crankshafts and special gear sets , for example – and get them built by the factory . It proved to be a highly successful arrangement , concluded on a handshake that endures : to this day , Yoshimura specialises in Suzuki performance parts . They were a rare breed , the Yoshimuras , hard working and straight up and down . If they said they would deliver something , they did , and while it may not have been pretty , it was guaranteed to work well . Graeme Crosby describes his admiration for the family in his book Larrikin Biker , describing how Pops ’ wife would sit up all night polishing valves , such was their work ethic . Yoshimura ’ s approach could not have come at a better time . As the four-strokes began to push back the two-stroke tide , new series were launched in the UK – an important and lucrative market for the company , so it ’ s no coincidence that Suzuki ran a factorysupported team there . The new series comprised the TT Formula One for streetbased bikes of 1000cc , contested over two
races – the Isle of Man TT and the Ulster GP at Dundrod – with the prize of full World Championship status . Then there was the British TT F1 championship : Honda wanted to own this series to add to its domination of the Isle of Man TT and the international endurance race series . It fielded a potent team , with Mick Grant and Roger Marshall on allegedly bigbudget , highly-refined CB900s . The XR69 was no high-tech , exotic , experimental racer . Yoshimura had stretched the horsepower of the old two-valve engine to 130bhp , but when the chassis started to show signs of stress , a new one was designed , and the race department stepped in to provide suspension and brakes from its Grand Prix fourcylinder two-strokes .
A YOUNG KIWI CALLED CROSBY Meanwhile , a young New Zealand racer called Graeme Crosby had been making a name for himself riding big-bore four-strokes throughout New Zealand , Australia and then Britain on Moriwaki-modified Kawasaki 1000
54 KIWI RIDER