Suzuki GSX 750F tempting

MacDoc

Well-known member
Site Supporter
$_20.JPG


Suzuki GSX 750F Slingshot
$1,200 Negotiable
Smart St, Mooroobool QLD 4870, Australia

Rego untill 1st April.
Road Worth Certificate.
Great bike.
Classic Collectible.
Need gone.

Oh I do love inline fours ....wonder if my buddy here who likes classic bikes would maintain it.

Anyone have any insight.

430 lb and 140 mph top end....must go like stink.?

No sales tax on a used bike ...will have to pay rego but likely can convert to single seat. :unsure:

Buddy tells me I don't even have to convert the seat ...just declare single see use ..so $360 a year to insure. He seems to think maintenance not an issue - he likes to do the older bikes and looks like this one has been ridden to current time.
 
Last edited:
You're getting a little hard for us Canadians to understand. Does the type of seat it has have some kind of insurance implications?

Otherwise, it's a Katana. 430 lbs sound extremely optimistic to me, wet weight should be somewhere around 500. Anytime I went to look at a used Katana over here, it seems like it lived an extremely hard life... maybe that one is better, it looks clean. It is basically a discount GSXR-750, engine is simplified a little, frame & suspension is simplified a lot. Since I think you have a bit of seat time among varying types of bikes already, if you could get a test ride on this it would probably tell you everything you need to know.
 
I dabble a bit in old bikes, I stay away from early sport bikes unless they are <litre. Vintage 250-750 sport bikes are pretty much numb till 8000 or more RPM -- all fun moments are at 9500 or more which wears them down. That's why you see so many old Secas, Katanas, Ninjas being sold as parts bikes -- simply too much to repair/restore,

For classics bike I prefer thumpers because they are simple to overhaul, inexpensive OR litre + bikes because they are built for mileage and garage queens are everywhere. Look on Kijiji, a clean TW200 fetches more than an FJ600 of the same year, same for a TS200r and 750 Katana.

Now, if you need something bigger, I'd look a GL1000, FJ1200, GSX 1100 -- they should all be in the same range, $1000-1200 for a daily rider -- often come with free parts bikes. For a little more anything 750 or more in a Honda CB.
 
You're getting a little hard for us Canadians to understand. Does the type of seat it has have some kind of insurance implications?

I wish Ontario would follow Queensland in their treatment of used motorcyles, insurance and licencing.

Solo seating qualfies for the lower rate on rego ( Aussie for registration ) which includes basic liability insurance and that goes with the bike...so if I bought this today I'd get until April having basic insurance....hop on and ride. There is a small fee to transfer ownership.

Getting an open class licence here is a chore but fortunately my Ontaro M was accepted for open class ( any bike as opposed to LAMS which is under 650 and has power/weight restrictions )

So a 650 KLR is a LAMS qualified bike but a 650 Vstrom is not unless you buy the restricted power version. ( under 50 HP )

I'd not touch a bike that old if I didn't have my friends love of tinkering. He has a small stable of bikes of various vintage and keeps my KLR in good nick just for the enjoyment of doing it.

I did have a 1991 ST1100 here which was fun except in the city ...top heavy and crazy heat off the engine. Not all that nimble in the twists and guzzled gas - lovely motor tho and amazing wind protection.

This 750 is lighter - even at 500 lb wet that's big improvement over 700 lb for the ST. The ST was also a bit wide for my 30" inseam even tho the seat height was low.

The reviews show the 750 as having enough torque to not need to be spun up for casual riding but will go when prodded.

Fuel cost will be high and have to consider battery cost here in the tropics. New rubber likely too. I'd like a road bike tho ...there is a 2011 CB400F around which always been on my bucket list but too much money.
If I was staying here permanently now as opposed to 4-6 months a year I'd be all over that.

Thanks for feedback.

Seller is only 5 km away so hoping to hear soon.

( Mike - totally different market here - with speed restrictions so heavily enforced the heavy handed riders are usually out of a licence long before the bike gets trashed. Even the CB400f rider is forced to sell as he got himself in his words "heavy licence trouble." )

It might just be a whim - but it's a cheap one ...and buddy will take it for a spin once a month when I'm not here.

Wet season is just endng ( Dec - March is hot and wet ) and then there is 9 months of glorious riding conditions.

March is the hinge month but the whole week looks lke this - and at 33 a rain shower feels good. Heading out around 8 am.
Summary
partly-cloudy.png
Max 33 Partly cloudy. Chance of any rain: 30%
rain_30.gif

Partly cloudy. Slight (30%) chance of a light shower during the morning and afternoon. Light winds becoming east to southeasterly 20 to 25 km/h in the middle of the day then becoming light in the evening.
 
Last edited:
finally heard back and bike still available.

