Suzukian

Is their a range of years for the '89 "GSXR11" that will work? The biggest problem I have (besides not knowing what I'm doing) is the chart with offsets and data does not list my bike. I'll have to try and find that chart again, and compare the offsets. Part of me wonders if I could just find a 17" wheel that would fit the front end on my GSX750ESD and machine new brake brackets. Is that a possibility that anyone has concrete knowledge of?

Seems like a lot for me, and if the length is a problem, it's a no go. Having asked the question, and finding out that the "89 GSXR11" would work was the kind of answer that helps a lot. Thank You!!

A quick question. This front has been indicated by (hopefully not reading it wrong) posts by Renee that suggest they may fit my 1983 GSX750ESD. The price includes the Tokico calipers, everything in the picture for US $450.36 (USD). Does that seem like a fair price? They say one of the fork seals leaks, I would imagine you change both, but the unit looks pretty complete. I would only need to find a front wheel, discs, and tire. This is a 2001 to 2004 front end.

An old Spanish saying: "Tiraron el niño y crecaron la placenta!".........................:)

Holy fucking shit, I think I just found the drain to this forum!! Great reading!!

After two hours, I found the data about your GS750 buried in another thread. Thanks, very useful stuff, and these parts aren't expensive in the U.S.

The front end of your GSX750 is exactly what I want to do to mine. Is there someway I could find out what parts you used? Is their a "modification" thread. This one just shows the pictures. Would it be too much to get a parts list for moving forward from you? I would be so appreciative for this help and info. Thanks

Put a new gasket and apply a thin layer of Yamabond #4. That gasket will never leak. All you need is a very thin wipe on the gasket and the metal surfaces. I had a troublesome oil sump on my '73 M.G Midget, and put Yamabond #4 on the gasket, let it dry. The next day I realized I forgot to put the oil pick up screen on. When I tried to remove the oil pan, the gasket split perfectly in half. I put in the oil pickup screen assembly screen, applied Yamabond $4, and it has not leaked in over 30 years. I've used it to seal cases on motorcycles. It's a bitch to remove, but it will not leak. Suzuki Bond 4 is the same stuff. It also works really well when there is no gasket available. Gaskets are easy to make, so I never buy that. IMHO

These bikes need a ventuuri tube with the pod mounted on the end so the the vacuum inside the tube can lower enough (Bernoulli principle) to create the vacuum to raise the slides. There's a company that makes a tube inside a tube that allows for this. You do not get more power from pods unless you have done engine work, such as cams, pistons. The Pods just make the bike lose it's mid range and more peaky. It changes the power band but adds nothing. The inferior (and it doesn't matter what pods you use) particulate filtering causing the rings to wear prematurely. Unless you have new cams, and a free flowing exhaust, even then, the stock filter would be better for the life of the engines, and you could tune it easier to get the results you wanted from your modifications. On a stock a, a waste of time, and shorter engine life. You also loose that lovely mid-range power these bikes have. I've seen this done a few times, and it's always been a disappointment.

That's a beautiful looking bike, one of the finest examples of it I've seen.

Which years(s)GSXR front end should I be looking for? I'm open to this concept.

Depends on the roads. I prefer leaning, but sometimes, hanging off, allows you to bring the bike down sideways, and gives you more choices. 300K miles on motorcycles. I do what must be done, but only challenge myself. I never race anyone. Too old for that! I've scraped the sidestand flats off and was going to weld on new ones, but picked up a used one in excellent condition. I've had my bike since new, I can take it to the edge of the tread, those these days, I have a wife and child, so I just don't push it as hard as I used to. Gave up flying small aircraft for the same reason.

Could be. I like that I can be on the edge of the wheels at 120 mph on the Taconic Pkwy, once with my buddy on his Ducati Pantah of the same year, we had just purchased our bikes, his cost 4X more,, and the both of us, on opposite type bikes, drifting, under full control, the same on both wheels. Different era. That 16" wheel , well you don't hold on loosely, but you don't hold on too hard either. I got to ride that Ducati 650 Pantah a lot, an incredible machine, felt like you needed 4 hands to steer it, but it still did what you wanted and was impervious to bumps and potholes.

