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{{ | {{Motorcycle | ||
|name = Suzuki GS450GA | |name = Suzuki GS450GA Automatic | ||
| | |photo=Suzuki-gs450a-82.jpg | ||
|aka = | |aka = | ||
|manufacturer = | |manufacturer = Suzuki | ||
|parent_company = | |parent_company = | ||
|production = | |production = 1982 | ||
|model_year = | |model_year = | ||
|predecessor = | |predecessor = | ||
|successor = | |successor = | ||
|class = | |class = Standard | ||
|engine = | |engine = Four stroke, parallel twin cylinder, DOHC, 2 valves per cylinder. | ||
|bore_stroke = | |bore_stroke = | ||
|compression = | |compression = 9.0:1 | ||
|top_speed = | |top_speed = | ||
|power = | |power = | ||
|torque = | |torque = | ||
|ignition = | |fuel_system = | ||
|spark_plug = {{sparkplug|B8ES}} 82- | |ignition = Transistorized | ||
|battery = {{battery|YB12B-B2}} 82- | |spark_plug = {{sparkplug|NGK B8ES}} '82-83, '85-88<ref name="owners_1983">{{cite book|title=1983 Suzuki GS450GA Owners Manual|publisher=Suzuki|date=1983|url=https://www.cyclechaos.com/wiki/File:Suzuki_GS450GA_1983_Owners_Manual.pdf}}</ref> | ||
|battery = {{battery|YUASA YB12B-B2}} '82-83, '85-88 | |||
|transmission = 2-speed [[automatic transmission|semi-automatic transmission]] | |transmission = 2-speed [[automatic transmission|semi-automatic transmission]] | ||
|frame = | |frame = | ||
|suspension = | |suspension =Front: 33mm Air assisted forks <br> | ||
|brakes = | Rear: Dual shocks | ||
|brakes =Front: Single 272mm disc <br>Rear: Drum | |||
|front_tire = {{tire|90/90-19}} '83 , '85-88<br />{{tire|3.60-18}} 82-83 , '85 | |front_tire = {{tire|90/90-19}} '83 , '85-88<br />{{tire|3.60-18}} 82-83 , '85 | ||
|rear_tire = {{tire|4.60-18}} 82-83 , '85<br />{{tire|120/90-16}} '83 , '85-88 | |rear_tire = {{tire|4.60-18}} 82-83 , '85<br />{{tire|120/90-16}} '83 , '85-88 | ||
|rake_trail = | |rake_trail = | ||
|wheelbase = | |wheelbase = | ||
|length = | |length = | ||
|width = | |width = | ||
|height = | |height = | ||
|seat_height = | |seat_height = | ||
|dry_weight = | |dry_weight = | ||
|wet_weight = | |wet_weight = | ||
|fuel_capacity = | |fuel_capacity = 12 Liters / 3.2 US gal / 2.6 Imp gal | ||
|oil_capacity = | |oil_capacity = 3.2L (3.4 US quart)<ref name="owners_1983">{{cite book|title=1983 Suzuki GS450GA Owners Manual|publisher=Suzuki|date=1983|url=https://www.cyclechaos.com/wiki/File:Suzuki_GS450GA_1983_Owners_Manual.pdf}}</ref> | ||
|fuel_consumption = | |recommended_oil=Suzuki ECSTAR 10w40 | ||
|turning_radius = | |fuel_consumption = | ||
|related = | |turning_radius = | ||
|competition = | |related = | ||
|competition = | |||
|final_drive=Shaft ‘82-83<ref name="wps_street_2019">{{cite book|title=2019 Western Power Sports Catalog|publisher=[https://www.wps-inc.com/catalogs Western Power Sports]|date=2019}}</ref> | |||
|manuals = [[:File:Suzuki GS450GA 1983 Owners Manual.pdf]] | |||
}} | }} | ||
The '''Suzuki GS450GA''' was a [[automatic]] [[motorcycle]] produced by [[Suzuki]] from 1982 to 1988. | |||
==Engine== | |||
The engine was a Air cooled cooled Four stroke, parallel twin cylinder, DOHC, 2 valves per cylinder.. The engine featured a 9.0:1 [[compression ratio]]. | |||
==Chassis== | |||
It came with a 3.60-18 front [[tire]] and a 4.60-16 rear tire. Stopping was achieved via Single 272mm disc in the front and a Drum in the rear. The front suspension was a 33mm Air assisted forks while the rear was equipped with a Dual shocks. The GS450GA Automatic was fitted with a 12 Liters / 3.2 US gal / 2.6 Imp gal fuel tank. | |||
== Overview == | |||
People who watched it happen with cars have been predicting for years that | |||
the motorcycle of the future will have an automatic transmission. It will also | |||
be enclosed, like all those failed designs of the future that most of us have | |||
forgotten or never seen. Anyone with a good crystal ball knows better, of | |||
course, but never mind. | |||
By now an automatic transmission on a motorcycle is not earthshaking. A | |||
