The Suzuki TR750 was a racing motorcycle from the Japanese manufacturer

Suzuki is a Japan, Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Minami-ku, Hamamatsu, Japan. Suzuki manufactures automobiles, motorcycles, All-terrain vehicle, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), outboard motor, outboard marine engines, wheelchairs ...

, which was developed for

Formula 750 Formula 750 was a FIM motorcycle road racing series based on a 750 cubic centimeter engine capacity. History The series began in 1971 as a collaboration between the American Motorcyclist Association and the Auto Cycle Union. The FIM adopte ...

racing. The machine was first raced at the 1972

Daytona 200 The Daytona 200 is an annual motorcycle road racing competition held in early spring at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. The race was founded in 1937 when it was sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association ...

Barry Sheene Barry Steven Frank Sheene (11 September 1950 – 10 March 2003) was a British professional motorcycle racer. He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the premier class of motorcycle road racing even ...

won the 1973 season and was runner-up in 1975.

History and Technology

The motorcycle, designated ''XR 11'' within the group, was developed from the

Suzuki GT750 The Suzuki GT750 is a water-cooled three-cylinder two-stroke motorcycle made by Suzuki from 1971 to 1977. It is the first Japanese motorcycle with a liquid-cooled engine. The Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan includes the 1971 Suzuki GT7 ...

road model, but none of the components were interchangeable. The performance-enhanced

water-cooled Cooling tower and water discharge of a nuclear power plant Water cooling is a method of heat removal from components and industrial equipment. Evaporative cooling using water is often more efficient than air cooling. Water is inexpensive and non ...

in-line three-cylinder

two-stroke engine A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being completed in one revolution of t ...

had contactless thyristor

magneto A magneto is an electrical generator that uses permanent magnets to produce periodic pulses of alternating current. Unlike a dynamo, a magneto does not contain a commutator to produce direct current. It is categorized as a form of alternator, ...

ignition and fuel was delivered via three 32 mm Mikuni carburettors. As with the production model, lubrication was carried out using fresh oil, the Suzuki CCI system (Crankshaft Cylinder Injection). The power was transferred to the rear wheel via a

dry clutch A clutch is a mechanical device that engages and disengages power transmission, especially from a drive shaft to a driven shaft. In the simplest application, clutches connect and disconnect two rotating shafts (drive shafts or line shafts). ...

and a five-speed

gearbox Propulsion transmission is the mode of transmitting and controlling propulsion power of a machine. The term ''transmission'' properly refers to the whole drivetrain, including clutch, gearbox, prop shaft (for rear-wheel drive vehicles), differe ...

. The usable speed range ranged from 6000 to 7500 rpm, the maximum torque (93 Nm) was reached at 7000 rpm. The double-loop tubular frame from the series had been lightened in order to reduce weight. Dunlop race tires, 3.25–18 at the front and 3.50–18 at the rear, were fitted. The chassis did not do justice to the "brute" performance. When it debuted, the Suzuki TR 750 was nicknamed the "Flexi-Flyer". "The catastrophic driving characteristics of the fastest racing machine of its time resulted from an unfavourable

weight distribution Weight distribution is the apportioning of weight within a vehicle, especially cars, airplanes An airplane or aeroplane (informally plane) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocke ...

in connection with a high centre of gravity."

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{cite book , last1=Walker , first1=Mick , title=Japanese Production Racing Motorcycles , publisher=Redline Books , isbn=978-0-9544357-0-7 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TB2v4CR7K4kC&q=suzuki+tr750&pg=PA154 , language=en, year=2004 TR750 Racing motorcycles