Suzuki GT185 model history
19731978
I have tried to tell the Suzuki GT 185 model history on the
page as I know it.
I would be grateful of any contributions sales brochures, magazine ads,
magazine articles, pictures, specs, facts, corrections etc. Please scan the material
in JPEG format (large enough that all the details are visible) and send
them to me. Please tell me the source and the publication date if possible.
If you send me pictures of your own bike, please follow these
instructions.
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Suzuki launched the GT185 (Adventure) in 1973. At first the
model had twin-leading drum brake at the front, in 1974 the
drum brake was replaced with a single disc at front when even
the rest of the GT family got disc brakes.
Apart from different graphics and color schemes, the model looked
just about the same all the years it was manufactured. The GT185
was discontinued in 1977.
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1973 Suzuki year code: K
The GT185 was launced in Europe and America in 1973 but for
some reason it has not been mention in the Japanese publications
I have seen. According to them, the first model year for GT185
in Japan was 1974, when the model already had a disc brake at
the front.
Intitial frame number: GT185-10001
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GT
185 K 1973
Overall Length: 1,950 mm (76.8 in)
Overall Width: 770 mm (33.3 in)
Overall Height: 1,065 mm (41.9 in)
Wheelbase: 1,290 mm (50.8 in)
Dry Weight: 129 kg (283 lbs)
Engine type: Air-cooled (RAM-air) 184 cc parallel twin 2-stroke. 21.0 hp/ 7,500 rpm, 2.1 kg-m/ 6,500 rpm.
Click on the image for larger format.
Here's
even larger picture. |

1974 Suzuki year code: L
Launched in January 1974 in Japan, where the model was available
in two colors: Blue and Gold (looks like it in the pictures anyway).
Intitial frame number: GT185-19784
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GT
185 L 1974
Overall Length: 1,950 mm (76.8 in)
Overall Width: 770 mm (33.3 in)
Overall Height: 1,065 mm (41.9 in)
Wheelbase: 1,290 mm (50.8 in)
Dry Weight: 129 kg (283 lbs)
Engine type: Air-cooled (RAM-air) 184 cc parallel twin 2-stroke. 21.0 hp/ 7,500 rpm, 2.1 kg-m/ 6,500 rpm.
Click on the image for larger format. |

1975 Suzuki year code: M
Slightly different color scheme for the GT185M.
Colors available: Blue, Red.
Intitial frame number: GT185-31693
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GT
185 M 1975
Overall Length: 1,950 mm (76.8 in)
Overall Width: 770 mm (33.3 in)
Overall Height: 1,065 mm (41.9 in)
Wheelbase: 1,290 mm (50.8 in)
Dry Weight: 129 kg (283 lbs)
Engine type: Air-cooled (RAM-air) 184 cc parallel twin 2-stroke. 21.0 hp/ 7,500 rpm, 2.1 kg-m/ 6,500 rpm.
Click on the image for larger format. |

1976 Suzuki year code: A
The side panels were now Black.
Intitial frame number: GT185-45095
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GT
185 A 1976
Overall Length: 1,950 mm (76.8 in)
Overall Width: 770 mm (33.3 in)
Overall Height: 1,065 mm (41.9 in)
Wheelbase: 1,290 mm (50.8 in)
Dry Weight: 129 kg (283 lbs)
Engine type: Air-cooled (RAM-air) 184 cc parallel twin 2-stroke. 21.0 hp/ 7,500 rpm, 2.1 kg-m/ 6,500 rpm.
Click on the image for larger format.
Here's
even larger picture. |

1977 Suzuki year code: B
I'm not sure about the model year of the bike shown below. Can
you verify its model year?
Intitial frame number: GT185-62276
|
GT
185 B 1977
Overall Length: 1,950 mm (76.8 in)
Overall Width: 770 mm (33.3 in)
Overall Height: 1,065 mm (41.9 in)
Wheelbase: 1,290 mm (50.8 in)
Dry Weight: 129 kg (283 lbs)
Engine type: Air-cooled (RAM-air) 184 cc parallel twin 2-stroke. 21.0 hp/ 7,500 rpm, 2.1 kg-m/ 6,500 rpm.
Click on the image for larger format.
Here's
even larger picture. |

1978 Suzuki year code: C
The last model year for the GT185. A sister model called GT185E
with alloy wheels was launched beside the GT185. The model names
were called RG185 and RG185E in Japan in 1978, the only year the
model was manufactured.
The Japanese models have, to my knowledge, slightly different specifications. The Japanese models often are slighty lower and have shorter wheelbase than the European and American models.
The model was replaced by a 196cc GT200 (also called X-5) in 1979.
Intitial frame number (GT185): GT185-70407
Intitial frame number (GT185E): GT185-500001
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GT 185 1978
Overall Length: 1,950 mm (76.8 in)
Overall Width: 770 mm (33.3 in)
Overall Height: 1,065 mm (41.9 in)
Wheelbase: 1,290 mm (50.8 in)
Dry Weight: 129 kg (283 lbs)
Engine type: Air-cooled (RAM-air) 184 cc parallel twin 2-stroke. 21.0 hp/ 7,500 rpm, 2.1 kg-m/ 6,500 rpm.
Click on the image for larger format. |
RG
185 1978
Overall Length: 1,895 mm (74.6 in)
Overall Width: 750 mm (29.5 in)
Overall Height: 1,055 mm (41.5 in)
Wheelbase: 1,235 mm (28.6 in)
Dry Weight: 129 kg (284 lbs)
Engine type: Air-cooled 184 cc 2-stroke, 21 hp/ 7,500 rpm, 2.1 kg-m/ 6,500 rpm.
Click on the image for larger format. |
RG
185 1978
Overall Length: 1,895 mm (74.6 in)
Overall Width: 750 mm (29.5 in)
Overall Height: 1,055 mm (41.5 in)
Wheelbase: 1,235 mm (28.6 in)
Dry Weight: 129 kg (284 lbs)
Engine type: Air-cooled 184 cc 2-stroke, 21 hp/ 7,500 rpm, 2.1 kg-m/ 6,500 rpm.
Click on the image for larger format. |
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