Project Design Assumptions

First of all, this project is intended to deliver a factory correct recreation of a standard 1978 road bike. It is not intended to be a track bike, a cafe bike or styled after a modern bike.

The question I asked myself when I started was 'what would a 1978 GT750 Water Buffalo have looked like, if it had been built ?'. I personally think that generally you need look no further than the GS750 produced in 1977 through 1980 to get a pretty good idea. A GT then would have had a rear disc brake, updated front forks, updated front disk brakes, more stylish body work and perhaps electronic ignition. It would not have been exotic - but it would have been a faithful, reliable every day rider.

Many people have done rear disc brake conversions to the GT750, and a few people and businesses have produced absolutely beautiful makeovers, one-of-a-kinds and low volume production machines based on the GT750 triple power plant - on this page I've included a few photos that I've collected from the web, of which the Seeley (lower left) and Reimo (second from left) are outstanding examples as is the one off on the lower right.

My goal then was to design a GT750 that would look as if it had rolled of the show room floor in 1978/1979. I was looking for a total package that visually flowed well, and had the modern 'every man' updates without being an exotic. It would closely resemble a GS750, but still be an oil burner - after all, to paraphrase a line from the movies, I love the smell of a 2 stroke in the morning !

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