When Suzuki dropped the Katana on the world in 1979, everything changed. The 1970s saw the rise of the universal Japanese motorcycle (UJM), however, by the end of the decade, manufacturers and consumers were growing tired of this conservative design language. Suzuki, the creator of the fantastic GSX series of motorcycles and superbikes, decided to try a design experiment that would take the creation of their new motorcycle to an outside design firm.
The Suzuki GT750 is one of the most beloved Japanese bikes of all time. Released in the early 1970s during the formative age of the superbike, the GT750 was designed primarily as a sports tourer. Its smooth acceleration and comfortable ride made it a more refined alternative to the Kawasaki Z1 or Honda CB750.
But what really earned the Suzuki GT750 a prominent place in motorcycle history was its innovative engine. The GT750 was the first Japanese motorbike to employ a liquid cooling system for the engine rather than the traditional air-cooled setup.
When it comes to the Greasy Dozen Builder Collective, you never know what you'll see. The range of makes, models, and even styles is so broad, when selecting builders each year we look for things you don't always see and DJ Snyder's submission was exactly that! DJ submitted a 2006 Katana into our chopper category and as soon as we saw his submission we were sold. Reading that line you might be scratching your head and thinking a Katana.. a chopper?.. how is this going to play out. We can assure you that DJ built an absolute beast of a chopper! We're used to seeing 60s, 70s and 80s platforms turned into choppers, so when we saw a 2006 sport bike submission with the plan to turn it into a chopper it really had us wanting to see the end result. We always question what will happen with the 90s/00's sport bikes, will they be used for custom platforms or will they die in a junk yard? DJ may have struck gold with this chopper build and we may start seeing more 90's and 00's choppers coming to light. Without further ado, let's dive into this interview and learn more about his build.
When it comes to the Greasy Dozen Builder Collective, you never know what you'll see. The range of makes, models, and even styles is so broad, when selecting builders each year we look for things you don't always see and Alex Krill's submission was exactly that! Alex submitted his Suzuki T500 into our tracker category and as soon as we saw his submission we were sold. The T500 isn't the most popular model from the 60s-70s, some may have never even heard of it, but believe it or not this was a 10 year production bike. Although they may not be the most popular model to build off of today, these bikes were commonly used in road race and flat track applications back in the 60s and 70s. With that being said, when we saw Alex was planning to build a street tracker we had to select him and see what he could do! Without further ado, let's dive into this interview and learn more about his build.
