Miss Two WheelsRacing the Suzuki RE5

Go West Young ManSuzuki RG500

Ozebook Classic Motorcycles

www.ozebook.com

Editorial

What a lot of great machines I’ve seen this year and had a chance to ride at times.The old bikes are showing their age and so am I. Everytime I go out for a ride I say to myself,“slow down you fool.” I know the throttle works both ways but I still relapse at times and then laterthink, well what the hell were you doing on 20 year old tyres and 50+ year old reflexes!

It is hard to teach an old dog new tricks.

Well anyway, it is the end of one year and the beginning of the New!

What can I say, but thanks to everyone for sharing the wonderful world of motorcycling foranother year. Ride safe and watch out for those blind bastards in their tin cages!

I look forward to seeing you all out there in the Internet world again next year when we can continueto share adventures and swap yarns about motorcycles and all sorts of nonsense.

So, again take care and catch you all soon

Muzza

Layout and original content copyright: 2008Ex Libris www.ozebook.comEmail: muzza@ozebook.com

Cover Shot: Murray Barnard and his Guzzi le Mans on the Gibb River Road in the Kimberley Region of Western Australia

Miss Two Wheels

Miss Two Wheels for 1955, or should that be Miss Three Wheels? Whatever.The Watsonian Bambini is hooked up to a stylish Lambretta.

Greg Handsford on a Kawasaki H2 R,about to overtake Graeme Sigley on an early Suzuki RG500at Wanneroo Raceway Western Australia in 1975

I was just looking at the RE5 brochure on your great site (www.ozebook.com) and - er - not many people know this but......

In July 1976 I entered a brand new Suzuki RE5 in a long distance race here in the UK. The race was held at Cadwell Park inLincolnshire and it was only the perseverance of my good friend Rex White (Suzuki’s incumbent race-team manager) with hispals at the ACU (Auto Cycle Union) that allowed the machine to be raced at all. And then the ACU wanted it classed as a 1,000ccentry and not 500cc because they were unable to consider its swept volume. I argued that it was classed as a 500cc as far as theBritish Road Tax system was concerned and also by the machine's insurers. A few more words from Rex and we had permissionto race the machine as a 500cc.

I was Heron Suzuki's technical representative at the time and asked Peter Agg, the chairman, if I could use the RE5 pressdemonstrator for the race. He was completely against the idea because he was afraid that we'd get a bad result. The poorpublicity would make the sales of the RE5s remaining from the 108 we had imported even harder than it had proved thus far.However, he said it was OK if I could find somebody else to provide a machine. I’m not sure he meant this but took him at his word.

As a long-distance race run over two days (two stints - no night-time racing) I needed a riding partner. At the time, I was racingmy '37 Velocette 350cc KSS and '38 500cc Triumph Speed Twin in Vintage Club events and was a member of the VMCC's racingcommittee. The late John Wilkinson was also on the committee and took all of two seconds to agree. John had been a stalwartof the 60s and 70s vintage scene riding a dope-swilling 600cc single cylinder vintage Norton owned and tuned by Stan Johnson,the legendary Brooklands tuner. The combination worked well and John had a mound of silver pots throughout his farmhouse.There was a tale doing the rounds at the time that John had once thrashed Mike Hailwood in a modern race at his home track of Brands Hatch whilst riding this vintage Norton. This may have been true because I'd seen John frequently beating TD350 Yamsin modern races on his rigid Norton.

With only a couple of weeks to go before the race, we found a sponsor. None other than the well-known tuner, Geoff Monty whowas the Suzuki dealer in Edenbridge. Rex White rented an apartment at the back of Geoff's shop and had done a good jobpersuading him on my behalf. But Geoff didn't have an RE5 in stock so I began looking in earnest for the best deal from anotherSuzuki dealer. I found one in Bradford and that evening, John and I drove his car up the M1 with a Geoff Monty cheque in mypocket and our riding gear in the back. While I was riding the bike ahead of John's car, John said that its exhaust sounded like aWW2 Flying Bomb. The RE5 became Doodle-Bug at that point.

In my workshop, I drilled and lock-wired the drain plugs and filler caps and attached racing number plates. I rode it whenever I hada spare moment but the machine was still slightly tight as I rode it the final couple of hundred miles to Cadwell on the Fridaybefore the weekend race. That's where I had arranged to meet John and Rex (our team manager for the weekend) and a coupleof pals who offered to look after the pit-work.

The rules allowed a maximum of one-hour stints between rider changes. This was fine because the RE5 consumed three gallonsof fuel (almost a tankful) and one Imperial pint of oil every hour. We were lapping Cadwell's twisty Club circuit at around 65-70mphso that meant that the RE5 was returning around 22 mpg and 65 miles to the pint of oil. And boy! Did it run hot...

Despite its thirst for fuel and lubricant, the machine ran faultlessly for the entire 600 mile race and as the Sunday leg drew to aclose, we were leading the 500cc class and laying 2nd overall to a 900cc Desmo Ducati.

As the slower of its two riders, I was pleased when John was riding the final laps of the race and would be taking the chequeredflag. But then the rear tyre punctured with only 2-3 laps remaining. Amazingly, John continued to race on what we later found wasa completely flat tyre. He put the entire weekend's efforts in jeopardy when he chose to ignore the organiser's black flags and rodegallantly past looking the other way. John later explained that it wasn't too difficult to ride because the centrifugal forces 'expanded'the tyre to its normal size everywhere except at the low-speed the hairpin. My god, John was a gritty, hard rider...

So the RE5 finished 2nd overall and won its class in what I believe now to be the only occasion when the RE5 has ever been raced.