novelty, perhaps, but not really new. It's been about six years since Moto Guzzi | |||
came out with the V-1000 Convert, followed by [[Husqvarna 420AF Automatic|Husqvarna's self-shifter]], the | |||
[[Honda CB750A|Honda 750 Automatic]] and the [[Honda CM400A|Honda CM400 Automatic]]. Now you can add Suzuki to the | |||
list of automatic motorcycles, with the '''GS450A'''. | |||
Like the other automatic transmission motorcycles (except the Husqvarna), the | |||
Suzuki doesn't have an automatic transmission. It has a hydraulic torque | |||
converter and a two-speed transmission, shifted with a lever on the left side of | |||
the engine, just like a normal motorcycle. It also has an engine very much like | |||
the normal GS450: DOHC twin, four valves, two carbs, good power and all the | |||
rest. Add to that a shaft drive, because this isn't a performance machine, it's | |||
a convenience machine. All these parts go into what looks like a GS450T, the | |||
traditionally-styled Suzuki Twin, with its wire spoke wheels, low stepped seat, | |||
teardrop gas tank and even such old-fashioned things as chromed fenders. It's a | |||
nice looking motorcycle. | |||
In concept it is easy enough to pull out a multiplate wet clutch on the | |||
normal 450 Suzuki and substitute a hydraulic torque converter. It's even easier | |||
to pull out a five-speed transmission and put in a two-speed. But the | |||
combination of changes that transformed the GS450 into the GS450A go beyond the | |||
abilities of any backyard mechanic. This is an entirely new motorcycle sharing | |||
fewer parts with its kin than would be expected. | |||
What has remained from the standard [[Suzuki GS450|GS450]] are the power-producing parts of | |||
the engine: cylinders, head, crankshaft, and all the connecting bits like cam | |||
chain, gear-driven counterbalancer and chain tensioner. Because of the shaft | |||
drive and different transmission, the engine cases are different from those of | |||
the normal 450. So are the camshafts, which have less duration and lift, the | |||
changes designed to increase low speed torque at the expense of peak power. | |||
On the standard 450, the dual overhead cams provide 280° of duration each, | |||
with 74° of overlap. Intake valve lift is 8.5mm, exhaust lift is 8mm. For the | |||
Automatic, intake duration is 256°, exhaust is 260°, overlap is 50° and lift is | |||
7.6mm on both. Torque peak is still 7000 rpm, but the maximum torque is about 25 | |||
lb.-ft., now, instead of the 27 lb.-ft. of the shifty 450. Below 7000 rpm the | |||
Automatic makes considerably more torque than the standard Suzuki, about 10 | |||
percent more from 4000 to 7000 rpm. That's the range where the torque converter | |||
engages, and the new cam timing makes it very engaging. | |||
Crankcases on the Automatic incorporate room for the gears transmitting power | |||
to the shaft drive. Within the cases are a number of oil system refinements that | |||
control oil pressure from the higher volume oil pump. Main bearings have three | |||
oil feed holes instead of two, a different rod bearing material is used, oil | |||
control jets below the cylinder and below the counterbalancer bearing inserts | |||
are used and the lower pan in the crankcase is tapped for lines running to the | |||
oil cooler. Maximum oil pressure in the Automatic is limited to 99 psi, up from | |||
the 71 psi limit of the standard 450. Other regulators maintain a relatively | |||
constant 24 psi to the torque converter. | |||
Oil flow and cooling is vital to the Automatic, because that's what makes the | |||
torque converter work. Suzuki's small torque converter, about the same size as a | |||
standard motorcycle multiplate clutch assembly, works just like the torque | |||
converter used in any automotive automatic transmission. In this case, the | |||
helical primary drive gear is bolted to the torque converter housing, with four | |||