The 16" tire has to have the tire pressure right on. That being said, it was like have a scalpel in front of your bike for a wheel. It carved up the road, it seemed to be turning as you were thinking about setting the bike up, it really felt your preparation for the turns, and if you weren't careful, you could get inn trouble, but it will take you right out of it just as quickly. You can hang off of it, and take turns really fast with the bike almost vertical, or lean it over. I've worn thee flats on the center stand off and have to weld on new ones. I found a used center stand off of ebag really cheap. It looks new. The mounting clevis pins are pointing the wrong direction, so I have to remove the exhaust tail pipes to get at it. I may grind the ends off, and put clevis pins with the cotter pins on the outside to avoid having to remove something that's been together since 1983. I love the anti dive. I studied fluidics a little bit, the cartridge eliminators seem to the way to go, but my anti-dive works great, I have huge hands, and have no problem applying any extra for that may be necessary. When I ride a bike and the front end dips, it just seems so obsolete to me. I almost purchased the Katana but it had lower power specs than the GSX750 and cost a lot more. A friend of mine purchased one, he said at the time, he felt he made a mistake. They are really nice looking bikes, and a fully stock one gets big bucks in the U.S., but my bike is going to my son. I just want to make sure he gets a shitload of mileage on it before I pop. This Summer will be spend on my ZZR1200 though, it only has 3845 miles on it. I got it for virtually nothing. It's a beast. The GS750ESD will get a lot of TLC this Summer.

I've noticed when looking at compatibility charts for brakes, front ends etc. a lot of bikes have little letters beyond their factory name that seem to indicate a series of frames, I guess. Would someone be willing to educate me if their are other codes that would be used as descriptors when trying to cross match possible interchangeability of items? The bike is an 1983 known as the GS 750ESD in the U.S... I added the half fairing, it originally had the q/r fairing. Thank you.

That is why I stated "This has nothing to do with don't care of the value of your bike". I also glean these pages as I would and am interested in putting a 17" front wheel on my '83 GS750ES. The information here has been very beneficial. I am almost done with my ZZR1200. I ride the Suzuki, so I don't want to touch it till I have another daily rider.

I must say, that as an American, I hated that era, and the mentality that went with if. There are a lot of other things I don't like either, but this isn't the right venue. I always ride over 80. Their are certain roads around here where there never are any police, and minimal traffic, and I get to open up the bikes, so why not.

I'd restore the next on. There are enough resto mods out there. The bikes, stock, are disappearing. You don't see them in the U.S at all. I am constantly questioned, when stopped with a group of bikers on my '83 GS750ES, and the comments are always positive. I've found this bike to be very forgiving, but can also get you in trouble very quick if you don't respect it. Restomods in the US bring down the value of your price, if selling, no matter how much it may improve it. Survivors is the key. This has noting to do if you don't care of the value of your bike.

Duh, on my part for not reading the date of the post/thread. Thanks!

Marcus Dairy was a blast!! How many people hooked up there to go for day long rides that would have never met each other in any other way. You know the roads. I live in New Fairfield, 300 feet from the New York line. The roads around here have not changed in 40 years, except for being repaved, and then becoming like road race tracks. krazy kat that Kaz Yoshima CB400F I had (have)was the only one at Marcus Dairy, it would draw huge crowds around it. It was my 15 minutes of fame. I hope you are enjoying you're retirement. I too am retired. I stayed in New Fairfield, and have three bikes, my 2nd, also purchased new, is my '83 GS750ES, and my ZZR1200. I love these bikes. I've been half way around the world, but have yet to find roads like up in this region. Lean all the way over, or go as fast as your bike can, it's all here.

I've had "83 GS750ES since new. I actually built it out of the crate. Everyone blanks out the anti-dive without considering there may be other issues affecting the braking that they happen to fix when flush out the lines, throw out a anti-dive unit it need of cleaning. I still have mine on my bike, and when I ride other people's motorcycles, I really wonder how people can still tolerate the nose of their bike diving like that. I can lock up my front wheel, though I don't know why you would want to do that, and the bike does not dive. Going against the grain here, but having owned this bike from new, and always maintaining it, try repairing what you have, I'd replace the brake lines, maybe some Galfer Stainless steel ones, make sure there is no rust inside the anti-dive unit or the forks. You will wanting to replace that fluid also. Cartridge emulators are a trend that makes sense, simple fluidics, but you will have to make your own as there is nothing that drops right in. How hard do you plan to ride? I can go from Connecticut to New Hampshire on my bike, about a 5 hour ride, and couple of stops for fuel, and for general ball refreshing, then I'm on my way again. i can cruise at 90 all day long. What more can you ask for. It seems like a lot of posts seem to imply that they drag their knees around every corner, but if you're keeping it real, you bring that bike back to stock, and you will have one heluva motorcycle. Their are few choices for the 16" front wheel, but they are good choices. I'm running an Avon front tire now, I really like it. Pirelli just came out with a Diablo tire in 16", but they are hard to find, they are out there though, and expensive. I run a Bridgestone Battleaxe in the rear. That 16" tires really carves up the road. That hasn't changed. Take that fuel tank petcock off of prime or your crankcase will fill with gasoline!!! The charging system on those bikes is horrid. Suzuki only regulated one leg of the stator. The other two legs are rectified, but swing up and down, unregulated. You may wish to consider getting a voltage regulator that regulates all three legs before the impending inevitable charging problem arrives.

