Very, very nice, thank you. Hugely impressed with your cylinder/piston/headwork! During the early seventies I raced a T20 at the professional level on half-mile dirt track in California (Ascot Park). When I bought the bike the engine was in a Sonicweld rigid frame and was fitted with Keihin remote bowl carbies and the Suzuki racing kit cylinders (bridged ex. ports) and heads (we called them 'Grant' heads/cyls, perhaps because Ron Grant was selling them...?). Anyway, first thing I did was ditch the Sonicweld for a Trackmaster frame and mount a pair of 28mm Mikuni round slides. Large expansion chambers, both on the right side, no mufflers. I also ran Wiseco pistons which had two very thin rings (replaced after every race). Magneto on crank. The standard primary gears had a slot ground down the middle, perhaps to reduce friction/side loading? No brakes at either end, compression releases only. First time I rode it scared me to death! Incredible power. In those days, first-year pros were restricted to 250s and most guys were riding singles. My Suzuki was so fast that when I rolled up to the starting line I just looked to see if there were any Yamaha twins in the race (TD-2s or TD-3s), if not, none of the guys on their singles stood a chance against my T20. As I recall, however, there were few, if any, other T20s, at least none that were in the hunt. The Yamaha twins were faster than my Suzuki though. So many good memories... Cheers!
@@jiyushugi1085 Fascinating story - thanks for sharing 😊 Back then the T20s were faster than almost anything, yet the development that riders do now, like on mine, are a huge step up on those early ones. We're at the limit really for an old air-cooled piston port engine. Such a fantastic original design 😊
@@bsimpson6204 It really will. So sad to sell it, but then it saddened me every time I went into my garage and saw it there collecting dust. It needs to be loved AND used 😊
Hi Adrian, great to see you are still promoting the TR/ T20 Suzuki racer but sad to hear you are no longer racing. Thanks for the plug for the frame modification work , I did quite a few back in the 90s along with countless exhausts. Excellent video and very nice work inside those barrels 🧐. Andy, Abcon Exhausts
@@andrewbacon2318 Hey, glad you watched it - and happy to give you credit. I did my own frame conversion, but hadn't finished it and one of yours turned up quite cheap, so I used that instead. I had some of your pipes too! Yes, sad to no longer race, but I had a damn good run 😊 All the best Adrian
I've never been a big fan of two-strokes (I had several clapped out two-strokes as a kid which may have contributed a lot to my distrust of their reliability !!..) but I can always appreciate great engineering and tuning.. She really is a great looking bike and I hope the buyer gets as much fun (and racing success) out of it as you did.. Sorry to hear that like me you've joined the Arthritis Sufferers Society (or 'ASS' for short..) I was told I shouldn't 'play Rugby or ride a motorcycle' but I just couldn't give up riding bikes !..
@@jjrider6758 Thanks for that 😊 I'll keep riding my bikes until I physically can't, rather than because I "shouldn't" as bikes are such a large part of of my life. Ok, racing is over, but as long as I can ride, I will - even if I need a few painkillers now and again! 😁
lovely bike that lad remember talking to you at darley moor uld nipped one of the pistons up but sureu got out four next race sounded lovely hard to let it go but it will get used what its meant four next video please
@@markaddy53 Yes, they do that - getting the mixture right is a fine art. I never liked racing at Darley much - but that might be because of consecutive crashes in the final morning practice session, then in Race 1 (on my TZ) and then race 2 on my T20 😜
Wow, that's the most "tricked out" T20 I've ever seen. I worked at a Suzuki/Kawasaki shop when they came out and in stock form, were the "bee's knees", could pull away from much larger bikes and we sold quite a few of them (N.Y., West. county). When U.S. Suzuki campaigned them, it seems they never came in on top against the Yamahas. I remember issues with ignition systems, needed the contact breakers isolated from crankshaft vibration, they were just not getting the job done. Liked them though and they endured on with fine small twins into the mid-70s and folks were happy with them. After more thought, I think the timing problem was from the crankshaft going eccentric at the timing end at high rpm and throwing the contact breakers into gap excursions, throwing off the timing. I don't know if they found a solution to make the T20s fully competitive but on the later GT750, the contact breaker cams were set on their own separate bearings, isolating them from what the crank run-out might do.
@@whalesong999 The points are fine for a road bike, but yes, if racing it they just aren't up to the job. The T20 crank is pretty good, but can't be revved above 11000rpm or it starts to twist. I forgot to mention it in the video but mine has had the cases line bored to take a later 4-bearing RD crank with larger o/d bearings and a centre labyrinth seal. TZ350 rods and bearings replacing the RD ones 😁 Yup it's special 😊
rex did me a reprogramable boxs for my bike in the 90s for diffrent tracks, they where brill, , sad to hear he passed away, , with him and harry barlow, we got the rd 400 to 86 bhp on microns dyno, which did 10.28, at 129 mph, and as you no all aircooled are figthing the heat for road raceing, , a lad near me did fast 250 suzukis think his name was beacon, did pipes and alsorts was at hucknall
@@stephenhuskisson2230 Rex was a very helpful guy. Always had a big smile and a friendly welcome. A bit eccentric (aren't we all? 😂) and will be sadly missed.
