Ok, I start with a confession. Many of the US motorcycle channels are a bit too "heavy metal" for me (a Brit). But this channel is real fun. The guys have a great sense of humour, a bucketful of humility and just get stuff done. Really enjoying your uploads.
Yea I feel ya, for what it’s worth the douchey, bad attitude, only Harley’s are real motorcycles type guys are more the boomers, us younger guys are more open minded. The typical American biker look and attitude is super unappealing to most of us regular guys.
I love this bloke, he's up for anything, as an older British biker I remember the two stroke days, fond memories, I had a GT380 and a GT500 twin, keep doing what your doing man...
I know that this video is over a year old, and that virtually no one is going to read this, but it needs to be said before too many of these old Suzuki two-strokes get terminally ruined. The Suzuki CCI oil injection system is not like what was used in most other oil injected engines. On the Suzuki CCI system, oil was fed directly to the crank main bearings, and through a system of clever channels/slingers, was routed to the rod big end bearing before mixing with the air/fuel mixture to lubricate the cylinder/piston. So therefore if you try to run the engine on premix only, you could be starving those critical bearings of lubrication. I grew up working on these engines back in the '70s, and saw so many well intentioned owners disconnecting the oil injection system thinking they were unreliable, but were in fact sentencing them to an early death (the engine, not the owner lol).
You can disconnect the cable going to the oil pump so it runs at minimum all the time, and THEN run premix. You need to block all the oil output lines from the pump EXCEPT the oil line that supplies the bearing(s). The pump pumping on minimal oil, only through the bearing will ensure the bearing will keep lubed while also running premix.
You guys, lol. Absolute nonsense! Everywhere fuel goes, the oil goes with it! From v6 racing out boards, to Kawi triples, disconnecting the autotune will not cause bearing failure. Providing you mix the fuel with oil it will get lubrication.
@@MrKips1 it may pay to Google the Suzuki CCI system for motorcycles..... This injects 1 feed straight into the case and one through a bearing that WILL eventually die if its not fed oil through it.
@@MrKips1 well I've got 2x CCI engines with bearings that will loudly disagree thinking you know how suzuki CCI works. If its injecting directly through the bearing it will have singers or shrouds cupping them, in which case premix won't reach them enough to run long term. If it's injecting only into the case, premix is fine. I know for fact, the 2 engines I have with a toasted bearing both ran premix long term and both are similar era to the bike in the video. It's a pretty well known fact on Suzuki forums to not run premix long term on Suzuki CCI engines that have cupped bearings.
Was totally hyped for part 2 of that video after celebrating that you get it running again. I would have taped the intake from the airbox partially to compensate for the missing filter and make it run more rich. We did stuff like that to test around when fixing our 2 stroke scooters. Its always better to run a 2 stroke too rich than too lean - especially when you run a machine that you cant trust.
As a biker in the early 90's, 2-Stroke engines are just SO nostalgic. The noise and smell takes me back 30-odd years to hooning about with my friends around the village I grew up in. I occasionally wish I could go back to those long-long, halcyon days of having no responsibilities or really many cares in the world. The time was now, the point of life was pleasure and we were all going to live forever.
Same here pal, when I was a kid we grew up under the shadow of two big coal slag heaps, both were 3 tears high so it was just natural we all had bikes to scramble up and down the banks, two stroke engines were the best, simple to work on and pretty much bulletproof. We used everything from Vespas, DT's old cafe racer bikes and the kids with money had proper Motorcross bikes but we just had the old bikes no body else wanted , striped em down and bodged anything that needed fixing to get the engine to spin the back wheel, anything else was a bonus lol.
These damn wars we send our children to our the elites agendas they are fighting for straight satanic wars all for the wealth of the filthy rich and their plans for the world , firmament glass dome over the earth we live in a snow globe believe it or not but that’s what Bible says
I bought a GT550 project bike when I was in the Navy down in Virginia around 1980. It was almost as bad as yours. It had sat outside under a tarp and everything in the engine was toast. After I moved back north I found a second one that had a running engine but was pretty rough otherwise. I put the two bikes together and had a nice running 2-smoker for very short money. Rode it around for a few years and then shipped it off to my brother-in-law in Missouri when I upgraded to a BMW K100RT. He never told me what became of it, but I assume that he lost interest and just got rid of it. It was a fun bike. Didn’t handle all that well, and the brakes were only so-so, but had lots of 2-stroke power. Ring,ring, ring…
Compounded by mixing the oil in the tank, because the carb jets were set for neat petrol. Pre-mix requires bigger jets, otherwise the engine runs lean.
@X2323X and a plugged carb doesn't lube the premix while the other cylinders are still running. I think Suzuki directly injects oil on the crank bearing. That might have saved it.
Yeah, i think the gt550 and t500 had the same setup. My t500 has 4 nylon oil lines that spray directly into the cylinders. They are not fun to work on at all, but once they are running free, they're great. I read on a forum NOT to premix, as was mentioned above, because it doesn't lubricate the bottom end that way. I also had that stupid vacuum petcock. Sealed it at the carb and removed the hose. Wonder if that's why mine idles poorly? Anyway... still super awesome, Craig! Watch the "Kentucky Yankee" rebuild a T500 Titan, and it deep dives into that whole bike system.
@@williamculbertson5230 premixing fuel really doesn’t hurt anything other than making more smoke at low rpm and running too lean on decel. The piston had a hole burned in it which is not an issue of lubrication, that’s caused by heat. I would guess that the bike ran very lean causing lots of heat and ultimately pre ignition which burned a hole in the piston.
I had an old 2stroke that would not run and I thought it was the obvious piston rebuild. Upon inspection the past owner run too much 2t oil and it caked the exhaust full of greasy carbon goodness. I replaced the exhaust and it ran like a new bike ❤❤❤ just a lil tip for anyone who finds themselves a "worn-out" 2stroke 😊
Really interested to see more of this bike having had some experience with them myself. The thing you need to know is that these bikes are not designed or jetted to run on premix and the crank bearings are shielded so they need the oil pump to get proper lubrication. In a good running condition, these bikes put out 48.5 bhp and are actually quite quick for an early 70s bike and can keep up with modern traffic pretty well.
I had one in the late 1970s and regularly rode it from San Francisco to San Diego. My injection pump was running just fine. I wish I had one today. Fun bike.
Some simple and fairly easy porting really wakes them up! The fuel mileage remains terrible, but the engines can become pretty strong, especially with a good tuned exhaust
It's a shame seeing it being destroyed like that. Even in this condition, those bikes are pretty valuable here where I live. If you're lucky enough to find one in decently good, running condition (I'm not talking restored or anything) be prepared to pay between $7k - $10k...even more for really good ones. That's kind of what to expect, if you do the bare minimum on those bikes and run it like that. I wish I could afford one of those, even in this condition. I would love to restore it.
Yeah I prefer channels that take their time, have long formats of around an hour and put proper car into vehicles such that they don't let them die. Like vice grip garage for example. @@captainfancypants4933
@@captainfancypants4933non-functional front brakes, hole in a carburetor float, rusted through fuel tank and no air filter are considered good running conditions now?
I just bought a 65 Yamaha that was rebuilt and running last year. It was a little neglected and I got a good deal. This gives me hope that it'll be back on the road soon. Love this video
For those that don’t know ….. the jetting for the motor was setup for fuel only . Adding oil to petrol means for a given volume .. it now has less petrol , making the bike run lean …. Because the oil normally comes in through the oil injection . So essentially 100% petrol runs way way richer than a 20:1 mix . It’s the cheap and dirty way to play with fueling ratios when tuning a 2 stroke Anyways, if you ever change an oil injection 2 stroke over to premix … remember to size up the jets about 25% on a 40:1
absolutly right with that. would have been better to get the original oil system to work. but it did well as it was. that bike is still worth a couple of grand here in the uk even as it is.
