Luck of the Draw: 1981 Suzuki GS1100EX

1 / 10
The 1981 Suzuki GS1100EX is classic ‘80s Japanese big-bore fare, with plenty of sharp lines and lots of chrome. Square headlight was controversial.
The 1981 Suzuki GS1100EX is classic ‘80s Japanese big-bore fare, with plenty of sharp lines and lots of chrome. Square headlight was controversial.
2 / 10
The 1981 Suzuki GS1100EX is classic ‘80s Japanese big-bore fare, with plenty of sharp lines and lots of chrome. Square headlight was controversial.
The 1981 Suzuki GS1100EX is classic ‘80s Japanese big-bore fare, with plenty of sharp lines and lots of chrome. Square headlight was controversial.
3 / 10
The 1981 Suzuki GS1100EX is classic ‘80s Japanese big-bore fare, with plenty of sharp lines and lots of chrome. Square headlight was controversial.
The 1981 Suzuki GS1100EX is classic ‘80s Japanese big-bore fare, with plenty of sharp lines and lots of chrome. Square headlight was controversial.
4 / 10
The 1981 Suzuki GS1100EX is classic ‘80s Japanese big-bore fare, with plenty of sharp lines and lots of chrome. Square headlight was controversial.
The 1981 Suzuki GS1100EX is classic ‘80s Japanese big-bore fare, with plenty of sharp lines and lots of chrome. Square headlight was controversial.
5 / 10
The GS1100 is classic ‘80s Japanese big-bore fare, with plenty of sharp lines and lots of chrome. Square headlight was controversial.
The GS1100 is classic ‘80s Japanese big-bore fare, with plenty of sharp lines and lots of chrome. Square headlight was controversial.
6 / 10
The 1981 Suzuki GS1100EX is classic ‘80s Japanese big-bore fare, with plenty of sharp lines and lots of chrome. Square headlight was controversial.
The 1981 Suzuki GS1100EX is classic ‘80s Japanese big-bore fare, with plenty of sharp lines and lots of chrome. Square headlight was controversial.
7 / 10
Tall, wide handlebars make the big GS easy to wrestle. The air-assisted front forks featured adjustable damping and preload.
Tall, wide handlebars make the big GS easy to wrestle. The air-assisted front forks featured adjustable damping and preload.
8 / 10
Tall, wide handlebars make the big GS easy to wrestle. The air-assisted front forks featured adjustable damping and preload.
Tall, wide handlebars make the big GS easy to wrestle. The air-assisted front forks featured adjustable damping and preload.
9 / 10
Twin 11-inch front disc brakes perform adequately.
Twin 11-inch front disc brakes perform adequately.
10 / 10
The big GS hustles: In 1981 it was the fastest production bike money could buy, running the quarter-mile in 11.10 seconds and peeling off 0-60mph in 4.3 seconds.
The big GS hustles: In 1981 it was the fastest production bike money could buy, running the quarter-mile in 11.10 seconds and peeling off 0-60mph in 4.3 seconds.

1981 Suzuki GS1100EX
Claimed power:
105hp @ 8,500rpm
Top speed: 142mph (period test)
Engine: 1,074.9cc air-cooled DOHC inline four, 72mm x 66mm bore and stroke, 9.5:1 compression ratio
Weight (w/half-full tank): 557lb (253kg)
Fuel capacity/MPG: 4.7gal (18ltr)/47mpg average (period test)
Price then/now: $3,999 (1981)/$2,000-$5,000

This Suzuki is one lucky motorcycle. Found in rough condition, unloved, for sale and facing an uncertain future, it had the good fortune of being adopted by Trace St. Germain, perhaps the perfect person to rescue a deserving but shabby Superbike from the 1980s.

Trace originally wanted to buy the bike just for its parts, but ended up with the factory-spec restoration you see here. “I brought the bike home, and I don’t know what got into me. I decided to restore it. It was really badly oxidized, and I had never done a Suzuki before.”

Trace was lucky enough to be born in a motorcycling family. Instead of having to hide his passion from his parents, as many kids did, Trace’s parents encouraged him. “I have been working on bikes since I can remember,” he says. “I mowed lawns to get my first bike, a Yamaha 80 with a stamped steel frame. I rode that thing to death.” The Yamaha was replaced by a Suzuki 250X Hustler and then a Honda 350. Trace also got into racing quarter midgets on the tracks at Sacramento and Baylands in Northern California.

  • Published on Jun 12, 2014
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