Nowadays whenever a noob asks about a starter bike on a biker forum, 750 and 1,000cc's are acceptable sizes; a 500cc bike will soon be outgrown. Back 40 years ago, no one batted an eye if experienced riders chose two wheelers in the 200cc class. Find this 1974 Suzuki GT185 for sale in Everett, WA for $2,500 via craigslist.
The Suzuki GT185 was powered by a 184cc air cooled. two stroke tiwn with a "ram air" head. You can see the wedge shaped aluminium ducting of the ram air head on the top of cylinder that was supposed to direct the air for better cooling. It may or may not have worked, but one bad thing about the 185 was that the transmission dipstick would drop a bit and then the primary would grind it down until your transmission seized. I'm sure that this has been corrected in the 6,000 miles this bike has done over the past 42 years.
This bike has undergone a thorough refreshing with many new parts and a repainted frame, tank and side covers. I like the fact that it has been kept like it left the factory in Nihon and not turned into a cafe racer.
The chrome is original and looks good, especially the pipes. You can say what you want about the decade of the 70's as far as music and fashion, but the candy metallic paint used on bikes and cars sure kicks the German rainbow colors popular today to the curb. I bet this metallic blue really pops on a sunny day in person.
See a better way to tiddle around town? email us here:
tips@dailyturismo.com
Gianni is Daily Turismo's Pacific Northwest correspondent. He's not sure why you would ride anything that doesn't burn oil and gas.
My first bike was a Honda Twinstar 200cc...great learner.
ReplyDeleteEven brought it with me when I moved out to California. Its light weight meant it was prone to wander a bit in a strong breeze.
I remember my first (and last) time riding across the Golden Gate bridge in "light winds"... I was going straight, leaning all the way over to compensate for the wind almost scraping the pegs, and STILL was slowly sliding over into oncoming traffic.
Fun times.
-Stan (the *other* Stan...)
RD350/ported/piped/K81/Klotz and me@ l30lbs. One fast/buzzy ride back then, and any 350/400 was a good size bike overall. Learned on my CT70 as a kid. Loved surprising the 'old-guys'(anyone over 30)on like Honda CB750's and such. Torque curve of El Capitan.
DeleteThey're not making fun of me for riding a vintage 400, right?
ReplyDeleteRam air head ! Clean Bike ...
ReplyDelete