Topic: What has 3 cylinders, 4 exhaust, water cooled, and drinks gas/oil mixures?

[RRRToolSolutions]

One of these -

It's not a Bomber, but different enough that I think I'm going to enjoy the work on this one. I certainly have had fun doing different bikes over the last 2 years. Since doing 8 Kawasaki triples in a row, I've sworn-off any more triples, but this one deserved a rule bending - it's  got water cooling and Cycle Magazine called it the smoothest running engine ever built back in 1974. Yes, it got that designation over the CB750, the CB500/550, and the big Z1 Kawasaki. I rode one back in May at our 2-stroke Deal's Gap meet and loved it. I'd been looking for one every since to restore. This one happened to catch my eye in it's last 6 minutes of auction.

I'll collect it in the next 2 months and can get started.

Regards,
Gordon

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350084584137&ssPageName=ADME:X:AAQ:MOTORS:1123

[scunny]

good score, having seen your other work I'm sure this will end up better than new

[mrbreeze]

I knew you were talking about a water buffalo before I even peeked at your ebay post!!!The guy in Wyoming that I bought my K5 from in 2000 had a water buffalo with fairing,bags,etc. That bike hauled A$$ but something or other screwed up on it and he quit ridin' it. Should make a neat project Gordon and....keep us posted on the progress.

[bryanj]

OK, this was called a GT750 in the UK, has the same pistons as a T500 (2 of one sort, 1 of the other) and if you want to be REALLY silly fit a 3mm thick alloy base gasket, mill the 3mm off the top of the block, extend the ports downwards to where they would have been(and polish of course) fit 3  Amal Mk2 concentrics (the ones that look like Mikunis).

It will then FLY doing approx 6MPG (UK gallon) destroy clutch outers and have an incredibly EVIL powerband But Boy is it fun and was actually competitive in club racing, that work brings it close to the "works" Suzuki spec of its time.

Seriously crank parts may be a problem and cosmetics are very rare over here.

Suzuki in UK have a policy where all parts in stock for a certain age bike are sold to one of 2 or 3 dealers and it is then up to that dealer what he carries in stock from then on

[rbmgf7]

holy crap, nice deal. i seen one that was in pieces, missing pieces, and without a title sell for $700. too bad it doesn't have the drum in the front cause that've been awesome.

[malcolmgb]

What a bargain.
Bryan you forgot to mention it is called a 'Kettle' over here in the UK.

[crazypj]

I've got 3 NOS connecting rods for one. No pins or bearings though
 PJ

[bill440cars]

         Hey Gordon, Nice buy there. Looks like a decent project bike too! Kinda nervous about the seal job. I've got a buddy who has done 2 of those "Water Buffaloes" and had good results from both of them.     He has also done 2 RE5s and has another one that he's going to start on soon. Ever thought about one of those Gordon? Just wondered. Looking forward to the job you are gonna do on the Buffalo.

                                Take care, Bill

[Terry in Australia]

I had an army mate's GT750 "L", or "M" (can't remember) for a few months in 1979, it was a great bike, I raced a Kawasaki H2 750 owner nearly 200 miles in 2.5 hours, (which included two fuel refills for each bike and two plug changes for him, he had a pocket full of them........) what a buzz!

I went to lube the chain the next day and realized that when I'd replaced the rear tire a couple of days prior, I hadn't tightened the axle nut and the only thing holding the wheel in a straight line was the chain adjusters..........

I bought a "J" with the horrible, ineffective 4LS front brake in 1999, but the crank seals were stuffed. I stupidly traded it for a Kawa ZZR1100 front end for a project bike I was building, and the wrecker I did the deal with "test rode" it a few of miles up the road, then turned around and came back. Lucky he went so far, the "Beijing like" smoke that the Suzy was belching out had entirely filled the street, but luckily, had cleared by the time he came back, ha ha! Well done Gordon, keep us updated with the resto!

[Grizzly]

Some people in the North East UK used to call them Bottles I seem to remember. I also seem to remember they sounded gorgeous with a 3into1 Piper fitted but ran better  with Allspeeds!

[Terry in Australia]

I had a "3 into 1" "Bromlech" (I think I spelled that right) pipe on my "J", they were very common, but the OEM pipes were good, and being an oily two stroke, never rusted out. Where's Gordon?

[RRRToolSolutions]

Guys, this is a true story - The reason I bought that particular 1974 model with 18,000 miles I did is because the owner of this 1974 GT750 (pic below) has done several "ironbutts" and actually has one Iron-butt Gold with this bike. His has over 100,000 miles on it and while today it does have brand-new pistons and a new crank, the original engine did over 82,000 miles on the original rings. Allen rides the heck out of them and for those not knowing the Ironbut - it's a documented 1,000 miles in 24 hours. The Gold is 1,500 miles in 24 hours. He loves these things.

Anyway, I rode his at Deals Gap in May - it had the 3 into 1 and made monster torque and the noise wasn't loud at all. I will of course have mine 100% stock by choice, but I am really looking forward to getting into her inner parts.....This pic was taken at my house as he and his wife were getting ready for their 800 mile ride home after a 2 day visit with us (yes that was a simple 1 day drive for him).

One last oddity - He wanted to borrow my Raytek temperature gun for the trip home. He thought there might be a problem with his temp guage - it wasn't coming up. He cranked the engine (touch of the starter) and let it idle. We kept a check on it and 45 minutes later, still idling, the electric fan disconnected - the cylinder bases and head read 160 and the radiator read 130 - I was simply amazed. The water cooling system and oil injection systems are so well designed - the fan or circulating air through the radiator was not needed. This was in late May when these were taken and it was near 90 outside.

I doubt I will ever wear this puppy out.

Regards,
Gordon

[Green550F]

Just wondering, what kind of HP does the 750 two stroker put out? must be north of 100?

[Terry in Australia]

No, it's south of 70, from memory. The GT750 was the "sensible" two stroke 750 of it's day, whereas the Kawasaki H2 750 was the "widow maker", lighter, more powerful, and frightening at speed. The GT750's closest rival was the CB750, they were similar to ride, weighed about the same, and had about the same angle of lean. Not super fast, but very torquey and smooth.

Miserable fuel economy though, particularly when ridden hard. One thing to be careful of, apart from crank seals of course, is a bike that has been run with no "coolant", (only water) I've heard of cylinder blocks being welded to crankcases with "electrolysis" and having to be sawn off..............

A guy I know in the country town I was raised in had a GT750 "special", I can't remember if it was a Rickman or Dunstall (or either, for that matter) but it wore different body work and had a highly modified engine, and could blow much bigger bikes (Kawasaki Z1's, etc) into the weeds.

I don't know what happened to that bike, it'd be a very collectable beast nowadays, for sure! Cheers, Terry.

[greenjeans]

The 'ol water buffalo.  I had a 72/73 as my first motorcycle about 12 years ago.  A guy down the street had 2 project bikes, disassembled them, and realized he was in over his head.  Everything was in boxes and old milk crates.   With the help of his wife, I was able to get the price down to 75 bucks on the condition I had to take it all out of their garage.   Over the course of the summer, I went piece by piece, taking the better parts, cleaning and polishing and slowly put the beast back together.  I bet I stared it for 30 minutes before I tapped the start button.....
Alwasy regretted selling that one.   Great, unique bikes - always drew a crowd.

Good luck with your new buffalo