I don't see any of these bikes on the roads of Connecticut. When I go up to Bear Mountain, often I get a group of bikers and most say the same thing, "This is the bike that started it". My bike was sold for only 1 year in the U.S. before the protectionist ruling brought on by H.D, the American company that makes the things with 2 wheels, and all the foreign 750's turned into 700's. I even dragged a Velorex Sidecar with this bike for 5 years. Machined all the brackets, 10 minutes to attach, and 5 minutes to take off. I could drive in 1' foot of snow. The nature of the GS750's mid range power made it an excellent bike for that, and in those days, tight on money, working at Sikorsky Aircraft (just starting), I had to be able to ride all year. Kept the sidecar stuffed with a sleeping bag and lots of tools, the whole unit never let me down. In fact, the bike has only let me down once, and that was when the stator blue, and I found all the bad grounds, put in a new ElectroSports Stator, and a Kaw 1100 R/R (that regulates all 3 legs of the Stator) directly wired to the stator, rewired and relocated the R/R to under the seat. Two 8" wires supply the +/- voltage directly to the battery, all problems solved. I love that the valves are so easy to maintain. The whole nature of this bike seems to be "Carve up the roads, use high quality oil, do maintenance, ride me all the time, go fast". I've known people who have gone through so many bikes during the time I've had mine, they never gained a riding advantage, and their bikes just did not last. There are exceptions of course, but there's something special about my Suzuki. The reason it only has 40K miles was that I got paralyzed in an industrial accident, and couldn't walk for a year. I pickled the bike for 8 years.

Thank You. I'm an Electronic Technician, so when the whole Stator Regulator/Rectifier issue raised it's ugly head, I knew how to fix it. I just wish I had money to buy all the bikes people were giving away because they could not modify and fix this problem. I also have a small machine shop. Being a cheap bastard, I buy nothing. I make what I need. I also do CAD, so if someone needed help, and they had enough information, I could help. I am thick skinned. I read the rules. If I break one, it was unintentional. Right now I'm reading up on the fluidics behind cartridge emulators. I like the anti-dive on my bike. It works properly. I've ridden bikes where it does,'t, and taking them apart found the moisture had gotten inside an rusted the vital components. The cartridge emulators seem extremely interesting though, and would be really easy to make. ;)

Thank You!! I never got why people here though their bikes were Katanas. Just a bunch of wanna be's I guess. Don't know 'cause I don't think that way. My bike is bone stock. At times, because for a while, front tire choices where getting thin, I thought I wanted to change the front end. I live in Connecticut, on the Northwest corner, 600 feet from the New York state line, and have access to some of the best back road riding available in this country. I worked for many dealerships, almost all of them around here, as the Parts Managers during the late '70's and early '80's, and always had a dealer bike. In my time, I've had the fortune of being able to ride many different bikes. This Suzuki goes down the road, carving it out like the front wheel is a scalpel. It's bone stock. It has 40K miles on it and runs extremely strong. I'm 66, and my son is getting my machine shop, tooling etc. and doesn't want me to touch this bike. Pirelli Diablo in 100/90x 16" is available, if you can find it. I have an Avon tire on the front, which I've grown very accustomed too. As part of a small Introduction: I also have 2 other bikes. A Kaw ZZR1200 with only 3484 miles I just picked up, and a Yoshima converted my CB400F (my 1st bike, purchased new in 1975). Kazio Yoshima personally helped me convert that into a 458cc super bike, and for it's time, well, that's for another forum, I guess. I know where to post now and thank you for that. I'm old, 66, and have 5 fused and 5 ruptured discs. I still ride though. Pain is a motherfucker. I didn't get hurt on a motorcycle either. A huge CNC machine decided to eat me up. Had to give up flying and sailing, but I draw the line at bikes, and I love leaning over, and going very fast!!

I purchased my 1983 GS750ESD new, even built it out of the crate. I have added a stock half fairing to it. I feel like a total "noob" asking this, but do you classify this bike as a "teapot" or an "oil cooler"? It has the 16" front wheel. Thanks you for you patience. When I color match the Lockhart Lowers I have, it will look like the pic below.