Interesting opinion of GT750 from 1975

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barney01
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Interesting opinion of GT750 from 1975

Post by barney01 »

Got this book from a charity shop today. Written and publishe'd in England 1975.
You may have to zoom in to read it unless your eyes are better than mine! :D
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NO SMOKE .......NO POKE
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Alan H
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Location: Wombwell, Republic of South Yorkshire

Re: Interesting opinion of GT750 from 1975

Post by Alan H »

Must admit, 'back in the day' - 1972 to be exact - I rode a couple of the mate's J kettles and found them very lacking in handling, braking and performance (I was just coming up to 21 at the time and wanted something exciting!) so I can empathise with many of the observations made in that story.
They were smooth, but just lacking in many areas, which is probably why they suit older/steadier riders nowadays.
Anyway I bought a 550J as a 21st birthday pressy to myself and got Eddie Crooks/Frank Whiteway to tweak it as their production racer at the time, and it was as near perfect as I could imagine.
I later rode another mate's new 750A and this was the bike that the kettle should have been at the start. It 'went', stopped and handled quite well, and many years later I bought a 750B as one of the last models should be even more sorted. Mostly it is!
I reckon it the A model spec had been done in the early kettle years, the CB750 Honda wouldn't have had quite so much market share.

Even though the A/B Hippo is a slightly better two up and luggage bike than it's smaller siblings, as an all round fun bike, I still like the 550s best.
Proof that four strokes are over complicated
barney01
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Joined: Wed Sep 26, 2012 7:33 pm
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Re: Interesting opinion of GT750 from 1975

Post by barney01 »

Me too! :D
NO SMOKE .......NO POKE
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PaulD738
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Re: Interesting opinion of GT750 from 1975

Post by PaulD738 »

I wouldn’t listen to anything mr Melling says as he’s a first class Pratt :roll:
They're rubbish them Jap bikes lad they won't last five minutes! you want to get yourself a nice Royal Enfield!
A quote from my old dad 8-)

I started out with nothing and I’ve got most of it left!
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es2GT550

Re: Interesting opinion of GT750 from 1975

Post by es2GT550 »

I love my old GT550 - it was actually a bit before my time when I was 18 - I'm more of n RD350LC era guy. It will be interesting to see how good the front brake actually is when the front master cylinder has a rebuild to remove all the crud and the front caliper is n't partially seized !! I just put it down to 1970's brakes ! :D
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Alan H
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Location: Wombwell, Republic of South Yorkshire

Re: Interesting opinion of GT750 from 1975

Post by Alan H »

Double it, drill 'em, put GS 1000 calipers on and fit a bandit 1200 master cylinder - it'll be a lot better. Just be gentle if it rains, 70's stainless brake discs leave a lot to be desired.
Intercourse the purists, it's your life.
Ceramic spannies 1.jpg
The 4LS was a much better brake and works/worked in the wet.
Proof that four strokes are over complicated
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