Suzuki 1977 GS750 Paint ?

Roger Ackery
Posts: 3693
Joined: Wed Jul 20, 2011 3:40 am
Location: Sydney NSW Australia

Suzuki 1977 GS750 Paint ?

Post by Roger Ackery »

Hi anybody got any clues as to were to obtain a Blue Paint for this US Import.This is an equiry on behalf of a VJMC member in Sydney,he has already contacted RS Bike Paints, & they can't help him match the colour....the owner has only seen pictures of bikes painted in this colour on the Web....but he's made up his mind that's the colour for him ? I have suggested the lovely Blue that Mike_Yeadon used on his recent GT550B restoration,or Maui Blue,but he can't be swayed...
The old paint code is 03J Straight/Strato Blue, I know the paint codes are useless, & the paint "name" American & not Suzuki's, any help appreciated.
Cheers,
Roger.
Cheers.
Roger
GT750A.
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yeadon_m
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Location: Canterbury Kent

Re: Suzuki 1977 GS750 Paint ?

Post by yeadon_m »

Roger,
The only similar colour ie blue 77 GS750 I can see on the 'all Suzukis ever made' web page looks remarkably like my 77 550B, ie Maui Blue metallic, with pale blue + gold stripes.

http://www.suzukicycles.org/photos/GS/G ... ue_600.jpg

I would not be surprised to learn that it was available in different colours in other places than UK.

According to RS Paints, the UK 78 GS750 also came in 'Candy Florida Blue', which does look a little darker?
http://www.rsbikepaint.com/en-gb/colour ... dyear=1978

Does your pal know what colour it was originally, or is he trying to colour match what he has now (which may not have been original)?

My 550B blue looks quite different, depending on the light, so please PM me if I can send for your pal some other pics, in case in some of those he sees a match!

Cheers,
Mike
Kettletimes3
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Location: Sunny Wales

Re: Suzuki 1977 GS750 Paint ?

Post by Kettletimes3 »

Rodger i think the lighter of the two blues on the gamma is close.
If not the same.
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heathcliffe

Re: Suzuki 1977 GS750 Paint ?

Post by heathcliffe »

Rodger,
the only Blue they did on GS 750 from the factory in 1977 was Maui Blue, there were no others, launch year 1977 the colours were candy calypso red,and Maui Blue. the chap is searching for something that dident exist with this one regarding 1977 gs 750 colours ,! thats why RS or anyone else CANT help him sorry but its that simple.
what always happens when people buy 30 odd year old bikes which have had SEVERAL previous owners, secondhand is they believe what they are looking at is ALLWAYS from the factory,ie what turns out to be a re-painted different coloured/striped tank and panels on the bike is original, someones painted this in its past, IF IT IS??? a 1977 model year machine, and if its anything other than Maui Blue, its that simple, and people re-paint a bike in all manner of different colours and stripes to suit themselves, and if they are professionally re-painted by a good painter then yes the job can look factory original, there will be another colour underneath that will tell the true story its worth examining undersides of tanks and insides of side panels properley for the evidence that says its been repainted!!, the other expanation is the tank on this bike is that of a LATER model year GS 750 machine thats been changed over again at some point in the past. the only factual evidence on original model year colours today are the brochure scans of the period and original period parts manuals that also state model year colours , Mike also has posted a correct 77' model year blue coloured bike picture,

i worked for a dealer here at the time 77' the Blues on these were MAUI, this is the back page of the 77' launch year GS 750 brochure one blue,...Maui Blue,!!, with respect he will be searching FOREVER if he thinks there was another blue colour on these in 1977 when they launched the bike ..there wasent, they wouldent produce a one off colour on these just for Australia or the u.s. THE AMERICANS GOT MAUI BLUE ALSO on these, manufacturers dont do things like totally different colours only for one country its not economic and suzuki would split a current to save money manufacturing bikes ,!! no sir , its all for one simple reason "extra cost"

these were just the same as GT, T, and TS, machines of the period colours were "two choices only" on nearly everything i also own a 77' model year GS 750 parts book again one blue in it, Maui blue," Stratos Blue " is a LATER model factory colour name for 78/79 model year machines with these, B/ DB models, the striping on them also was a totally different design, again i have an original suzuki factory parts book for the later model machines B/DB Stratos Blue is in there, with respect thats not a 1977 model year GS 750 colour. it is also perfectly feisable that the tank has been CHANGED in the past,for that of a later model bike, ie 78/79 Stratos Blue model year it would fit a 77 machine.again its down to convincing ones self that what you are looking at is factory original on that bike, its not always the case, i have yet to see any bike from this era thats original and...hasent been "dropped", and once damaged people put all manner of different parts back on when repairing again dependant on costs,!

