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Long, but worth a read:
For when the listing goes
Suzuki GSX750et
Hello and welcome to my listing for this classic 80’s muscle bike, they call them muscle bikes because you need plenty of muscle to push this heavy twat about!
First off, let me make it really clear !
THIS IS A CLASSIC PROJECT OR AT WORST, RARE SPARES BIKE>> definitely worth saving in my opinion..
It is in need of your love, so don’t think you’re going to hear it roar by simply bump starting it and then go and get an mot on it straight away.
Secondly, Long listing, mine always are..sorry, I type what I think you need to know and always try to be as accurate, informative and as honest as possible
So you might want to have a dump and a fag before you start…
Here we go then,About 4 years ago I started looking for something to do while my missus watched Soaps .
(all of them), not only those dreary half hour pantomimes but also programmes about strangers cooking for each other, idiots singing, Celebrity arse wiping etc,… You get the gist.
She takes more notice of anything Phil Mitchell says than she does me, so after getting completely pissed off when ALL the soaps started to be on EVERY night, TWICE.. I decided I needed a hobby so went and cleared out the shed, I completely stripped and restored a Puch Maxi in there using not much more than a couple of bent screwdrivers, an adjustable and a Brillo pad, I enjoyed using skills I hadn’t used since I was a teenager so decided to do some more up, I ended up building an extension to that shed, then bought another shed and finally now have a 17’ workshop.. My garden must look like a Jamaican shanty town..I even sacrificed my old Audi and went and bought a small van..then 2 years later a bigger one! I have been very happily tinkering with old bikes ever since.. it whiles away those lost hours…. And there’s a lot of them..it’s surprising how much shit is on the telly, but it’s more surprising what you can get done in an hour if you just crack on.. I reckon I spend about 12 hours a week in my sheds, mostly dossing and tinkering.. I did manage to restore a 3 wheeled Puch Maxi that went on to be a prize winner at Bikes Trikes n Stuff’s Anniversary bash.. so I must be doing something right eh, It’s been great and I would honestly recommend a resto to anyone. Go on, give it a go.
I started buying old mopeds from my era and even earlier ones whilst they were cheap, not so anymore,, good investments., my oldest in a 1967 c50, (nearly on the road.. roll on !) anything I thought was interesting that I could easily afford was hoarded away as part of my pension plan, well my only pension plan to be honest, but I have recently lost my storage on a disused airfield, I needed new storage space (pain in the arse) found some but it’s much smaller so as it’s mainly mopeds I play with now, (37 of them!) and I need the room, this old beast is up for auction.
It was an impulse buy really, I had to move my daughter from her first year lodgings to into her first proper gaff while she was at University in Norwich.
I had borrowed the works van to move all her tut from home as it was much bigger than mine and then set of for Norwich.
The idea had already dawned on me that as the van would be empty coming home, and the trip coincided with payday, It made sense to look in the local press whilst there (well before actually)
As long as the missus didn’t find out what my plan was, all would be well..
I found an ad from a guy that was selling a few classic old rides, this bike was part of a collection he had stored safely away after his motorcycle shop had gone down the shitter, I got the feeling that although he was a very nice chap that knew his bikes, I don’t think he was quite as good at paying the tax man.
He had the sense to store a lot of his stock before going under, and that’s where I came in.
This fat old bike was stuck at the back of his lock up and caught my eye straight away, a long time ago when I was a “youngster” ragging around on my old fizzies and Puch’s, I often saw a few of these parked outside the Gordon Arms, the local bikers pub and promised myself that maybe one day I will have one of those.. and a DT, anXT250 and a Dolomite Sprint and maybe a Capri, etc,
What a twat I was when I was 16, but twat or not, all those things are worth a lot of money now ! !
(I did manage to get a Sprint and the XT though, yet another couple of projects I need to do something with.. : )
The part restored XT will be listed in a week or two, so please watch this space if interested. (see, I do start some of them)
Also a twin shock dt125e and a ct for spares, CBR600 jellymould,,
It’s like DFS, Sale must end soon..
Everything seemed far simpler when this bike was new.. 35 years ago !!!
So don’t turn up expecting a new bike.
Anyhoo, now I have it, I don’t really want it,
“Your eyes are bigger than your belly” as my old Mum used to say.
“too many projects”,
“don’t have time to finish” all those old chestnuts apply to me with this bike..
But I honestly do have too many and my little hobby is getting very much out of hand !
But I’m loving it…
anyway,
I attended the graduation ceremony of the daughter I moved to Uni ,
over 2 years ago!
Just been so busy with work, becoming a granddad, and life in general.
After nearly 4 years of owning it, I never made any progress on this bike,
As you can see, it does need a few things, quite a few really, firstly it needs a v5, none supplied when I bought it but it still checks out on the DVLA webshite so £25 and a completed v62 to our friends in Swansea is all you should need. I have never had any issues getting a logbook this way…
well only once but sorted in the end.. ……Nobbers!
The bike also has old tax disc from 2005
I have never heard this bike run.. engine was free last year, I will check over the Easter break that this is still the case, the pots had half a can of GT85 down them when stored and the whole thing was covered in it, all I’ve done is give it a wipe before taking these pictures and it still looks pretty decent considering Maggie Thatcher had only been in power for a year when this bike was first in a showroom, Flash Gordon, the Blues Brothers were showing at the pictures and Geno, Going underground and the Coward of the County were all in the charts in 1980.. I was just starting secondary school, … now that makes me feel old.
