The Super Suzuki GS1000S

By Greg Williams
Published on February 2, 2012
1 / 10
The Wes Cooley Replica GS1000S.
The Wes Cooley Replica GS1000S.
2 / 10
Wes Cooley won the 1979 and 1980 AMA Superbike Championships riding a GS1000, and after that, his name became inextricably linked to Suzuki and the Yoshimura-tuned winning motorcycles.
Wes Cooley won the 1979 and 1980 AMA Superbike Championships riding a GS1000, and after that, his name became inextricably linked to Suzuki and the Yoshimura-tuned winning motorcycles.
3 / 10
The 1979 Suzuki GS1000S has a liter-sized engine.
The 1979 Suzuki GS1000S has a liter-sized engine.
4 / 10
The 1979 Suzuki GS1000S has a top speed estimated at 130mph.
The 1979 Suzuki GS1000S has a top speed estimated at 130mph.
5 / 10
It may look similar to Suzuki's smaller 750cc four, but the 1,000cc mill was extensively redesigned to make it narrower and lighter.
It may look similar to Suzuki's smaller 750cc four, but the 1,000cc mill was extensively redesigned to make it narrower and lighter.
6 / 10
The Suzuki GS1000S is just ultra dependable. You can go put the key in and push the starter button anytime.
The Suzuki GS1000S is just ultra dependable. You can go put the key in and push the starter button anytime.
7 / 10
The signature blue and white paint scheme on the GS1000S was inspired by Wes Cooley's Yoshimura-tuned racer.
The signature blue and white paint scheme on the GS1000S was inspired by Wes Cooley's Yoshimura-tuned racer.
8 / 10
The I'm-as-fast-as-Wes Cooley paint job.
The I'm-as-fast-as-Wes Cooley paint job.
9 / 10
The GS1000S has a megaphone-style muffler.
The GS1000S has a megaphone-style muffler.
10 / 10
The Suzuki GS1000S is a super model.
The Suzuki GS1000S is a super model.

Suzuki GS1000S
Claimed power:
90p @ 9,000rpm
Top speed: 130mph (est.)
Engine: 997cc air-cooled DOHC inline 4 cylinder, 64.8mm x70.0mm bore and stroke, 9.2:1 compression ratio
Weight (wet): 525lb (238kg)
MPG: 5gal (19 liters)/35-55mpg
Price then/now: $3,679/$2,500-$4,500

At a rough moment in his family’s life, John Harris had to sell his prized 1979 Suzuki GS1000S, a bike he had bought brand new. “In 1987 we were in a tough situation,” John recalls, “but it was one of those choices you have to make, and it was just a part of life.”

No trailer queen, John’s GS1000S was well ridden. The bike had covered some 40,000 miles, with about 25,000 of those added to the clock in the first 18 months of ownership. Just months after he bought it, he and his wife toured 1,800 miles on the GS, carrying their luggage in a tank bag and soft-sided saddlebags. The bike was an everyday rider, and regardless of the weather, John wasn’t afraid to ride. He’d don a snowmobile suit and thumb the starter button even when it was a chilly 15 degrees outside.

Originally from Kansas, John began tinkering with cars when he was 11 years old, dragging home a Model A Ford that didn’t run. He discovered a broken distributor shaft, and after sourcing a used component the A was a runner — John says he’d take the car out and cruise the dirt roads surrounding town without causing much of a stir.

From that moment on, John became interested in wrenching on machines that went fast, and motorcycles fit that description, so in 1967 he bought a Matchless G15. He dabbled with motorcycle racing, but took his need for speed to another level in a Corvette and a Lola Formula Continental in Sports Car Club of America events. Then, in the late 1970s, he found a job in Tulsa, Okla. During an exploratory trip of his new city he discovered Johnny White’s Suzuki dealership, and he stopped into the showroom to see what was new.

Discovering the Suzuki GS1000S

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