Lee Chambers Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 (edited) This is my first bike build of 2019. I normally have finished at least one bike build at this point in the year, but I haven't had much free time to build a kit until now. Hasegawa got the model designation wrong, this bike is a K model not a B, Suzuki had a weird habit of launching models with the letter J and ending not with A but with B, confused? Example, GT750J 1st year of production 1971, followed by GT750K in the 2nd year of production, updates included a move to a single disc front brake, dropping the front drum brake from the 1st model. Anyway, this should be a fun build, looks a great kit with not too many parts. Wish me luck! Edited November 7, 2021 by Lee Chambers 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stringbag Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 Strewth!! I never knew this kit existed so that's another item on the list for Telford A mate of mine had one when they first came out and we used to swap bikes when out for long rides. I always found it to be super smooth but not as good as my R5 in the twisty bits. Looking forward to this one coming to life. Chris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Chambers Posted September 13, 2019 Author Share Posted September 13, 2019 6 hours ago, stringbag said: Strewth!! I never knew this kit existed so that's another item on the list for Telford A mate of mine had one when they first came out and we used to swap bikes when out for long rides. I always found it to be super smooth but not as good as my R5 in the twisty bits. Looking forward to this one coming to life. Chris. Thanks Chris,a KH 400 is also available from Haseagwa in this scale,so another one for Telford ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan R Posted September 13, 2019 Share Posted September 13, 2019 I love the look of this bike. I remember back in the late 70s in Reading, seeing a guy in a business suit whizzing up Broad Street on one of these! I have my eyes on this one at some point... Cheers, Alan. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stringbag Posted September 13, 2019 Share Posted September 13, 2019 7 hours ago, Lee Chambers said: Thanks Chris,a KH 400 is also available from Haseagwa in this scale,so another one for Telford ! Behave yourself Lee. Now if you said that there was a Yamaha YR-5 available then I'd be camping on the doorstep the night before. Chris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Chambers Posted September 13, 2019 Author Share Posted September 13, 2019 5 hours ago, stringbag said: Behave yourself Lee. Now if you said that there was a Yamaha YR-5 available then I'd be camping on the doorstep the night before. Chris. Yes i know what you mean,that was a hot little stroker in it's day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wonky Donkey Posted September 13, 2019 Share Posted September 13, 2019 Worth a pretty packet in 1:1 these days... Before my time, but I do like these later gen big two strokes. Looking forward to the build. 👍 W-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stringbag Posted September 13, 2019 Share Posted September 13, 2019 20 minutes ago, Wonky Donkey said: Worth a pretty packet in 1:1 these days... W-D Don't say that out loud in case Mrs Stringbag hears you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Natter Posted September 14, 2019 Share Posted September 14, 2019 Oh sweet lord, the memories of a seventies kid's two wheel desires flood back. GT380, KH400, R5, YR-5 all mentioned above; all sweeet. All back in the day when an R100RS was a sports bike (!) and would smash your wallet for £2999. Will be watching this one for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Chambers Posted September 15, 2019 Author Share Posted September 15, 2019 8 hours ago, Natter said: Oh sweet lord, the memories of a seventies kid's two wheel desires flood back. GT380, KH400, R5, YR-5 all mentioned above; all sweeet. All back in the day when an R100RS was a sports bike (!) and would smash your wallet for £2999. Will be watching this one for sure. Now that brings back a specific memory of riding my purple FS1E and having a gold R100RS pull up along side me with a middle aged bloke nodding hello to me as he grandly cruised by. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted September 15, 2019 Share Posted September 15, 2019 I'll tag along Lee what a great kit and subject,I've rode this and the GT250 back in the day I was very fortunate to own the mighty GT750 at one stage you can't forget the smell of two stroke and the Red Arrow like trail on a cold morning heading for work! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted September 15, 2019 Share Posted September 15, 2019 I never owned a kettle myself, but knew a man who did! My only 2 stroke was a Suzuki X-5, my first bike. Never did get into the 2 stroke thing, especially as the early ones (especially the Kwackers) had a reputation for being more than a little over flexible in corners! Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted September 15, 2019 Share Posted September 15, 2019 2 hours ago, limeypilot said: I never owned a kettle myself, but knew a man who did! My only 2 stroke was a Suzuki X-5, my first bike. Never did get into the 2 stroke thing, especially as the early ones (especially the Kwackers) had a reputation for being more than a little over flexible in corners! Ian Nice one Ian.my first bike was a brand new X5 bought in 1979,any colour as long as it was blue or yellow was the choice given by the dealer. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SleeperService Posted September 15, 2019 Share Posted September 15, 2019 I'm following this and need to get the kit. Had three in the 80s including a red frame white bodywork example that flew. Then I got a Kettle and took it to the Bol D'Or, awesome (and expensive) trip. Never had the 550 though and as for the Kwakers well a friend was into them so we agreed to differ When time machines are revealed I want to go back to 1983. