It could reach a top speed of 204 km/h / 127 mp/h.
Manufacturer | Suzuki |
---|---|
Production | 1982 |
Engine | Four stroke, transverse four cylinders, DOHC, 2 valve per cylinder. |
Compression ratio | 8.7:1 |
Top speed | 204 km/h / 127 mp/h |
Ignition type | Battery, coil |
Transmission | 5 Speed |
Suspension | Front: 35mm Kayaba with anti dive adjustable air pressure. Rear: Dual shocks adjustable preload and spring rebound damping. |
Brakes | Front: 2 x 292mm discs. 1 piston calipers Rear: Single 292 mm disc, 1 piston caliper |
Front Tire | 3.25 H19 |
Rear Tire | 4.00 H18 |
Weight | 232 kg / 511 lbs |
Fuel capacity | 18 Liters / 17 km/l / 4.8 US gal / 4.0 Imp gal |
Manuals | Service Manual |
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Engine
The engine was a Air cooled cooled Four stroke, transverse four cylinders, DOHC, 2 valve per cylinder.. The engine featured a 8.7:1 compression ratio.
Chassis
It came with a 3.25 H19 front tire and a 4.00 H18 rear tire. Stopping was achieved via 2 x 292mm discs. 1 piston calipers in the front and a Single 292 mm disc, 1 piston caliper in the rear. The front suspension was a 35mm Kayaba with anti dive adjustable air pressure. while the rear was equipped with a Dual shocks adjustable preload and spring rebound damping.. The GS750EZ was fitted with a 18 Liters / 17 km/l / 4.8 US gal / 4.0 Imp gal fuel tank. The bike weighed just 232 kg / 511 lbs.
Photos
Overview
Suzuki GS 750EZ
What do you do for an encore when you already build a motorcycle that's the
best thing in its class? Well, the radical approach would be to throw that
design in the scrap-head and roll out an all-new one. Or you could go to the
other extreme and simply rearrange the pinstripes before running the same old
bike by the public one more time. Probably, though, the most intelligent
strategy is to stick with that same basic motorcycle, all right, but to improve
it by rectifying anything that had caused problems or provoked criticism.
Judging by those parameters, Suzuki seems to have made the right moves with
its new 750-class flagship. Because that company's 1982 GS750EZ is
essentially the same motorcycle as the 1981 GS750EX-a bike hailed by most
critics as the best all-around 750 on the marketexcept that it now boasts a
number of refinements and detail changes, most of them in response to complaints
about last year's bike. As a result, Suzuki has extruded a significantly better
motorcycle out of the one that already was acknowledged as The Best.
Not that the '81 GS750 gave anyone much to grouse about. It was, after all,
equal to or better than its competition in virtually every imaginable category
of performance (as verified in Cycle Guide's 750 Comparison Test, June
1981 issue), and it offered a range of versatility that the others couldn't
match. Regardless of whether it was involved in ten-tenths horizon-tilting on a
twisty backroad or relaxed vertical cruising on the Superslab or just plain
day-to-day lunchbox-toting around town, the GS750E always seemed to be doing
precisely what it liked best.
Still, some riders did find fault with it, even if they had to pick a
few nits to do so. Take engine performance, for instance: The Suzuki, they
whined, was not the hottest 750 around, pointing to the Yamaha 750 Seca's
capability of blitzing the quarter-mile a few hundredths of a second more
quickly than the GS. But unless Yamaha has secretly pumped up the Seca's power
output for 1982, that situation seems likely to change. Because every GS750EZ
rolls off of the assembly line armed with considerably more firepower in its
16-valve, double-cam motor - about a quarter of a second's worth, to be more
precise.
What this means is that the Z-model GS is a 12-second-flat 750, one that
could even dip into the high elevens if the strip conditions are any
better than those we encountered at Orange County International's slick
start-line area (left by a Funny-Car National run there the day before) when we
recorded our 12.011-second best E.T. What's more, the engine's newfound thunder
has not come at the noticeable expense of the healthy low-end and midrange
torque that made last year's bike so pleasant to ride when it was not in
full-on dragrace mode.
That's intoxicating, leading-edge performance, indeed, for a 750, but what's
more impressive is that so much additional power (a quarter of a second in a
quarter of a mile is a bunch) has resulted from only three relatively
minor engine changes. The intake cam was ground with one more millimeter of
lift, and it now bumps the valves open six degrees sooner and lets them bang
shut six degrees later. And complementing this rudimentary hot-rodding trick is
a recalibrated ignition curve that initially retards the timing two degrees (for
a smoother idle with the more-radical cam) but adds five degrees at full advance
(for maximum power production).
