Anthony's 1980 Suzuki GS 1000S Project

Wes Cooley may not be as well known as either Lawson or Hailwood in this country, but he was one of the stars of American circuit racing in the late 1970s, and is credited with putting Yoshimura Suzuki on the racing map well before Australia's Mat Mladin delivered a strong of championships for the team from 1999. Cooley, from Los Angeles, cut his teeth in the club racing scene in southern California before stepping up to national level competition. In 1976, the first year for the AMA Superbike Series, Cooley was Kawasaki-mounted, but had little success until the following year's Daytona 200, where he finished on the podium.

Like Cooley, the first affiliation of the legendary tuner, Hideo 'Pops' Yoshimura was with Kawasaki, not Suzuki. The KZ1000 Kawasaki Superbikes tuned by Yoshimura were quick, but the weak link was the frame, which, like many Japanese large capacity bikes of the period, simply wasn't a match for the engine power. For the 1978 season, Cooley and Yoshimura switched to Suzuki's GS1000 four cylinder four stroke, which handled better than the Kawasaki, but only marginally. A couple of wins showed the Suzuki-Yoshimura-Cooley partnership was on the right track, and the 1978 season was capped off with a win at the first Suzuka 8 Hour.

The promise shown in 1978 came to fruition in 1979, where Yoshimura Suzuki kicked off with a clean sweep of the podium at Daytona, Cooley finishing second behind Ron Pierce. From there, success followed success, Cooley claiming the 1979 AMA Superbike title, which was also the first for Suzuki. Interestingly, Cooley didn't win a race for the entire season, but consistency (he was on the podium for every race) paid off. The Californian followed that up with another AMA Superbike title with Yoshimura Suzuki in 1980, with that season finished off in fine style with another win at the Suzuka 8 Hour, partnered by well-known Kiwi, Graham 'Croz' Crosby.

The 1979 AMA title coincided with the release of a limited edition GS 1000S, the 'S' signifying 'Sport' and identified by a small bikini fairing, the same as that used on the race bikes. These fairings weren't used on the GS 1000 or GS 1000E, and it's believed they were fitted to the GS 1000S in order to homologate the fairing for AMA competition. The visual similarity of the GS 1000S to the Yoshi Suzuki race bikes soon led to the ' Wes Cooley replica' tag, although it wasn't a name Suzuki officially used. Finished predominately in white, with either bright red or blue accents on the fairing, tank and guards, the Cooley replicas' close visual match to the race bikes was undoubtedly a big part of their appeal.

Anthony, like many others, wasn't immune to the appeal, either. He considers the Wes Cooley replica GS 1000S to be the first real Race Replica, one that was the closest lookalike to the factory race machines, and the one that inspired other manufacturers to make their replicas. However, it turned out that satisfying that craving wasn't easy. Anthony spent the best part of two years looking for a GS 1000S Cooley replica with no success. As he was specifically after a 1980 model, that limited his options even further. He did some across a few restored, showroom-quality pieces, but Anthony was keen on riding, and some of the gleaming examples he saw were too good to get dirty!

Finally, Anthony found not one, but two Cooley replicas in Victoria. The seller was returning to his native New Zealand, so needed keen to clear both out of his shed, along with everything else. Of the pair of Suzukis, Anthony described the one he eventually bought as being in OK condition, but needing a fair bit of work.

After getting the GS 1000S back to Queensland, the first step in the resto process was to pull the engine out of the frame to assess. Anthony thanks his long-suffering wife for her assistance here, helping manoeuvre the big 4 cylinder lump out of the frame. Anthony freshened up the engine, and decided to add a '1085' kit for more power. These Wiseco piston kits add a bit more grunt to the engine, and have been a popular addition to GS bikes from this period.

To complement this, a fully adjustable Dynatek 2000 CDI digital ignition system was added. This unit allows adjustable ignition timing to suit individual applications. As Anthony was planning on riding his bike, it was a worthwhile addition. Slowly, but surely, the engine and all the other components were put back together, while the GS 1000S cast alloy wheels were refurbished and polished up to as-new spec, and the frame was stripped and repainted.

Of course, an important part of the Wes Cooley replica is its look. Anthony's research showed that the actual race livery of the Cooley Yoshi race bikes varied slightly over the years, so he chose the closest match to his 1980 model machine. That meant getting the tank, fairing, mudguards and plastics repainted in the distinctive blue and white livery with two-tone blue coachlines. After the paint was completed (to a very high standard, it must be added), it was time for the distinctive livery comprising the Yoshimura, Bel Ray and Nippon Denso factory race replica stickers. Anthony sourced these from the UK, where the GS 1000S seems to be particularly popular. With these in place, and some replica race plates - Cooley's #34, of course - on the side, the finished article really looks the goods.

Some fresh Bridgestone rubber and fully rebuilt brake calipers with braided lines completed the package, but Anthony went the extra mile and picked up an Arai Wes Cooley'replica helmet to top it all off. With all the goodies in place, Anthony says his GS 1000S looks the business just sitting in the shed! While he didn't do all the work himself, the Wes Cooley replica is a project that Anthony was particularly - and justifiably - proud of. After enjoying it for some time, Anthony recently advertised his restored replica with JUST BIKES and it sold soon after - proving that the GS 1000S is pretty popular here, too!