1972 Suzuki GT 750 Kettle / Water Buffalo / Water Bottle / Water Bucket / Water Bus (#7) Ride along

[@terryhimes5052]

I had this exact Motorcycle in that color when I was sixteen in 1973. The Suzuki Water Buffalo was a great Motorcycle.

[@farmon2000]

I had a 75 750 gt. Many good memories.

[@clay1883]

I had one just like it. One of the best bikes I ever owned. Unlike most two strokes, it had plenty of low end and had a much larger torque band than other two strokes. I ran the hell out of it for 60K. miles and sold it to a friend that rolled it on past 100K. It always got me home. Never fouled a plug. Never ran hot. Only shortcoming I found was it had enough power to require regular chain adjustments. Just a little something strange that I remember was the warning label under the gas lid cover to "USE REGULAR GRADE GAS ONLY". No, I don't know why.

[@practicalplinking6133]

Art Bauman's Match Race story of riding a Factory Suzuki GT750 with the "Limeys " on the track- It was incredible, your setting up for a corner way ahead of it with a Brit up high and I've got like 50mph on this guy and he fuckin drops right in front of me onto my line, locked up the wheels and prayed. He kept going low so we missed each other. Tough riding with bikes that handled so much faster but with so much lower top end.

[@wolfnomis8138]

I still own all my bikes, never sold any. Among them my first and second one: GT500 and GT750 Nice bikes. The latest two VMax 1200 and Vmax 1700. Any of these bikes special and a lot of fun to ride The GT750 once burned the center piston while I was totally illegally on the road without insurance and faked numberplate. To make it home I needed to get out the spark plug and I went the last 50km on 2 cylinders. A wonderful big bike.

[@waynemetzger6251]

Wow !!! What an incredible example of a 750 water cooled 2 stroke absolutely mint bike just like my buddy's brand new one awhile ago in the early 70's !!!!

[@doxydoxdelamanca9902]

The nortons are fine, but that GT is the bike for me!

[@marcoddonemaxoux]

Bonne moto gt beau moteur 2 temps a eau ,et cinquantenaire. Puissante et confortable .

[@TheMightyGarage]

Bonjour et merci beaucoup pour votre note. C'est une super moto ! Meilleurs vœux

[@poulsonarrow]

That iconic sound brings back some great mems back in the day , nice to see they are still out there .

[@greentrumpet]

Nice video, when a pal bought a Kettle new in 1974 I knew I'd have to have one. Another friend was looking to sell his in the 80s so I snatched his hand off, owned it for about 15 years and it's one of those "wish I hadn't sold it" bikes. Proper Dan Dare machine!

[@TheMightyGarage]

Thanks a lot for the great comment. Loved the Dan Dare comment and know just what you mean 😉 Best wishes, Mike

[@geoffhalsey2184]

What a treat to be riding such a relatively rare motorcycle. An experience not to be missed.

[@deepthought3316]

Two strokes. Always underrated. Deserved much more development

[@practicalplinking6133]

Why then, do you think the FIM dropped the open class displacement limit to 500cc from 750cc??

[@CNDUK-q8r]

I hope you carried ample supplies of holy water and garlic. A kettle riding with a Norton indeed!!!

[@Afro408]

We called them The Water Bus. 😁

[@TheMightyGarage]

Thank you Tony. I had not heard that one before. I will add that to the title. Best wishes, Mike

[@Afro408]

@@TheMightyGarage You’re welcome Mike. 👍

[@michaelmathews295]

Owned a 1973 GT380 and a 1977 GT550. Both great bikes.

[@honestjohn6222]

They use to sound great with 3 into 1 chamber

[@stevecolwill9761]

Back in the ‘70s I lived opposite a garage in Salisbury, UK, and a guy who worked there had a kettle. I always knew when he was finished for the day when I heard the Suzuki burble. 👍🏻

[@helenloughton2418]

nice gt but those nortons are beautiful bikes

[@TheMightyGarage]

Thanks Helen. I agree! 😉😉

[@bw3506]

In 1999 I bought a purple and white 72 GT750 with only 9000 miles at a garage sale for $500. It had always been inside and was all original, including the seat. Had to clean the carbs put a battery and rear tire on it. My buddies called it the "Grape Ape". I rode the heck out of it for several years and enjoyed it a lot. The torque and smoothness of power was amazing .That liquid cooling was ahead of its time. Oh yea that sound was awesome!! Always got people looking due to the color and rarity. Drew lots of compliments on it as well because it was in such good shape people thought it was restored. Even got a couple compliments on about how little it smoked from people behind me on group rides. It would get up and move out too but the handling and braking were definitely old school. That being said it was still a blast to ride and I miss it. I ended up selling it for $1200 when I quit riding. The guy was happy to get it. I hoped he enjoyed it as much as I did.