There are a few differences of lesser significance on the new engine, one
being the use of hex-head bolts to secure the cases and covers rather than the
traditional, easily bunged-up Phillips-head screws. The sole cosmetic change is
that the little rectangular "beauty covers" on the outer ends of each cambox are
now black-and-polished alloy castings rather than chrome-plated sheet-metal
stampings. And electrically speaking, the Z has a permanent-magnet starter motor
that's claimed to out-crank and outlive the electromagnetic motor used
previously.
Otherwise, the engine remains just as it was in '81. It retains Suzuki's
patented TSCC (Twin Swirl Combustion Chamber), four-valve-per-cylinder
configuration with forked cam followers that allow each lobe to open two valves.
The real-world advantage of this design (also used on the GS1100), however, is
that the followers make it easy for the owner to perform his own valve-lash
adjustments, whereas conventional shim-and-bucket arrangements call for an
assortment of tools and shims that most people just don't have.
Engine-wise, the GS750 actually shares quite a lot with the GS1100, which
speaks well for its reliability potential, but there's an important difference
in the lower-end construction: The 1100 uses a built-up crankshaft with roller
bearings on the main journals and con-rod big ends, while the 750 has a
one-piece forged crank with plain bearings all around. And although
roller-bearing cranks are fractionally more efficient for maximum-performance
applications, a plain-bearing bottom-end is at least as durable, not to mention
being considerably less expensive to manufacture, as well as to repair or
replace.
Plain-bearing engines also tend to run a bit more smoothly, which may account
for some of the GS750EZ's exceptionally low level of vibration. At moderate rpm
the rider is only remotely aware of the motor's presence just inches from his
knees; and it takes an excursion up into the tachometer's twilight zone before
any tingles show up in the grips and pegs that could be considered even mildly
annoying.
Smoothly, in fact, best describes the way in which the GS750 engine does just
about everything. It pulls smoothly from just above idle all the way up to its
9500-rpm redline; it makes the transition smoothly into the really productive
part of the powerband at around 6000 rpm; and it snicks through the gears
smoothly, completing each change with the short-throw, low-effort precision that
has become a hallmark of Suzuki gearboxes in recent years.
The only way, really, in which the engine is not ultra-smooth is in
the way it behaves when the throttle is switched from fully closed to barely
cracked-open and vice-versa. The reaction to those minimal changes is simply too
abrupt; and that oversensitivity of the Mikuni CV carbs, magnified by a bit of
excess lash in the driveline, tends to produce some minor but nonetheless
bothersome lurching as you try to regulate the rpm at these smallish throttle
openings.
This is one specific complaint about the GS750 (and GS1100, as well) that has
not been adequately dealt with by Suzuki ever since the 1980 model year.
The same could be said about a particular shortcoming of the chassis, that being
the relatively limited cornering clearance. The combination of low-slung engine
and soft suspension makes it easier to bang the usual undercarriage bits -
stands, pegs and exhaust hardwareon the GS than on most comparable bikes when
the cornering gets hot and heavy.
Suzuki's reluctance to remedy this condition, however, is a lot more
understandable than is the throttle-response problem. Because significantly
increasing the cornering clearance on this bike would have entailed either a
major chassis rethink or a considerable firming-up of the springing and damping
rates to reduce suspension compression during hard cornering. And since the
former would be prohibitively expensive and the latter would ruin the most
luxurious ride in the 750 class, the best alternative (and the one Suzuki chose)
is simply to leave well-enough alone.
Besides, despite its Rolls-Royce ride, the GS750EZ handles with marvelous
ease and agility right up until the sparks fly. And at that point, the bike has
been banked over at a respectable if not incredible angle, especially if the
spring preload on the Showa damping-adjustable shocks is on its highest setting
and the fork's static air pressure is up around 10 to 12 psi. A hard-charging
canyon racer will, no doubt, yearn for more leanability, as will anyone
roadracing the GS in box-stock classesin which case, removing the centerstand
will net some more of that precious banking angle. But for 95 percent of GS750EZ
riders, the standard cornering clearance will be more than adequate 99 percent
of the time.
Actually, the springing and damping rates at the front of the '82 bike are
slightly softer than on the '81; in fact, the entire fork is different,
the leading-axle fork with its two-rate springs having been exchanged for an
inline-axle type with triple-rate springs. But that softening doesn't
seem to have hurt the handling at all; and there is 8mm additional front wheel
trail afforded by the new fork geometry that makes the GS even steadier and more
confidence-inspiring than it was before, no matter if it's barreling down the
straight and narrow or bending around the tight and twisty.
Anyone who's ever ridden an '80 or '81 GS750 and tries the new bike will,
however, notice a small improvement in what was already the finest ride in the
class. The fork absorbs little chops and ripples more readily, and the big bumps
melt away under the GS as though they were optical illusions instead of concrete
realities. And most of what does get past the fork and shocks is soaked up by
one of the finest seats in the business. The only time the ride feels even the
least bit harsh is over smallish, abrupt bumps, like the expansion joints of
some concrete-slab highways. There's a bit of choppiness then, felt mostly
through the rear; but perhaps this is more noticeable only because the front
suspension is so efficient over the same undulations.
