48 / CYCLE WORLD
Don’t believe me? Four-time AMA superbike champion
Josh Hayes, on hand to race in the International Challenge,
will be the first to tell you: “There’s nothing about mod-
ern superbikes that I found relevant to these platforms
because the whole ideology of how to ride them was so
much different. You sit so far in the back of the classic
bike versus over the front of the modern bike where you
can actually get weight onto the fork...but it’s incredibly
stable and turns really well, and I found myself tipping
in earlier than I do on other motorcycles because that’s
where it’s happy.”and that a single Öhlins superbike shock with a custom
Phillip Island valve spec handles damping needs.
And while the oil-and-smoke generator you might
expect in a Suzuki XR69 frame would be an engine
from the same maker, crammed inside this XR chassis
is a big-bore 1983 Yamaha FJ1100 engine punched out
to 1,250cc and worth 160 air-cooled horses at the rear
wheel. Period correct? Not exactly, but it makes bud-
getary sense for vintage enthusiasts and offers better
reliability than the original Suzuki GS1000 powerplant—
though some teams do run Suzuki engines. Built accord-
ing to Island Classic rules, the FJ is packed with race-
spec cams, high-compression pistons, a slipper clutch,
and 38 mm Mikuni flat-slide carburetors.
Despite updating the XR69/FJ-hybrids with a modern
approach, current-day literbike riding experience means
little on these “old” XRs.
“Current-day literbike riding experience
means little on these ‘old’ XRs”
ABOVE: Knee down, ripping the XR over Phillip Island’s famous
Lukey Heights. RIGHT: A poor start meant picking through a field
of adept riders. Ahead is former British Superbike champion John
Reynolds, American Mark Miller, and fellow journo Michael Neeves.