[@TheMightyGarage]

B W thanks very much, BW. Great story! Hopefully will get to see Geoff’s bike again more next year and I will be sure to film it. Cheers, Mike

[@swedenoble6083]

Love this nice short video from the down under thunder boys and a nice group of sport bikes back in the day 😉

[@twowheelhorse8287]

Thanks Mike for the great video. I rode my purple GT750 on the OVM ride on the Saturday of the show. Myself and a friend, also on a water buffalo rode near the back of the pack out of respect for the other riders. We called it the "smoking section".

[@TheMightyGarage]

Haha! Thanks Bernie. You can certainly smell the bike when riding behind... but it's a good smell! ;) Thanks for your kind words. Cheers, Mike

[@nightster6378]

@@TheMightyGarage There is a 2 stroke oil that resembles Castrol R I have yet to find out who makes it, I bet you will volunteer and fight over who will ride behind him if he uses it.

[@rickjames4251]

i had a couple of H2, and 400 2 stroke, always wanted to have the suzuki gt750, very nice build, sounds great.

[@midgoog2]

Thanks for the ride. My first real bike was the GT750L. (I stepped up from a 125 vespa) The bike did have clearance issues on tight switchbacks but once you got your body to do some gymnastics it was great fun. When I changed out the stock exhaust to a 3 into 1 system that aspect improved markedly. The sound from the new system had to be heard to be believed. A big 2 stroke triple at full throttle is akin to the howl of a banshee. The huge twin disc front brakes not only pulled the beast up in very short order, they also doubled as a very efficient rabbit decapitator. There wa a narrow band of vibration at 4500 to 5000 rpm from memory, but overall it was smooth as silk. After about 5 or 6 hours in the saddle the seat frame started to be an annoyance however as that was occuring a stop for fuel was in the offing. As a long distance tourer here in Oztralia it was great. The major problem was the balance pipe joints on the stock exhaust constantly blowing the "O" ring seals. The oil I used was for watercooled outboard engines, ( the Suzuki proprietry oil was expensive) If aircooled oil was used the plugs shorted with from what I assume was the lead content. Many fond memories came flooding back watching your Vid. Cheers Eric

[@TheMightyGarage]

Thanks a lot Eric for sharing a great story. Best wishes, Mike

[@iivaridark6850]

The intake sound (or howl) is awesome! Great bike!

[@TheMightyGarage]

Thank you for your comment LD, I just watched the video again and it all came flooding back how great it was. Best wishes, Mike

[@54macdog]

That Suzi came back to life in record time. Lovely rare bike.

[@TheMightyGarage]

Man, it's so great isn't it! It feels like a brand new bike! Best wishes, Mike

[@54macdog]

So your two-stroke project will be...

[@TheMightyGarage]

Haha... hmmm, I will have to think about that! It would need to be British ;) Perhaps a Bantam (one of my first bikes) or an Ariel or a Scott??

[@OfficerLarryNMSE]

I had a Waterbuffalo back in '79. I wish I would've kept it...

[@daviddixon2166]

My Dad bought one exactly like this GT brand new. Same color. My mom rode a 72 GT 550.

[@glengerdes2447]

Currently building a cb500 cafe, with the gt front brake. Then a cbx. Keep up the videos. 🏍👍

[@TheMightyGarage]

Thanks a lot Glen! Oh very cool about the CB. They are a great looking bike. Cheers, Mike

[@motorcyclegarage2307]

I would have loved to own a kettle , i owned a Suzuki GT 550 which was also wanderful and rode all over the UK on it in the late 1970,s

[@TheMightyGarage]

Cool, thanks a lot. I'm hoping to see this bike out on the road again this year. Best wishes, Mike

[@pauloconnor7951]

Are those Norton Comandos named after what they're name suggests ? !!!!!

[@tadpoles10]

Thanks for sharing Mike, great to see Geoff do a swap with you the Suzuki looks a treat. I think it's good to see 'your' bike on the road. So that's me off to a good start for the day, early morning ride out & Moto GP with Rossi on poll to come later oh & the sun is out. atvb t ..

