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.