No centre or side stand, bring your own brick.
It obviously needs headers and an exhaust pipe of some sort, it must have had a four into one at some stage as some numpty has cut the offside passenger foot-peg hanger in half to fit it.. not too much of a drama though as spares are plentiful for these classic rides but they are going up in price (the people in the know have started too hoard parts for the future).
Some old bits can get expensive so be warned! Do some research and don’t start buying 2 stainless washers in a bag for a quid because they say “Suzuki GSX750 Indicator Washers” on them
Just be sensible..don’t go too mad with the planning, it can go behind schedule when an unexpected bill comes in.. Just get on with some other job on your rebuild.
The joy of any restoration is that you are always in control the costs, if your skint one month, then polish the wheels or something, just buy the cheaper parts you may need and then treat yourself if your feeling flush the next, I recommend you buy some boxes (or get some old ones from the shop) then you can stick all the bits in as you go..(it does make it easier when you eventually start getting it together again).
Get a mate involved maybe?, there is a lot to be said for dossing in your shed with an old mate, Tinkering with bikes and listening to old tunes and more importantly, avoiding the shit on the telly and maybe even theWife!
(My wife’s latest television shitfest is monkeys, any programme she can find on the “magic telly” about them she’s been watching, monkeys sniffing each others arses and eating shit… she’s watching it as I type!
It’s all about to kick off in Ukraine, 150 kids have possibly drowned on a ferry and we could be about to go to war with Russia….. but she’s decided to watch monkey programmes ??
Anyhoo,…
There is an air cooled Suzuki owners forum to help with your restoration.
My mate John has something to do with it
Though they mainly deal with Katanas, as this bike is from the same stable I am sure they would be happy to help. He is featured in one of this months classic bike mags with his funky ride that he has put a turbo on.. crazy, it would have been fast enough already for me !
So as I say, don’t expect a new bike, 1980 was a long time ago so this really is a source of spares or a simple restoration project, what you see is what you get. John (the guy from the Suzuki forum) did come to look at it a couple of years ago when he was after something to turbo, he advised me that the engine was worth a couple of hundred alone, hence the starting price. He knows his stuff and his bikes regularly win prizes and have been featured in many magazines, anyway he didn’t take the bike at the time as he said he had too many on the go, but I think that was code for “my wife won’t let me”
No rot to the frame, the engine cases have been polished sometime in its past so someone must have loved it once upon a time.
The clock screen is broken, either take apart and repair of just get some replacements, expect to pay up to £50 though…. (MAKE SURE THEY ARE MPH, KMH are obviously going to be cheaper )
Bargains to be had though (ebay is a funny place) but “hard” spares like tanks, panels, clocks etc can get pricey .. no ignition!
The Norwich shop guy had lost the keys, so probably the only good thing about this listing is the fact that I did get as far as buying a full lock set, that’s ignition barrel with key and seat lock. These will obviously come with the bike. (when I find them)
The seat base is a little crispy which is a shame, and it’s missing one side panel,
I stood on it a..Sorry.
But I did salvage the GSX – OHC badge, just as well as I saw one fetch £20 last month..just for a badge!
So it is It is what it is, a fast appreciating classic that you can restore,
or a fu*kin big heavy garden ornament,
It was dry stored up to a few months ago and has since been residing under a lean to next to one of my sheds, so it has been out in the elements sort off, another reason it needs to go, if this classic bike was a small child, Social Services would have been round by now! So as sad as it is, it needs to find a new owner.
Tank solid, frame solid, John seemed to think it had been powder-coated but I can’t guarantee that.
Judging by the colour, I reckon it was resprayed and tarted back in the early 90’s…
Not an original Suzuki colour scheme I know, but still looks kinda cool..
I do have my own shot-blast and powder coating set up, so if you are doing a full strip and rebuild “OF THIS BIKE”, I will do the frame and swing arm for you for a reasonable price, I really would like to see her finished..
If you made it this far down the listing, well done, your wife must be watching shit on the telly,
or you’re really, really bored.. If so, get an old bike to do up, I’m not saying it should be this one, but get one, if she moans, tell her it’s an investment, all old rides are going up in price so any classic bike is a definite investment and will get a bigger return than an ISA or some other savings account.
Search Facebook for Retross
(Dog on a moped)
or just search
“Facebook Retross GSX” on Google, it should come up.
If you arent on FB it will ask you to log in, just hit ESC on your keyboard to continue viewing the extra pictures.
There is a folder with 30 more pictures of this bike, I am a bloke in my 40’s so don’t really do FB but it is a very good place to host photos free : ) so all of the Retross Emporium is on there, in fact there are over 700 pictures in my albums of things that have, will be, or are going through the parlour, if you don’t do FB, ask your missus,kids or mates at work to do it for you, and please like my page if you find it.
So, a long listing that I will probably add to through the week as my memory is pretty pants since having a head injury some years ago but as I said right at the beginning, I like to put as much as I know to help you decide if it’s the bike for you.
Feel free to ask any questions, 100% feedback after 10 years on here ain’t bad.. viewing is welcomed over a cuppa and you can look around my old peds or pile of bikes as my brother still insists on calling them.Please ensure you have your wife’s permission as
“ do what the fuck you like” doesn’t mean what you think it does !!
Possible delivery, message for a price, all depends where you are !!
All questions answered, CASH on collection please.7 day listing WITH NO RESERVE So maybe grab a bargain?
Sold as seen, so please come and see…… no warranty given or implied
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