coil springs on the driven gear absorbing deceleration shocks. Inside the | |||
housing, on the inboard side, is the pump impeller. Any time the engine is | |||
running the impeller is spinning, its angled blades flinging oil through a | |||
stator onto the turbine blades. When the engine is idling the pump throws the | |||
oil through the converter at very low pressure, not enough to move the turbine, | |||
which drives the main-shaft of the transmission. Turn the throttle so engine | |||
speed increases and oil is thrown faster and harder, guided by the angle of the | |||
impeller blades so torque is transmitted from the pump impeller to the turbine | |||
runner hard enough to spin the turbine and move the motorcycle. | |||
Until the engine is spinning near its torque peak, some of the oil scooped | |||
through the stator and hitting the turbine gets conducted back through the | |||
stator and helps drive the impeller again, making the torque converter more | |||
efficient. When the converter output shaft is spinning the same speed as the | |||
housing a one-way clutch on the stator allows it to spin so it doesn't absorb | |||
any energy. That's the lockup speed. If you held the back brake of the Suzuki | |||
on, put the transmission in drive and held the throttle wide open, the engine | |||
would speed up to a certain speed, about 3800 to 4100 rpm, where the drag | |||
of the torque converter equals the torque of the engine wouldn't spin | |||
any. That's the stall speed. | |||
Suzuki is expecting about a third of the Automatic owners will be women. | |||
Beginning riders of all kinds will make up most of the Automatic owners, and | |||
having a low seat height is important for ease of control, especially at the low | |||
speeds involved in learning to ride. | |||
Beyond that, the Automatic is an easy motorcycle to ride. It starts instantly | |||
with the choke lever on the left handgrip turned on. Suzuki has had carburetion | |||
difficulties on the other 450s, but the Automatic gets new 34mm Mikuni CV carbs | |||
with an accelerator pump that eliminates low speed stumbles. The bike idles well | |||
and has no carburetion difficulties. The torque converter helps here immensely. | |||
With the choke still on and the bike cold it can be nudged into gear and ridden | |||
away without concern. | |||
Of course starting is handled with a button and electric motor. There is no | |||
kickstarter. Ordinarily motorcycles without kickstarters can be bump started | |||
when the battery goes dead (when, not if), but the Automatic doesn't allow for | |||
bump starting. When the battery goes the bike doesn't go. | |||
The rest of the time the Automatic is marvelously easy to ride. Fire it up, | |||
click it in gear and twist the throttle. As simple as that, it moves. Twist the | |||
throttle more and it goes faster. Twist it the other way and it slows down. Pull | |||
or step on a brake and it slows down faster. There's none of this careful | |||
engagement of the clutch while matching engine speed with transmission speed. | |||
If the rider wants to click the lever up twice and leave the bike in high | |||
range, it will function as a single speed motorcycle, no shifting necessary. | |||
Ridden in just high range the Suzuki keeps up with traffic or even ahead of | |||
traffic if the throttle is twisted enough. Above 40 or 50 mph it starts to take | |||
hold and feel stronger, all the way up to the top of the 85 mph speedometer, | |||
where it runs out of steam. In high, it won't keep up with other motorcycles | |||
ridden hard. Faster acceleration calls for low range. | |||
Low range in the Suzuki is the surprise. Medium small motorcycles with | |||
automatic transmissions have been slow, and they feel especially sluggish. Not | |||
the Suzuki. Twist the throttle in low and the bike whisks you away without | |||
delay. It doesn't spin the tire or lift the front wheel, but you half expect it | |||
to. According to the marks on the speedometer (there is no tachometer), low | |||
