1982 GSX1100EX - the joy of GSX

Kevin Davison has owned many bikes over the past three decades, but the GSX1100EX he bought new in 1982 is still his favourite, especially now he’s modified it to just how he wants it.

ot all restorations enter the shed one winter, and then emerge butterfly-like the following spring looking brand new. Some projects follow a much more relaxed timeline, evolving over months and years until their owners achieve the desired result.
Kevin Davison’s 1982 Suzuki GSX1100EX is one such slow-burner. He knows the bike inside out, having owned it for 29 years, and can even remember the exact day it came into his possession, and how much he paid for it.
“…24 April 1982,” confirms Kev in his distinctive Leeds twang. “My mate gave me a lift to the shop, Dyrons Suzuki in York, on the back of his GS1000 so I could pick it up. I’d had my eye on it for weeks and it was up for £2795. Then I went to the bike show at Earl’s Court. Suzuki was keen to promote their new model, the GSX1100E, so they were giving out fliers offering new EXs at £1995 on the road. I took one back to Dyrons and got 800 quid off.”
Since then, Kev and the GSX have clocked up 54,670 miles (42,170 on its first set of clocks before the speedo packed up, and 12,500 on the latest), travelled on countless continental and TT ride-aways – both solo and two-up, and while numerous other bikes have come and gone the EX has remained constant.
So what is it about this big air-cooled Suzuki that’s persuaded Kevin to hang on to it for almost three decades? “It’s never let me down, not once,” says Kev of the 1100. “I have other bikes – an 1100EFE and a new B-King, and I’ve had countless others including GSX-Rs, a FireBlade, a Katana, and a Speed Triple – but the EX is my favourite. Always has been.”
But while the EX has remained a constant in Kev’s life for the past 29 years its specification, colour, looks and handling haven’t.
In standard trim, with distinctive and long leading-axle forks, skinny cross-spoke 19 and 17in wheels, and low-slung rear end, the GSX1100ET/EX lacks the clean timeless lines of the GS1000 or the unmistakable impact of a Katana. But as Kev’s EX proves, a number of choice modifications transform a once awkward-looking bike into something that not only demands visual attention but also allows unfettered access to undoubtedly the GSX’s best feature – its stomp-packed dohc 16v inline-four motor.
This GSX retains the class and feel of a production model thanks to Kev’s almost exclusive use of Suzuki parts to replace the originals. Up front he’s fitted 1999 GSX-R750X upside-down Kayaba forks and mudguard. Wheels – front and rear, brakes (the wavy rear disc which Kev doesn’t like will soon be changed back to standard), and swingarm are all ’96 1200 Bandit.
Fitting a front-end two decades newer than the original into this big Suzuki is a relatively easy process, and even easier if you’re an engineer by trade, like Kev. “I pushed the GSX-R stem out of the bottom yoke, then measured up the GSX stem before making another on my lathe. The GSX stem has to be hollow because the choke cable runs through the middle. Then I pushed it into the GSX-R yokes and it all fitted beautifully.”
The 1200 Bandit swingarm is slimmer than the original, so Kev also machined up spacers and some very neat shock mounts which were expertly welded into place by his mate Geordy. “I can weld aluminium, but he’s a class act. He also welded the clock mounts that I made onto the top yoke.”
Chain run is an issue with any swingarm transplant, and mating up the Bandit wheel with the GSX’s output shaft required an offset front sprocket. “It runs one from a TL1000S, says Kev. “They use the same output shaft splines so it goes straight on. It’s 17-tooth rather than the stock 15 to compensate for the different rear wheel and tyre, which is a 170 rather than a 180 for clearance.”
Rear shocks, for now, are Koni. “They’re getting on a bit. I’ve had them on since 1984 – they were one of the first mods I made.
As you’ve no doubt gathered, Kev is someone who likes to tinker with his bikes and it didn’t take him long to start improving the GSX. As well as junking the original shocks in favour of Konis back in ’84, he also swapped the factory 4-2 exhaust system for a Harris 4-1, relieved the stock wheels of their black/silver finish in favour of gold, and junked the OE seat for an altogether more stylish Giuliari item.
The GSX remained in this spec for six years until Kev’s desire to modify came knocking once again. “My brother-in-law had a red GSX which I thought looked much better than mine, which was silver at the time, so I had it sprayed by a local fella called Mac.”
That wasn’t all. He stripped the whole thing, renovating it bit by bit in the loft of his old terraced house, before bolting it back together in his shed. “It looked really good and stayed like that for nine years – that’s when I decided to modernise the handling and braking.”
