#classicsuzuki

Castle Combe, Sep 2020.

The second and final club meeting of the year at Castle Combe in Wiltshire happened last weekend. I was going anyway on the Suzuki GSXR1000 but when Richard called and asked me to ride this icon I couldn’t refuse. 

I have been racing against Rich for a few years now in the Sound of Thunder class on my KTM and Ducati 959 but this year I am on an inline 4 so have left the class. Unfortunately Rich had a little off, right in front of me, at Cadwell Park a few weeks back and broke his radius. He has a cast on and the bike still bears the scars. 

He wanted to see the TL run in a couple of classes at Castle Combe as he couldn’t ride himself. I was the designated jockey so took up the challenge. 

I always wanted one as a road bike when I first started riding but never got any further than dreaming and looking through the classifieds in MCN. To ride one was a treat, but to race one was even better. 

Compared to my modern GSXR1000 it is a bit agricultural to say the least but it should’t be anything else given its age. It has a quick shifter and a decent rear shock so handled well enough. The carbon wheels make a huge difference to handling too. Once I got back into blipping the throttle again on downshifts we were away. 

I qualified fairly well and was all up for a decent race in the Sound of Thunder but the quick shifter came away from the shift rod on lap one so that ended that race. I had another opportunity in the FP2 class for older twins so made a better job of it. Initially I dropped back to 7th but once I started to get going and disregarded the clutch lever on downshifts I started to make progress. Simply blipping the throttle without using the clutch was good enough to enable smooth gear changes so I could concentrate on catching and passing rivals. I made it to 3rd in class and was lapping at almost the same pace as the leaders by the end of the race. 

An enjoyable experience riding something that I have never had chance to. The only downside was jumping between bikes. I went for a blip and/or clutch on a few occasions after getting back on the GSXR and that doesn't work too well when you have an auto-blipper. Thankfully I only did it a couple of times before I realised it would probably not end well if I kept doing it. 

New Post has been published on http://superbike-news.co.uk/wordpress/new-team-classic-suzuki-clothing-range-launched/

New Team Classic Suzuki clothing range launched

Suzuki has launched its brand new Team Classic Suzuki clothing range, the newest collection featuring jackets (£80), fleeces (£55), t-shirts (£25), and polos (£30), plus a backpack (£35), cap (£15), and umbrella (£20) for the rainy days.

Moving away from the more retro design of the previous collection, the latest lines are a classy black and adorned with subtle branding, including the Team Classic Suzuki logo, the immediately recognisable stripes mimicking the race bike livery, and the logos of a number of team partners including Suzuki’s Vintage Parts Programme.

First debuted by the team at the Classic TT on the Isle of Man – with Danny Webb and Phil Crowe aboard the team’s RG500 and XR69 – the new range is now available to purchase through authorised Suzuki dealerships and via Suzuki’s online shop.

Suzuki GB’s e-commerce and merchandise manager, Emma Gibbon, said,“Team Classic Suzuki has really captured the hearts and imaginations of Suzuki fans – both in the UK and globally – with the team racing at a number of events and involving customers with track days and shows, too. The clothing range has been popular for a number of years, and we’re really pleased to be able to evolve it and offer a new style for 2019 onwards, allowing fans to show their affiliation everywhere from trackside to the school run.”

For more information on the new Team Classic Suzuki clothing range, click here.

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