[@nightster6378]

"Kettle"/"Water Buffalo"/"Water Bottle" Well Mike I need to tell you to us in Northern Ireland these were known as a "Water Bucket" affectionately shortened to a "Bucket", back in the day I had a few of these when they could be got cheap but always hankered after a J model in Candy Jackel Blue influenced by one that sat at a friend of my brothers myself and friend used to drool over on our way home from school, though 12 years older he became a good friend of mine when I started riding, though he is now 73 and rides a Kawasaki ZX12 and clocked near 98,000 miles and still very fast. We go out often as a group. 6 Years ago I eventually got a J in Candy Lavender in really nice all original condition imported from the States (Casper Wyoming) with crank seals gone, 24,000 miles and two brand new tyres fitted dated 1975 (nipples still all over them). I rebuild the engine with new crank seals, bearings and rods and now she runs and rides beautifully, new tyres of course and I'm really impressed how well the 4 leading shoe front brake works (twin disc on Geoff's bike), as the paintwork is so good and sacrilege to paint I now have most of the parts to paint in Candy Jackel Blue for next year. Only the covers on the radiator sides I'm having difficulty getting and the tank I have needs a lot of repair. I am 5"7" and don't have an issue with the height of my bike though Geoff's bike does look high, I need to look at my seat as the original seat I think is maybe a 1"1/2 lower though you do tend to sit on it, after riding this bike for a while and exploring its performance you would be surprised at how torquey and economical they are and with modern TT100's how well the handle. Commando on my bucket list Mike and been fortunate to recently acquire an immaculate a 72 Laverda 750SC and on the lookout for a BMW R75/5. No more restorations after I start and finish my 78 Honda CBX1000. I can live with patina on my vintage bikes I think you would like. Why couldn't I (we) afford these bikes back in the day? Lavarda, BM's and Ducati were only dreams, I guess still are. Lovely motorcycle Geoff and a credit to you on the build, I'm a bit late in saying this but see and enjoy it. They are a great bike. I'm going through your vids Mike and promise I won't comment to them all as my comments tend to be long and don't want you streaming tears of boredom.

[@TheMightyGarage]

Thank you so much for this great note! I really enjoyed reading it and your lifelong love affair with these awesome bikes. Thanks for your kind note about Geoff's workmanship. He's a really talented guy who can turn his hand to anything! I've learned so much from him. Wow, congratulations on the Laverda! That is amazing. Best wishes and thanks for staying in touch. Oh, I also added "Bucket" to the video titles just for you ;) Cheers, Mike

[@MrTopadman]

Will go to my grave riding my 750J

[@nigelmitchell351]

I'll bet the lovely old kettle is burning twice the juice of the commando! Still its cheap enough stateside isn't it?

[@TheMightyGarage]

hehe, yes petrol / gas is still very cheap compared to the UK! Folks complain here but they have no idea how much it is back home ;)

[@nigelmitchell351]

Mi Ty never forgotten my first ride on a Suzy 750 wow. Managed to afford a 380 though, happy days . Stay safe have fun! Ps it’s raining again in Rugby Warks.

[@edgeyt1]

Does it mix its own fuel or do you have to do it yourself?

[@TheMightyGarage]

Ed Wilson Hi Ed. It has a pretty sophisticated oil injection system. Cheers, Mike

[@FunDayKey]

Add "Water Bus"...

[@TheMightyGarage]

Thank you!

[@glengerdes2447]

I buy gt750 front drum brakes, when I find them . Sad in a way, cause I know thats another Suzuki , that will never run again.

[@TheMightyGarage]

Thanks Glen. Yes the drum brakes are so much better looking than the disc. Cheers, Mike

[@jimh.5286]

I hope Geoff realizes the consequences of what he's done. Sure, there's the initial fun and satisfaction of having restored a rare, interesting, very special bike, but soon Geoff will have to deal with the attention that the bike attracts. It's bad enough when you go to a bike event and people keep hovering around, staring at your bike, distracting you with incessant, repetitive questions like, "What year is it?", or "Did you restore it yourself?". Worse, Geoff won't even be able to buy gas without strangers coming up and asking annoying, sometimes quite inane questions like, "Is that a Suzuki Wankel rotary?", or "Is that a Buffalo Kettle?". It will never end for Geoff. He will have no peace. His life is pretty much destroyed.

[@TheMightyGarage]

Jim H. Haha Jim. Yes, luckily he has become quite accustomed to similar situations with his other amazing bikes. Just wait till you see what he is planning to take on next!! There’s obviously no cure for what he has developed 😜