Good article on now and then


snip
I ride the bike and I love it. It still holds it’s own and having owned RZs, and FZ750 and ridden many GPzs and VFs, I can tell you none come close to the handling and performance of the GSX-R750F for the era. Put it this way, I have nine bikes, some modern some older – the GSX-R750 is the lightest bike in my garage! On the scales, it is 10kg lighter than the new GSX-R750!

BikeReview-GSX-R750-Old-v-New-14-1500x1000.jpg


nice ...under 30" seat height and apparently the windscreen is tallish. Can always use risers to get a little more upright. Love the double head lights.....and choke is no issue in Australia ....barely need it. 387 lb dry. Still lighter than my CB500x and a lower seat.
2 " lower and wet weight should be about the same - the CB is 426 wet.
 
Last edited:
Well it didn't follow me home....

But I did get 15 minutes on it

He is really desperate to sell so I’d bet $200 might even take it …..The new tire on the back is worth that
and front is fine

Chain seems okay but hard to tell

Tranny seems noisy but shifted okay ( was riding without ear plugs so mechanical noises more obvious than I was used to - nothing obviously amiss with the motor but with the carbs needing attention and no place to open it up hard to tell ....felt a bit like it was still choked and he had a kludge rig for the choke.
The idle needed to be up as tended to stall tho that partially was me getting a feel for the somewhat stiff clutch. He dialed the rpm up just as I was leaving.
Was a bit of a test for me keeping the revs up and sorting through what counts as rush hour traffic - only made one error on a round about and was squeezed into the bike lane - I was lost as I'd forgotten the GPS and darted across a lane to catch the correct exit to get back into familiar turf but wasn't getting any give from the commuter who was entirely in the right. ?

I tend to use the bicycle lanes anyways and it's legal so .....?
Was glad to get it back to his place and coasted in as it stalled just as I got there. He said the fuel indicator was wonky and he kept running out of gas on his commuter runs....if it was low on fuel that would account some of the behavior.

Seating was good and no top heavy feel to the bike - brakes were fine.
I found the clutch very heavy but that could be a maintenance issue...having to keep the revs up to prevent a stall did not help with smooth clutching.

Electrics seem fine

My guess

Needs battery as with the stalling there was a couple times I was worried about it firing again but it always came to life.

Really needs carbs cleaned and balanced

He had $3k worth of work done but could not find the detailed receipt and shop that did it the owner died…it was brakes and fork seals and rotor I think on the rear.
There was no compression test - he recalled that

Its his daily ride

It’s the wrong bike for his use but it belonged to his Dad - he was coming from a 250 which was fine for his commute

Seating position is good but pegs are really high so lots of knee bend. I'm sort of hoping Eammon takes it on as I'd love to try it in good nick - would be lovely on the range roads as it's so light and power to weight very good.

He said a collector had come to see it and said the colour was rare ....not sure why the collector passed ....that was a bit of a concern. Bike had some...fall over scuffs.....nothing obvious and in 30 years ....gonna happen. Rider was on the small side and had dropped it in his driveway.

Anyway - itch scratched ....would still love to score a CBF400 modern version.
 
Had a 600 Katana, 600 GSXR, 600 YZF, all close together. The katana was the weakest performer. Strictly as a commuter though, it was fine.
 
I was considering a Katana 600 last summer ....luckily it sold. $600 and looked good....daily commuter.
 
finally heard back and bike still available.

Good article on now and then


snip


BikeReview-GSX-R750-Old-v-New-14-1500x1000.jpg


nice ...under 30" seat height and apparently the windscreen is tallish. Can always use risers to get a little more upright. Love the double head lights.....and choke is no issue in Australia ....barely need it. 387 lb dry. Still lighter than my CB500x and a lower seat.
2 " lower and wet weight should be about the same - the CB is 426 wet.
The gsxr is a completely different bike than a gsx750. Much lighter, much more power and a full race bike.

Sent from my SM-A530W using Tapatalk
 
Anyway - itch scratched ....would still love to score a CBF400 modern version.

Considered looking for a Bandit 400 over there?
 
never see them ....maybe another name?

found one ....yes nice bike but seems not many about


Thanks for tip

MY KLR is behaving very well and I feel bad even looking at something else for the limited time I'm here. It's even comfortable now at 110-120 kph with the new tires and chain....too many cops to go faster anyway
I should be concentrating on getting saddle time for my plans in Canada this mid-May forward. But can't hurt to look ?
 
Last edited:
never see them ....maybe another name?

found one ....yes nice bike but seems not many about


I was thinking of something else actually, a Bandit GSF400 is what it sounds like - a Suzuki Bandit, but with a little water cooled 400cc 4 cylinder. What you have found, is something dope that I didn't even know existed - a mini old school Katana! Which is apparently also water cooled, and not terribly fast.
 
Back
Top Bottom