His name was Andy Bacon not Beacon, of Abcon exhausts😂😂 and I am still in Hucknall manufacturing racing exhausts. 99% of the fast Suzuki t20s where using Fahron barrels and a fair few using my exhaust.
Rex was a good friend who I had the great pleasure to help with his racing Bantam exhausts. He was a gold mine of information whos knowledge of Bantams and 2 strokes will be very sadly missed.
Pity we didn't hear it going. Shit that pulls some rpm. In the 70's to the 80's I ran a T500 in a TQ Midget car (New Zealand speedway) man did I have that fully worked running methanol. Still got the motor under my bench. Couldn't kill it, got some really good power out of it and at night meetings with the cool night air it was on another level altogeather. Miss those days and the SOUNDS.
@@cratecruncher4974 it certainly is intense! Vibration was very high pitched and not really noticeable when riding it - it did though break cases and frame tubes. They weren't designed for those revs and that powers output 😊
You forgot to mencion the wheel rims Adiran are they the Spanish Aluminum ''Aacront's'' and culd you of fitted ''Reed Valves'' on the cilinders....? Nice bike ❤
@@julianv.5848 There was a lot I didn't mention - it would have been too long and boring if I'd gone into too much detail about everything 😂 Not sure on the rims, but yes, probably Akront ones. I picked them up 2nd hand. One might even be a Dunlop actually thinking about it... 🤔
A really fantastic bike an effort, a shame that you can't ride her anymore, I gave up motorcycles at 76 for similar reasons. Ane comment. I dont understand how it can still be called and raced as a T20. Virtually nothing on it is T20, lots of it aren't even Suzuki. Surely it's a T20 based special. What a shame that you didn't let us see/hear it run.
@@tonycamplin8607 A lot of it is T20, albeit modified. Frame, swing arm, rear wheel, engine externals, gearbox etc. OK the front end is different, but racers modified or changed those back in the day too. I'll hopefully be able to video it running in a couple of days time...
Hi Tony, with regard to racing a T20, they are eligible to race under CRMC rules, against genuine period racers of 1967 which included Suzuki TR250 and Yamaha TD1C, of which there where few. To build a competitive bike, period aftermarket parts were allowed , of which those with deep pockets built nice fast bikes. If your where at the Manx GP in the 90s, there were 30 - 40 Suzuki T20s entered in the lightweight race of various specs, some not even resembling a Suzuki. I think Adrians bike is spot on, has in the right hands can win races but still retains the replica look. .................... Look at the replica Suzuki XR69 used at previous MGPs (bandit engines ??) nothing changes !
Nice. I much prefer the bikes from the late 60s through mid 70s to today's "crotch rockets." Curious though... are the head gaskets copper, and if so do you re-anneal them every so often so they seal better or is that even necessary? I know the pain of giving up riding your favorite. I rebuilt a Yamaha DS7 and almost cried the day it was sold in 2007. I haven't ridden since.
@@BugeyeBob-zt6ne One head gasket is copper, the other is an original T20 aluminium one. Different thicknesses to help get the squish right. Sad about the DS7. 😥 I'm still riding, but now only on bikes with a sit-up riding position. Need pain killers too sometimes, but have to keep on riding!
Gotta correct you on something Adrian, those fork sliders aren't Kawasaki S1C, the S1C used a TLS and were fabricated from steel and chromed. I've done a few T20 centre plugs from bare castings. Great walk around and great bike!
@@crozwayne Interesting. I really have no idea what they are from, but I was told by a bike mechanic that he recognised them and that they were S1C ones. The mystery deepens... 😁
Very, very nice, thank you. Hugely impressed with your cylinder/piston/headwork!
During the early seventies I raced a T20 at the professional level on half-mile dirt track in California (Ascot Park). When I bought the bike the engine was in a Sonicweld rigid frame and was fitted with Keihin remote bowl carbies and the Suzuki racing kit cylinders (bridged ex. ports) and heads (we called them 'Grant' heads/cyls, perhaps because Ron Grant was selling them...?). Anyway, first thing I did was ditch the Sonicweld for a Trackmaster frame and mount a pair of 28mm Mikuni round slides. Large expansion chambers, both on the right side, no mufflers. I also ran Wiseco pistons which had two very thin rings (replaced after every race). Magneto on crank. The standard primary gears had a slot ground down the middle, perhaps to reduce friction/side loading? No brakes at either end, compression releases only. First time I rode it scared me to death! Incredible power. In those days, first-year pros were restricted to 250s and most guys were riding singles. My Suzuki was so fast that when I rolled up to the starting line I just looked to see if there were any Yamaha twins in the race (TD-2s or TD-3s), if not, none of the guys on their singles stood a chance against my T20. As I recall, however, there were few, if any, other T20s, at least none that were in the hunt. The Yamaha twins were faster than my Suzuki though. So many good memories... Cheers!
