Arubberstrap,clippedtotheinsideofthe
tankandloopingroundabracketreplacesthe
bungeecordofearliermodels, muchneater.Wealwaysknewfactory
bikeswerespecialbut
onlycloseinspection
showshowspecial.as we allknewworks bikeswerehand-built
beasts bristlingwithsuchrefinementsand
likelytobesnarlingbeastswhenunder power
andonlyable to be riddenbysuper-heroes.
Andthe realityClive?“It’saneasytoride
machine,”saysMrBussey, “lotsofpower yes
butitismanageable,whenyou thinkabout
it,aworks bike hastobemanageable as
there’slittlepointinthe riderhavingtoghtfi
thebikeaswellasthe track,while trying to
keep ahead of theopposition.” Yesweknow
thetalentofaworks team member is such
that problemscan be overcome butgenerally
that’s becausecircumstance hasdictatedthis
–aspill perhaps–ratherthanadifficult to ride
bike beingdesignedatthe outset.Justsucha
scenariowould befall Suzukiatthe startofthe
1973 season when de Coster wassetting out
to defend hischampionship.
Allthe work done by Suzukiresultedinabike
weighing 180lband thanks to an understanding
of things such as air-box volume andits effecton engine performance–the 1972 boxwas
much lessrestrictivethan previous ones–the
factoryhad great hopesfor successinthe
comingseason. At least until theFIM placeda
minimum weight limitonGPbikes.Suzukihad
already builtand despatchedtheir team bikes
to Europe forthe season when news of the
newrulebroke.
With no time to redesign or buildnew bikes,
somehowaround30lb–orjustover 13kg –
had to be added to thebikes.Titaniumbolts
werereplacedwithsteel,alloy toobecame
steeland eventhe frametubes andengine
cavitieswerefilled withlead. Theresultmet
therequirementsbut accordingtoaninterview
withdeCoster “...the1973bikewasn’tas
good andlead to Suzuki experimentingwith
longer suspension...”Legendhas it theweight
limitwas introduced afterpressurefrom
European factories butSuzukiand de Coster
shone in adversity andhetookhis thirdworld
championship.39
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