Suzuki GS650G launched in 1971, not 1981

MatthewB

Banned
I ride a 1982 Suzuki GS650G and I have to say it’s a great machine.

1983-suzuki-gs650g-gs650-gs650gd-gs-super-clean-low-5575-miles-rare-bike-2.JPG


http://www.ronh.org/suz650g_red1.htm
https://www.cyclechaos.com/wiki/Suzuki_GS650G
https://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/model/suzu/suzuki_gs650gt 81.htm

It’s got five gears, shaft drive, a fuel gauge (not fuel light), standard upright seating, turn signals, triple disc brakes, an oil tight four cylinder engine, four Mikuni carbs that never leave their balance, reliable electrics, single oil type and plug for both transmission and engine, electronic ignition, dash gear indicator, 4 way adjustable rear damping, front air shocks, under 500 lbs. weight and over 70 hp. Unlike other shaft bikes of the 1970s and early 1980s, the GS650G has a plain bearing crank, and direct drive 5th gear eliminating the drive slop, making a tight connection from the throttle grip to the rear wheel.

Now, what if Suzuki launched this bike in 1971, instead of 1981? My feeling is this would have taken some of the market amazement and business from Honda’s brand new and revolutionary CB750. There’s nothing on the GS650G that couldn’t be offered in 1971. We just need Suzuki not to put all its eggs into 2 strokes.
 
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I ride a 1982 Suzuki GS650G and I have to say it’s a great machine

1983-suzuki-gs650g-gs650-gs650gd-gs-super-clean-low-5575-miles-rare-bike-2.JPG


http://www.ronh.org/suz650g_red1.htm
https://www.cyclechaos.com/wiki/Suzuki_GS650G
https://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/model/suzu/suzuki_gs650gt 81.htm

It’s got five gears, shaft drive, a fuel gauge (not fuel light), standard upright seating, turn signals, triple disc brakes, an oil tight four cylinder engine, four Mikuni carbs that never leave their balance, reliable electrics, single oil type and plug for both transmission and engine, electronic ignition, dash gear indicator, 4 way adjustable rear damping, front air shocks, under 500 lbs. weight and over 70 hp. Unlike other shaft bikes of the 1970s and early 1980s, the GS650G has a plain bearing crank, and direct drive 5th gear eliminating the drive slop, making a tight connection from the throttle grip to the rear wheel.

Now, what if Suzuki launched this bike in 1971, instead of 1981? My feeling is this would have taken some of the market amazement and business from Honda’s brand new and revolutionary CB750. There’s nothing on the GS650G that couldn’t be offered in 1971. We just need Suzuki not to put all its eggs into 2 strokes.

Nice bike. I remember wanting a GS650G, and not being able to afford it at the time (1981), since I was an almost broke high school age teenager, whose parents complained loudly enough as it was, about her having a 250cc dual purpose motorcycle.

I think that for Suzuki to even have a notion about making a 4-stroke motorcycle in 1971, they'd need to have past experience with them like Kawasaki with its 60s era W650, or Yamaha, with it's XS1/XS2/XS650, 650cc 4-stroke vertical twin. Suzuki had no experience with 4-strokes, and frankly since their flagship model with was 2-stroke 3-cylinder GT750 in the early 70s, probably would have felt that making a 4-cylinder 650, smacked too much of "me too" with regards to Honda's 750, despite having shaft drive (which I prefer - no messy chain lubricating hassles). After all that's why Kawasaki went back to the drawing board to create the Z1 (even though their prototype 4-cylinder 750 was literally on the verge of going to market, when Honda released the 750 for sale in 1969) - to one up the 750.

IMO, about the only way you could get Suzuki to release a bike like the GS650G in 1971, is to have the the stricter EPA emission regulations that went into effect in the late 70s, happen in the early 70s - after all, having the tighter emission regs, is what spurred Suzuki into designing the GS750 and GS1000 cycles, that went to market in 1977, that signaled the death knell of Suzuki 2-stroke street bikes in the US.
 

SwampTiger

Banned
I agree fully with egr1963. In addition, shaft drive motorcycles in 1971 consisted of BMW and Moto Guzzi. Both relatively expensive touring bikes. The T500 Titan was Suzuki's high performance bike entering 1971. Did Suzuki have experience with larger bikes before the Water Buffalo?
 
I don't think it's possible to specifically get the gs650g for 1971 for a number of reasons.
That model was an evolution of the earlier gs550 designed as a budget tourer, a niche which didn't really exist at that time.
Also you'd have to get suzuki to fall out of love with 2 strokes at a time when other Japanese manufacturers were seeing huge sucess with them and as the future. Honda avoided 2 smokes largely down to sochiros irrational dislike of them.
 
I agree fully with egr1963. In addition, shaft drive motorcycles in 1971 consisted of BMW and Moto Guzzi. Both relatively expensive touring bikes. The T500 Titan was Suzuki's high performance bike entering 1971. Did Suzuki have experience with larger bikes before the Water Buffalo?

Kind of. They made 2-stroke GP bikes in the 60s (such as their 4-cylinder 250 and 125cc GP bikes). For the street - the 250cc X6 Hustler was considered quite the hot rod when it came out in the mid 60s, when a 250 streetbike that could flirt with 100 mph (160 kph), was considered pretty remarkable. But, like all of their other bikes, it was a 2-stroke, and like all Suzuki 2-strokes it was quite the smoker (but then again all of the two-stroke streetbikes I remember seeing as a teenager in the late 70s & early 80s, gave off quite a bit of smoke). What Suzuki 2-strokes were known for, was being just about bulletproof - they were more reliable than a lot of 4-stroke motorcycles were (and not just the British ones).
 
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