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Knight Posted September 15, 2019 Share Posted September 15, 2019 On 13/09/2019 at 00:16, stringbag said: Strewth!! I never knew this kit existed so that's another item on the list for Telford . . . Echo I had a '75 version in '78. Bought from a friend who only bought it for his class to take apart and rebuild. He had it done in Candy Apple Red, and made some modifications to it. It went like stink. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted September 15, 2019 Share Posted September 15, 2019 39 minutes ago, stevej60 said: Nice one Ian.my first bike was a brand new X5 bought in 1979,any colour as long as it was blue or yellow was the choice given by the dealer. Mine was yellow. Bought from a friend in 1980 to learn on. My next bike was a GPZ550, the last of the twin shock ones, bought brand new for 1100quid. I loved that and ended up with 2 of them! Ian 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Chambers Posted September 15, 2019 Author Share Posted September 15, 2019 8 hours ago, stevej60 said: I'll tag along Lee what a great kit and subject,I've rode this and the GT250 back in the day I was very fortunate to own the mighty GT750 at one stage you can't forget the smell of two stroke and the Red Arrow like trail on a cold morning heading for work! Had a very nice GT750J in the early nineties in candy jackel blue,loved that machine,sold it when i bought a NSU 250 Supermax,that was a classy machine. Just done a ground up restoration on a candy gipsie red 1977 GS750 i might post a pic of it with the finale of this build stay tuned !! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mumbly Posted September 15, 2019 Share Posted September 15, 2019 After owning a variety of Kawasaki triples, I too went down the Suzuki stroker line, my first was an X7, (which I loved) to an RG250 and then my absolute favourite, my RG500. Always liked the GT380, especially when the stock pipes were swapped for something more anti-social. Can’t think why 2-strokes disappeared. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted September 15, 2019 Share Posted September 15, 2019 1 hour ago, Lee Chambers said: Just done a ground up restoration on a candy gipsie red 1977 GS750 i might post a pic of it with the finale of this build stay tuned !! Be nice to see that Lee you certainly have the BM biking fraternity on board for this build,I wish I'd photographed my bikes but only have a few in the background shot's,the kettle was custom painted metal flake red,the top of the tank was a mural of Nazareth's No mean city album cover,you know I've never built a bike kit since Airfix's BSA way before I ever rode a bike. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stringbag Posted September 15, 2019 Share Posted September 15, 2019 4 hours ago, Black Knight said: Echo I had a '75 version in '78. Bought from a friend who only bought it for his class to take apart and rebuild. He had it done in Candy Apple Red, and made some modifications to it. It went like stink. Would that have been the RD350? Don't remember the R5 in red. Sorry for the thread hijack Lee. Chris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Knight Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 9 hours ago, Black Knight said: I had a '75 version in '78. Bought from a friend who only bought it for his class to take apart and rebuild. He had it done in Candy Apple Red, and made some modifications to it. It went like stink. 4 hours ago, stringbag said: Would that have been the RD350? Don't remember the R5 in red. Sorry for the thread hijack Lee. Chris. When one rebuilds a bike one can do it any colour one wants; thus the GT ended in Candy Apple Red Yeah, sorry bout the hi-jacking, but it's your fault for deciding to build such a memorable and favourite motorcycle, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Chambers Posted September 16, 2019 Author Share Posted September 16, 2019 Hi all, just a quick update on the Suzuki, the engine has been painted with Mr Models black primer and then sprayed silver aluminium. The outer engine cases were painted with a Molotow chrome 2mm pen. I painted the tank and side panels in Ford Caymen blue as a basecoat followed by a few coats of Tamiya clear blue, then I 2k clear coated them. Once dry, I added the tank stripes and gave the tank a final 2k clear coat, I only use the hardener to thin the clear as I find adding any thinner can cause alligator skin reactions with 2k products. I decided not to use the decals to cover the tank and side cover badges and just hand painted over the chrome, this gave a more authentic look, as the original tank badges had a clear dark red lacquer applied to the Suzuki inner letters. More updates soon. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stringbag Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 18 hours ago, Black Knight said: When one rebuilds a bike one can do it any colour one wants; thus the GT ended in Candy Apple Red Yeah, sorry bout the hi-jacking, but it's your fault for deciding to build such a memorable and favourite motorcycle, Sorry. For some reason one thought you were referring to the Yamaha. Chris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 Thats a great start Lee! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SleeperService Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 Ye Gods That is beautiful already. I need that chrome pen thingy. Are you going to have the gear indicator showing 8 as mine all did every misty/foggy morning Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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