colours on all printed matter and on photographs are always going to look different shades dependant on the lighting of the subject when the picture was taken, and printers ink's you can only get close with printed matter colours, there will allways be discrepancies when viewing pictures or printed matter regarding "Colour",!
regards.
Attachments
Suzuki sales brochures 1 022.jpg
Last edited by heathcliffe on Sat Dec 28, 2013 8:37 am, edited 15 times in total.
Roger Ackery
Posts: 3693
Joined: Wed Jul 20, 2011 3:40 am
Location: Sydney NSW Australia

Re: Suzuki 1977 GS750 Paint ?

Post by Roger Ackery »

Hi Glenn,between myself & Mike Y (especially Mike,thanks again Mike) we have this fellow sorted in Victoria(Aust) he should have picked up the Maui Blue paint this morning from his local Panel Shop,I got an Email Friday,so he's all set to go....bike was/is British Racing Green,he fell in love with the blue after seeing photos on the net ! Funny how things work out,I nearly bought the same bike 3 months ago !
Cheers,
Roger.
Cheers.
Roger
GT750A.
User avatar
heathcliffe

Re: Suzuki 1977 GS750 Paint ?

Post by heathcliffe »

yeadon_m wrote:Roger,
The only similar colour ie blue 77 GS750 I can see on the 'all Suzukis ever made' web page looks remarkably like my 77 550B, ie Maui Blue metallic, with pale blue + gold stripes.

http://www.suzukicycles.org/photos/GS/G ... ue_600.jpg

I would not be surprised to learn that it was available in different colours in other places than UK.

According to RS Paints, the UK 78 GS750 also came in 'Candy Florida Blue', which does look a little darker?
http://www.rsbikepaint.com/en-gb/colour ... dyear=1978

Does your pal know what colour it was originally, or is he trying to colour match what he has now (which may not have been original)?

My 550B blue looks quite different, depending on the light, so please PM me if I can send for your pal some other pics, in case in some of those he sees a match!

Cheers,
Mike
Mike candy florida blue is yet another American only name for the factory colour on GS 750 in 78' ie "Stratos Blue" C.F.B. does not exist outside the u.s.a.!!, to anyone wishing to buy paint from RS then PLEASE...DONT believe the colour names they list on their site are the correct factory ones because 90% of the time,THEY ARE NOT,!, the clue for its american only is in the name on this one "florida" ,the japs will be scratching their heads if you question them about that one,!!, RS paints will insist on listing "American only " names instead of the correct FACTORY colour name on ALL these bikes colours on their site, their excuse "We sell paint to America also" o.k. go set up your shop in the u.s. then,!! its frustrating !!, they list more colours in American only names than factory originals which ALLWAYS in my experience leads to confusion when people want to order the correct FACTORY colour paint for their bike from ENGLAND,!! you'd think an english paint company would give preference to factory original colour names here,? but no they dont,!! there was one correct name for all these colours "The factory one",
GS750db
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Re: Suzuki 1977 GS750 Paint ?

Post by GS750db »

O3J is Strato Blue ( not to be confused with a popular after shave of the time Blue Stratos) GS750b 76 and 77. Shipped to EU UK and OZ. This is the blue on the bike road tested by Motor Cyle Mechanics Feb (from memory). I had the last NOS tank with that paint code on the box from CMSNL so I know it's right. A different blue Potomac Blue was shipped to North America. It's like a blue green colour almost Teal. (The name comes from the Potomac River in US. Maui is a shade darker and 78s E's had an even darker blue I don't know the codes of these.
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canaletto5
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Location: Derbyshire

Re: Suzuki 1977 GS750 Paint ?

Post by canaletto5 »

I think I can live with mine being Maui Blue (797) :)
GS750B and GT380 .JPG
Welcome to the forum buddy, post some pics of your bike and tell us a bit about yourself. There's not enough diesel lovers yet ! :lol:
tessmar
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Feb 06, 2021 8:07 pm

Re: Suzuki 1977 GS750 Paint ?

