The Suzuki GT185'S genealogy
The GT185’S direct ancestor was the T200, aka The Invader or X5, which ran from the period 1967 to 1969. Suzuki then took a leave of absence from the 200 class until 1973, when it launched the GT185 sold stateside as The Adventure; the GT shared little, if anything, with the T200. The initial K-model sported a twin leading shoe front brake, fork gaiters and black plastic bodied clocks. The fuel tank carried a broad pale blue flash contrasting against chrome and red name badges. Subsequent L and M models (74/75) adopted a disc front brake, dispensed with the gaiters, and ran pinstriped tanks sporting chrome tank badges. 1976 saw the A model running satin black side-panels, but little else changed, other than black headlight bowl and brackets. The following year’s B-model saw the GT185 get a serious cosmetic makeover with a revised seat ending in a short tail piece with a new rear light. The petrol tank lost the chrome badges and ran simple decals instead. 1978 saw the final run of GT185S being offered by the factory in several guises, probably as a mechanism to use up the last of the parts stock. There was also a move to re-educate the public, moving them towards a new model designation. The GT185 name remained on some models along with the GT185E, which sported cast alloy wheels as sweetener to move on what was now an old model. The new designation for the last of the GT185S was RG185 borrowing heavily from Suzuki’s racing successes. The 1978 GT185, GT185E, RG185 and RG185E differed little from the B-model, other than in colour and graphics.
1979 saw the launch of an all-new sub 250cc twin known in the UK and some other markets as the X5, but confusingly marketed as the GT200-X5 in others.