Forgotten Failures & Flops

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oldnslo · #11 Unread post by **oldnslo** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 10:03 am

I recall reading somewhere that some of those turbos had a bit of turbo lag, which can be a bit scary .

Wed Sep 21, 2005 11:19 am

suzuki--vx800---gsx1100g.
honda gb500--pc800

oldnslo · #13 Unread post by **oldnslo** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 11:28 am

I had both a VX800 and GSX1100g. Both were good bikes, the VX pretty bland and lacking in personality, the big GX was 613 pounds, fast, 11:31 at about 120 through the quarter, very comfortable, and was not at home in the twisties. Being old and slo now, I would love to have another GSX. The absolute best incarnation of the old 1127cc air/oil cooled engine Suzuki ever produced, due to a counterbalancer. The B12 Bandit would have been much nicer with the engine from the GSX. Very smooth and powerful. Oh, yes, and top speed was 143 as tested by Motorcyclist in 1993. Not bad for a tourer.

flynrider · Wed Sep 21, 2005 12:25 pm

Joe Mc wrote:What ever happened to the turbo bikes of the early 80's?

Kaw's GPZ750 Turbo was probably the most successful of the mid 80s turbo craze. I remember riding a brand new one on the road course at Firebird Raceway in Phoenix. Yikes! That thing was blindingly fast and , unlike many of the other turbo offerings, it had the latest in suspension technology so you could put the power to use on a track. As I recall it was the fastest production bike in '85, topping out at around 155-160 mph. One of the downfalls of this bike was that it cost more to insure than it did to buy. That's the only thing that kept me from owning one back then.

Many of the other turbo bikes were just standard street bikes with aftermarket turbos installed at the factory. Many had problems with overheating, as the basic bike was not designed with the turbo's requirements in mind. One of these was Kawasaki's turbo liter bike called the Z-1R/T that lasted only a year or two. The only time it wouldn't overheat the turbine was in the dead of winter. Nice bike, good power, but not well suited as a daily rider.

oldnslo · #15 Unread post by **oldnslo** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 12:33 pm

The period road tests and engineering articles pertaining to my 900 Seca say that the transmission and drive are the same heavier-duty units used in the Yamaha Xj650 turbo. They certainly seem durable enough, although I'm not particularly abusive to the bike in general. If anybody remembers, that was also the period when cars first went through the turbo phase, with just about everybody offering a turbo something. Turbos come and go.

bikeguy joe · Wed Sep 21, 2005 12:33 pm

9000white wrote:suzuki--vx800---gsx1100g.
honda gb500--pc800

I'd love to have a VX800 now! I remeber when they came out with them, I went to the dealer and tried to buy one, the guy called and said my credit wasn't good enough....funny the dealer with the three cylinder Beemer, Honda PC and Moto Guzzi 650 sportbike I looked at all said it was good! (I ended up buying a used Sportster- go figure!)

Anyhow, it was the origin of the engine they now use on the Boulevard series. I own an '03 VL 800. At least I got the engine!

flynrider · Wed Sep 21, 2005 12:40 pm

When I first saw the title of this thread, the two bikes that immediately came to mind were the TX750 (previously mentioned) and Suzuki's GT750 "Water Buffalo". A water cooled, 3 cylinder, two-stroke 750. It was pretty radical for its time and might have been successful, but early models suffered from overheating (radiator and thermostat) problems. Plus, looming EPA regulations were already sounding the death knell for two stroke street bikes.

This site has some nice pics of a restored Water Buffalo :

http://www.medial.com/suzuki/index1.html

Wed Sep 21, 2005 1:28 pm

oldnslo wrote:I had both a VX800 and GSX1100g. Both were good bikes, the VX pretty bland and lacking in personality, the big GX was 613 pounds, fast, 11:31 at about 120 through the quarter, very comfortable, and was not at home in the twisties. Being old and slo now, I would love to have another GSX. The absolute best incarnation of the old 1127cc air/oil cooled engine Suzuki ever produced, due to a counterbalancer. The B12 Bandit would have been much nicer with the engine from the GSX. Very smooth and powerful. Oh, yes, and top speed was 143 as tested by Motorcyclist in 1993. Not bad for a tourer.

i have got a 91G with 12183 miles on it in showroom condition.total stock except grips and epa screws have had an unauthorized adjustment.

High_Side · Wed Sep 21, 2005 2:52 pm

9000white wrote:i have got a 91G with 12183 miles on it in showroom condition.total stock except grips and epa screws have had an unauthorized adjustment.

To quote Will Ferrel in "Old School": You might wanna keep that on the down low....

moshee · #20 Unread post by **moshee** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 3:23 pm

flynrider wrote:When I first saw the title of this thread, the two bikes that immediately came to mind were the TX750 (previously mentioned) and Suzuki's GT750 "Water Buffalo". A water cooled, 3 cylinder, two-stroke 750. It was pretty radical for its time and might have been successful, but early models suffered from overheating (radiator and thermostat) problems. Plus, looming EPA regulations were already sounding the death knell for two stroke street bikes.

This site has some nice pics of a restored Water Buffalo :

http://www.medial.com/suzuki/index1.html

My recollection of the "Water Buffalo" was that it wasn't the fastest bike but had a pretty good reputation for being a reliable touring bike. In the time of the Water Buffalo; Kawasaki, Yamaha, and Suzuki were all in a transition phase of deciding whether to produce 2-strokes, 4-strokes, or both. Honda was always committed to 4-strokes.

It was a halcyon time for the development of all forms of motorcycles. In the end, the market demand was higher for 4-strokes leading us to where we are today. However, not forgotten are the 2-strokes (the Kawasaki Mach III & IV, the Yamaha RD250-350-400, and yes, the Suzuki GT750).
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