At the time when 2-stroke motorcycles were king, from the mid 60’s to the mid 70’s, the Suzuki T500 Titan (1968-1976) was the perfect commuter bike. Lightweight, flawless, extremely reliable, bullet proof in the extreme cold or heat, with better brakes than its competitors. In 1970 for the price of $899, you got a 492cc 2-stroke air-cooled parallel twin with a top speed of 105 mph and 50 mpg. It is now considered one of the most underrated motorcycles of all time. You can get one today for a price of $1200 to $3000. (photography @ Doug Mitchel)
10 Responses to “Flashback. The Suzuki T500 Titan.”
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That’s a beautiful example pictured
Thank you
I had one as a teenager it was a very nice ride!
It’s great to see these old bikes being restored to their former glory and becoming collector items. The Yamaha XS650 is the one that really brings back memories for me but there were so many others back then like this 2 stroke smoke pumper. I do have to admit I don’t miss the way some them dumped smoke in the air. I’m assuming they had the oil/gas mixture wrong or if it was an auto mix; it was out of adjustment. Could have been bad rings too I suppose.
One of the best! I have friends still riding them!Bullitt proof!
My neighbor had a green Titan and I had a blue 2 stroke Kaw street bike in 1974. We put many care free miles on those motorcycles. I hope the direct injection being developed now will cause manufacturers to market 2 strokes again. Can you imagine a 21st century H-2?
I owned a 250cc X 6Hustler in 1968. It could out run 750cc machines at that time. I had a ball with it. It was a sleeper.
I love 2strokes
thats not then prettiest one i have ever seen, but its cool.
Had two Suzuki T500’s. I’ve seen this one in person at Rhinebeck AMCA and it is
a spectacular resto receiving a 99.5 from AMCA Judges. Nicest
one we have ever seen.
I always check these out on Craigslist as I always wanted one.
I’d like to try some of that new strawberry-scented 2 stroke oil.