The second half of the video restoration of the ex-Barry Sheene Suzuki XR14 has been released showing the completion of Suzuki’s work on the bike.
This particular Sheene Suzuki is still owned by Barry’s family. It’s the bike he rode to victory in the 1976 World Championship. In this second half of the on-video restoration we get to see the revamped bike being started for the first time after its rebuild. You can see the first half of the video here.
The bike came to the UK last year as part of Suzuki’s 40th anniversary celebrations of that 1976 title win. Rather than sending it straight back, Suzuki opted to restore the bike to promote its new Vintage Parts Programme which provides components for a range of older Suzuki models.
The Sheene Suzuki will now appear at a selection of events over the summer, including the Sheene Festival at the Oliver’s Mount circuit. It will also be at the Donington Park Classic Motorcycle Show and the British Grand Prix in August.
All the restoration work has been done under the direction of Martyn Ogborne. He was Sheene’s mechanic during the 1976 season so knows the bike better than anyone. It took four wins that year on the way to the overall championship victory.
