My wife was born in 1983, so I am wholly aware that being 41 years old does not prevent one from being sexy and running well.
We’ll get to the second point in a second, but certainly this 1983 Suzuki GSX750 EF is ticking all the boxes in the first point. It looks great, and the seller’s decision to effectively dismantle it for photographs helps assure that its beauty is not just on the surface.
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I feel this would definitely have to be a second bike, though. One that’s reserved for sunny days and the sort of adventures where you make sure to carry a sandwich, Thermos full of tea, and a good book. Because there’s a higher-than-normal possibility with a classic bike that you’ll be spending time sitting by the roadside, waiting for a recovery van.
To that end, ownership of a motorcycle from the 1980s would almost certainly require that I improve my mechanical skills. But learning new things helps you live longer, right? And, hey, it would probably be worth it for all the envious looks I’d get from old boys and hipsters. Not to mention the high I’d get off the fumes of a carbureted bike.
WHAT THE AD SAYS
“Suzuki GSX 750EF, 1983, 30500 miles, imported from Germany, registered in UK as historic vehicle, has been wrapped up in the garage for 3 years. Runs fine, all original apart from the screen. No doubt it will need some fettling after being laid up for so long. White, 1 owner“
The biggest red flag there is the fact that this bike hasn’t been ridden in three years. That’s a long time for various fluids to settle and go bad, lots of time for rubber and plastics to wear and crack. As Aaron Kaufmann used to say (and probably still says), a motor wants to run; when it doesn’t, it gets unhappy, which makes you unhappy.
The fact that it has historic vehicle status means it’s not as easy to go back and see what problems this GSX750EF has encountered in its life, but I feel the cleanliness of the bike helps to assuage any concerns that might cause. I haven’t included all the photos in the ad, but the seller went to a lot of trouble to show every nook and cranny.
For those of you playing along outside the United Kingdom, by the way: if a vehicle is more than 40 years old and has not been significantly modified it is not required to pass an annual MOT test and it is not taxed. And I suppose you could put those into the ‘positives’ column for this bike: not having to pay for those things means you’ll save in excess of £150 a year.
But, of course, that money would almost certainly be absorbed by an increased maintenance budget. If you don’t know how to balance a carburetor, for example (certainly something I can’t do), it can cost upward of £500 to have it done at a garage.
WHAT IS IT?
The GSX name is an iconic part of Suzuki‘s story, and in one form or another the GSX750 has existed from 1979 to present. The inconsistency of Suzuki’s alphabet soup and its tendency to give bikes different names in different markets (this bike, for example, was known as a Katana in the United States, despite its not being an actual GSX1000S/GSX1100S Katana), makes it really difficult to know for sure, but I think that this particular GSX750 variant ─ ie, the GSX750EF ─ was manufactured from 1983-1987. Feel free to correct me on that if you are more au fait with old Suzukis.
The bike is exactly the same as a GSX750ES, but for the addition of lower fairing. Both were seen as huge improvements over their predecessor, the 1979-1982 GSX750, of which the (now-defunct) magazine Which Bike said: “Overweight, overwrought, and undersprung, it handled like an abandoned steamroller.”
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Driven by a 747cc air/oil-cooled inline four engine, the GSX750EF promised 86 horsepower at 9500 rpm and 68 Nm (about 50 lb-ft) of torque at 8500 rpm.
In a 1985 review, Which Bike described the riding position as “excellent, comfortable, and poised.” Its angled handlebars are on risers, which means that it has a sporty look but shouldn’t be too much of a pain for someone like me, who generally prefers sitting upright.
“It would be churlish, and difficult, to find fault with the engine,” added Which Bike. “It would be hard, too, to find fault with the chassis.”
In the modern era, you might take issue with the tire sizes, though. The 16-inch front means your tire choices will be somewhat limited. That said, many manufacturers make tires for classic motorcycles, which are infinitely better than the sort of rubber the bikes would have been using originally.
IS IT BETTER THAN MY CURRENT MOTORCYCLE?
Not in any practical sense, no. My 2012 Kawasaki Versys 1000 is more powerful, has more torque, is more fuel efficient, has more rider aids, is more comfortable and more all-round useful, and probably handles better. It doesn’t look as good as the GSX750EF, though, and it’s definitely not as clean as this one.
Normally another benefit to a more modern bike is the availability of parts, but Suzuki does a commendable job of ensuring that new OEM bike parts are readily available for its classic models. In addition, a quick search of the internet suggests there are also quite a few companies offering non-OEM parts and accessories for the GSX750EF/ES.
And, carburetors aside, it’s often the case that older bikes can be easier to work on because they lack the electronic systems of modern machines. Or, at least, that’s the claim of old boys in the letters sections of various motorcycle magazines. I’ll be honest that I’m not entirely sure I believe that.
My ability to provide adequate maintenance would be my primary concern in owning this bike. I don’t know if I’m clever enough or patient enough. Every time I consider owning a classic motorcycle I fear it would become a kind of Gibbs’ boat situation for me.
In the television show “NCIS,” one of the main characters, Special Agent Leroy Gibbs, played by Mark Harmon, was regularly shown building a large boat in the basement of his home. This was a running gag for 19 seasons, with other characters asking how he planned to get the boat out of the basement when it was finished. Gibbs would always just smile.
When Harmon eventually left the show in 2021, FBI agents searching for Gibbs go to his home to discover a huge hole in the wall of his basement and the boat missing. He is later revealed to have retired to the (fictional) town of Naktok Bay, Alaska.
Anyway, point is: Gibbs spent 19 years working on and not sailing that boat. I worry that a similar timeline would apply to my attempt to make roadworthy a bike that needs “some fettling.”
Add this to the long list of decisions I’ll probably regret later (like when I didn’t jump at that Gold Wing Aspencade), but I think I’ll pass on this GSX750EF and keep looking.
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