Thom Glick's 1976 Suzuki GT380
Thought I’d try my first post as a proper motorcyclist. I own a 1976 Suzuki GT380. It’s a two-stroke three cylinder bike. She smokes and gobbles up fuel faster than any bike her size, but she’s torquey and comfy and packed with class. In the 70′s this bike was surprisingly ranked third in the middle-weight class, after the Suzuki GT550 and the Honda CB550. I was surprised that the bike beat the now-much-coveted Kawasaki Triples.
This is GT380 is my first bike. I just received my motorcycle endorsement a week or two ago, just after completing the MSF Beginner’s Course. I’d never ridden a bike prior to that class, but I’d been interested in motorcycles since high school. I’ve been racing bicycles on and off since high school. I have a love for two-wheeled speed.
I’ve logged roughly 200 miles in my first week of riding.
As I’m learning what kind of rider I am, I’m trying to decide what to do with my vintage bike. I realize that GT380′s are somewhat rare, so I feel an obligation to clean the bike up. The previous owner(s) trashed the bike somewhat; when I got the bike, she had broken spokes with more snapping every day, the three-into-four pipes were literally packed and dripping with thirty years of oil build-up, the chain was rusty red, missing bolts, and a ton of other issues that simple maintenance and care should have prevented. Being a newbie, I turned the bike over to the guys at WBS Fabrication, in Dublin OH. They cleaned up all the issues mentioned, plus rebuilt the carbs and handled a handful of electrical problems.
The previous owner, for whatever reason, spray painted the bike blue. Scratches reveal that the bike was originally black with the staple chrome fenders.
Should I restore the bike back to its stock glory? Black bike with chrome fenders? Locate the missing chrome tail-luggage rack? Or should I go in the other direction and hack this thing into a need-for-speed cafe racer?
Winter’s coming to Ohio, so now’s the perfect time to start prepping for a project. But, until there’s ice on the ground, I’m planning to keep logging miles and enjoying this tasty vintage motorcycle.
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I’m not too happy with the current paint job myself. But, it was worse when I got it. On top of the blue spray paint, the previous owner had also applied electrical tape pin-striping and these horrible bald eagle decals. I pulled that stuff off right away.
I’m having trouble finding affordable chrome fender replacement parts. I’m considering pulling the body pieces off once the weather goes to ice and sanding everything down to metal and taking a shot at painting. I work at the art school Downtown, so I’d have access to nice shop equipment and ventilated facilities. I’m thinking a similar blue, cause I like blue, and maybe some orange detail work?
I looked into the smokeless two stroke oil, but it seems a bit rare around these parts. And, I’m a little nervous to stray from the Suzuki brand two-stroke oil. But, I might investigate the smokeless stuff just the same…
The other day when I was warming the bike up, around the corner from my house, one of the neighbors came out to ask if I needed a ride some where. He assumed from the smoke that the bike was dead. Yay! Two-strokes!
The dull paint does take away from the classic look of the bike, ( makes it look cheap), If U’re gonna stick with a blue, maybe consider a metalflake which really will look a lot more professional, just use some kind of clear coat. That’s what I noticed about your bike was the dull spray can looking finish. Also I was refering to 2 cycle oil I get at Home depot for my weed eater. Seems like Suzuki would have come out with an ashless, smokeless oil like that by now but I’m not an expert on 2 cycle M.C.s although my first bike was a Yamaha Street Trail 80 with an oil mixing system so I know about SMOKE… still love the smell too, ( that can’t be good, huh? ).
…afterthought, if you were riding that bike in California you would prob. be fined cause of E.P.A. laws…I don’t know bout here…shhhhh! No more about that….
Haha… seriously. I’ll probably not be riding this thing in California. But, I was told that because of the vintage of the bike, I might be not have to comply with the emissions standards.
If I can find a non-synthetic smokeless two stroke oil, though, I think I’ll use it. I’m sure my neighbors aren’t too excited about my smokey bike.
Good call on the metal flake paint. I’ll be exploring this stuff here pretty soon. That bike deserves to not look cheap.
I really like the way the fenders look painted. I would probably go with a different color, but none the less it doesn’t look bad from the picture.
I saw U riding the other day,(that was me in the blue van). First thing I noticed was that U were riding a classic. The second thing was the crappy paint. I would spend the winter bringing back the origional look, if it were me.I ride a 79 Honda 750 Annv. Edition and the first thing I did when I got it was take off the Vetter fafing because, in my opinion, it looks better stock. If U look around, you’ll be able to find parts for your restoration. Also, have U tried using smokless 2 cycle oil? I don’t know wether it would affect the motor or not but it would keep your ridding buddy from eating your smoke all day.As long as U have brought the ol’ girl back from the dead, U might as well get ‘er looki’n good as possible…
That’s really a cool bike…and the 2 stroke makes it even more fun. The more work they need when you first get them, the more fun it is in my opinion. There’s something really satisfying about bringing an old motorcycle back from the almost-dead.
Also, thank you very much for sharing your project on this site. I look forward to seeing how the project is coming along as you go. Thanks.