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Can you identify this old bike?

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goto10
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PostPosted: 13:47 - 18 Apr 2020    Post subject: Can you identify this old bike? Reply with quote
I believe it's a Suzuki GT550, but the exhaust looks wrong - I thought there were 4 exhausts on a GT550 (2 small exhausts sharing one cylinder), so I'm a bit confused. Anyone have a better idea of what it is?
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martin734
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PostPosted: 14:01 - 18 Apr 2020    Post subject: Reply with quote
Looks like a late disc-braked T500, possibly a GT500?
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Riejufixing
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PostPosted: 14:23 - 18 Apr 2020    Post subject: Reply with quote
martin734 wrote:
Looks like a late disc-braked T500, possibly a GT500?

It's had a few modifications, hasn't it!
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goto10
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PostPosted: 14:25 - 18 Apr 2020    Post subject: Reply with quote
martin734 wrote:
Looks like a late disc-braked T500, possibly a GT500?


GT500 looks far more likely, ta Smile
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martin734
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PostPosted: 14:25 - 18 Apr 2020    Post subject: Reply with quote
Not sure what seat that is.
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goto10
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PostPosted: 14:27 - 18 Apr 2020    Post subject: Reply with quote
Riejufixing wrote:
martin734 wrote:
Looks like a late disc-braked T500, possibly a GT500?

It's had a few modifications, hasn't it!


What can you see modded out of interest? (He was a petrol head, but sadly no longer with us, so it's interesting to know)
I can see seat and exhaust are different and the tank looks like it has had pin stripe removed
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bypass2
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PostPosted: 19:17 - 18 Apr 2020    Post subject: Reply with quote
expansion pipes possible microns/ allspeeds. king and queen seat. yes to the pin striping arround the tank. also fitted engine/crash bars

Last edited by bypass2 on 19:56 - 18 Apr 2020; edited 1 time in total
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steve the grease
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PostPosted: 19:39 - 18 Apr 2020    Post subject: Reply with quote
It definitely aint a 550.
they had 'Ram Air cooling' basically a bit of ally to force air over the heads , giving a square or angular look to the barrels. It was a three cylinder too. The bike in the picture would be a late GT500, twin a lovely bike, the disk front end means it's a late one.
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Riejufixing
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PostPosted: 19:43 - 18 Apr 2020    Post subject: Reply with quote
bypass2 wrote:
expansion pipes possible microns/ allspeeds. king and queen seat. yes to the pin striping arround the tank. also engine/crash bars

The tank doesn't look the part at all, although memory/fuzzy pic. Unsure about the forks: with gaiters? Rear suspension?
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martin734
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PostPosted: 19:53 - 18 Apr 2020    Post subject: Reply with quote
Riejufixing wrote:
bypass2 wrote:
expansion pipes possible microns/ allspeeds. king and queen seat. yes to the pin striping arround the tank. also engine/crash bars

The tank doesn't look the part at all, although memory/fuzzy pic. Unsure about the forks: with gaiters? Rear suspension?

The forks are what made me think late T500 when I saw it.
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almostthere
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PostPosted: 19:55 - 18 Apr 2020    Post subject: Reply with quote
gt 500 with a yank seat
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bypass2
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PostPosted: 20:01 - 18 Apr 2020    Post subject: Reply with quote
Riejufixing wrote:
bypass2 wrote:
expansion pipes possible microns/ allspeeds. king and queen seat. yes to the pin striping arround the tank. also engine/crash bars

The tank doesn't look the part at all, although memory/fuzzy pic. Unsure about the forks: with gaiters? Rear suspension?


I thought t500 and early gt500 had fork gaiters fitted
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Polarbear
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PostPosted: 21:07 - 18 Apr 2020    Post subject: Reply with quote
It's a GT500. They fitted the front disk (which was crap) to the GT500 whereas the T500 had a TLS brake.

Non standard tank (or possibly one off the T500) and seat though, spannys rather than the standard exhaust Shocked , and the rear end looks like a home made hard tail adaptation. Laughing

I would have to conclude that bike in the picture rode like a pig and handled the same.