Another thing that would have been a cause of lean mixture is that you added oil to the fuel instead of getting the injection system working. This makes the fuel slightly more viscous, so less of it flows through the jets in a given time under a given pressure. Also a few per cent of what does flow is not fuel, further leaning the mixture. If you are converting an engine from oil injection to lubrication by oil mixed with the fuel, you need to fit slightly larger main jets and possibly also alter the needles or their position. Note also the comments that several other people have posted about the shrouds around the main bearings on Suzuki engines that have CCI Crankcase Cylinder Injection, which I think is all of them up to the late 1970s at which point Suzuki changed to injecting oil into the inlet ports only like Yamaha. In the course of getting this bike running did you ever check that the sparks were correctly timed and that the spark plugs were of the correct heat grade?
The moment he said, I ll cut off the oil system, I knew what will happen. Poor engine killed by a cluless mechanic. I think the dry running oil pump is toast too.
Those were probably the plugs installed by the factory. 40 years ago I rode Yamaha RD - 350s. I would've jerry-rigged a foam filter. Lean kills 2-strokes. Especially down hills under trailing throttle with pre-mix. Still, it was an adventure ! Hopefully you rebuild it.
An old trick to plug vacuum hoses is to always carry some golf tees with you. They are tapered so they fit all sizes. Also with these old 2 strokes, always carry a spare set of plugs.
something thats easily overlooked, by running premix in an injection bike the fuel oil mix is rich but it takes fuel away from the air fuel mix. premix in an otherwise injection bike makes a lean condition. cool as hell, definitely deserves some love and sounds awesome
these are the only vids i always watch end to end......have been fixing up old bikes my entire life 😊love it , its like archaeology when it comes to its previous life .
These mid-1970s Suzukis, from the 125cc all the way on up to the 750--were extremely popular and extremely affordable good-looking two-stroke machines. They still look great today and do turn up occasionally in varying degrees of condition. Brings back lots of great memories of great times. Thanks for sharing and good luck. Curse you Joan Claybrook!
It's a piece of my history. I had one back when they were new. They were a very cool looking bike, for the time period at least. I clocked up a lot of ring a ding ding miles on mine way back when. They weren't as quick as the 3 cylinder Kawasaki death machines but, they certainly weren't slow either, they actually went around bends too, unlike those ballistic but insane Kawasakis.
@@Toxic2T I owned a 550 GT when they were current though, I bought mine second hand. I never did ride a 380 so when you said that I thought "nah, BS", at least it should be. I went looking for specs to check and at first they confirmed that the 550 would be a fair bit quicker with 50 hp at 6,500 rpm as opposed to the 380 only having 38 hp at 7,500, I had to hunt more sources but they gave a torque figure of 28 ft lbs at 6,000 for the 380 but no info on the 550 there and elsewhere I found it's 38.7 or 39.7 depending on source so a pretty decent amount more power AND especially torque for the 550 BUT, the 550 is 4 inches longer, an inch wider BUT, the big killer, the 550 is a full 100 pounds HEAVIER! That really surprised me and at 216 kgs (477 pounds) I think just going by those figures I'd half expect the 380 to be maybe a bit quicker off the line but at speed the 550 should be able to pull a bit harder. That weight difference surprised me. I do remember it as not being super light but, I didn't expect it to be that heavy, oh well. Compare that to the BMW S 1,000 R I had a while back that somehow weighed less and had a full 165 hp to play with, now that's a REALLY QUICK bike lol. I've owned the 550 GT and a T 500 twin too, ridden 1 of the insane Kawasaki 750 triple 2 strokes both before and after being bored, ported and having expansion chambers fitted for road racing and that thing was pretty crazy quick but, terrifying in every other way. I'm really wishing I had ridden a 380, I think I probably would have liked riding 1 of them even more than the 550. I like light and nimble and the 380 sounds like fun. I did have a Yamaha RD 250 and that was a fun and surprisingly zippy little bike too. That BMW was something else though, from another galaxy! Insane power, add the quick shift and it actually handling and stopping really well as well and I DID go from 70 kph stuck behind traffic to 285 kph just in the distance it took to overtake about 10 cars crawling along damn near bumper to bumper! That thing was amazing! Still, put me on a light little zippy 2 stroke and I'm a happy chappy, it's so sad that apart from those annoying little 50cc 2 stroke scooters ALL the really worthwhile 2 strokes are gone.
@@lorditsprobingtime6668 Anything two stroke and more than 1 cylinder is no joke. Respect to you for surviving that badass era of motorcycles. 2 stroke is is a lifestyle.
@@Toxic2T: " 2 stroke is is a lifestyle." I never really thought about it that way but, yeah, it kinda is. I did look down on 4 strokes back then because 2 strokes were a lighter weight engine and SO much simpler to work on, plus, the vast majority would eat any 4 stroke of similar size and something as simple as an expansion chamber, especially pre muffled ones made a HUGE performance increase. I know you 'can' get more power out of those old 4 strokes too but, make sure your wallet's fat and you've got plenty of time and patience. The only slightly annoying thing to me riding any 2 stroke is when at that throttle setting where you're not engine braking but also not actually accelerating, that ring a ding ding and jerkiness can be annoying but, all the plusses more than make up for that. Foot note: The guy I knew that bought the 750 Kwaka triple and road raced it, amazingly he did AND, he's still alive! I felt like I was going to die almost every second I was on that insane death machine lol. BTW, I have had a lot of 2 stroke single dirt bikes too. One in particular was a bit scary quick. That was my very highly tuned and PROPER expansion chambered Bultaco Pursang 250 that I had setup for racing short circuit. When that thing hit the power band which was tuned more like the really peaky little 125 motocrossers, holy hell, she'd snap that front wheel up so suddenly lol, she was a bit of a monster for a 250 but, SO MUCH FUN!. It sounds like you've had your share of experience with some of the wild and wooly old 2 strokes too so good on you.
Great job getting the old Suzuki 2T running. Two things I think you should have fixed before hitting the road was the obvious fuel leak and installing new tires. It's just not safe or smart riding at highway speeds on 30+ year old tires and tubes for over 400 miles.
Rebuilt a old Zundapp Db234 NormaLuxus with my dad, that bike was over 50 years old and had a possible seized piston broken mechanical magneto and a lot of rust. Yet it is restored to new again, i still remember the sugh of relief when we removed the piston from the cylinder block. A dot of rust (5mm or 3/16 Inch) was all that it took to not be able to move anymore😮 But the satisfaction of making parts and powdercoating them 😊 never ever gonna forget that ❤
Craig, you are crushing it as a solo show! I'm not a motorcycle guy or very mechanically inclined but I really like these videos! I also appreciated the Sean voiceover recap at the start.
Cmon man, you felt the hanging idle knew it was lean and drove it like madman through hills anyway. That hole in the piston is 100% on you. You killed that motor.
I don't think Craig ever blamed the hole in the piston on anyone else but himself though. Besides, an argument can be made on what not to do during a similar ride to avoid such circumstances. Even besides-er, it's still gonna be him who's gonna fix that engine.
Thanks for trying SO hard! Yes, you said you did the absolute bare minimum to get her running, but it was still a tremendous amount of work. And good attitude, humor, etc.
Was the holed piston and the open vacuum line on the same cylinder? If so there's your problem. Vacuum lines- stick an old bolt in there. From memory these bikes had chrome bores so no oversizes available. These days you can probably find someone to re plate them, obviously at a cost. Bike did well to get as far as it did. Deserves to be fixed up properly. Hope we can see that.
Could also be issue with carburetor. Lean and hot or no fuel equals no lubricant on premix gasoline. Big issue on old 2 stroke V6 outboard, one clogged carb you might not notice before it is too late. That Greg was feeling it starting might already been too late at that point, don't know.
I blasted one of those past 100 MPH on a country road at age 16 and lived to tell the tale. I never forgot the sound of this engine howling. Great video.
It's not a victory until you get it running reliably. Go for it! You don't have to restore it, but please get all the parts together and working, make it pass inspection, make it a daily driver for somebody. Maybe me? The first street bike I ever rode was my roommate's Kawasaki H1. If you know, you know. Up to that point, I'd only ridden minibikes with torque converters, so I learned to use the clutch, and I learned to kickstart a 500 two-stroke triple. I felt invincible. The first street bike I ever owned was a two-year-old Yamaha Vision with less than 600 miles on the clock that cost me about 1/4 of the MSRP. After the H1, I was a little disappointed in the power, but only a little. Kind of a quirky bike (water-cooled 550 cc V-twin with shaft drive), but a solid reliable commuter and really a ton of fun, though it was a bit heavy. At least it had electric start...
