In 1978, Yoshimura had the incredibly talented Wes Cooley campaigning a Kawasaki KZ1000, but they weren’t winning races. Then they switched to the Suzuki GS1000 and started dominating – Cooley won the ’79 and ’80 AMA Superbike Championships. While this was happening, Suzuki decided to release a Euro-only sport version of the GS1000. Once American dealers got a peek, they started clamoring for them, too. Enter the Suzuki GS1000S, of which only 500 were imported to the states in ’79.
Though it was never officially given the name by Suzuki, riders around the country were eager to call it the Wes Cooley Replica. The 997cc inline four cylinder produced 90 horsepower, which was good enough to propel the 524 pound bike up to about 130 miles per hour. For more on the bike that changed many American minds about Suzuki’s sporting credentials, check out this profile from Motorcyclist magazine. The profile references a quote in a 1979 issue of Cycle Guide – the GS1000S “demands recognition as the finest all-around ride motorcycling has to offer.”
This example (VIN: GS1000-524885) is offered by a client of ours over at Iconic who has been selling off a collection of zero mile bikes due to health issues – here’s a RC30 we sold for him, as well as a RC45, GSX-R750RK and a FZR750RT. Not much to say about the bike itself – the odometer shows 3 miles and it’s still on the original tires. The seller is the second owner, he says that the first owner bought two of these – one to show, and one to ride.
Find this Wes Cooley for sale in Sun City, Arizona here on Iconic Motorbike Auctions.
Disclosure: Bike-urious is a partner in Iconic Motorbike Auctions.