A moment with Barry Sheene's championship winning Suzuki

One bike which demanded a double-take on Thursday morning was this lovely 1973 Seeley-Suzuki TR500. Firstly, it’s a gorgeous looking bike with its polished chrome tank, clean white fairing and bright red tail. Secondly, accompanying the bike is a picture of British motorcycling’s most recognisable and famous sons – Mr Barry Sheene MBE.

Motorcycling lunatic, playboy, maverick, a bionic-man capable of surviving even the most brutal offs, Barry Sheene was known as many things, but one undeniable fact is that he was, and still is, an icon of motorcycle racing.

He competed at the highest level during the notoriously dangerous 1970s and won two consecutive 500cc titles in ’76 and ’77 in the process.

To illustrate just how treacherous it was to ride these things fast, Sheene’s mechanic kept a record of deaths in the Suzuki GB Race Team from 1969 to 1988. The final gruesome tally was 62. A terrifying statistic.

Prior to his wins in ’76 and ’77 however, Sheene’s most successful year was in 1973. It was his first season as a works supported Suzuki rider, a partnership which would turn into a world-beating pairing in years to come.

Aboard this air-cooled twin Suzuki TR500 and a 750cc water-cooled triple, Sheene would win the FIM formula 750 title, the MCN Superbike title, and the Shell Sport Championship, become joint winner of the Bill Ivy Trophy, finally rounding things off by being crowned King of Brands and MCN man of the year. Not too shabby a haul for 12 months of racing. 

Despite sharing his time between the 750 and the 500, it was the smaller of the two bikes which Sheene would grow to love. He is said to have described the Seeley-Suzuki TR500 “The best-handling motorcycle he had ever ridden”. High praise indeed for Colin Seeley – regarded as the world’s greatest engineers of the age – who was responsible for the chassis on both the 750 and 500 machines.

It was the superior handling of the bike, and its nimble characteristics that would help Sheene win the 40 lap 1000cc Hutchinson 100 Mellano Trophy on the TR500 in the pouring rain. A remarkable achievement for the smaller bike which outperformed more powerful, larger, heavier machines in soaking conditions. The TR500 even carried Sheene to his first victory over the dominant Giacomo Agostini, who is riding here at Festival of Speed with his famous MV Agusta 500.

All that’s left to say about this brilliant example of classic motorcycle engineering is this.  Make sure you catch a glimpse as it makes its way up the hill, and enjoy the memories of the late, great Barry Sheene as it braps past. We certainly will. 

Photography by James Lynch