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I have been a Suzuki lover since my first one back in 1982. It was a 78 GS1000E, and after my first ride home on it I was hooked on Suzuki power.

I also loved two strokes since my first one back in 1984 (RZ350)....But Suzuki stopped selling two strokes in the States back in 1976 :(

At the end of the year in 2007, I bought myself a modern stroker (RS250 Cup) for track days. And since that had a Suzuki VJ22 based engine, I thought that was as close as I could get here with sporting Suzuki power. But as I got wiser I found a few RGV's here in the States, as I looked for RS engine spares.

I now had a VJ21L, a VJ22FL, and a VJ22N.....but I really wanted the last of them all....the infamous VJ23

And one day I had a call to pick up a crate.....drove to Chicago to pick it up and brought it home.....wondering the condition of it's contents inside. after the long trip from Japan.

Two weeks before, I had a smaller box on my door step....

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Why was it shipped in pieces you ask...?

Because this is the US, and our laws are screwed up. A bike that does not comply with DOT/EPA must be 25 years old before it can be allowed into the country.

If it's not 25 years old, then it must be considered a race only bike, and it can never be titled under it's serial number.

So.....I took the hard road....and got the bike in as parts, since the engine was not in the same box as the frame, I got it home with no EPA/DOT issues with my serial number.

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I've owned bikes since 1981....so I have had some time to collect a few things :)

Kids are long gone and no more ex wives to deal with...I can finally burn up some $$$ on me...:banana:

 

There are are many days I walk into the garage though and think....fuck....what do I have fix this week instead of ride..???..........But the good does outweigh the bad for sure 

If I need to clear my mind, I just go out for a smoke :P

Edited by busa1300
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I have been collecting NOS parts for the VJ23, and have it up on the operating table.

Just trying to find the motivation to get moving on it after all the time I have burned up on the GS1000, which is about 98% done....and the CBX, and SR projects I finished during the year. Hate starting another project when I have more than one still needing attention.....like the vj22 that is on the other operating table, basically in suspended animation (untouched for years...)

But I'll slowly get to it after I get back from vacation, as it needs to be done before mid May....I did get the engine soda blasted clean, need to get into engine a bit deeper also.

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Edited by busa1300
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:tu...It's an addiction....

 

Trying to get parts collected before I dig in, but undecided on the direction I want to go.

The smart and easy route would be back as close to 100% original (but not restored) since I have a VJ22 I will be building up, to beat the hell out of...

But I was also thinking RS250 wheels so I can run  120x70 and 160x60 rubber. Stock front wheel is only 3 wide, RS MK2 is 3.5.

And then if I do that I should get a set of pipes ($$$$$) and unrestrict the ignition ($$$$)  I guess it depends on how soon I can find a cheap set of RS wheels...?

Or if I find something better to burn my money on.....

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After about 4 months of trying to get this bike legal, I finally have paperwork that proves it....:banana:

Now I have some incentive to get back at it in a couple of weeks, as soon as my next box of parts shows up.

The good....they got the serial number and year right

The bad...they forgot the V in RGV, and wouldn't accept that I changed the speedometer reading to miles instead of kilometers.

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Edited by busa1300
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