Topic: V&H going Suzuki

[Don R]

 I just watched the team announcement Vance and Hines is going to Suzuki this year. They were asked about GS or busa and mentioned they didn't know if a billet motor was sustainable. I thought there was already a gs based billet crankcase. Pro gas guys use them.

[dusterdude]

I guess we can call the class pro suzuki

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[Leino]

Gentlemens choice 

[MRieck]

I just watched the team announcement Vance and Hines is going to Suzuki this year. They were asked about GS or busa and mentioned they didn't know if a billet motor was sustainable. I thought there was already a gs based billet crankcase. Pro gas guys use them.

Not sure about billet cases but they did get iron cases in the past.

[Don R]

  I thought it was odd all of the V2 guys are running billet motors and the Suzuki guys are still using old crankcases. A kawasaki drag bike guy told me they are hoarding all of the gs engines they can find.

[Leino]

  I thought it was odd all of the V2 guys are running billet motors and the Suzuki guys are still using old crankcases. A kawasaki drag bike guy told me they are hoarding all of the gs engines they can find.

I told my friend the GS crankcases I have are my pension fund 

[dragracer]

  I thought it was odd all of the V2 guys are running billet motors and the Suzuki guys are still using old crankcases. A kawasaki drag bike guy told me they are hoarding all of the gs engines they can find.

I told my friend the GS crankcases I have are my pension fund 

I know what you're talking about Juha. I'm holding onto 6 sets myself plus 3 complete engines.

[Don R]

 And here I am sitting on a pile of cb cases. L0L!

[Kelly E]

So you guys are the reason it's hard to get complete GS's. You took all of the motors.

[dragracer]

So you guys are the reason it's hard to get complete GS's. You took all of the motors.

We're hoarding the gold. Lol. I'm in the process of building a  GS based 4.60 index dragbike. I may end up blowing up something during the nitrous learning curve. Those cases might just come on handy.

[Kelly E]

So you guys are the reason it's hard to get complete GS's. You took all of the motors.

We're hoarding the gold. Lol. I'm in the process of building a  GS based 4.60 index dragbike. I may end up blowing up something during the nitrous learning curve. Those cases might just come on handy.

You guys didn't keep the rest of the bikes did you? Parts for our 80' GS1100E are hard to come by.

[Don R]

 It's too bad gs850 and 550 parts don't fit, there's a zillion of them for sale. Search for GS1100e and you will see.

[Leino]

  I thought it was odd all of the V2 guys are running billet motors and the Suzuki guys are still using old crankcases. A kawasaki drag bike guy told me they are hoarding all of the gs engines they can find.

I told my friend the GS crankcases I have are my pension fund 

I know what you're talking about Juha. I'm holding onto 6 sets myself plus 3 complete engines.

Now you made me feel like an amateur  I have three pretty much complete engines and only three spare crankcases. Currently seems I'm running out of cranks before crankcases 

[Leino]

So you guys are the reason it's hard to get complete GS's. You took all of the motors.

We're hoarding the gold. Lol. I'm in the process of building a  GS based 4.60 index dragbike. I may end up blowing up something during the nitrous learning curve. Those cases might just come on handy.

You guys didn't keep the rest of the bikes did you? Parts for our 80' GS1100E are hard to come by.

There was a time we (Finns I mean...) should have gone to Sweden in a van, with an angle grinder, buy the cheap GS's and cut out the engines tossing the rest but those days are gone now   

[Don R]

  I read something to the effect that V&H was working on the Suzuki monster head a few years ago when the Harley Davidson deal came along. It got shelved until the obvious happened, Suzuki took over the sponsorship of the class and now the Suzuki head is a go again.

[dragracer]

So you guys are the reason it's hard to get complete GS's. You took all of the motors.

We're hoarding the gold. Lol. I'm in the process of building a  GS based 4.60 index dragbike. I may end up blowing up something during the nitrous learning curve. Those cases might just come on handy.

