It was the year 1976, it is the 500 World Championship won by a rider who would literally revolutionize the Grand Prix Circus: Barry Sheene, the legendary number 7 who would become legendary for having given Suzuki his first world champion in the Queen Class.
This is a "working" 1976 Suzuki RG500 square 2 stroke, codenamed XR14, the real bike that won Barry Sheene the first of his two first-class world titles. Since then, however, it has been on display and nothing damages a show car of any kind worse than standing still.
In this case, the Suzuki was left standing for at least a decade with the coolant in the radiator, which not only caused severe corrosion of the magnesium crankcases, but also got into the gearbox when the water pump gasket failed due to exposure to UV wavelengths to sunlight and formed a thick, sticky emulsion with gear oil.
The 1976 XR14 had a 497cc four-cylinder engine with disc valves and outward-facing carburetors, delivering 75 kW at 11,500 rpm, with a power band, to quote Sheene himself, "as wide as the genitals of a chocolate mouse, "driving through a limited change to class rules at only six speeds.
Yet, with its slim steel tube frame and swing arm, it weighed just 135kg, giving it a weight-to-power ratio of 750kW / ton and a top speed of 280km / h on long circuits like Spa Francorchamps and Assen. . Respect.
four-stroke??? Direi two. Semplicemente splendida
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