Images from the 2012 London Custom Bike Show

Crazy tank with air intakes to be ducted into carbs

Starting to come together now. Many evenings have been spent trying to shape the tank. The results are pleasing if not a bit radical for a 70's GT550.

The big fill and sand and fill and sand and...........

This is now where time spent will pay dividends when it comes to getting the best paint finish

Filling and Shaping the Tank

The filler cap seat had been cut out of the Busa tank and set into the old GT550 tank. This proved to be a challenge as the tank steel was thin in places. 


Built it up with plenty of weld.

11 New 1975 Norton Commandos Found in Belgium!

11 New 1975 Norton Commandos Found in Belgium!

Hours of polishing and the engine is ready to be put back together

Rusty electrics - work to be done

One for rainy days, one for summer days and something for the weekend sir.

Suzuki GT550

Fuel Pump GT550

GT550 Wiring Diagram

Building the new Petrol Tank

The tank is progressing well now that I have sunk the filler cap into the old GT550 tank. I used a tank cutter to create the hole and remove the old mountings. The new cap mount came from a dented busa tank that I have chopped to make the rear part of this one. The air vents are all ducted to the back of the new tank and will be connected the the carbs by rubber hose. Designing the connector point is the next job after cleaning up the welding. The welding has been a real challenge as the busa tank is very thin.

The start of the tank build

The build is up to the make a tank that looks good stage. I have take the tank from a busa chopped it and welded to the old GT tank. You must make sure that the tank has been flushed through before welding otherwise there could be a big bang and no roof on your worshop. Mine was ok as it had been years since any fuel had been in it.

Suzuki GT550 The Rebuild

It all started about 32 years ago when I was just a boy at 17 and I owned a green Suzuki GT550. My first big bike!!

It had a Piper 3 into 1 exhaust and sounded great.

I now ride a Suzuki Hayabusa GSXR 1300 and a Honda VTX1300 two of the best bikes a man could wish for.

I also .............. through a moment of ebay madness (according to Mrs B.) own a very rusty and unloved Suzuki GT550. The bike had been stuck in a barn for 20 years and was in a very sorry state.

So the challange...... rebuild it as new..... well that was the first thought. The second and more challenging was to customise it. So thats what I decided to do. This is my blog record of how I am going to do it.