You guys didn't keep the rest of the bikes did you? Parts for our 80' GS1100E are hard to come by.

I never had any of the frames myself.  I collected up the cases from a guy in NC who was in the process of closing his back yard shop. A few sets I and 2 engines I got from a friend locally.

[Bailgang]

I apologize for going off topic of this thread but just exactly what is it about the Suzuki GS engine that makes it superior or the engine of choice in pro stock motorcycle racing? Granted I never paid much attention to it at the time but it seems before the NHRA changed the rules so the HD's could be competitive, I never saw or heard much of racers using engines from the other Japanese makers in pro stock bikes.

[MRieck]

 The GS head....especially the 1150's, lend themselves to very heavy modification. People have turned the stock pieces into unbelievable;e heads with bronze skulls, intake boring with tube insertion, splayed valves etc etc. I remember looking at a billet  GS head from Star Racing at Bradenton about 5 or 6 years ago

[Don R]

 In sportsman racing the Kawasaki and Suzuki engines are legendary. A mix of early and later KZ parts makes a potent race combo, they say the Suzuki is a close copy of the KZ engine.
 I think it's a lot like the Chevrolets and Chrysler hemi's, decades of development have gone into them and they are popular enough that a lot of parts are available. If someone spent the development money on another platform, it might compete as well but NHRA seems to bend the rules towards the sponsor.
  Before NHRA adjusted the rules, the V twin guys had to hold all Harley races so they could compete with each other. I'd like to see Kawasaki or Honda make an effort but it would cost a lot and then you have to the possibility of getting ruled out of competition by the book.
  Someone besides Vance and Hines would need to develop a competing platform. They have done a pretty good job of selling parts to other teams to compete against themselves, (except Harley stuff, they kept it in house)

[MRieck]

In sportsman racing the Kawasaki and Suzuki engines are legendary. A mix of early and later KZ parts makes a potent race combo, they say the Suzuki is a close copy of the KZ engine.
 I think it's a lot like the Chevrolets and Chrysler hemi's, decades of development have gone into them and they are popular enough that a lot of parts are available. If someone spent the development money on another platform, it might compete as well but NHRA seems to bend the rules towards the sponsor.
  Before NHRA adjusted the rules, the V twin guys had to hold all Harley races so they could compete with each other. I'd like to see Kawasaki or Honda make an effort but it would cost a lot and then you have to the possibility of getting ruled out of competition by the book.
  Someone besides Vance and Hines would need to develop a competing platform. They have done a pretty good job of selling parts to other teams to compete against themselves, (except Harley stuff, they kept it in house)

I agree....the parts are built like tanks. Even the Hayabusa engine when it was introduced was way over built!

[Kelly E]

All I know is that it's a great motor even stock. The GS 1100E feels like a smaller bike when riding it until you go WOT, then you start laughing in your helmet. They handle really well and are a joy to ride.

[Don R]

  I bought a gs1100e, Swingarm for my kz1000, lol. The guy wrote the ad funny and I was the only one that realized what he had. $80 with axle, bolts and hardware.

[MRieck]

  I bought a gs1100e, Swingarm for my kz1000, lol. The guy wrote the ad funny and I was the only one that realized what he had. $80 with axle, bolts and hardware.

The old Cal Fab swingearms didn't look much different than the stock 1100E swingers.

[Don R]

  I heard on the NHRA races today that George Bryce had something to do with the Monster Suzuki cylinder four valve head. Steve Johnson apparently either got some assistance or stumbled onto the tune-up. That thing was flying.  V&H are making progress but are a little behind the curve.
  The info I can find is that George Bryce and Mitch brown developed the Monster 4 valve head a few years ago. It's been legal in Australia for PSB and NHRA went there to check it out last year. Greg Cope has had something to do with the development too.
  The bare head is around $5500, cylinder $1750 with sleeves.

[grcamna2]

The crankcases of the early KZ's and GS1100e's are very robust.