You don’t need to ride this EX far at all to feel what a massive difference modern brakes, suspension and tyres have made to this old bruiser. The shorter GSX-R forks have changed the whole stance of the bike, dipping the front which, in turn, has subtly steepened the rake. This has quickened the steering – a welcome improvement over the original lazy and less-than-precise set-up.
There’s still no getting away from the fact that this is a big, weighty motorcycle but, now it’s floating on far superior suspension, that bulk has been transformed from a hindrance into an advantage with the ride now feeling poised and utterly planted at all times.
With better handling than standard I find myself entering bends much faster than I’d dare on a standard GSX, so I’m thankful for the Bandit 1200 brakes. They’re a massive improvement over stock, both in terms of power and feel, and the main reason behind Kev updating the bike’s running gear.
“The original brakes were bloody awful, and I noticed just how bad when I rode more modern bikes, so they had to go. I bought Goodridge hose and fittings so I could make them up myself. I made the front line splitter from billet so I wouldn’t have to use ugly brackets to keep the lines in place.”
These are the kind of touches that elevate Kev’s GSX from a nice bike to a great bike. You can tell he’s a man with an eye for detail when you look closely around the bike. Pillion footpeg mounts machined from billet, the machined and dressed footrest hangers, and the sculpted chainguard – indented to clear the left shock. That particular detail doesn’t sound like much, but working with such thin metal is far from easy. “It took quite a few attempts to get it right – the heat from welding just twists the metal if you’re not careful.”
I make no secret of my love for big air-cooled Suzukis of this era, and with the EX engine being so similar to that of my Katana
I feel instantly at home aboard Kev’s bike. These engines fizz with explosive low down torque. The brutally effective, arm socket-wrenching surge of acceleration as it picks up speed in the bottom gears feels reassuringly familiar. And not only is it strong, delivery is silky smooth and satisfyingly flexible too.
It’s understandable then that Kevin doesn’t wish to tamper with the GSX’s motor. To do so would be at the expense of usability and, potentially, reliability.
“If I want to go really quick I ride my B-King,” he says. “But you couldn’t accuse the GSX of being slow. The only thing I’ve changed in the motor is the clutch.”
A spirited day’s sprinting at Elvington back in the 1980s left the clutch feeling rather worse for wear. “I was racing my mate on a GPz1100, and I let the clutch grab too much at the lights. That left it slipping quite a bit so I ended up ordering a heavy-duty clutch kit. The plates made it too heavy, so I just used the springs.”
Ground clearance issues with the Harris 4-1 mean it’s now gone. In its place sits a one-off system with a flat rather than stacked collector built by Tony Law Exhausts of Leeds. It sounds fantastic, building up from a deep growl into a crisp rasp – not unlike a ’70s Ford Escort rally car – as the revs rise, then spits and pops on the over-run. Lovely. It was louder, but Kev quietened it down with a home-made baffle.
“I use the word ‘baffle’ in the loosest sense. Tony’s more used to making pipes for race and rally cars, which might explain the raspy sound. It came as bare steel, and then I got it chromed. Because the GSX gets used a lot the plating does corrode eventually, so I’ve had it re-done a couple of times.”
Something else that’s had to be re-done on a couple of occasions is the paint. One occasion was a less than pleasant experience. Having visited the 2004 TT races, Kev left his hotel one morning to go out on the bike only to discover that some cretin had keyed the GSX’s tank right down the middle.
“I just couldn’t understand it, especially with it being the TT. I was so cut up about it, I went home that day.” The damage was subsequently repaired by Cleveland Bike Spray. Quite why someone would stoop so low as to needlessly damage such a smart bike – or any bike for that matter – is beyond us too.
I really like Kev’s GSX. At the risk of upsetting PS contributor and fellow EX owner Gary Hurd (I’ll make it up to you with a packet of Digestives, mate), this is the best-looking GSX-ET/X I’ve seen. It works too, and it’s a joy to grab hold of its Renthal MX bars and ride.
But that hasn’t stopped Kev thinking about how he can improve it further. He’s eyeing a pair of Öhlins shocks to replace the old Konis, and already has a set of 2003 GSX-R forks and brakes waiting to grace the 1100’s front end.
“I updated the running gear to improve the brakes, but now they’re getting dated in terms of performance so it’s time to go radial-mounted calipers. The newer wheel doesn’t run a speedo drive so I’ll have to machine it to fit – I can’t be without a speedo. That’ll be the next phase in the GSX’s evolution. Here’s to the next 50,000 miles.”

Words Jim Moore  Photos Mark Manning