1982 Suzuki XR69 – Auction Car of the Week

We thought we would mix things up for our Auction Car of the Week this time around and feature something that isn’t a car at all. The eagle-eyed among you will no doubt recognise that this week’s vehicle is clearly a motorbike, but this is not just any old motorbike. Oh no. This is road racing icon Mick Grant’s very own competition Suzuki XR69 TT racer. For those of us that are motorcycle enthusiasts Mick Grant requires no introduction but for people not in the know, the no-nonsense Yorkshireman is a bit of a legend when it comes to going incredibly fast on two wheels.

Mick competed in the Isle Of Man TT between 1970 and 1984, picking up a total of seven wins at arguably the most prestigious and dangerous road racing event in the world. No mean feat. It was during this time, in 1982 to be exact, that he rode this very bike in the TT and steered it to a win in another illustrious road race – the North West 200 in Ireland. That’s right, the actual Suzuki XR69 we have available here, complete with its original Heron Suzuki works livery and road rash from racing, is the very bike Mick rode competitively. It’s quite the thing.

Suzuki, recognising what Mick had achieved, gifted the bike to him when he retired from racing in 1985 and he’s kept hold of it ever since. The 998cc, inline-four engine began development by Suzuki in 1976 with help from Pops Yoshimura, the legendary Japanese motorcycle builder and tuner. The trouble is it was too powerful for the existing frame and suspension and so Yoshimura and the team at Suzuki developed a new tubular chromoly steel chassis to cope with the demands of the engine. With the addition of GP-derived suspension the new XR69 was ready to take on the Hondas that had been dominating the sport and subsequently kick them off the top spot in both circuit and road racing.

This Suzuki XR69 is a bona fide piece of motorcycle racing heritage. A one-off, genuine, works superbike directly from the man who raced it. Aside from a few parade events the bike hasn’t been used since Mick’s retirement which is why he has decided to sell it on. This isn’t a tarted-up replica or a full-on restoration piece, this is the actual bike that Mick raced and retains that competition patina which makes it very special indeed. That’s not to say it’s a knackered old race bike though, quite the opposite. It’s still in great condition overall and wears all of its original sponsors’ logos with pride.

It’s a top spec machine with a dry clutch, magnesium carburettors, billet forks and twin spark plugs per cylinder, as well as all of the lightweight racing fixings commensurate with a race-engineered bike. According to Mick himself the bike is well-maintained and in very good mechanical condition. He goes on to say: “I only know of two others that still exist, one is an ex-Roger Marshall bike with a collector in Ireland, and the other is an early twin-shock XR built for Graham Crosby. It is a lovely bike to ride and still feels as fresh as when I was racing it. On this bike I had lap records and second places in the Isle of Man. I won the North West 200 on it, set the lap record Donington Park and came second in the Macau GP.”

Despite being used for road racing, the bike, ironically, has never actually been ridden legally on the road and as such is unregistered. Despite this there is a vast amount of documented history concerning the XR69, including photos and videos of Mick racing it. Featuring also in issue 49 of Classic Racer magazine Mick recalls: “It’s pretty near the top of my personal hit parade of bikes I’ve raced. I think my all-time favourite would be my KR750 Kawasaki, but nowadays when I parade them back to back at Classic dos and such, I prefer to be on the Suzuki. It’s just a very nice ride.”

The bike has never been sold on the open market before, so this is a rare opportunity to own a one-off piece of incredible motorbike racing history direct from the man who raced it. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own a famous and unique race bike that has never been owned by a collector or private owner before. From the Suzuki works race team to Mick Grant the XR69 has only ever had two owners and is a real collector’s piece with an exclusive and really rather special pedigree.