The world’s toughest road test, Motorcycle Sport, June 1974

Why would anyone go to Death Valley – the Devil’s Oven, the hottest place on Earth – in the middle of July? Fact: 134 degrees was seen on a nervous thermometer in Death Valley on July 9, 1913, setting a new world record.

…Nowhere in the world is as terrifyingly hot as Death Valley, the devil’s own dreaded furnace that has stopped many a modern traveller by welding pistons to cylinders. Would a motorcycle live through it? A big two-stroke, no less? In July?

Curiously, out of the many Suzuki T500 owners that I’ve rapped with over the years since its first importation, not one, amazingly, was dissatisfied with his mount. Now this fact alone is astonishing in itself but even more so – upon further questioning – was their vehement praise of the 492cc two-stroke twin’s ability to survive any type of tortuous road going.

Lacking the supposedly vital advantage of the four-stroke’s cooling cycle between firing strokes, this much-unheralded (by the press) machine was touted by owners as more than a match for any motorcycle going in terms of being unbreakable.

I sought the absolute truth, hence this test, the most gruelling ever throttled by a motorcyclist staffer to date. ‘Make it or break it’ was to be my criteria, and dammit, those Suzuki enthusiasts better not be exaggerating even one teensy little bit...

But first things first… The Suzuki had to pass a few preliminary shakedowns: a truth run on the dyno and a day at Irwindale Raceway. (Note: Here followed power and torque figures and the writer’s opinion that the T500 is ‘quicker than 99% of ALL motor vehicles on the road today’.)

If the T500 stumbled or even hinted of a malfunction during these early prelims, there was absolutely no way I would take the chance of risking Death Valley, not on my life. But so effortlessly did it perform during its two-week baptismal, logging 1852 miles without hint of trouble, that the valley no longer seemed all that threatening.

(Note: A paragraph follows about how comfortable the T500 was, how economical it was on fuel and lube from the Posi-Force oil tank. The handlebars were nicely shaped, the seat was comfy and the vibration barely discernible. Now the ride begins…)

The Suzuki and I left behind the crowded comforts of Los Angeles and by the time we reached the Mojave, the temperature at a local gas station peaked at 105 (40.5C) degrees, according to an indoor thermometer!

After arriving there in Trona and topping up with fuel and listening to the gas jock (Note: I can never remember having heard

anyone utter the phrase gas jock) say as we pulled out: “Death Valley dead ahead, Furnace Creek 90 miles.” Traffic disappeared. Pushing the Suzuki to its top speed capability, its speedometer reached 105mph.

On the level straights I pushed the T500 relentlessly, all it would go. On the twisty sleepers it was allowed to slow to what seemed like a 70mph walking pace – until we reached Death Valley’s obstacle course tip-toe hairpins. That’s when speed was dropped to 50mph and the Suzuki’s abundance of ground clearance became obvious – nothing scrapes when leaned hard over.

The T500 was cruising effortlessly at 90mph, cool as an ice cube. I was dying!

Heat was frying my hands inside protective gloves; the handlebars were getting too hot to hold. I couldn’t breathe. With a ground temperature of 180 degrees (82.2C) and an outside temp of 133 degrees (56.1C), the onrushing wind was suffocating inside the Bell Star. Death Valley’s heat was really that intense.

That night I thought back to what I had learned about the T500’s character. For one

thing, it could be a refrigerator if it wasn’t a motorcycle: it was that cool. I figure it could survive running flat-out Hades itself!

The next day it was ridden to Stovepipe Wells and back at 90mph. The smooth twin streaked, without seizing, without overheating, without straining, back and forth – totally unfazed by the most diabolical road in the world.

The Suzuki T500 – The Refrigerator – had conquered Death Valley! The beauty of the T500 lies not in its cosmetic makeup, but in its inner strength.

Its stout heart is unbreakable.