I thought you would of put a sock in the airbox, as holes through pistons isn't fun I've owned every other size GT but never got a chance to find a 550, my 380 was my favourite for handling and power, but the kettle was no match with its bad handling. Gotta love the old 2 smokes. Great video !
I restored a GT550 years ago. I bought it from a local Motorcycle shop. No one wanted to touch it. But I did. I went through it from front to back, top to bottom. I even had the gauges restored. A collector in Raleigh NC bought it from me. To this day I highly regret selling that bike. It was too dang cool. I would LOVE to have another one.
You are a very brave man. To ride that bike, that far, through tunnels , over bridges, through a metropolitan area and almost pass another vehicle on the highway is impressive, very impressive. You've got some incredible gifts Craig, thanks for sharing them with us. Oh, I almost forgot, throw something at Dan.
Over time I had all the Suzy trippples during the glorious 1970s..the 380 this 550 and the 750 Water buffalo..I racked up huge miles on all 3 especially the 750..The only complaint I have about the 550 is if you don't do regular air filter maintenance dirt finds its way into the engine destroying the top end..The 550 has chrome bores that cannot be oversized..I found out the expensive hard way and had to buy new jugs for mine as well during the only rebuild I ever did on the 3 of them.
@@chloedevereaux1801 actually at least in Germany it was called "Wasserbüffel" which would translate to water buffalo. So the commenter you were answering to was right. And also here is the wikipedia entry: "Marketed as the Le Mans in the US and Canada, it was nicknamed the "Kettle" in Britain, the "Water Bottle" in Australia,[6] and the "Water Buffalo" in the United States."
Interestingly, the USA and Canada models of the GT550 never had the Chrome plated bores. They stuck with the standard bores in the USA and Canada whilst the other markets got upgraded jetting and porting with the chrome cylinders on the last three models. Getting cylinders re-plated is very expensive so the USA/Canada import bikes are better in that respect from a current perspective.
I love the copious use of zip ties! I also carry golf tees for plugging unnecessary vacuum lines. Gotta keep two strokes running rich, especially the cylinder closest to the PTO.
Hi Craig, I’m really surprised it got that far. I read somewhere that you have to use the Oil Injection System on those Bikes. If you Pre Mix it doesn’t work right for some reason. I think being a Rare Engine, and the fact it tried to Run good. It deserves a Total Rebuild. That would be a Great restoration Bike. I would love to have one of the Old 2 Stroke Street Bikes. Especially like a H2. Great Video and loving your new Channel. Can’t wait to see more. It was nice to hear Sean at the beginning also. 👍👍❤️
I had one myself back when they were current. They also made the 750 water cooled. You'd probably never find one of those engines in any sort of repairable state since they were really popular for sidecar racing. I never actually rode a 380 but, these 550s were a good all round street bike.
@@lorditsprobingtime6668 TYpical of Suzies in the seventies they made wonderful engines fitted into pretty but hardly longlasting running gear with too much poor quality chrome .
@@jonviol Sadly, too true. I didn't have much trouble with my 550 GT but a few years later wound up with a T 500 Titan twin. The old guy who'd picked it up from a farmer, kinda a genuine barn find thought it went great. It was actually only running on one cylinder lol. That was a simple fix, just a condenser and it DID run and go great. I registered and rode it for a couple of years till suddenly fifth gear shattered and locked the rear wheel at 140 kph right in front of a semi I'd just overtaken, that was real pucker time lol. I still never dropped it once and I did ride it like a lunatic. They may not have had perfect handling etc but, they were pretty good for the period. I only heard much later on, (too late for mine) from people who drag raced them was to was raise the gearbox vent and put a certain amount of extra oil, more than the recommended in there. I was really sad to see that fairly straight and pretty tank only held together by the paint. I guess enough years of condensation and thin steel is just going to do that. With the exhaust though, he could get lucky. That's a chambered exhaust and unless they were released with them over there, it's likely someone's still got a brand new, possibly never used stock system hanging in a garage somewhere. I myself have 2 never even run stock Suzuki exhaust systems in my garage. One for a DL 650 I had and the other for a DRZ 400 I've still got, neither even left a showroom on the bikes. I do respect the fact that the Suzukis, and the Yamahas, mainly the RDs were pretty quick but kinda a balance of power, handling and brakes while the Kawasaki 3 cylinder 2 strokes were insanely (for the time) quick but terrifying handling and brakes.
@@legomanmw2 Never had any seizing problems with mine. Gearbox yes, engine no. The 550 GT I had did get very close to seizing numerous times while really thrashing it for extended periods on some of my favorite mountain climbing runs though. I just had to ease right off and let it gently cool down for a while and it would come back to normal after a bit of gentle cruising. The RAM air idea didn't seem to help them much at all. Never had any problems with the T500 though.
I love that Craig has his own show now. First it was Spite, for very different reasons. But now to see you getting your own platform to get more screen time is awesome!
I had a friend in college in the late 70s that bought Yamaha RD 400. He bought it because two strokes were gonna die out. He was a motocross racer.. he could pull wheelies in each of the six gears. His skill level was 1000 times greater than mine . He bought the bike after his dirtbike that he brought to college had a problem . he beat it up so badly that when he pulled a wheelie outside the dorm, the front wheel fell off because the two clamps cracked. Also had a buddy with an early opposing piston BMW that did a burnout outside of a bar the tire caught it jumped the curb and he broke a fire hydrant and in half . Water was spraying everywhere he picked up the Beamer had one cracked fin on the cylinder. Head started right up and drove off. BMWs are awesome
I had a buddy with a bike with a similar design. All of us rode four strokes at college. His was the only two stroke. About one time out of four he would have to pull spark plugs because of excessive oil from the automatic oiler. Most of the time we hung out and waited for him to do it because he was pretty fast but if a storm is coming, we took off. We got home dry he got home wet. Weird dude he swapped to a Harley chopper
They were a sweet ride, much more refined feeling than the similar Kawasaki H1 triple. Had a neighbor next to me who bought a then-KH500 and we tuned it specifically for his use as a commuter bike (I was the dealer technician) and it surprisingly came very close to being as fine as the 550 but still wasn't as comfy.
@@whalesong999 I've read that after WWII ended, many of the German two-stroke engineering pioneers went to work for Suzuki. Which might partially explain why the street series GT two-strokes were superiorly engineered and more refined than their market competition at the time.
@@bluoval3481 I haven't heard of that. The only German I know of escaped East Germany during the cold war; Ernst Degner, who left MZ and went to Suzuki, sometime around 1961. He brought a lot of two-stroke knowledge with him then. Prior to that, Suzuki had purchased other Japanese makers, primarily Colleda who already had an electric start, 250cc twin and Suzuki refined and marketed it as the T-10 which I had experience with. Your statement seems to parallel the aviation field that did employ ex-German engineers to advance U.S. aviation, primarily military. After the war, many companies around the western world began building a license-built version of a German DKW 125cc motorcycle, including one in Japan if I'm not mistaken.
Correct, speaking from experience. Hard to outsmart the factory engineers. Two strokes in particular already have overly sensitive air/fuel mixture calibration and aftermarket mods make it worse.
I really hope it's just a 'comma' for that great old machine. I rode on for several years and they were one of the more 'civilised' of the mid sized 2 strokes of their time.
@@lorditsprobingtime6668 Agreed. They didn't grab the attention like the Kaw H series or the Yamaha RDs, but the GT series was so much more refined and civilized for everyday use.
@@bluoval3481 Well, I rode a Kawasaki H, both before and after reboring, porting and expansion chambers fitted for racing and could not give it full throttle, even at over 100 mph but, the handling was terrifying! It felt like it should maybe ONLY ever be raced on a drag strip, nothing with even a bend while I'd happily throw my throw my 550GT at tight and twisty stuff, same with the RD Yams, they liked bends and still went pretty good. Those Kawasakis sure were spectacular in their own terrifying ways though.
