Condition RARE: 1983 Suzuki GS550ES

I know what you are thinking: a Suzuki GS550 from practically any era is hard pressed to be noticed, much less considered rare and desired. However let 30 odd years elapse at the rate of less than 60 miles per, keep well conditioned, protected and indoors, and what you have is one of the world’s best looking ES model 550s available. Grab your leg warmers and totally cue the valley girl speak; let’s check it out.

The GS550 was Suzuki’s answer (clone?) to the popular Kawasaki GPz – standard tech included an air-cooled inline four with DOHC, triple disk brakes and a bikini fairing. A monoshock, cast alloy wheels and an oil cooler round out this middleweight sports bike. Today this is cave man era weaponry. But just look at the condition… Did you ever drool over one of these in the pages of Cycle? Luckily you have RSBFS to act as your time machine, bringing you back to the motorcycles you missed during your misspent youth.

From the seller:

Let me introduce myself. I’m an old codger who belongs to the
Classic Japanese Motorcycle Club and we show our bikes
at various events, like the International Motorcycle shows.
Former concours judge, so I am pretty fussy about my vehicles.
This bike has been in three shows.

Now, about this little jewel ~ It was originally sold to a San Jose
businessman who sold it to one of his employees for work done.
He was into cruisers and so he just stored this bike away.
Eventually I found it and had to have it. I’ve owned it for about
3 years and I installed 4 new Iridium spark plugs, a new Gel Battery
and Sea Foam fuel system cleaner. It now fires immediately and
runs like a highly modified sewing machine!

Condition: I would rate it at 9.5/10 The only reason that it is not a 10 is
that there are some dots on the right lower front part of the tank that have
been repainted (see photo), hard to see if you don’t know where to look.
The front fairing shield shows some storage wear, but nothing drastic.
Otherwise, this survivor looks like it just came out of the shipping crate.

VJMC members, are by and large, fairly particular about their machines. This might be because there are so many UJMs (universal Japanese motorcycles) around that the only way to make one truly special is to ensure it is in the best, most original and cleanest possible condition. Regardless of why, the VJMC is a fantastic organization if you are into non Italian, non German and non American motorcycles. You don’t need an RC30 to be part of this club, as this GS550 clearly shows.

There are a few days yet to play in this auction, with the current bid at $3,450. I know that there will be many that can remember when the price as new was similar, if not lower. Alas, this bike is a rare steed in an ocean of similar machinery if only because it has been preserved. That preservation comes with a price – and one usually lower than doing a complete “as new” restoration yourself. Click the link and jump over to the auction, then let us know your thoughts. Did you ever lust after a GS500 ES or similar? Leave your totally awesome thoughts in our comments section!

MI