@@jiyushugi1085 Fascinating story - thanks for sharing 😊 Back then the T20s were faster than almost anything, yet the development that riders do now, like on mine, are a huge step up on those early ones. We're at the limit really for an old air-cooled piston port engine. Such a fantastic original design 😊
Lovely machine Adrian, it'll really leave a hole in your heart when it's gone
@@bsimpson6204 It really will. So sad to sell it, but then it saddened me every time I went into my garage and saw it there collecting dust. It needs to be loved AND used 😊
Hi Adrian, great to see you are still promoting the TR/ T20 Suzuki racer but sad to hear you are no longer racing. Thanks for the plug for the frame modification work , I did quite a few back in the 90s along with countless exhausts. Excellent video and very nice work inside those barrels 🧐. Andy, Abcon Exhausts
@@andrewbacon2318 Hey, glad you watched it - and happy to give you credit. I did my own frame conversion, but hadn't finished it and one of yours turned up quite cheap, so I used that instead. I had some of your pipes too!
Yes, sad to no longer race, but I had a damn good run 😊
All the best
Adrian
I've never been a big fan of two-strokes (I had several clapped out two-strokes as a kid which may have contributed a lot to my distrust of their reliability !!..) but I can always appreciate great engineering and tuning.. She really is a great looking bike and I hope the buyer gets as much fun (and racing success) out of it as you did.. Sorry to hear that like me you've joined the Arthritis Sufferers Society (or 'ASS' for short..) I was told I shouldn't 'play Rugby or ride a motorcycle' but I just couldn't give up riding bikes !..
@@jjrider6758 Thanks for that 😊 I'll keep riding my bikes until I physically can't, rather than because I "shouldn't" as bikes are such a large part of of my life. Ok, racing is over, but as long as I can ride, I will - even if I need a few painkillers now and again! 😁
Interesting video, thanks
@@hullygully1135 Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it
Brilliant, very interesting thanks
@@Richard-h9c Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it 😊
I had a road T20
£300 Pride and Clark.. An eye opener. Salad days.
@@Aubury Great bikes weren't they.
An excellent video Ade. As someone who mixed his two stroke fuel at Chimay, I can confirm to his enthusiasm and insanity. 🤪
@@martinwardle6695 I remember you moaning about me asking you to do that! 😂
lovely bike that lad remember talking to you at darley moor uld nipped one of the pistons up but sureu got out four next race sounded lovely hard to let it go but it will get used what its meant four next video please
@@markaddy53 Yes, they do that - getting the mixture right is a fine art.
I never liked racing at Darley much - but that might be because of consecutive crashes in the final morning practice session, then in Race 1 (on my TZ) and then race 2 on my T20 😜
Wow, that's the most "tricked out" T20 I've ever seen. I worked at a Suzuki/Kawasaki shop when they came out and in stock form, were the "bee's knees", could pull away from much larger bikes and we sold quite a few of them (N.Y., West. county). When U.S. Suzuki campaigned them, it seems they never came in on top against the Yamahas. I remember issues with ignition systems, needed the contact breakers isolated from crankshaft vibration, they were just not getting the job done. Liked them though and they endured on with fine small twins into the mid-70s and folks were happy with them. After more thought, I think the timing problem was from the crankshaft going eccentric at the timing end at high rpm and throwing the contact breakers into gap excursions, throwing off the timing. I don't know if they found a solution to make the T20s fully competitive but on the later GT750, the contact breaker cams were set on their own separate bearings, isolating them from what the crank run-out might do.
@@whalesong999 The points are fine for a road bike, but yes, if racing it they just aren't up to the job.
The T20 crank is pretty good, but can't be revved above 11000rpm or it starts to twist. I forgot to mention it in the video but mine has had the cases line bored to take a later 4-bearing RD crank with larger o/d bearings and a centre labyrinth seal. TZ350 rods and bearings replacing the RD ones 😁
Yup it's special 😊
rex did me a reprogramable boxs for my bike in the 90s for diffrent tracks, they where brill, , sad to hear he passed away, , with him and harry barlow, we got the rd 400 to 86 bhp on microns dyno, which did 10.28, at 129 mph, and as you no all aircooled are figthing the heat for road raceing, , a lad near me did fast 250 suzukis think his name was beacon, did pipes and alsorts was at hucknall
@@stephenhuskisson2230 Rex was a very helpful guy. Always had a big smile and a friendly welcome. A bit eccentric (aren't we all? 😂) and will be sadly missed.