I rode one of these in the mid 70,s, very smooth running engine for a 2 stroke, great seeing one again, love watching your videos, been restoring some mid 80,s Honda's and having a lot of fun with it
Really hope that you are going to fully restore this absolutely beautiful 2stroke. They are absolute classics and deserve to be on the road in tip top condition. If looked after the will serve you well. Please restore it to it's former glory. 👍👍👍👍
That is cool, my first bike was a GT380, it was a champ, it had a broken nylon gear so it would run 30 seconds then die, run 30 seconds then die, the guys at Seattle Cycle Center finally figured it out and I was off and running. The brake reservoir was ruined so I got one off a dual front disk bike, got a bolt that was the right sized, cross drilled it, drilled it down the shaft, tapped out the soft aluminum res to fit the threads of the bolt and I had stoppage. Man the things you do when you're young. I never had any problems with it. Not a greenstreak but still a cool fast bike. I kept up with a turbo bike and he said he rarely ran into bikes as quick as his. Bike was stolen years later. I hope the guy who stole it died on it. Thanks for the memories!
What a shame: a rare 2-stroke in salvageable condition ruined for the sake making a foolish vanity video. Please don’t do that again - I’d have given my eye teeth for that GT550.
I had a gt380 in 1977 and loved it, they sound lovely and have plenty of torque, the spare pipe you had went onto the fuel tap as they were vacuum activated
Owned the same bike about 30 years ago. With a 3 into 1 exaust, made a hell of a lot of noise, but had really fun riding it. 2-stoke engine's are a (fun)class apart....
I used to crave after these bikes, then the Yamahas 350 RDLC 2 stroke. I still have a late model RDX 125 which runs like a gem - incredible revs ! 11'500 redline 🙂 That noise. Sounds like a true motorbike. We used to know what kind of bike or car was coming simply by the exhaust note. Best cars for recognisable exhaust note: Alfa Romeo; All Minis pre 80's; Citroen 2CV and then there were all the Diesels (tractors). All motor bikes had their own noise: Yamaha 2 strokes. Hondas 4 cylinders; Ducati's; Kawasakis; BMW's. Now it's all just - No noise. Which is nice, but it's an era gone by.
There are shims beside the main bearings to lead the oil coming from the oilpump to the bearings. This shims block the ventilation of premix gas through the bearing to lubricate it! You can use premix but you have to remove this shims from the crank! Otherwise bearing seizure is guaranteed....!
Two cycles are awesome but obviously they don't take kindly to lean cylinders since that's the only source of lubrication. Had that happen to an old 55 hp Johnson once. Bored one cylinder, replaced piston, and cleaned out the carburetor and it was good to go.
It's been along time since I've heard expansion chamber's. Can't get enough of that sound. A flash back, back at the track of old school GP bikes (125,250,750, and of course, these bikes)👍👍👍👍👍👍
Check plugs after idling it, and do anything possible to richen up that one cylinder. Running rich will give you less power but it'll keep the piston from burning.
Some bike models actually lube the bottom end crank bearings with the oil tank and auto injection thing. If you put just premix in certain bokes it will ruin the motor (crank bearings)
I love this. I get what you were saying about being a 2 stroke owner. I just sold my 1983 honda shadow vt500. It was a two stroke and would start every season, no problems. I just sold it because I felt like it just had constant small issues. Loss of power sometimes. All sorts if small but annoying issues. My fuel injected honda intercepter starts every season, and runs like a top. I loved driving my 2 stroke, just not the servicing :D. Great job though.
My Son is about to start restoring a 380gt Suzuki same bike smaller. Cool bikes, I started riding with a two stroke. I’ve always liked them. Great job !
I just love the smell of 2 strokes. That and when a 4 stroke uses castrol R. Reminds me of going to the Isle of Man TT races with my dad when i was a kid.
They had a tendencie to burn holes in the piston if they got lean, using premix and no airfilter both contributed to the hole. A rebuild isn’t a problem, but i would be doing a full bottom end rebuild while i was at it, as the crankshaft seals go and then you lose crankcase preasure and two strokes don't like that. I would make a cafe racer out of it. A mate burned a hole in a piston on his GT250 back in the 70s comeing back from Santa Pod, he took the head off, filled the hole with Araldite, let it go off, the rode home. Where he rebuilt the engine.
Those 3 cylinder two-stroke bikes are really light and powerful. I remember the Suzuki GT 550 triple, it was one quick ricer. I had the same issue with a Yamaha 125 two stroke, burned a hole on the top of the piston, on a single cylinder, it was game over.
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Ok, I start with a confession. Many of the US motorcycle channels are a bit too "heavy metal" for me (a Brit). But this channel is real fun. The guys have a great sense of humour, a bucketful of humility and just get stuff done. Really enjoying your uploads.
Yea I feel ya, for what it’s worth the douchey, bad attitude, only Harley’s are real motorcycles type guys are more the boomers, us younger guys are more open minded. The typical American biker look and attitude is super unappealing to most of us regular guys.
I love this bloke, he's up for anything, as an older British biker I remember the two stroke days, fond memories, I had a GT380 and a GT500 twin, keep doing what your doing man...
Yeah, this guy reminds me of my old London mechanic teacher.
As an American I fully agree with you.
I love bikes, am in no way a mechanic, I'm always amazed how he can take a totstaled looking bike and abracadabra
I know that this video is over a year old, and that virtually no one is going to read this, but it needs to be said before too many of these old Suzuki two-strokes get terminally ruined. The Suzuki CCI oil injection system is not like what was used in most other oil injected engines. On the Suzuki CCI system, oil was fed directly to the crank main bearings, and through a system of clever channels/slingers, was routed to the rod big end bearing before mixing with the air/fuel mixture to lubricate the cylinder/piston. So therefore if you try to run the engine on premix only, you could be starving those critical bearings of lubrication. I grew up working on these engines back in the '70s, and saw so many well intentioned owners disconnecting the oil injection system thinking they were unreliable, but were in fact sentencing them to an early death (the engine, not the owner lol).
It deserves a full rebuild imo
Ya!!!!
I agree. A full restoration would make this bike a beauty again.
Yeah!!!!! DO IT!!!!
Completely agree, i would love to see a compelte restoration of this 2 stroke
We NEED a full rebuild of this beauty
Ive never seen a grown man show so much pure joy and excitement. I am truly jealous. What a good dude.
Don't bypass the oil injection on old Suzukis. Many inject oil directly to the crank bearings and can't be lubricated from the fuel alone.
You can disconnect the cable going to the oil pump so it runs at minimum all the time, and THEN run premix. You need to block all the oil output lines from the pump EXCEPT the oil line that supplies the bearing(s). The pump pumping on minimal oil, only through the bearing will ensure the bearing will keep lubed while also running premix.
You guys, lol. Absolute nonsense! Everywhere fuel goes, the oil goes with it! From v6 racing out boards, to Kawi triples, disconnecting the autotune will not cause bearing failure. Providing you mix the fuel with oil it will get lubrication.
@@MrKips1 it may pay to Google the Suzuki CCI system for motorcycles.....
This injects 1 feed straight into the case and one through a bearing that WILL eventually die if its not fed oil through it.
@@spinnanz I'm fully aware of the Crankcase Cylinder Injection system and it's workings.
@@MrKips1 well I've got 2x CCI engines with bearings that will loudly disagree thinking you know how suzuki CCI works.
If its injecting directly through the bearing it will have singers or shrouds cupping them, in which case premix won't reach them enough to run long term. If it's injecting only into the case, premix is fine. I know for fact, the 2 engines I have with a toasted bearing both ran premix long term and both are similar era to the bike in the video.
It's a pretty well known fact on Suzuki forums to not run premix long term on Suzuki CCI engines that have cupped bearings.
Was totally hyped for part 2 of that video after celebrating that you get it running again.
I would have taped the intake from the airbox partially to compensate for the missing filter and make it run more rich.
We did stuff like that to test around when fixing our 2 stroke scooters.
Its always better to run a 2 stroke too rich than too lean - especially when you run a machine that you cant trust.
Rode around on a two strike knowing a vacuum hose was hanging off, not a sign of any two stroke experience.
Craig is absolutely crushing it as a solo host!
1:24 - so what's number one?
Yes he is. Sean love you but Craig has always been the guy 🤘
@coffin2death544Man of culture. 🫡
@@TheStuartstardusthm..
