MODERN VINTAGE
Seven years after the launch of Suzuki’s Vintage Parts Programme, we ride two unique project bikes to find out if they go as well as they look: and all at the wonderful Sywell Pistons and Props event!
Stuart Barker rides two very special Suzukis, courtesy of the Vintage Parts Programme.
Suzuki’s Vintage Parts programme was launched in 2013 to highlight just how many new/old parts the manufacturer still has available for sale – over 10,000 of them, as it happens. Suzuki’s plan was to make it easier for us modern classic restorers to get our hands on original parts for their ever-growing ‘classic’ models. “We launched the programme to highlight just how many new, genuine parts for older Suzukis were still available, and competitively priced,” explains Tim Davies, Suzuki GB’S aftersales coordinator. “We wanted to help owners restoring bikes do it properly. So we’ve taken new photographs of every part on the programme, created parts lists, and made workshop manuals available to download to help owners carry out work.”
The programme now covers a wide range of bikes from RGV250S and RG500S to GSX-R750S, Katanas, Bandits and TL1000S. But even if the bike you want to restore – or simply want some parts for – is not yet listed on the Vintage Parts website (shopvintage.suzuki.co.uk), it’s still worth getting in touch. “If you have a Suzuki that’s not on there, it doesn’t mean parts are not available. The best thing to do is create a wish-list and take it to your local Suzuki dealership, who can check our stock, or also stock available in Europe. We had a customer after a cylinder and lower fairing for an RG500, and we had them sat, brand new, in our UK warehouse. If there’s something you need, just ask us about it. You may be surprised what’s still available.”
We rode two different bikes that have been built by Team Classic Suzuki in collaboration with Suzuki Vintage Parts – a TL1000S and a Katana GSX1100SD. The TL was built from scratch using new-old parts and the Katana is a specially built race bike with a host of additional performance parts. But do they run as good as they look? We took to the runway at Sywell Aerodrome and to the roads surrounding the Northamptonshire airfield to find out.
Suzuki TL1000S
This was the first bike to be built in front of crowds at Motorcycle Live in 2014 to showcase Suzuki’s Vintage Parts programme and to highlight just how many parts are still available for older bikes. The TL1000S was built using 1600 completely new OE parts from stock. The only part which had to be made was the wiring loom, which was supplied by Suzuki Motor Corporation. SMC produced a limited run so there are now some available.
The TL1000S had a bit of a bad boy reputation when it came out in 1997, thanks to reports of owners having vicious tank-slappers on the bike. A steering damper and a slight detune of the engine largely solved this problem and after these issues had been addressed, the TL was a great bike.
I remember riding it in 1997 and thinking it felt really fast, but 23 years later it feels like a pussycat with its modest and quite lazy-feeling, 125bhp V-twin engine. It’s nothing like the fierce beast its reputation would once have had you believe, although the poor rear shock on original models can still lead to some unwanted moments if you’re pushing on a bit.
The riding position is fairly relaxed compared to hard-core sports bikes of today and the punchy engine (which is used in Suzuki’s V-strom range in a re-tuned state) works really well on real world roads.
The TL has a bit of a cult following, largely thanks to its earlier ‘bad boy’ reputation, but you can still pick one up for under three grand and it’s a lot of bike for that kind of money. If you’re looking at buying a second-hand one, be aware that the original 1997 is the most sought after (and therefore the most expensive) as the later bikes were slightly de-tuned to address the handling problems reported by some owners. The 97 bike is the only full-power model available and the one that led to the TL’S fearsome reputation.
It’s a strange experience riding a new/old bike. Normally with a bike of this vintage you’d expect it to feel a bit dog-eared and loose, but as this is a new build it’s as tight and vibration-free as any other new model. It’s also absolutely mint and a perfect justification of the Vintage Parts Programme and the idea behind it.
Team Classic Suzuki Katana GSX1100SD
This unique bike was built at Motorcycle Live in 2016 for the following year’s European Classic Endurance series and has since been raced by the likes of Guy Martin, John Reynolds, Steve Parrish and Jamie Whitham. It won a race at Oschersleben and was even raced in the 2018 Classic TT by the Carl Cox Motorsport team.
As the bike isn’t road legal, I was given a chance to ride it at Sywell Aerodrome in Northamptonshire as part of the Pistons and Props weekend (classic bikes and cars with a bit of aerobatics thrown in
– and a jolly good day out, too).
The first thing to strike me was the noise. Jeez, but it’s loud and sounds so angry when fired up with its left-bar mounted electric starter. The next thing I notice n is how firm it is – from the spartan bit of foam padding p that constitutes a seat to the rock-hard K-tech K suspension set up, it’s obvious that this is a proper p race bike.
Again, many parts were supplied by Suzuki Vintage V Parts and the bike was built by Steve Wheatman’s W Team Classic Suzuki outfit. It uses a GSX1100SD G bored out to 1170cc and has higherl ift cams and stainless steel valves. Everything else i n the engine was supplied by the Vintage Parts programme, p including the con-rods, main bearings and a big end bearings on the rebuilt crank.
The bike uses the same basic frame as the original Katana, K but with adjustments made to the headstock. The T swingarm was custom-made by Sweet Fabrications to t allow for more ground clearance and better handling, h and the magnesium wheels are by Dymag.
Sadly, the bike was suffering from a misfire when I rode r it as the battery connection had worked slightly l oose. But I still got an idea of how fast the bike was before b the problem developed and it was seriously i mpressive. Well, you don’t win races with a slow bike, b do you?
Katanas still have a cult following and there’s probably p no better looking one than this anywhere. Not N only is it a fresh build and dripping with specialist s parts, but when finished in those Team Classic C Suzuki colours it really is a work of art.