Page 31 - Riding On Autumn 2022

When we got it back to dad’s place, we decided to
do a total restoration so pulled it apart but leaving
the engine intact and stored it all in the garage
roof.
We had plans to do it together at some later date
when dad retired.
As usual, life interfered, with my kids coming
along etc. and we never did start that project.
My parents moved to Engadine, so the boxes full
of bike bits did the move from one garage to the
next.

Dad passed away in late 2014 after living with
Parkinsons for years. Mum passed 6 months later.
I eventually got around to it in early 2016 and
with a mate’s assistance discovered that the
engine was in terrible shape – broken cylinder
walls at the bottom of the centre pot, a bent
crankshaft and obviously a holed centre piston
crown.

Once again life got in the way, this time my wife’s
cancer.
The decision was made to just put it all back
together so that it was obviously all there and so
that it could be rolled onto a trailer for the buyer.
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about 250 watchers.

A week later, in the last hour it steadily increased,
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A café owner in Melbourne bought it and it was
going to go up on a wall in his shop.
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Dad’s Suzuki GT750A
Although a 1976 model, the bike was bought new
in 1978 from Adams in Parramatta after being
shipped down from Dubbo, being the last one in
Australia apparently.
I bought the Suzuki GS850G in ’79 and after
sampling the delights of the Suzuki shaft-drive,
dad put the GT750 away and bought a Suzuki
GS1000G.
He left the GT750 for me when he passed away.
Apart from lower bars and rust-spotted guards and
air-box covers it is in good original nick and has
around 7000 original kilometres on the odometer.
I had it on Historic plates for a while and rode
maybe 150 kilometres but with that few kays on
the clock decided to put it away again.
The engine starts readily and runs well.
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glorious but the original pipes, also rust-spotted,
are there too.
I just thought that you all might like to know there
is another low kilometre water-bottle survivor
around.

Ian Rodger #14502

RIDING ON 31