He reminds me of that Greg guy who used to work for that one guy with the beard years ago... 🤷♂️
This is very entertaining, thanks for posting.
40 yrs ago I owned a GT 550, one tough bike. Noisy and vibey and smokey and a real hoot.
That was quite quickly burnt a hole into the piston. But i hope you'll post a video where you'll fix the engine and restore this bike
As a biker in the early 90's, 2-Stroke engines are just SO nostalgic. The noise and smell takes me back 30-odd years to hooning about with my friends around the village I grew up in. I occasionally wish I could go back to those long-long, halcyon days of having no responsibilities or really many cares in the world. The time was now, the point of life was pleasure and we were all going to live forever.
Same here pal, when I was a kid we grew up under the shadow of two big coal slag heaps, both were 3 tears high so it was just natural we all had bikes to scramble up and down the banks, two stroke engines were the best, simple to work on and pretty much bulletproof. We used everything from Vespas, DT's old cafe racer bikes and the kids with money had proper Motorcross bikes but we just had the old bikes no body else wanted , striped em down and bodged anything that needed fixing to get the engine to spin the back wheel, anything else was a bonus lol.
As a biker from the seventies, I know by the nineties, the two stroke era was winding down.
@@frogsintheforest yeah, but us young ones mainly rode older machines.
This is actually very poetic, the bike didn't die sitting in a barn but like a warrior dying in battle it died doing what it was made to do.
These damn wars we send our children to our the elites agendas they are fighting for straight satanic wars all for the wealth of the filthy rich and their plans for the world , firmament glass dome over the earth we live in a snow globe believe it or not but that’s what Bible says
Like the Spartans in "300"..."Come back with your shield...or on it!"
An honorable death
@@zeronomon This IMO this is not died just took a big wound.
@@leebenson4874 Just a flesh wound.
I bought a GT550 project bike when I was in the Navy down in Virginia around 1980. It was almost as bad as yours. It had sat outside under a tarp and everything in the engine was toast. After I moved back north I found a second one that had a running engine but was pretty rough otherwise. I put the two bikes together and had a nice running 2-smoker for very short money.
Rode it around for a few years and then shipped it off to my brother-in-law in Missouri when I upgraded to a BMW K100RT. He never told me what became of it, but I assume that he lost interest and just got rid of it. It was a fun bike. Didn’t handle all that well, and the brakes were only so-so, but had lots of 2-stroke power. Ring,ring, ring…
The piston most likely melted due to the lean condition from the air leak (vacuum line unhooked). Great video!
Compounded by mixing the oil in the tank, because the carb jets were set for neat petrol. Pre-mix requires bigger jets, otherwise the engine runs lean.
@X2323X and a plugged carb doesn't lube the premix while the other cylinders are still running. I think Suzuki directly injects oil on the crank bearing. That might have saved it.
Fuel wasn't mixed properly
Yeah, i think the gt550 and t500 had the same setup. My t500 has 4 nylon oil lines that spray directly into the cylinders. They are not fun to work on at all, but once they are running free, they're great. I read on a forum NOT to premix, as was mentioned above, because it doesn't lubricate the bottom end that way. I also had that stupid vacuum petcock. Sealed it at the carb and removed the hose. Wonder if that's why mine idles poorly? Anyway... still super awesome, Craig!
Watch the "Kentucky Yankee" rebuild a T500 Titan, and it deep dives into that whole bike system.
@@williamculbertson5230 premixing fuel really doesn’t hurt anything other than making more smoke at low rpm and running too lean on decel. The piston had a hole burned in it which is not an issue of lubrication, that’s caused by heat. I would guess that the bike ran very lean causing lots of heat and ultimately pre ignition which burned a hole in the piston.
I had an old 2stroke that would not run and I thought it was the obvious piston rebuild. Upon inspection the past owner run too much 2t oil and it caked the exhaust full of greasy carbon goodness. I replaced the exhaust and it ran like a new bike ❤❤❤ just a lil tip for anyone who finds themselves a "worn-out" 2stroke 😊
Really interested to see more of this bike having had some experience with them myself. The thing you need to know is that these bikes are not designed or jetted to run on premix and the crank bearings are shielded so they need the oil pump to get proper lubrication. In a good running condition, these bikes put out 48.5 bhp and are actually quite quick for an early 70s bike and can keep up with modern traffic pretty well.
I had one in the late 1970s and regularly rode it from San Francisco to San Diego. My injection pump was running just fine. I wish I had one today. Fun bike.
They’re great if you don’t mind spending half your trip filling up with fuel 🤣
Iconic bikes though, despite their terrible fuel mileage.
Some simple and fairly easy porting really wakes them up! The fuel mileage remains terrible, but the engines can become pretty strong, especially with a good tuned exhaust
Those 3 cylinder twostrokes from the 70´s weren´t called widowmakers for nothin ;)
"are actually quite quick" I would expect nothing less from a 500cc two-stroke, to be honest.
It's a shame seeing it being destroyed like that. Even in this condition, those bikes are pretty valuable here where I live. If you're lucky enough to find one in decently good, running condition (I'm not talking restored or anything) be prepared to pay between $7k - $10k...even more for really good ones. That's kind of what to expect, if you do the bare minimum on those bikes and run it like that. I wish I could afford one of those, even in this condition. I would love to restore it.
especially when it got parked in good running condition and then ruined on a video for youtube views. Kind of disheartening.
Yeah I prefer channels that take their time, have long formats of around an hour and put proper car into vehicles such that they don't let them die. Like vice grip garage for example. @@captainfancypants4933
What I would have done different
Plug up all vacuum leaks on 2-stroke before riding miles and miles on the highway😂
@@captainfancypants4933non-functional front brakes, hole in a carburetor float, rusted through fuel tank and no air filter are considered good running conditions now?
@@JeanMarceauxtbh those faults are fixed for a few bucks and some elbow greese..
You know it's going to be a good day when my new favorite channel uploads a video. Keep em coming Craig!
Craig is such a good guy, i honestly could watch him for hours.
I just bought a 65 Yamaha that was rebuilt and running last year. It was a little neglected and I got a good deal. This gives me hope that it'll be back on the road soon. Love this video
For those that don’t know ….. the jetting for the motor was setup for fuel only .
Adding oil to petrol means for a given volume .. it now has less petrol , making the bike run lean …. Because the oil normally comes in through the oil injection .
So essentially
100% petrol runs way way richer than a 20:1 mix .
It’s the cheap and dirty way to play with fueling ratios when tuning a 2 stroke
Anyways, if you ever change an oil injection 2 stroke over to premix … remember to size up the jets about 25% on a 40:1
that would explain why my old yamaha jog runs bad. thank you. thats puzzled me for years.
absolutly right with that. would have been better to get the original oil system to work. but it did well as it was. that bike is still worth a couple of grand here in the uk even as it is.
indeed I would go with at least 35ml per liter on an engine that big. also 4% will guarantee a trip home.
@@masterpoop67 3% and you're good to go. just check the spark plug after WOT run itll tell you where you currently at
also no airfilter
Another thing that would have been a cause of lean mixture is that you added oil to the fuel instead of getting the injection system working. This makes the fuel slightly more viscous, so less of it flows through the jets in a given time under a given pressure. Also a few per cent of what does flow is not fuel, further leaning the mixture. If you are converting an engine from oil injection to lubrication by oil mixed with the fuel, you need to fit slightly larger main jets and possibly also alter the needles or their position. Note also the comments that several other people have posted about the shrouds around the main bearings on Suzuki engines that have CCI Crankcase Cylinder Injection, which I think is all of them up to the late 1970s at which point Suzuki changed to injecting oil into the inlet ports only like Yamaha.
In the course of getting this bike running did you ever check that the sparks were correctly timed and that the spark plugs were of the correct heat grade?
The moment he said, I ll cut off the oil system, I knew what will happen.
Poor engine killed by a cluless mechanic.
I think the dry running oil pump is toast too.
Those were probably the plugs installed by the factory.
40 years ago I rode Yamaha RD - 350s.
I would've jerry-rigged a foam filter. Lean kills 2-strokes. Especially down hills under trailing throttle with pre-mix.