The GT500 was the most unlike a 2 stroke 2 stroke I ever owned. Horrible horrible bike and those mods wont have made it any better. (maybe the seat was a bit more comfortable).
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goto10
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PostPosted: 10:56 - 19 Apr 2020    Post subject: Reply with quote
Polarbear wrote:
It's a GT500. They fitted the front disk (which was crap) to the GT500 whereas the T500 had a TLS brake.

Non standard tank (or possibly one off the T500) and seat though, spannys rather than the standard exhaust Shocked , and the rear end looks like a home made hard tail adaptation. Laughing


Spannys? Sorry, no idea what that means, is that brand or a type?
Home made hard tail, ouch - never understood why anyone would want a hard tail motorbike, yet alone converting one.

Quote:

I would have to conclude that bike in the picture rode like a pig and handled the same.
The GT500 was the most unlike a 2 stroke 2 stroke I ever owned. Horrible horrible bike and those mods wont have made it any better. (maybe the seat was a bit more comfortable).


I guess some [usually young] people's motivation is about making things sound & look 'better' rather than actually performing better, possibly even performing worse (!)
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Nobby the Bastard
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PostPosted: 11:15 - 19 Apr 2020    Post subject: Reply with quote
Spannys are expansion chambers, a particular shape of exhaust pipe which is incredibly efficient.
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Polarbear
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PostPosted: 12:26 - 19 Apr 2020    Post subject: Reply with quote
Nobby the Bastard wrote:
Spannys are expansion chambers, a particular shape of exhaust pipe which is incredibly efficient.


As long as it is set up properly and matched to the engine, yes.

However in that case I suspect it was typical of the era of lets modify and loud means fast. Laughing
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Polarbear
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PostPosted: 12:33 - 19 Apr 2020    Post subject: Reply with quote
goto10 wrote:

I guess some [usually young] people's motivation is about making things sound & look 'better' rather than actually performing better, possibly even performing worse (!)


It was totally normal to screw around with bikes then. Much more than now. Two stroke tuning consisted of everything from removing the head gasket and relying on paper and gasket cement to exhaust mods, (hence the expansion chambers), carb rejetting and various other ideas thought up when pissed down the pub.

They usually resulted in a power band of about 500 revs and a holed piston. Laughing

The thing was the bikes were cheap, spares easy to come by and it was great fun!
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Riejufixing
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PostPosted: 13:24 - 19 Apr 2020    Post subject: Reply with quote
Polarbear wrote:
the rear end looks like a home made hard tail adaptation

How d'you see that? I thought the rear suspension looked as if the dampers are shrouded, or the spring coils are wound very close, hard to tell 'cos fuzzy.
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Polarbear
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PostPosted: 20:29 - 19 Apr 2020    Post subject: Reply with quote
Riejufixing wrote:
Polarbear wrote:
the rear end looks like a home made hard tail adaptation

How d'you see that? I thought the rear suspension looked as if the dampers are shrouded, or the spring coils are wound very close, hard to tell 'cos fuzzy.


I think they are way too small to have springs inside. compare it to a standard bike with normal shocks. I reckon, and obviously could be wrong as the picture isn't good, is that its a home made rigid link in place of the shock. Just a guess as people were daft enough to do that sort of thing back then. Laughing

https://www.bikechatforums.com/download.php?id=103372

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Nobby the Bastard
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PostPosted: 20:49 - 19 Apr 2020    Post subject: Reply with quote
I disagree. I think it's more likely that hes a bit chunky and the springs are compressed to the extent that old photo film cant give suitable definition. When I zoom in theres a hint of spring shape and the gap between the mud guard and wheel is strikingly different.
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Riejufixing
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PostPosted: 21:19 - 19 Apr 2020    Post subject: Reply with quote
Polarbear wrote:
I reckon, and obviously could be wrong as the picture isn't good, is that its a home made rigid link in place of the shock. Just a guess as people were daft enough to do that sort of thing back then. Laughing

People are stupid enough to do all sorts ofthings even now, look at the carze for these effing bobber things, but back then, on a relatively new "performance" bike with expansion chambers?

