IN ANSWER TO JACK #1
Dear CR
I write regarding the letter in issue 198 from Jack Mcgahan who was asking which motorcycle Barry Sheene was standing next to in issue 196.
The machine is in fact the first Suzuki RG500 (XR14) square four and the photo was taken at the Suzuki test track at Ryuyo in Japan at the first tests of said machine; other riders at the test were Paul Smart and Cliff Carr. During the test Barry Sheene collided with a pheasant which smashed the fairing’s screen.
The date was early in 1974, and during the testing Sheene broke the best ever time at the track by 1.5 seconds.
PW Selley