Still, it was an adventure !
Hopefully you rebuild it.
An old trick to plug vacuum hoses is to always carry some golf tees with you. They are tapered so they fit all sizes. Also with these old 2 strokes, always carry a spare set of plugs.
something thats easily overlooked, by running premix in an injection bike the fuel oil mix is rich but it takes fuel away from the air fuel mix. premix in an otherwise injection bike makes a lean condition. cool as hell, definitely deserves some love and sounds awesome
these are the only vids i always watch end to end......have been fixing up old bikes my entire life 😊love it , its like archaeology when it comes to its previous life .
These mid-1970s Suzukis, from the 125cc all the way on up to the 750--were extremely popular and extremely affordable good-looking two-stroke machines. They still look great today and do turn up occasionally in varying degrees of condition. Brings back lots of great memories of great times. Thanks for sharing and good luck. Curse you Joan Claybrook!
That was freaking cool and I hope you decide to rebuild that motor. That bike is a piece of biker history
It's a piece of my history. I had one back when they were new. They were a very cool looking bike, for the time period at least. I clocked up a lot of ring a ding ding miles on mine way back when.
They weren't as quick as the 3 cylinder Kawasaki death machines but, they certainly weren't slow either, they actually went around bends too, unlike those ballistic but insane Kawasakis.
indeed. and tuned theyre bullets, specially the gt380
@@Toxic2T I owned a 550 GT when they were current though, I bought mine second hand. I never did ride a 380 so when you said that I thought "nah, BS", at least it should be. I went looking for specs to check and at first they confirmed that the 550 would be a fair bit quicker with 50 hp at 6,500 rpm as opposed to the 380 only having 38 hp at 7,500, I had to hunt more sources but they gave a torque figure of 28 ft lbs at 6,000 for the 380 but no info on the 550 there and elsewhere I found it's 38.7 or 39.7 depending on source so a pretty decent amount more power AND especially torque for the 550 BUT, the 550 is 4 inches longer, an inch wider BUT, the big killer, the 550 is a full 100 pounds HEAVIER! That really surprised me and at 216 kgs (477 pounds) I think just going by those figures I'd half expect the 380 to be maybe a bit quicker off the line but at speed the 550 should be able to pull a bit harder.
That weight difference surprised me. I do remember it as not being super light but, I didn't expect it to be that heavy, oh well. Compare that to the BMW S 1,000 R I had a while back that somehow weighed less and had a full 165 hp to play with, now that's a REALLY QUICK bike lol.
I've owned the 550 GT and a T 500 twin too, ridden 1 of the insane Kawasaki 750 triple 2 strokes both before and after being bored, ported and having expansion chambers fitted for road racing and that thing was pretty crazy quick but, terrifying in every other way. I'm really wishing I had ridden a 380, I think I probably would have liked riding 1 of them even more than the 550. I like light and nimble and the 380 sounds like fun. I did have a Yamaha RD 250 and that was a fun and surprisingly zippy little bike too. That BMW was something else though, from another galaxy! Insane power, add the quick shift and it actually handling and stopping really well as well and I DID go from 70 kph stuck behind traffic to 285 kph just in the distance it took to overtake about 10 cars crawling along damn near bumper to bumper! That thing was amazing! Still, put me on a light little zippy 2 stroke and I'm a happy chappy, it's so sad that apart from those annoying little 50cc 2 stroke scooters ALL the really worthwhile 2 strokes are gone.
@@lorditsprobingtime6668 Anything two stroke and more than 1 cylinder is no joke. Respect to you for surviving that badass era of motorcycles. 2 stroke is is a lifestyle.
@@Toxic2T: " 2 stroke is is a lifestyle." I never really thought about it that way but, yeah, it kinda is. I did look down on 4 strokes back then because 2 strokes were a lighter weight engine and SO much simpler to work on, plus, the vast majority would eat any 4 stroke of similar size and something as simple as an expansion chamber, especially pre muffled ones made a HUGE performance increase. I know you 'can' get more power out of those old 4 strokes too but, make sure your wallet's fat and you've got plenty of time and patience. The only slightly annoying thing to me riding any 2 stroke is when at that throttle setting where you're not engine braking but also not actually accelerating, that ring a ding ding and jerkiness can be annoying but, all the plusses more than make up for that.
Foot note: The guy I knew that bought the 750 Kwaka triple and road raced it, amazingly he did AND, he's still alive! I felt like I was going to die almost every second I was on that insane death machine lol.
BTW, I have had a lot of 2 stroke single dirt bikes too. One in particular was a bit scary quick. That was my very highly tuned and PROPER expansion chambered Bultaco Pursang 250 that I had setup for racing short circuit. When that thing hit the power band which was tuned more like the really peaky little 125 motocrossers, holy hell, she'd snap that front wheel up so suddenly lol, she was a bit of a monster for a 250 but, SO MUCH FUN!.
It sounds like you've had your share of experience with some of the wild and wooly old 2 strokes too so good on you.
Great job getting the old Suzuki 2T running. Two things I think you should have fixed before hitting the road was the obvious fuel leak and installing new tires. It's just not safe or smart riding at highway speeds on 30+ year old tires and tubes for over 400 miles.
that bike is badass, it's got character, needs a full rebuild for sure.
Rebuilt a old Zundapp Db234 NormaLuxus with my dad, that bike was over 50 years old and had a possible seized piston broken mechanical magneto and a lot of rust.
Yet it is restored to new again, i still remember the sugh of relief when we removed the piston from the cylinder block.
A dot of rust (5mm or 3/16 Inch) was all that it took to not be able to move anymore😮
But the satisfaction of making parts and powdercoating them 😊 never ever gonna forget that ❤
Craig, you are crushing it as a solo show! I'm not a motorcycle guy or very mechanically inclined but I really like these videos! I also appreciated the Sean voiceover recap at the start.
Cmon man, you felt the hanging idle knew it was lean and drove it like madman through hills anyway. That hole in the piston is 100% on you. You killed that motor.
cool story
but it made for some youtube content :(
Yeah I will never understand why he didn't plug up that air leak when he found it
@@UnderEmployedEngineer I will never understand why tearing something up makes a good content but I guess....
I don't think Craig ever blamed the hole in the piston on anyone else but himself though.
Besides, an argument can be made on what not to do during a similar ride to avoid such circumstances.
Even besides-er, it's still gonna be him who's gonna fix that engine.
Craig, I'm so proud of you for roosting out of the dirt pile at the bottom of the steepest hill in the world.
Thank you kind sir
Sean gave me the love for motorcycles but Craig gives me the itch to play with them! This is my new favorite channel.
so glad we got some voice-over sean
Yeah :) me 2
Why the voice over😢😢😢😢
I love bike and beards but this the bearded mechanic 😮
Life choices..😊if you didn't know...?? Maybe you know...solo bro
Thanks for trying SO hard! Yes, you said you did the absolute bare minimum to get her running, but it was still a tremendous amount of work. And good attitude, humor, etc.
Was the holed piston and the open vacuum line on the same cylinder? If so there's your problem. Vacuum lines- stick an old bolt in there. From memory these bikes had chrome bores so no oversizes available. These days you can probably find someone to re plate them, obviously at a cost. Bike did well to get as far as it did. Deserves to be fixed up properly. Hope we can see that.
Could also be issue with carburetor. Lean and hot or no fuel equals no lubricant on premix gasoline. Big issue on old 2 stroke V6 outboard, one clogged carb you might not notice before it is too late. That Greg was feeling it starting might already been too late at that point, don't know.
I blasted one of those past 100 MPH on a country road at age 16 and lived to tell the tale. I never forgot the sound of this engine howling. Great video.
Craig screeching tires and flailing his legs all over the place going down that steep hill had me cracking up. It was like reverse whiskey throttle
It's not a victory until you get it running reliably. Go for it! You don't have to restore it, but please get all the parts together and working, make it pass inspection, make it a daily driver for somebody. Maybe me?
The first street bike I ever rode was my roommate's Kawasaki H1. If you know, you know. Up to that point, I'd only ridden minibikes with torque converters, so I learned to use the clutch, and I learned to kickstart a 500 two-stroke triple. I felt invincible.
