1974 Suzuki GT380 cafe?
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depends on how bad the core bike is and what you want to do with it.
(BTW, this is a stupid question).
I owned two gt380s and I like the bikes, they are awesome two strokes and a lot of power for their size.
it also depends on what you mean by a "waste of time and effort" and also what you mean by "cafe bike"
some bikes no matter how cool they are should not be fooled with because they are too far gone. If the bike is in decent shape and runs then hey why not.
(BTW, this is a stupid question).
I owned two gt380s and I like the bikes, they are awesome two strokes and a lot of power for their size.
it also depends on what you mean by a "waste of time and effort" and also what you mean by "cafe bike"
some bikes no matter how cool they are should not be fooled with because they are too far gone. If the bike is in decent shape and runs then hey why not.
sure, put some clubman bars on it and pound some knee dents into the tank and you are good to go 
However, if it was mine I would make it into a replica of what was club raced in the late 70's. The GT380's I remember on the track (not many) back then were lightly modified from stock. God tires, clip-ons, rearsets, chambers or a Strader 3-1, rearsets, good shocks, a cut down or replacement seat and good tires. Do the usual mechanicals like rebuild the forks, good tune-up and bearings and you will be good to go. Probably not cheap to do if you pay anybody to do any of the work, and not too bad if you shop for the parts and do the work yourself.
Ken
However, if it was mine I would make it into a replica of what was club raced in the late 70's. The GT380's I remember on the track (not many) back then were lightly modified from stock. God tires, clip-ons, rearsets, chambers or a Strader 3-1, rearsets, good shocks, a cut down or replacement seat and good tires. Do the usual mechanicals like rebuild the forks, good tune-up and bearings and you will be good to go. Probably not cheap to do if you pay anybody to do any of the work, and not too bad if you shop for the parts and do the work yourself.
Ken
one of my old gt380s (1974) was an old club racer that the p/o put back on the street. It was all tricked out with some nice race goodies but the motor was a mess. I sold that sucker for $300 two years ago.
it is the yellow one in the pics, note the heavy duty fork brace:
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there is a braizing mod that can be done to the forks that makes them much better. my bike had it and compared to the stockers it was better.
the problem with any two stroke is that if the crank or the crank seals are lunched it will cost you $350+ to rebuild the crank with new seals and then you have to tear the engine down to the case halves and rebuild it. Figure you need to dump $500 in parts plus your own time getting past just that point.
it is the yellow one in the pics, note the heavy duty fork brace:
there is a braizing mod that can be done to the forks that makes them much better. my bike had it and compared to the stockers it was better.
the problem with any two stroke is that if the crank or the crank seals are lunched it will cost you $350+ to rebuild the crank with new seals and then you have to tear the engine down to the case halves and rebuild it. Figure you need to dump $500 in parts plus your own time getting past just that point.
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