His name was Andy Bacon not Beacon, of Abcon exhausts😂😂 and I am still in Hucknall manufacturing racing exhausts. 99% of the fast Suzuki t20s where using Fahron barrels and a fair few using my exhaust.
Rex was a good friend who I had the great pleasure to help with his racing Bantam exhausts. He was a gold mine of information whos knowledge of Bantams and 2 strokes will be very sadly missed.
Pity we didn't hear it going. Shit that pulls some rpm. In the 70's to the 80's I ran a T500 in a TQ Midget car (New Zealand speedway) man did I have that fully worked running methanol. Still got the motor under my bench. Couldn't kill it, got some really good power out of it and at night meetings with the cool night air it was on another level altogeather. Miss those days and the SOUNDS.
@@broughxtreme Nice engine the T500.
I'll start the bike up this week (sorry neighbours...) and will try to video it running 😁
Check out my 'shorts' feed - just uploaded a video of it running 😊
Amazing bike. 9 to 13,000 rpm 2-stroke sounds intense. No wonder you isolated the case. I bet you couldn't feel your hands.🤣
@@cratecruncher4974 it certainly is intense! Vibration was very high pitched and not really noticeable when riding it - it did though break cases and frame tubes. They weren't designed for those revs and that powers output 😊
You forgot to mencion the wheel rims Adiran are they the Spanish Aluminum ''Aacront's'' and culd you of fitted ''Reed Valves'' on the cilinders....? Nice bike ❤
@@julianv.5848 There was a lot I didn't mention - it would have been too long and boring if I'd gone into too much detail about everything 😂
Not sure on the rims, but yes, probably Akront ones. I picked them up 2nd hand. One might even be a Dunlop actually thinking about it... 🤔
A really fantastic bike an effort, a shame that you can't ride her anymore, I gave up motorcycles at 76 for similar reasons.
Ane comment. I dont understand how it can still be called and raced as a T20. Virtually nothing on it is T20, lots of it aren't even Suzuki. Surely it's a T20 based special. What a shame that you didn't let us see/hear it run.
@@tonycamplin8607 A lot of it is T20, albeit modified. Frame, swing arm, rear wheel, engine externals, gearbox etc. OK the front end is different, but racers modified or changed those back in the day too.
I'll hopefully be able to video it running in a couple of days time...
Hi Tony, with regard to racing a T20, they are eligible to race under CRMC rules, against genuine period racers of 1967 which included Suzuki TR250 and Yamaha TD1C, of which there where few. To build a competitive bike, period aftermarket parts were allowed , of which those with deep pockets built nice fast bikes. If your where at the Manx GP in the 90s, there were 30 - 40 Suzuki T20s entered in the lightweight race of various specs, some not even resembling a Suzuki. I think Adrians bike is spot on, has in the right hands can win races but still retains the replica look. .................... Look at the replica Suzuki XR69 used at previous MGPs (bandit engines ??) nothing changes !
Let's just hope you sold the thing to someone heroic. I have a feeling they're gonna need it when SHOCKER comes.
@@evatroniclover0026 It's out on track at Brno in the Czech Republic this weekend! Looking forward to seeing how the new owner gets on 😊
@@t20racerman You didn't get the Kamen Rider reference did you?
@@evatroniclover0026 No. 🤔
@@t20racerman >:( now I'm smad.
Nice. I much prefer the bikes from the late 60s through mid 70s to today's "crotch rockets." Curious though... are the head gaskets copper, and if so do you re-anneal them every so often so they seal better or is that even necessary? I know the pain of giving up riding your favorite. I rebuilt a Yamaha DS7 and almost cried the day it was sold in 2007. I haven't ridden since.
@@BugeyeBob-zt6ne One head gasket is copper, the other is an original T20 aluminium one. Different thicknesses to help get the squish right.
Sad about the DS7. 😥 I'm still riding, but now only on bikes with a sit-up riding position. Need pain killers too sometimes, but have to keep on riding!
Adrian, will you go and watch the new owner racing it?
@@stephenhewitt5835 He's based in the Czech Republic, but yes, I'll try and get out there for a meeting. Never been to Brno 😊
👍 that would make a great video.
Keep the shiny side up.
Gotta correct you on something Adrian, those fork sliders aren't Kawasaki S1C, the S1C used a TLS and were fabricated from steel and chromed. I've done a few T20 centre plugs from bare castings. Great walk around and great bike!
@@crozwayne Interesting. I really have no idea what they are from, but I was told by a bike mechanic that he recognised them and that they were S1C ones. The mystery deepens... 😁
@@t20racerman the later disc braked KH series had alloy sliders, perhaps he was mistaken, I know coz I had an SIC in 76