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1970 Suzuki T-350 II Rebel - 4-Page Vintage Motorcycle Road Test Article
Original, Vintage Magazine articlePage Size: Approx. 8\" x 11\" (21 cm x 28 cm) each pageCondition: Good
Suzuki T-350 IIRebel
In the broadening urban battle between carsand motorcycles only the nimble have a chance.The Suzuki Rebel has the best chance of all.Suzuki’s newT-350 Rebel is an enlargedand improved version of last year’sT-305 Raider, which was an enlargedand improved version of the X-6 Hust-ler. The development process was notalways of equal gain on all fronts. Atfirst the bikes were fragile, then loud,then vibrated. Suzuki seems to havecaught up on the ’70 models: our Rebelwas still awfully fast, and the nicetieswere well seen to—finally.The T-350 is a very important motor-cycle in a very important group ofmotorcycles: 350s are the last of thelightweights. As we tested them, withoil and a half tank of gas, they ranged inweight from the Bridgestone’s 362pounds to our Suzuki’s 325 pounds.Using the factories’ claimed output fig-ures, the power/weight ratios rangefrom the Suzuki’s 8.34 pounds/bhp tothe Honda CB-35O’s 10.0 pounds/bhp.From these figures, one would presumethat the 350s are quick and agile. Theyare. The Rebel is the nimblest of the lot.New York City traffic is one longsuper-agility test. Between the hard-boiled taxi drivers with their rollingyellow junk-heaps, and the unconscion-ably fat city buses, a bike rider muststay focused to survive. If you merelyroll along at traffic pace, they’ll get you.You have to get away from the lightsbefore they do and swerve/panic-stop toavoid colliding with those you mustpass. And the pedestrians have thecalculating nerve of bullfighters. A motor-cycle horn is lost in the mind-numb-ing din, and people pretend not to lookas they walk against the light. Throughit all, the bike rider must be doublyalert to avoid killing or being killed.In the cities’ hostile environment, the350 is now the ultimate weapon. Theconstant cut-and-thrust caused by traf-fic lights is relieved only by 60 mphjaunts on expressways. Lighter, lower-powered machines are but moving tar-gets; the bigger bikes are too cumber-some. The Rebel’s 0-60 mph time of 6.1sec. is better than that of most 650s andit’ll stop and turn lots better.And the T-350’s balance is excellent.With most bikes, you’ll find a veryunstable period shortly before comingto a stop and just as you’re gettingstarted. The T-35O’s center of gravity isquite low and the seating position isquite high in relation to the gas tankand handlebars. You get the impressionthat you’re sitting way up on top of thebike, yet the removal does not diminishthe feeling of absolute control. Thetransitional period between being sta-tionary and moving, and vice versa, isvery smooth.Suspension control is vastly superiorto that on the machine we tested lastyear [Cycle, Dec. ’68]. The T-350makes no pretense at being an off-roadbike, so no compromise is made with itsshocks and forks. It is meant to be a...13922-AL-7007-04