The first street bike I ever owned was a two-year-old Yamaha Vision with less than 600 miles on the clock that cost me about 1/4 of the MSRP. After the H1, I was a little disappointed in the power, but only a little. Kind of a quirky bike (water-cooled 550 cc V-twin with shaft drive), but a solid reliable commuter and really a ton of fun, though it was a bit heavy. At least it had electric start...
It's awesome to see how confident you've gotten from your first video to this one
🫡Hopefully not a last ride for the old gal. Beautiful bike, hope she gets the full restoration she deserves.
I thought you would of put a sock in the airbox, as holes through pistons isn't fun
I've owned every other size GT but never got a chance to find a 550, my 380 was my favourite for handling and power, but the kettle was no match with its bad handling.
Gotta love the old 2 smokes.
Great video !
I restored a GT550 years ago. I bought it from a local Motorcycle shop. No one wanted to touch it. But I did. I went through it from front to back, top to bottom. I even had the gauges restored. A collector in Raleigh NC bought it from me. To this day I highly regret selling that bike. It was too dang cool. I would LOVE to have another one.
I'm not a mechanic or ride motorcycles..but I love this man.✌️
You are a very brave man. To ride that bike, that far, through tunnels , over bridges, through a metropolitan area and almost pass another vehicle on the highway is impressive, very impressive. You've got some incredible gifts Craig, thanks for sharing them with us. Oh, I almost forgot, throw something at Dan.
Over time I had all the Suzy trippples during the glorious 1970s..the 380 this 550 and the 750 Water buffalo..I racked up huge miles on all 3 especially the 750..The only complaint I have about the 550 is if you don't do regular air filter maintenance dirt finds its way into the engine destroying the top end..The 550 has chrome bores that cannot be oversized..I found out the expensive hard way and had to buy new jugs for mine as well during the only rebuild I ever did on the 3 of them.
750 triple was called the kettle, not water buffalo.....
@@chloedevereaux1801 actually at least in Germany it was called "Wasserbüffel" which would translate to water buffalo. So the commenter you were answering to was right. And also here is the wikipedia entry: "Marketed as the Le Mans in the US and Canada, it was nicknamed the "Kettle" in Britain, the "Water Bottle" in Australia,[6] and the "Water Buffalo" in the United States."
@@chloedevereaux1801 in the USA it is the waterbuffalo. it is also called a waterbottle
@chloedevereaux1801 In Australia back then it was the Water Buffalo.
Interestingly, the USA and Canada models of the GT550 never had the Chrome plated bores. They stuck with the standard bores in the USA and Canada whilst the other markets got upgraded jetting and porting with the chrome cylinders on the last three models. Getting cylinders re-plated is very expensive so the USA/Canada import bikes are better in that respect from a current perspective.
I love the copious use of zip ties! I also carry golf tees for plugging unnecessary vacuum lines. Gotta keep two strokes running rich, especially the cylinder closest to the PTO.
Hi Craig, I’m really surprised it got that far. I read somewhere that you have to use the Oil Injection System on those Bikes. If you Pre Mix it doesn’t work right for some reason. I think being a Rare Engine, and the fact it tried to Run good. It deserves a Total Rebuild. That would be a Great restoration Bike. I would love to have one of the Old 2 Stroke Street Bikes. Especially like a H2. Great Video and loving your new Channel. Can’t wait to see more. It was nice to hear Sean at the beginning also. 👍👍❤️
Nice looking bike. Respect all machines. It's a piece of art.
Suzuki made a 380 and 550 version . This one was just excellent . Smooth powerful and torquey .Not to be despised .
I had one myself back when they were current. They also made the 750 water cooled. You'd probably never find one of those engines in any sort of repairable state since they were really popular for sidecar racing.
I never actually rode a 380 but, these 550s were a good all round street bike.
@@lorditsprobingtime6668 TYpical of Suzies in the seventies they made wonderful engines fitted into pretty but hardly longlasting running gear with too much poor quality chrome .
@@jonviol Sadly, too true. I didn't have much trouble with my 550 GT but a few years later wound up with a T 500 Titan twin. The old guy who'd picked it up from a farmer, kinda a genuine barn find thought it went great. It was actually only running on one cylinder lol. That was a simple fix, just a condenser and it DID run and go great. I registered and rode it for a couple of years till suddenly fifth gear shattered and locked the rear wheel at 140 kph right in front of a semi I'd just overtaken, that was real pucker time lol. I still never dropped it once and I did ride it like a lunatic. They may not have had perfect handling etc but, they were pretty good for the period. I only heard much later on, (too late for mine) from people who drag raced them was to was raise the gearbox vent and put a certain amount of extra oil, more than the recommended in there.
I was really sad to see that fairly straight and pretty tank only held together by the paint. I guess enough years of condensation and thin steel is just going to do that. With the exhaust though, he could get lucky. That's a chambered exhaust and unless they were released with them over there, it's likely someone's still got a brand new, possibly never used stock system hanging in a garage somewhere. I myself have 2 never even run stock Suzuki exhaust systems in my garage. One for a DL 650 I had and the other for a DRZ 400 I've still got, neither even left a showroom on the bikes.
I do respect the fact that the Suzukis, and the Yamahas, mainly the RDs were pretty quick but kinda a balance of power, handling and brakes while the Kawasaki 3 cylinder 2 strokes were insanely (for the time) quick but terrifying handling and brakes.
@@lorditsprobingtime6668 Wasn't the T500 known as "The Whispering Death" due to its deathly silence before it seized up?
@@legomanmw2 Never had any seizing problems with mine. Gearbox yes, engine no. The 550 GT I had did get very close to seizing numerous times while really thrashing it for extended periods on some of my favorite mountain climbing runs though. I just had to ease right off and let it gently cool down for a while and it would come back to normal after a bit of gentle cruising. The RAM air idea didn't seem to help them much at all. Never had any problems with the T500 though.
I love that Craig has his own show now. First it was Spite, for very different reasons. But now to see you getting your own platform to get more screen time is awesome!
Id love to see a proper tear down and rebuild series on this.
Coolest Yamazuki i've ever seen!
PS: you guys don't look like a bunch of hacks at all ;-)
The old girl needs to be shown some love now.
It can't end like this.
The music must go on
This 100% needs a rebuild! And complete the journey! Love what your doing Craig! I only ask one thing….. please bring back the bubble bike!!!!
Do a full rebuild it deserves it 🏍️💨🇬🇧
I had a friend in college in the late 70s that bought Yamaha RD 400. He bought it because two strokes were gonna die out. He was a motocross racer.. he could pull wheelies in each of the six gears.
His skill level was 1000 times greater than mine .
He bought the bike after his dirtbike that he brought to college had a problem . he beat it up so badly that when he pulled a wheelie outside the dorm, the front wheel fell off because the two clamps cracked.
Also had a buddy with an early opposing piston BMW that did a burnout outside of a bar the tire caught it jumped the curb and he broke a fire hydrant and in half . Water was spraying everywhere he picked up the Beamer had one cracked fin on the cylinder. Head started right up and drove off.
BMWs are awesome
Craig is absolutely crushing it as a solo host!. Loving the channel Craig! Keep up the great content!!.
So you find a bike that was savable only to blow it up. Nice work
Sean’s intro narration sold this for me. I am glad they still collaborate.
Loving the channel Craig! Keep up the great content!!
I had a buddy with a bike with a similar design. All of us rode four strokes at college. His was the only two stroke. About one time out of four he would have to pull spark plugs because of excessive oil from the automatic oiler. Most of the time we hung out and waited for him to do it because he was pretty fast but if a storm is coming, we took off. We got home dry he got home wet. Weird dude he swapped to a Harley chopper
I remember the first time I rode a GS 550. Even with the stock pipes, it had a sound that was unforgettable, not to mention the performance.
They were a sweet ride, much more refined feeling than the similar Kawasaki H1 triple. Had a neighbor next to me who bought a then-KH500 and we tuned it specifically for his use as a commuter bike (I was the dealer technician) and it surprisingly came very close to being as fine as the 550 but still wasn't as comfy.
@@whalesong999 I've read that after WWII ended, many of the German two-stroke engineering pioneers went to work for Suzuki. Which might partially explain why the street series GT two-strokes were superiorly engineered and more refined than their market competition at the time.
