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Hi my name is Sean, I am new here and just finished my Buffalo Cafe project. I would have shared my build here but I had not found the site at the time until now. How cool this place is. So anyway about my bike: It is a 1976 Suzuki GT 750 Water Buffalo lightly modded. I first had one of these two stroke GT 750's in 1988 when I was 18 as my first large displacement road bike. It was an anvil and very durable. Not the most sought after of 750 two strokes and the fact that it is liquid cooled is what made it attractive to me. My good friend Tim designed, painted and built the bike. I handled the tuning, electronics, wheels and final finish. It was s 7 year project that went to the frame a couple of times and has been 3 different colors. The bike is not quite finished with a few more details to be attended to. For the buffalo's maiden voyage I showed it at the 2012 Indy Moto GP Cycle World rolling concours where it was very well received by the editors of Cycle World and made the CW magazine facebook site. Thanks for a great Cafe site!
Build List:
High Comp fully rebuilt motor
Hayabusa front end
Busa clip ons
Tokico 6 pot brakes
Ducati front fender
GSXR rear swinger
ZRX shocks
Triumph Master Cylinder
Keihin PJ oval slide carbs
Custom 3 pot fuel rail
RE 5 Tank
Custom Tail
Custom Seat & pan
GS1100 e head light
Newtronic electronic ignition
Performance Machine wheels
Custom Rear Sets
Finished frame
Stroker, you have the fastest most powerful GT750 in the history of the world in NSW and a few fast drag bikes to boot.
Sean, that's a might buffalo you have there. How do those flatslides compare to the old stock carbs? Do they live up to their reputation? And how does it handle with modern rubber and suspension? Welcome
The carbs work well and are easy to tune. That being said they come with the richest needle and jet kit setup from Keihin so as not to burn holes in pistons and ruin motors. Once you start backing them down they run very well. I am still running the motor a little rich thru break-in just to be safe. The modern suspension does AMAZING things for this bike... Handling is on par with contemporary hardware, think Ducati Monster. The brakes are unlike any other bike I have ridden or own, the Buffalo stops better than my Ducatis with Brembos (I know hard to believe). I have yet to weigh the bike but would guess it easily lost 100lbs in the transformation so wet weight should be right at 400lbs or so. It looks and feels very small compared to what it started life as and feels like a roller skate when pushing it around the garage. Needless to say it is very entertaining to ride. -Sean
Beautiful smoke machine. I had the same bike years ago, and I miss it more than any other of the many machines I've parted with.
I'll be watching attentively.
I still have many pics from Tim's build thread(s). That was quite a journey. Good to see it on the road. Are those carbs much shorter than equivalent Mikunis by any chance? 34mm Mikunis interfere with the clutch cover and even with a barrel spacer, they still need to be angled up. Those look like they fit without all that hassle.
I am not sure about the size differnces between the Mikunis and Keihins. The Keihins do fit without any hassles.
Some background: Tim and I have been close friends for over 15 years. I think it was 2004 when he asked me what to build for a cafe project? I said I had a rock'n 72 GT 750 and he liked the idea. A couple of weeks later I found him one nearby on ebay in MI to buy (still have the original email and link to the ebay auction in the Buffalo build history). It was running with low milage but a rat. Perfect candidate, and so it began. Tim jumped in with both feet and never looked back. On the first iteration of the bike I tuned the carbs and fired it up with him. It was cool! Now it is completely different a third version later. Tim called me this spring and said "hey I am getting out of bikes altogether and back into Cars. Do you want ALL my stuff." He arrived at a price and I paid it as we have been long time Motorcycling buddies, and perhaps, I his worst two-wheeled influence. I say this because I found his prized Triumph Super III for him also which is now in my garage as well. Tim and I have done many projects over the years and I knew what he had into this Buffalo (time) and it is too cool to let sit unfinished. After about 4 weeks of fairly intensive work I got it running and road worthy and finished well enough to show at CW Concours. For me, it is a culmination of a best friends work and vision that I am proud to have had a small hand in. Beside the bike does make me feel like I am 18 again.... albeit with better brakes, tires, suspension and power.
I remember teh original MB and the R5 tank and 1100(?) seat iterations. Good to see it running.
Didn't Tim start a Vintage Streetfighters forum? I guess timing was wrong because a year or so later the same bikes were turning up labelled as cafe Racers. Same bikes - different label. Times change.
Thanks Sean. I moved the side covers forward on mine to fill some of the gap left by the missing airbox. Your bike is longer than mine and has teh longer R5E tank, so that may not look quite right on yours.
Check out THE SE races at martin in September. Hatchet will be there and Dave Derek and Joe Johnson - all on GT750 based machines and then there's the sleds and H2 kawasakis to watch too. Lat year we went to spectate and I blew the front axle out of our 4WD van and it rained on Sunday but had a chance to chat to racers and shoot the breeze and that's always fun.
Thanks Sean. I moved the side covers forward on mine to fill some of the gap left by the missing airbox. Your bike is longer than mine and has teh longer R5E tank, so that may not look quite right on yours.
Check out THE SE races at martin in September. Hatchet will be there and Dave Derek and Joe Johnson - all on GT750 based machines and then there's the sleds and H2 kawasakis to watch too. Lat year we went to spectate and I blew the front axle out of our 4WD van and it rained on Sunday but had a chance to chat to racers and shoot the breeze and that's always fun.
Teazer, thanks for the info. Would love to go but tentatively scheduled to be on the west coast on business during those dates. If my schedule changes I will be sure to go. Might even ride the Buffalo up from Indiana. Hey I got a question for you Teazer, your more wired into the Two Stroke and Gt 750 crowd in the midwest.... I was hanging out with a guy named Alex at Moto GP from Ohio. He was riding a RG500 Gamma (Alex said he had several Buffalos) he talked GT750's with me at the CW Concours. We were gonna exchange info but never got around to it. Do you know who he is or is he on this board?
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Another big 2-stroke is always a welcome addition, especially one as nicely modified as yours! 8) 
