1971 SUZUKI T350
Our Scoop on the pretty Suzuki two-stroke.
It’s strange how certain motorcycle models seem to highlight or chart your biking experiences. For me Suzuki’s oft overlooked T350 has always been one of the coolest machines of the period but for very different reasons. But until today I’ve never had the opportunity to ride one. Back in the day, following the agreed part exchange value of my Mobylette moped I was racked with uncertainty about whether to go for the Suzuki GT250K or the Yamaha RD200. Both sat in the windows of Clarkes of St Albans. Both looked stunning but it was a well-used T350 Rebel in the back of the shop that really grabbed my eye. Candy Pearl Orange and white with loads of chrome it stopped me dead in my tracks; it was so damn cool. Well, until the old man pushed me towards the counter and told me to make a decision. In the end our very own John Nutting’s review of the RD won the day and the T350 was forgotten in the euphoria of my first proper motorcycle. Fast forward a few years and our local pack of ne’er-do-wells are at our favourite haunt when this French fella pulls up on a blue T350 and starts chatting. He’d ridden from central France to the UK for his annual break and wanted to meet English riders. Wearing a pudding basin lid, tinted goggles, neckerchief and tailored leather jacket he oozed cool chic. This was confirmed by the fact that the local
talent threw themselves at Jean-louis and his Suzuki Rebel. He returned for several summers and always looked dashingly fashionable on the immaculate high mileage Suzuki. I envied him both style and his bike. Over the thick end of almost four decades I’ve carried a slow burning torch for Suzuki’s forgotten twin and now I’m finally getting the opportunity to ride one. Jean-louis I am not, there’s no 70s floozies ready to throw themselves at me or ready to ride pillion and I’m no style king but I’m smiling like a fool and feeling like a teenager. Bring it all on! If you enjoy your 70s bikes I defy anyone not to like a nicely turned out T350 Rebel. In my book they all look drop dead gorgeous but the later ones have a certain style to them. In reality they are a cross over or halfway house between the T20/hustler and the GT250 of 1973. The more you study owner John Bramall’s bike the more GT you see. Faux air grilles on what will soon be GT side panels nudge up against a tank profile that’ll soon be gripped by legions of learners’ knees. In reality the final years of the T350 were to be a proving ground for the GT250’S emergent profile. Our test bike sits in the sun looking like the brochure shot you snaffled from your local dealer. The vibrant white sets off the Candy Jackal Blue paint (turquoise to you and I) perfectly and the chrome sparkles. The bike represents the peak of the concept the honed and polished art form that was the piston-ported two-stroke twin. Everything you needed was there but nothing superfluous was added. Simple, elegant and visually striking the bike could also be devastatingly effective in the right hands. And this was unquestionably proven in the prestigious Australian Castrol six hour endurance race when a lightly blue printed T350 beat Z1s and TZ750S… cubes aren’t everything! Before we get down to business it’s worth recalling why the T350 exists and what it was up against. In Suzuki’s world the bike was effectively a range stuffer between the T250 and the T500. Kawasaki had run first with the A7 338cc twin and then the S2, Yamaha had initially offered the YR1/2/3 then totally revised everything with the YR5 leaving Honda to provide a four-stroke option with the 325cc CB350 range. Remote, aloof and almost inaccessible Bridgestone’s divine 350s were always a league apart. The post 250/sub 500 market was big business in many countries yet four out of five
250s. Suzuki had clung onto this approach longer than its stinkwheels competitors with the T350 leaving Honda as the last to hold the baton with the CB350 which finally grew up circa 1975 when the CB360G5 entered the fray. Suzuki’s best shot was to take the Hustler’s pots out as far as they could reasonably be stretched to 315cc. So the question that hangs in the air is this? Does that 35ccs mean much in terms of performance? After all that’s a 10% reduction in the proclaimed capacity on our test bike’s side panels. And is the Hustler’s chassis capable of handling a quoted 39bhp without issue and are the brakes up to the job? There’s only one way we’ll find out. No need to turn on the gas, the tap’s vacuum operated but we’ll have the carb-mounted chokes open to commence the festivities. Key