range is good up to 50 mph. It will keep on accelerating up to about 60 in low, | |||
but high range works better. | |||
One of the few shortcomings of the bike occurs when it is shifted from low to | |||
high range under hard acceleration. Remember that the torque converter is still | |||
transmitting power, making it hard to shift. So you back off on the throttle and | |||
jam it into top gear, creating a loud clank as it pops into the next gear. Hard | |||
upshifts are noisy and require effort. Shift at 20 or 30 mph and it's relatively | |||
quiet and easy, but motorcycle-like acceleration is missing. | |||
Another shortcoming of the bike is easier to fix. When Suzuki substituted the | |||
torque converter for the clutch, the clutch lever remained. Only it's now | |||
connected to the back brake and has a pushbutton lock-lockout. The lever won't | |||
budge unless a button on the lever is pushed. That same button has to be pushed | |||
more to lock the lever in place once it's pulled nearly to the grip. As a | |||
parking brake it works fine. But a parking brake is seldom needed on the bike | |||
and having a non-moving clutch lever proved painful for riders who would | |||
occasionally forget it didn't have a clutch, grabbed the immovable lever and had | |||
a sore hand for the next week. The level can be removed easily, but it would b< | |||
better if Suzuki mounted the parking brake lever somewhere else. It could b( on | |||
the side of the bike or even on the back brake pedal, or anywhere i wouldn't be | |||
confused for something it' not. | |||
Like the other guys, the engineers at Suzuki are concerned that | |||
riders might hurt themselves somehow. So in addition to the parking brake, the | |||
Suzuki has a buzzer to warn the rider when the bike is in gear and the sidestand | |||
is down. The idea is that someone might leave the bike in gear, parked, and | |||
another person could twist the throttle and send the bike lurching off its | |||
stand. | |||
Some maintenance chores on the Suzuki aren't easy to do. Removing the rear | |||
tire, for instance, could hardly be more work. Even though this bike has a shaft | |||
drive and a drum rear brake, a combination that BMW has used to make the rear | |||
tire removable in about a minute, the Suzuki owner will need about half an hour, | |||
four wrenches, a pair of pliers, a big hammer and a friend. Because the mufflers | |||
are an inch too long, and positioned right where the axle has to be pulled, the | |||
shocks have to be disconnected or the exhaust removed in order to pull the axle | |||
and remove the rear wheel. | |||
Even removing the seat requires unbolting, unlatching and sliding it off | |||
hooks. There is no storage area anywhere under the seat like that found on the | |||
[[Suzuki GS450E|GS450E]]. | |||
Convenience and serviceability may not have improved, but the suspension has. | |||
The original GS450 suspension was soft in front and firm in back, the | |||
combination making the ride less than ideal and the handling mushy. Some owners | |||
experimented with smaller damping holes for more fork damping, which was some | |||
improvement, but the solution has now been provided by the factory. Spring and | |||
damping rates have been adjusted, though the U.S. Suzuki technical service | |||
people didn't have figures, so that the suspension is now well suited to the | |||
motorcycle. This Automatic exhibited none of the fork dive or imprecision in | |||
handling that afflicted the last 450 test Suzuki. Even the rear suspension did | |||
an above average job of handling solo riders or two-up without bottoming or | |||
riding harshly. All this comes from a suspension with no damping adjustments, | |||
but just air caps on the forks and preload adjustment on the rear suspension | |||
units. | |||
Brakes can similarly be described as excellent but undistinguished. There's | |||
nothing wrong with the braking performance of the bike. The single disc in front | |||
