Suzuki Daytona Racers

Suzuki T 500 Daytona 1971 - 73

With the boom in large motorcycles in the United States, Suzuki, like Honda, realized that racing victories made good advertising, arousing interest and boosting sales. Suzuki had a two-cylinder, two-stroke touring 500 in its catalog as early as 1969. The company developed a racing model from the production version and put it into American races, where the Suzuki 500 often beat its rivals.

In 1971 Suzuki sent an official team to the Daytona Beach 200 Miles, but the team's performance was disappointing. In the world championship that year, several Titan Daytonas were raced by motorcyclists who had been hired by European importers. They turned in fine performances but failed to challenge MV Agusta's supremacy. Jack Findlay rode a Titan Daytona privately to win the Ulster Grand Prix after Giacomo Agostini's withdrawal from the race diminished the mightiness of MV Agusta.

At the end of the 1971 championship, Titans raced by the Englishman Thurner, the Dutchman Bron, and the Australian Findlay were in second, third, and fifth place, respectively, in the classification.
With these successes, an updated engine was prepared with water cooling, six-speed transmission, and dry clutch. The new engine generated 80 h.p.

Motorcycle: Suzuki T 500 Daytona Manufacturer: Suzuki Motor Co. Ltd.,
Hamamatsu Type: Racing and Formula Daytona Year: 1971
Engine: Suzuki two-cylinder, two-stroke, with cross-port distribution. Displacement 492.6 cc. (70 mm. x 64 mm.)
Cooling: Air
Transmission: Five-speed block
Power: 70 h.p. at 8,000 r.p.m.
Maximum speed: Over 160 m.p.h.
Chassis: Double cradle, continuous, tubular. Front and rear, telescopic suspension
Brakes: Front, central drum, four shoes, four-cam; rear, central drum, double cam

Suzuki TR 750 Daytona 1972

For the 1972 edition of the annual Daytona 200, the most important motorcycle race in the United States, Suzuki built a two-stroke, three-cylinder 750 that was directly derived from its largest production model. With its 100 h.p. and a top speed near 190 m.p.h., the motorcycle looked like the toughest competition for the semiofficial Honda 750, the Harley-Davidson two-cylinder 750, and the Kawasaki two-stroke, three-cylinder 750, which had the same power as the Suzuki.

At the 1972 Daytona trials the Suzuki TR 750 won the first three starting positions, as had been predicted. The Kawasakis were right behind.
But during the race all the big Japanese motorcycles had to withdraw with engine and tire problems. A Yamaha 350 driven privately by an unknown racer, Don Emde, came in first.
The Suzuki TR 750 had ups and downs in luck and in performance. Its engine was modified several times, but the motorcycle never performed on a par with other Suzukis. The only positive result in years of racing came in 1973, when it won the FIM Trophy, a kind of Formula 750 championship.

Motorcycle: Suzuki Daytona TR 750 Manufacturer: Suzuki Motor Co. Ltd.,
Hamamatsu Type: Daytona and Formula FIM 750 Year: 1972 Engine: Suzuki three-cylinder, two-stroke, with cross-port distribution. Displacement 738.9 cc. (70 mm. x 64 mm.) Cooling: Water
Transmission: Five-speed block
Power: 100 h.p. at 8,000 r.p.m.
Maximum speed: Over 175 m.p.h.
Chassis: Double cradle, continuous, tubular. Front and rear, telescopic suspension
Brakes: Front, double hydraulic disk; rear, single hydraulic disk