Post by tessmar »

New to this forum (Alan H pointed me at it). I have a 77 GS750 built in 9/76...a "pre B" or "A" model (though nowhere on the bike or the factory manual or anywhere else do I see it called that). It is the "blue" color...and my specific comment is a caution about trying to figure out specific colors. This is a challenge without actual paint mixing codes...Ditzler used to have a research library in the US you could call and they seemed to have every car color made...I even got the codes for a specific color on a 1963 Ferrari and they could provide it in any formulation I wanted...lacquer, acrylic enamel, etc. But I don't think they are there anymore and did not do motorcycle colors.

The next comment is another cautionary one. Photos DO actually "lie," though that is because we expect more of them then they are capable of doing. ANY photo, even using things like Pantone cards, is a compromise based on how the photo is created...this is true whether digital or film, and of course, in 1977 the former did not exist. Whether speaking of dyes (usually only three with film, or perhaps four) or pixels (even if in the "millions" the natural world is one of analog wavelengths and not digital samples) reality as it hits the eye is different from what can be captured in a photo (ask anyone who has tried to capture the vibrant wavelengths of a California Poppy).

Lighting also comes into play. A color photographed under a bright blue, cloudless sky will look quite different with a more subdued light from haze or overcast. If artificial light is used that is another variable which can change the end result. For example, flourescent lights can range from cold blue-white to greenish, and color temperature of different lightss vary all over the map. Finally, if we are talking about then displaying all this on some LCD screen, the end result will depend on what screen, with what color balance, with whaat white and black, with what "noise," etc.

Computer matching of an original "chip" can be quite accurate in determining mixing formulae, but doing this with a sample off, say, a tank which has been out in the sun for decades while the bike is ridden is unlikely to produce the exact color the tank had when it left the showroom floor.

And the final variable, as I'm sure some of you know better than I do, is how the paint is applied. Differences in at least gun pressure but perhaps other variables as well can change the hues...at least that's what some of the most amazing paint artists I know have told me...guys that can look at your car, throw six different colors in a can, spray it on a door ding, and match the color perfectly even if it is a bit wear faded.

The point in all this is to be happy with what your results are and to be aware that there will always be controversy about the accuracy of the color as there are so many ways to contest it. As to what RS Paints is doing, I think they are trying to reach reasonable compromises based on reasonable research. If someone knows a better game than what they are presenting I'd love to hear about it.
tessmar
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Re: Suzuki 1977 GS750 Paint ?

Post by tessmar »

I am not trying to stir up a hornet's nest nor support or flame any vedor or opinions...everyone needs to do their own research. But perhaps others can benefit from my own exploration of "the GS color problem."
I have always thought many of the photos online show a color for the original GS750 which is "too blue" rather than the sort of "teal" or "aqua" or "blue-green" or whatever anyone else wants to use to describe the lighlty metallic color shown in the attached photo of my "under refreshment" ride, which I have owned since May of 1977 (bought new ftom Shelby Motors-now defunct- in Redwood City, California).
In my research I found, through several sites selling OEM parts for the "GS750B," though really any "1977" model (mine was built in 76)...that the apparent correct code is 03E...and the name on the Suzuki label which you can find on those sites or Partzilla is called "Potomac Blue." Fat lot of good that will do though, as names are marketing terms, and those "codes" are specific to the vehicle manufacturer and vary from one to another though (critically) the actual mixing formulae does not!
Confusing enough? I've been through this dance before, on Porsches, Ferrraris, Siatas, Austin Healeys, MGs...etc.
The point is, and here I will refer to Phil at RS...the code for the 77 they have is not 03E...it is 03J. It is not the correct "teal" for, at a minimum, the September 1976 example I bought in California. I have not a clue about what was done anyplace else.
So...for my repaint, now what? Over the dsecades I have at least two painters in my contacts who could take one look at my tank, throw a really scary mix of colors into a can, spray it out and it would be a perfect match. I also might be able to get a paint supplier to use a comuter wand on the color and see if he can match it (there is one here in the tiny town I live outside of, though you can't buy a decent lot of vegetables here nor much else).
In either case, if I am successful in either approach and can get my source to do supply the mixing formula, I would be happy to supply it here as well as to RS. Phil was totally on the up-and-up about saying that the paint he could supply would not match my bike...and I owe him my thanks for saving me both money and a lot of grief.
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