is strong and easily controlled, able to lock the front tire without excess | |||
lever pressure, while making control easy. And the rear drum is large enough to | |||
do its job without difficulty. For the speeds that can be generated by the | |||
Automatic there's no need for triple discs, and the forks control front end dive | |||
well enough without anti-dive hardware. | |||
In a way, the whole bike is like that. It does its job without excess or | |||
without difficulty. There are few technical fads on this bike. Handlebars are | |||
normal bent round tubes, inexpensive and effective and easily changed if they | |||
don't fit the rider. The wire-spoke wheels are light and strong and inexpensive. So far | |||
cast wheels are heavier than wire spoke wheels. Even performance falls in that | |||
good-but-not-great class. Yes, it's as fast in the quarter-mile as a Mazda RX7 | |||
or Datsun 280ZX. And it is easy to make it go fast with the torque converter | |||
automatically stepping up the effective gearing whenever the throttle is cranked | |||
open. | |||
Like other Suzukis, the operation of controls is unobtrusive. Nothing is | |||
stiff or difficult to use. Vibration is minimal, though more than the standard | |||
transmission GS450, due in part to lower than normal gearing. | |||
All of this makes the Suzuki GS450A more than a good beginner bike. After the | |||
beginner learns how to get the most performance out of the Automatic, he'll find | |||
himself with a startlingly good motorcycle that just happens to be enjoyable to | |||
ride | |||
Source Cycle 1982 | |||
==Specifications== | |||
{| class="wikitable" | |||
|- | |||
!Make Model | |||
|Suzuki GS 450GA Automatic | |||
|- | |||
!Year | |||
|1982 | |||
|- | |||
!Engine Type | |||
|Four stroke, parallel twin cylinder, DOHC, 2 valves per cylinder. | |||
|- | |||
!Displacement | |||
|448 cc / 27.3 cu in | |||
|- | |||
!Bore X Stroke | |||
|71 x 56.6 mm | |||
|- | |||
!Compression | |||
|9.0:1 | |||
|- | |||
!Cooling System | |||
|Air cooled | |||
|- | |||
!Induction | |||
|2 x 34mm BS34SS Mikuni carburetors | |||
|- | |||
!Ignition | |||
|Transistorized | |||
|- | |||
!Starting | |||
|Electric | |||
|- | |||
!Max Power | |||
|32.8 kW / 44 hp @ 9500 rpm | |||
|- | |||
!Max Torque | |||
|36.3 Nm / 3,7 kgf-m / 26.8 lb-ft @ 8000 rpm | |||
|- | |||
!Transmission | |||
|2 Speed constant mesh, automativic | |||
|- | |||
!Final Drive | |||
|Shaft | |||
|- | |||
!Front Suspension | |||
|33mm Air assisted forks | |||
|- | |||
!Front Wheel Travel | |||
|100 mm / 3.9 in | |||
|- | |||
!Rear Suspension | |||
|Dual shocks | |||
|- | |||
!Front Brakes | |||
|Single 272mm disc | |||
|- | |||
!Rear Brakes | |||
|Drum | |||
|- | |||
!Front Tire | |||
|3.60-18 | |||
|- | |||
!Rear Tire | |||
|4.60-16 | |||
|- | |||
!Wet-weight | |||
|197 kg / 434 lbs | |||
|- | |||
!Fuel Capacity | |||
|12 Liters / 3.2 US gal / 2.6 Imp gal | |||
|} | |||
{{clear}} | {{clear}} | ||
==1982 GS450GAZ== | ==1982 GS450GAZ== | ||
Line 57: | Line 351: | ||
* Gold tank stripes | * Gold tank stripes | ||
* [[Shaft drive]] | * [[Shaft drive]] | ||
{{clear}} | |||
==1983 GS450GAD== | ==1983 GS450GAD== | ||
[[Image:1983-Suzuki-GS450GAD.jpg|left|thumb|1983 Suzuki GS450GAD]]<br style="clear: left"/> | [[Image:1983-Suzuki-GS450GAD.jpg|left|thumb|1983 Suzuki GS450GAD]]<br style="clear: left"/> | ||
Line 77: | Line 371: | ||
* Chrome rear grab rail | * Chrome rear grab rail | ||
* Chrome headlight mounts and housing | * Chrome headlight mounts and housing | ||
== Photos == | |||
<gallery mode='packed-hover'> | |||
File:Suzuki-gs450a-82.jpg|600px|Suzuki GS450GA Automatic | |||
File:Suzuki-GS-450A-82.jpg|600px|Suzuki GS450GA Automatic | |||
</gallery> | |||
==References== | |||
{{reflist}} | |||
{{Suzuki}} | {{Suzuki}} | ||
[[Category:Suzuki motorcycles]] | [[Category:Suzuki motorcycles]] | ||
[[Category:Automatic transmission motorcycles]] | [[Category:Automatic transmission motorcycles]] |