Nobody, of course, asked for a smoother ride after trying last year's 750,
but many did clamour for a more reasonable handlebar, something to replace the
super-long, radically swept-back tiller-style bar and the bolt-upright riding
position it forced. And they got their wish, for the Z-model has a bar with a
much less-dramatic rearward sweep that lets the rider cant his torso forward
ever so slightly. Not only does this allow a better seating position for
improved long-ride comfort, it feels more natural and confidence-inspiring when
you're play racing on your favourite backroad.
Suzuki also was bombarded with impassioned pleas to do away with the
bulky-looking rectangular headlight and the bulbous instrument package that went
along with it in favor of something more conventional. And the company's
response to that input from riders and dealers is apparent in the round halogen
headlight and traditional-style instrumentation on the Z-model. And in the
process, the dashboard acquired a handy oil-temperature gauge on the right side
to balance the fuel gauge on the left. But more important, the overall effect of
this new hardware is to make the new 750 look a lot lighter than the old one. In
truth, the Z-model's weight is down just a bit - six pounds - some of it
due to the new light/instrument package; but the bulk of it is because the new
front fork assembly is considerably lighter.
That fork lightness seems all the more impressive when you consider that its
overall weight includes the hydraulic anti-dive mechanism that's built onto each
slider leg. The purpose of the anti-dive is to keep the front suspension from
compressing so dramatically during hard braking, a trick it attempts to do by
virtually closing off the flow of damping oil whenever the front brake lever is
squeezed. The idea, of course, is to prevent the steering geometry from being
quickened due to front-end dive, thus allowing the bike to remain much more
stable during hard stopping - a time in which it needs all the stability it can
get.
But while the anti-dive might not weigh a lot, it doesn't really do a
lot, either. The truth is that it doesn't prevent front-end dive as much as it
merely slows it somewhat. The fork will still compress just about as far
during most braking situations as it would have without the anti-dive, but it
just takes a little bit longer to do it. So even though you end up with
practically the same quickened geometry you would have without the anti-dive,
that slower transition gives the rider a little more time - even if it's only a
fraction of a second - to adjust to that change.
That fact alone qualifies the anti-dive as a worthwhile feature, even if it
could stand some additional development. And that pretty well sums up the
GS750EZ as a complete motorcycle, as well, for all of its model-year refinements
are worthwhile ones that have made an exceptional motorcycle substantially
better, even though there still is room for improvement.
But is it still the best? Common sense says that it ought to be, since the
other manufacturers have not changed their comparable models as much as Suzuki
has changed the GS. But because we haven't actually tested those other new 750
fours, we can't be positive that the Suzuki will retain its King-Of-The-Hill
status for 1982. Especially not when a near-revolutionary machine like Honda's
all-new 750 vee-four is looming just over the horizon.
But those questions are impossible to answer right now. And until someone
actually does come along with a 750 of any configuration that is faster,
smoother, more comfortable, more versatile and better-handling, the GS750EZ is
The Class Act in the 750 class. It's a case, in fact, of the encore being better
than the original performance.
Source Cycle Guide 1982
Make Model | Suzuki GS 750EZ |
---|---|
Year | 1982 |
Engine Type | Four stroke, transverse four cylinders, DOHC, 2 valve per cylinder. |
Displacement | 748 cc / 45.6 cu in |
Bore X Stroke | 65 x 56.4 mm |
Cooling System | Air cooled |
Compression | 8.7:1 |
Induction | 4x Mikuni VM26SS |
Ignition | Battery, coil |
Starting | Electric |
Max Power | 58.9 kW / 79 hp @ 8500 rpm |
Max Torque | 60 Nm / 6.1 kgf-m / 44.2 lb-ft @ 8250 rpm |
Transmission | 5 Speed |
Final Drive | Chain |
Front Suspension | 35mm Kayaba with anti dive adjustable air pressure. |
Rear Suspension | Dual shocks adjustable preload and spring rebound damping. |
Front Brakes | 2 x 292mm discs. 1 piston calipers |
Rear Brakes | Single 292 mm disc, 1 piston caliper |
Front Tire | 3.25 H19 |
Rear Tire | 4.00 H18 |
Dry Weight | 232 kg / 511 lbs |
Fuel Capacity | 18 Liters / 17 km/l / 4.8 US gal / 4.0 Imp gal |
Consumption Average | 5.9 L/10 km / 40 US mpg / 48 Imp mpg |
Standing ¼ Mile | 12.0 sec / 166 km/h / 103 mph |
Top Speed | 204 km/h / 127 mp/h |