@@bluoval3481 I haven't heard of that. The only German I know of escaped East Germany during the cold war; Ernst Degner, who left MZ and went to Suzuki, sometime around 1961. He brought a lot of two-stroke knowledge with him then. Prior to that, Suzuki had purchased other Japanese makers, primarily Colleda who already had an electric start, 250cc twin and Suzuki refined and marketed it as the T-10 which I had experience with. Your statement seems to parallel the aviation field that did employ ex-German engineers to advance U.S. aviation, primarily military. After the war, many companies around the western world began building a license-built version of a German DKW 125cc motorcycle, including one in Japan if I'm not mistaken.
This was my 1st street bike and always had back brake issues and would foul plugs on a regular basis . What a treat to see this ! 👍
Craig kills it with the perfect ratio of mechanic, RUclipsr, and motorcycle enthusiast!
The worst thing to do to the Suzy triples is to fit expansion pipes. Standard system works best and sounds best.
Correct, speaking from experience. Hard to outsmart the factory engineers. Two strokes in particular already have overly sensitive air/fuel mixture calibration and aftermarket mods make it worse.
Nice to hear Sean doing the narration for this channel. I love seeing these two still working together.
Voice over Sean in the beginning was definitely a nice surprise lol
I had the GT 380 version. Three cylinder 2 stroke Iike yours! I don’t miss that bike.
I like how he casually says “idk if this is just the beginning of the end, and you ‘2 stroke guys’ know what I mean” 😂😂
I really hope it's just a 'comma' for that great old machine. I rode on for several years and they were one of the more 'civilised' of the mid sized 2 strokes of their time.
@@lorditsprobingtime6668 Agreed. They didn't grab the attention like the Kaw H series or the Yamaha RDs, but the GT series was so much more refined and civilized for everyday use.
@@bluoval3481 Well, I rode a Kawasaki H, both before and after reboring, porting and expansion chambers fitted for racing and could not give it full throttle, even at over 100 mph but, the handling was terrifying! It felt like it should maybe ONLY ever be raced on a drag strip, nothing with even a bend while I'd happily throw my throw my 550GT at tight and twisty stuff, same with the RD Yams, they liked bends and still went pretty good. Those Kawasakis sure were spectacular in their own terrifying ways though.
I rode one of these in the mid 70,s, very smooth running engine for a 2 stroke, great seeing one again, love watching your videos, been restoring some mid 80,s Honda's and having a lot of fun with it
We love u craiggggg ❤
Really hope that you are going to fully restore this absolutely beautiful 2stroke. They are absolute classics and deserve to be on the road in tip top condition. If looked after the will serve you well. Please restore it to it's former glory. 👍👍👍👍
craig... the father of old bikes
Went from "just shows ya anyone can do it" to "dead in the water" real quick
What I would have done differently would be to trailer it home.
That is cool, my first bike was a GT380, it was a champ, it had a broken nylon gear so it would run 30 seconds then die, run 30 seconds then die, the guys at Seattle Cycle Center finally figured it out and I was off and running. The brake reservoir was ruined so I got one off a dual front disk bike, got a bolt that was the right sized, cross drilled it, drilled it down the shaft, tapped out the soft aluminum res to fit the threads of the bolt and I had stoppage. Man the things you do when you're young. I never had any problems with it. Not a greenstreak but still a cool fast bike. I kept up with a turbo bike and he said he rarely ran into bikes as quick as his. Bike was stolen years later. I hope the guy who stole it died on it. Thanks for the memories!
What a shame: a rare 2-stroke in salvageable condition ruined for the sake making a foolish vanity video.
Please don’t do that again - I’d have given my eye teeth for that GT550.
How is trashing the engine a win?
Thanks for letting Dan play with B roll. Makes the journey more road trippy.
This bike is considered a classic in many countries and would not have been treated this way. It deserved a proper rebuild.
I had a gt380 in 1977 and loved it, they sound lovely and have plenty of torque, the spare pipe you had went onto the fuel tap as they were vacuum activated
Man I just smiling watching this motorcycle roll. I can't wait to work on my 2t motorcycle again
Owned the same bike about 30 years ago. With a 3 into 1 exaust, made a hell of a lot of noise, but had really fun riding it.
2-stoke engine's are a (fun)class apart....
I had a Suzuki T500 I think it was a twin. Great little bike. This gt550 deserves a full teardown and rebuild.
Love the down hill run. My butt was clutchin……too….
Everyone needs a Craig. (and Dan !) There's nothing like the pure, honest sound of a 2 stroke.
I used to crave after these bikes, then the Yamahas 350 RDLC 2 stroke. I still have a late model RDX 125 which runs like a gem - incredible revs ! 11'500 redline 🙂
That noise. Sounds like a true motorbike.
We used to know what kind of bike or car was coming simply by the exhaust note.
Best cars for recognisable exhaust note: Alfa Romeo; All Minis pre 80's; Citroen 2CV and then there were all the Diesels (tractors).
All motor bikes had their own noise: Yamaha 2 strokes. Hondas 4 cylinders; Ducati's; Kawasakis; BMW's.
Now it's all just - No noise. Which is nice, but it's an era gone by.
There are shims beside the main bearings to lead the oil coming from the oilpump to the bearings. This shims block the ventilation of premix gas through the bearing to lubricate it! You can use premix but you have to remove this shims from the crank! Otherwise bearing seizure is guaranteed....!
I have an 89 EX 500 Ninja that I bought new, Got married in 91 and had a kid in 05. Haven't ridden the bike in 25 years, your inspiring me.
Cool dude. My first street bike was an EX500. My best buddy in high school had a red one and I had a black one
Two cycles are awesome but obviously they don't take kindly to lean cylinders since that's the only source of lubrication. Had that happen to an old 55 hp Johnson once. Bored one cylinder, replaced piston, and cleaned out the carburetor and it was good to go.
It's been along time since I've heard expansion chamber's. Can't get enough of that sound. A flash back, back at the track of old school GP bikes (125,250,750, and of course, these bikes)👍👍👍👍👍👍
Check plugs after idling it, and do anything possible to richen up that one cylinder. Running rich will give you less power but it'll keep the piston from burning.
Some bike models actually lube the bottom end crank bearings with the oil tank and auto injection thing. If you put just premix in certain bokes it will ruin the motor (crank bearings)
I love this. I get what you were saying about being a 2 stroke owner. I just sold my 1983 honda shadow vt500. It was a two stroke and would start every season, no problems. I just sold it because I felt like it just had constant small issues. Loss of power sometimes. All sorts if small but annoying issues. My fuel injected honda intercepter starts every season, and runs like a top. I loved driving my 2 stroke, just not the servicing :D. Great job though.
I love how you slipped in "I gotta wedgey" just made me "crack" up! Fun to see you in the offroad games, hope you had fun.
My Son is about to start restoring a 380gt Suzuki same bike smaller. Cool bikes, I started riding with a two stroke. I’ve always liked them. Great job !
Tip on not running self oiler. Up two sizes at least on all jets & drop needles a notch.
Burnt a piston on a RT1 360 before I learnt. 👍🇦🇺
Flushed the front brake fluid and clean out the front brake piston/disc with brake cleaner. Check brake lights. Check tires for cracks.
I just love the smell of 2 strokes. That and when a 4 stroke uses castrol R. Reminds me of going to the Isle of Man TT races with my dad when i was a kid.
They had a tendencie to burn holes in the piston if they got lean, using premix and no airfilter both contributed to the hole.
A rebuild isn’t a problem, but i would be doing a full bottom end rebuild while i was at it, as the crankshaft seals go and then you lose crankcase preasure and two strokes don't like that.
I would make a cafe racer out of it.
A mate burned a hole in a piston on his GT250 back in the 70s comeing back from Santa Pod, he took the head off, filled the hole with Araldite, let it go off, the rode home.
Where he rebuilt the engine.
Those 3 cylinder two-stroke bikes are really light and powerful. I remember the Suzuki GT 550 triple, it was one quick ricer. I had the same issue with a Yamaha 125 two stroke, burned a hole on the top of the piston, on a single cylinder, it was game over.