Hideo “Pops” Yoshimura undeniably played a pivotal role in the evolution of modern sport bikes. The motorcycle tuner and race team owner is a legend in the racing world and the machines that he built are some of the most sought after historic Japanese racers of all time. In the early 1980s, Pops would revolutionize the world of two-wheeled racing when he launched the highly competent factory GSX-R750 racers.
Yoshi would hand-build just seven examples for official Suzuki teams that were used by a handful of European race teams: England’s British Heron Team, France’s SERT (Suzuki Endurance Racing Team), Sweden’s Team Anderson, and Germany’s Suzuki Team Kurz. This example is one of the two SBK-spec bikes utilized by Mario Rubatto for the German Team Kurz in the German championship of superbikes. XR51 was the model code for these special Pops-built machines, and the amount of funding that went into the development and creation of these seven bikes is nothing short of astounding. When Germany first started its national championship, it wasn’t an officially sanctioned competition. Because of the lack of official recognition from official governing sports authorities, the winner of the first German championship was referred to as the “’unofficial champion”. In 1985, it was a recognized championship for SBK completion and hence the German Superbike Championship was born. For that year Suzuki Kurz – a dealership in Rosenberg – along with the German Suzuki importer backed this effort.
In addition to just looking awesome, the bikes were major technical and mechanical feats. The 7075 aluminum alloy frames were very different from the street frames in a multitude of ways, boasting different geometry with a wheelbase that was 35mm shorter. As a point of reference, your average 250 GP machine of the era had a similar wheel-base (1,360-1,400mm). The steering head angle – which could be changed via slide-in sleeves – also differed and fully-adjustable 40mm forks were used that had been borrowed from the factory ’85 RGB500 Works machines.
The XR51 also sported a trick dry clutch, polished cylinder-head, Brembo four-piston brakes (with quick disassembly) larger valves, hand-made aluminum fuel-tanks, fiberglass bodywork with Polybauer panels and reinforcement, full titanium exhaust system, and 34mm Mikuni flat-slide carbs. Of the seven examples that were made, three were for Endurance racing and four were for SBK. One of the seven examples was destroyed in a fire in Suzuka, the Team Anderson machine was modified to accept newer components such as Ohlins and Monobrazo parts, one is on display at the SERT museum, two are in England – one of which was on sale in 2010 for $95K! – and the rest are in private collections. It probably goes without saying, but these are some ultra rare GSXR’s. While the three-quarter Gixxer XR 51’s significance may not be due to its success in competition – not that it didn’t do well in championship races – this machine undeniably marked a fairly monumental step in the evolution of race motorcycles, and was built by one of the most legendary names in all of motorcycle racing history.
This particular example is lacking its original seat – it now wears a fiberglass unit instead of the original aluminum seat – but is still an objectively amazing XR51. From what I gather, the wheels first used on the XR51 were initially Campagnolos, but they were unable to withstand the immense power and acceleration of the 750 engine so Yoshi opted to use PVM rims.
This XR51 has the original motor – note that the engine reportedly has to be rebuilt every 300 miles or so. This is one of the reasons factory racers are rarely sold to the public as private buyers lack the necessary resources for maintenance. With endurance machines requiring such thorough professional analysis and the ability to recognize and remedy issues such as highly stressed safety parts prone to cracking, as well as internal parts that need frequent professional replacing. Without these resources, a factory racer can quickly become dangerous and a major liability to the manufacturer. At times, the sale of a factory racer to a private buyer often includes a stipulation stating said the bike can only be used for display purposes and not for racing.
Despite my correspondence with the seller, there was admittedly a bit of a language barrier so I apologize if anything in this post sounds confusing. Nonetheless, this is a beautiful example that is undeniably really special. This was one of the first machines that cemented the GSX-R’s reputation and legacy. Another current owner of an XR51 has posted about his bike and experience online and it’s a pretty cool read. There are also a few videos featuring the bike, like this clip of the GSXR’s 30th anniversary at Le Mans in 2015:
You can find this Suzuki GSX-R 750 XR51 for sale here on RaceBikeMart in Bilbao, Spain with a price of just over $70,000 (or €60,000).