‘ New ’ McIntosh Suzuki
This is one of the ‘ new ’ McIntosh Suzuki ’ s , sporting a 1275cc , 16-valve GSX motor . Ken says that when he first wanted to build a ‘ big ’ motor everyone told him the problems he ’ d encounter . He got a 4mm over-stroke crank from Vance & Hines in the U . S . which were built for drag racing and went from there . This , with only 2mm oversize pistons , gave what he was after – and that ’ s within the realm of maximum oversize pistons from Suzuki . This motor is making a whisker short of 170hp at the rear wheel , and just short of
190hp at the crank at only 10,000rpm , so it ’ s a real bruiser and incredibly fast . The new bikes are built with no real differences to the original race bikes other than 17-inch wheels and the customer ’ s preferred rear shocks . Ken , and Peter Welch who ’ s been working with Ken for 40 years , use the same frame jig and the same welding torch as back in the day . He says they even uses the Suzuki Katana ‘ chopstick ’ 37mm forks , “ Which the riders seem to love … everyone hated them back in the day .”
KIWI RIDER 59