I have attached the only picture I have to hand of this event which shows me riding The Doodlebug. The article I wrote describingthis event (RE5 Rules, OK?) later appeared in the British magazine Motorcycle Sport. The last I saw of the Doodlebug was itstanding forlornly in the window of Geoff Monty's Edenbridge shop.

Cheers

Ray Battersby

Ray is the author of the Suzuki GP racingbible - “Team Suzuki”

The Geoff Monty Suzuki RE5 in action

Classic Ad:The Desmo DucatiRoad Trail 450

Clyde’s Kawasaki Z650, Muzz’s Guzzi le Mans and Carl’s Guzzi 850 T3 on the Fitzroy Crossing to Hall’s Creek Roadin the Kimberley region of far North Western Australia in 1981.

Muzz at same spot 25 years later, older, wiser, fatter and relieved at how much improved the road is, even if the senseof adventure is somewhat diminished.

Clyde tackling the bulldust on the road to Tunnel Creek in the Oscar Ranges, Kimberley Western Australia

Clyde suffered a puncture at Fitzroy Crossing

Reaching the bitumen again after 350miles of dirt was heaven

Ruins at Lillilamoora, site of an aboriginaluprising in the 1890s

The salt water crocodiles in the North are extremely dangerous, always stay away from the water’s edge.

Carl checking out dinosaur footprints at Broome Western Australia

Brought undone by the bulldust, no damage though. Too heavy to pick up alone in the heat. Gibb River Road, Kimberley.

Above: The red dust gets into everything in the Outback of Western AustraliaBelow: The road to Halls Creek

Down in the bulldust, again Exploring Hidden Valley at Kununurra

Diversion dam at Kununurra

Carl goes down on the bulldust at Mary River Crossing

Oscar Range - a fossilised coral reef from the Devonian period

On the road to Tunnel Creek

Victoria River, Northern Territory

Prison Boab Tree Derby Western Australia

Victoria River, Northern Territory

Gibb River Road, Kimberley, Western Australia

Mike Hailwood’s 1977 Ducati 750SS

The comeback machine

The Ducati 750SS itself is almost an icon amongItalian motorcycles and it has become on themost collectible of the modern classics.

The bike shown here however, the MorepartsDucati, has world significance in that it re-launched the career of 9-times World ChampionMike Hailwood, when he contested the CastrolSix Hour and the Adelaide Three HourProduction Races in 1977-78.

After a stellar careerin which he won nine motor-cycle world championships, Hailwood made themove to cars. In his 50th Formula One start hecrashed his McLaren racing car in the GermanGrand Prix in 1974 suffering serious injuries tohis right leg and foot which ended his racing ca-reer. Seeking a quieter life he moved to New Zea-lan.

Mike was tempted back into a motorcycle for aseries of Historic Machine Races at Amaroo Park,Bathurst and Winton Raceway . Ridingan ex-Kel Carruthers Manx Norton he enjoyedhimself so much that he took up an offer to ride aDucati in the 1977 Castrol Six Hour Race at Ama-roo Park in new South Wales. Co-riding with JimScaysbrook,riding on the Moreparts Ducati750SS he finished sixth outright and third in the750 class. Mike also raced the same bike at the1978 Adelaide Three Hour and the 1978 CastrolSix Hour - the same year he made his historic re-turn to the Isle of Man where he won the FormulaOne TT on a works NCR Ducati.

In one of the sport’s greatest ironies, the man who had sur-vived one of the most dangerous motor sport eras on bothtwo and four wheels, died with his young daughter in a mo-torway accident in England in 1981.

The Ducati shown was purchased new from the Australianimporters by the Newcastle motorcycle salvage firm More-parts.

See the bike at the Motorcycling Australia Museumwebsite.

Mike Hailwood’s Ducati750SS. Arguably oneof the most significantracing bikes in the world.When the late MikeHailwood made hiscelebrated comeback toracing in 1977, he did iton this Ducati 750SSat the famed AustralianCastrol 6-hour ProductionRace.

1977 XR22 RGAhp/rpmSpeed - mphWeight - kg

Suzuki's GP racer for 1977 ridden by factory riders Barry Sheeneand Pat Hennen (Team Herron-Texaco-Suzuki GB)

Suzuki's new bike was named the XR22 and was better known as the RGA500. The bike was an advance on thesuccesful XR14. Suzuki had made major engine changes, although the engine was still a "square four" and the bore andstroke was still 54 x 54mm but this is where the resemblance stops. To make the engine more compact and to lowerthe centre of gravity the front cylinders were placed down lower. The lower centre of gravity reduced front wheeliesand improved cornering. This "stepped cylinder” design also improved engine cooling. The gearbox was redesignedhaving a cassette type arrangement, which made it possible to remove the gear cluster and to change gear ratios in twenty minutes.

The chassis was also modified. The front disc brakes were 5mm larger in diameter and the rear disc 10mm smaller in diameter. These changes were possible because the tyre technology had improved and could cope with the higherbrake forces. The rear had been"over braked" on the XR14.

The fairing was fitted with a pair of 'wings' and the nose was lowerd to improve airflow. The new fairing gave the bikemore downforce and straight end stability.

The 1978 season started well for Pat Hennan on the XR22 but a serious crash in the Isle of Man TT ended the popularAmerican’s racing career.

Barry Sheene came 2nd in the 500 GPWorld Championship for 1978

First published 1922 - Author - CK Shepherd

To be continued

The mail always gets through!

For Sale: Suzuki GT750M - I have receipts for over $25k everything that could be done has been andI have a lot of NOS spares including an exhaust system.

Contact Norm Tyler mobile Ph: 0431 363652 Western Australia

One most spectacular shot - Daytona 1973

Classic Motorcycles - A to Z

Some links

Classic Suzuki Two Strokes Compendium

Classic Suzuki Two Strokes Online Forum

The Eagle’s Nest - Moto Guzzi Motorcycles