Collectors seem to come with a variety of mindsets; some only like zero mileage bikes/”trailer queens”, some build collections consisting of a variety of brands/bikes that introduced major technological changes, some focus on personal favorites such as a single brand or even a single model within a brand that they find attractive, etc, etc. Interestingly, the 2nd generation GSXR 750 series seem to be especially popular with multiple types of collectors, probably because low mileage examples still come up for sale occasionally, they were introduced the “slingshot” engine concept to the general public and they still look great. Also, even with a steady increase in prices, these bikes are still pretty cheap and parts availability isn’t yet impossible.
1988 GSX-R 750 Slingshot
This is a 1988 GSX-R 750 Slinghost that appears to be extremely clean and complete (the seller indicates he has the rear seat) and is in the attractive Red/White color scheme which seems to age particularly well. Furthermore, the seller claims that their personal collection includes 8 similar models across a narrow year range so the chances of the seller actually have a bike that looks like this seems pretty good/no “bait and switch” risk here.
The starting price for this particular slingshot is currently at 6k which is actually quite reasonable. A pristine version with under 1000 miles sold earlier this year for about 8k to a RSBFS reader. While this one has done about 18000 miles, the condition looks to be excellent and would make a good addition to any collectors garage or for someone who wants to have the slingshot experience.
-marty
NOTE: The 2nd generation GSX-R 750 has been posted here on RSBFS previously and anyone interested in learning more about why these bikes were special can simply review the previous posts.
That’s my old bike. If the current owner wants info from day one,contact me.
What exactly is, “the slingshot experience?”
NIce bike.
It’s am experience within an experience. Remember in the old days when you used to ride about an hour after you took LCD and the intensity of accelerating was immense? Just taking off at the traffic lights would feel
Like you were hitting speeds of 180 miles .
Anyway that’s the slingshot experience
^^^LOL!
Actually, “slingshot” refers to the then new Mikuni model BST36SS carbs that were 36 mm diameter and featured vacuum operated slides. The semi-flat slide cross section resembled the shape of a slingshot- a clever marketing name that stuck. They came later in 38mm versions and 40mm for the limited RR version. These were designed to work with the short stroke engines, and were actually very good carbs, easy to tune and work on.
personally, I have never taken LCD 😉
My info on the slingshot bikes was that while the 1st/previous gen GSX-R 750’s were supposed to be kind of heavy and when you hit the accelration it was just a steady build process. The 2nd gen with the slingshot style carbs was supposed to be better acceleration with a big burst about 1/2 way through the rev counter, kind of like a two-stroke.