Looking at the pic, expanding the size, seems to indicate that the measutrement (steel tape on 'puter screen) of the wheel is 97mm, the width of the "shock absorber" 5.5mm, and from an approximate real-life tyre diameter of 670mm, that makes the "shock" across, give or take:

5.5 ÷ 97 x 670 mm = 38 mm

Looking at a picture of another GT500 (again, steel tape measurements), I see:

1) 8 ÷ 129 x 670 mm = 35 mm

or

2) 7.5 ÷ 129 x 670 mm = 39 mm

So it's in the right sort of size range.
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Polarbear
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PostPosted: 22:42 - 19 Apr 2020    Post subject: Reply with quote
Nobby the Bastard wrote:
I disagree. I think it's more likely that hes a bit chunky and the springs are compressed to the extent that old photo film cant give suitable definition. When I zoom in theres a hint of spring shape and the gap between the mud guard and wheel is strikingly different.


Fair enough, it was just an opinion and without a decent photo we will just have to guess. I'm not going to lose sleep over something from 50 years ago. Laughing
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Polarbear
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PostPosted: 22:45 - 19 Apr 2020    Post subject: Reply with quote
Riejufixing wrote:
Polarbear wrote:
I reckon, and obviously could be wrong as the picture isn't good, is that its a home made rigid link in place of the shock. Just a guess as people were daft enough to do that sort of thing back then. Laughing

People are stupid enough to do all sorts ofthings even now, look at the carze for these effing bobber things, but back then, on a relatively new "performance" bike with expansion chambers?

Looking at the pic, expanding the size, seems to indicate that the measutrement (steel tape on 'puter screen) of the wheel is 97mm, the width of the "shock absorber" 5.5mm, and from an approximate real-life tyre diameter of 670mm, that makes the "shock" across, give or take:

5.5 ÷ 97 x 670 mm = 38 mm

Looking at a picture of another GT500 (again, steel tape measurements), I see:

1) 8 ÷ 129 x 670 mm = 35 mm

or

2) 7.5 ÷ 129 x 670 mm = 39 mm

So it's in the right sort of size range.


Jesus wept, OK, if you're that bothered about it I'll say it's sprung Laughing

I will pull you up on the performance bike tag though, My RD250 had more performance then my GT500. Thumbs Up
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Riejufixing
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PostPosted: 23:03 - 19 Apr 2020    Post subject: Reply with quote
Polarbear wrote:
Jesus wept, OK, if you're that bothered about it I'll say it's sprung Laughing

I will pull you up on the performance bike tag though, My RD250 had more performance then my GT500. Thumbs Up

I'm not "that bothered" about it, I'm just saying. Your RD250 could have been 10 years newer than your GT500 (oh, OK, but they were the same age).
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Polarbear
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PostPosted: 23:16 - 19 Apr 2020    Post subject: Reply with quote
Riejufixing wrote:
Polarbear wrote:
Jesus wept, OK, if you're that bothered about it I'll say it's sprung Laughing

I will pull you up on the performance bike tag though, My RD250 had more performance then my GT500. Thumbs Up

I'm not "that bothered" about it, I'm just saying. Your RD250 could have been 10 years newer than your GT500 (oh, OK, but they were the same age).


I know you aren't bothered, just having a laugh.

I part exed the RD for the GT. One of the worst of my many dubious biking decisions. It was brand new then, the end of 1976. I remember it well as I bought it from a shop in Westgate road, Newcastle when I was at training college in South Shields. The winter was so sh1t I couldn't get it up the road to my digs because of ice.

I got it home (to Bournemouth) after I finishe college, put it in my old mans garage and it stayed there for about 5 years, totally unloved.

In the end he started moaning so I got it out but it wouldn't run, someone said the crankshaft seals were fcuked. I gave it away. Brick Wall

The thing we have done in the past Crying or Very sad
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