in the lock below the tank and turn out the left hand side kick starter. One decent swing and the motor is running beautifully; flick the choke off ASAP. Allowing the on but aside from that the engine sounds perfect. Cast an eye over the bike and it has the same corporate look of pretty much any pre GT sports twin. The only evidence of anything unusual or different is the head fins which are angled to force air over the tops of the combustion chambers. Take the bike off its stand and notice both how high the bars are and how much movement their rubber mounts allow. The latter is Suzuki’s sensible acknowledgment that stroker twins do indeed vibrate. Settle into the relatively low comfortable saddle and immediately those bars set you into what feels like an aggressive stance. It’s initially a strange position to adopt and nothing like my erstwhile T500R’S set up. Okay that’s all sussed out so let’s see just what the T350 is like in action. Typically light clutch action allows first gear to be accessed almost noiselessly and we’re away. Snicking up through the box but not accelerating too hard the bike makes more than adequate progress with no drama or foibles. There are just a couple of
things that immediately stand out. Firstly my knees are above the tank which seems a little ungainly until you get used to it. The second quirk is the way the needles occasionally jump around the faces of the clocks. Initial impressions are that the bike is light, readily manoeuvrable and requires little conscious effort to ride. After a couple of sighting runs on our chosen test route photographer Joe gets himself positioned while I begin to explore the bike’s potential and abilities. For a bike first drawn up in the latter portion of the 60s, it feels substantially less stolid than either a CB350 or any of the earlier YR series. It can almost be thought through bends but remains stable without any shakes or wobbles even when pushed relatively hard. Although the suspension is ultimately of the period it feels predictable, compliant and comfortable but perhaps it’ll be advisable not to push my luck too much. This example is a one owner from new bike that’s undergone a full resto and I’ve no desire to explore the springing and damping to the limit; it simply wouldn’t be prudent. So I’ll be riding well within both of our capabilities and avoiding anything approaching the ragged edge. If speed needs to be scrubbed off then the front anchor is the chap to rely on. It’s some way better than average with good feel and bite; I’d set it only a few points below a comparable Yamaha twin-leading shoe unit of the period. The rear single-leading shoe drum is like many I’ve encountered, slightly vague and woolly. Yes, it does the job but not in the same confident manner of a rod operated unit. Frankly amazing for the period both the exhaust and inlet system of the T350 are notably quiet. There’s little apparent inlet roar; the exhausts simply burble away behind you and the aforementioned fin ringing gets lost with speed. If that’s relatively unusual for the period it’s nothing compared to that motor. Simply put it punches well above its weight and never fails impress. It is super crisp and pulls like the veritable steam engine, almost relentlessly driving forward in direct and instant response to the throttle. For an apparently simple piston ported stroker it’s truly a class act and unlike its 250cc cousin there is little or no obvious power band. Without having the barrels and heads off both machines in front of you it’d be impossible to state with confidence what level of tune each is in. However, I’d stick my neck out and say the T250 was ported to give learners an instant fix of acceleration while the T350 was designed to satisfy a mature rider. I can now see how Jean-louis was able to ride so easily from France to the UK all those years ago. The bike is a delight to pilot with enough power to keep you on the boil but never too much of it at the wrong time to unsettle the plot. Of its peers and excluding the Bridgestone which I’ve yet to ride I’ll go on record and say that, overall, the Suzuki T350 is the best of the bunch. Less feral than an S2, fresher than a YR5 and more exciting than a CB350 it’s hugely entertaining. Its lack of mass makes it easier to ride than a T500 and it’s not too far away from a high powered T200 Invader… and that is a true honour. So does the bike suffer from that 10% lack in capacity? Not one bit, it’s a true class act. Rare as a chicken’s dentures, pretty as you like and a true gem I reckon the T350 is a bona fide Rebel with a cause!