[Lannis]

Brother in law had one in the 80's.

IIRC, these came with footpegs that were not hinged, to lift when they touched in a turn. He had a few , Oh $&)$#! moments on that bike.

Both the GT750 and its little brother the 500 Titan had solid pegs.   The rubber would yield to the road, but the steel didn't - so you had to be careful when ear'oling at speed .... !

Lannis

[Arizona Wayne]

Both the GT750 and its little brother the 500 Titan had solid pegs.   The rubber would yield to the road, but the steel didn't - so you had to be careful when ear'oling at speed .... !

Lannis

They had 3 sets of points and if the timing got off before you knew it you blew a piston.  At least my son's GT550 triple did repeatedly.  I met a guy who doctored a SS ignition off a mopar slant 6 motor to work on his water buffalo.  1,200 mi. on a qt. of 2 stroke oil?  I got 600 mi. a qt. on my 350 Yamaha 2 smokes.  The GT550 stopped, handled like a PU truck. 

[wymple]

Must have been something wrong with that 550. The one I rode was a marvelous bike in it's day. I have always wanted the GT750, never had the money and opportunity at the same time.

[Lannis]

They had 3 sets of points and if the timing got off before you knew it you blew a piston.  At least my son's GT550 triple did repeatedly.  I met a guy who doctored a SS ignition off a mopar slant 6 motor to work on his water buffalo.  1,200 mi. on a qt. of 2 stroke oil?  I got 600 mi. a qt. on my 350 Yamaha 2 smokes.  The GT550 stopped, handled like a PU truck. 

Never rode a GT550 but that doesn't sound like the way a Suzuki should run ....

I bought mine from a Richmond, Virginia fireman who worked 7 day/24 hours on (living at the station), then a week off.   He was a young single man, 30 or so, and when he finished his "on" week, he would hop on the bike and head for Florida and bum around on the beach and bird-dog girls for the whole week, then head back for his shift - I don't think he had a house or apartment in Virginia.   

Bike had a Windjammer fairing, and he had adjusted the oil-injection system the way it was - it was amazing how little oil it burned.   Must have been on-target, though, with all the miles it had on it.   Never gave me any trouble, but then I traded it in on a new BMW .... !

Lannis

[Tom]

2nd bike I owned was a '72.  4 shoe leading link front brakes with the cones on the exhaust.  Never could completely synch. the brakes and I would a regular basis lose a cone and/or baffle.  The bike otherwise was great for all round use.  The refinements that Suzuki put into the Water Buffalo and the Titan would make them good rides now.  The '68 T500 was my first bike then I got the Water Buffalo.

[steven c]

 I had a 76 GT380, my first bike, put 10k on it in one year, never had a problem with it. Sucked gas though. There used to be a puple GT750 running around my home town with chambers on it, what a noise. I'm always hopping they can some how bring back 2 strokes, every now and then you read about somebody working on a modern 2 stroke motor.

[Tom]

They did sound raucous with expansion chambers on them.  Fuschia in color purplish/pink.  I had the aqua green/blue paint on mine.  After a couple of years, I repainted gloss black with red on the badges and red pinstripes.

[oldbike54]

 Also , in highly modified form , the bike that tried to Kill Barry Sheene 

 Dusty

[Tom]

Yeah...the engine was "killahs". 

[Arizona Wayne]

I had chambers on my R5 Yamaha 350 and my son Matt had chambers on his GT550.  With those chambers we got some RESPECT !!, even tho the new Jap.4 strokes of the era were faster. 

[Motu]

My drum braked Water Bucket had an ''expansion chamber'' - 3 header pipes going into a 3'' dia pipe, and a baffle sorta stinga thing on the end.  It sounded like a 3 cyl 2 stroke.  Long crank, wide bike...and a very poor turning circle.  I lived on a one lane gravel road, doing a U turn was a 13 point affair.

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

Nice stocker my friend Carl and I bumped into near Westminster, MD back in Dec. '15:





Not your father's Water Buffalo. York, PA swapmeet, Jan. '16:

[steven c]

I had chambers on my R5 Yamaha 350 and my son Matt had chambers on his GT550.  With those chambers we got some RESPECT !!, even tho the new Jap.4 strokes of the era were faster. 

I had a RZ350 with chambers, milled head, Boysen reeds, sounded great, and why did I ever sell that bike?