“Fearsomely Fast” is how some reviewers described Suzuki’s T350 series when it debuted for the 1969 model year. Two-stroke motorcycles are known for being fearsomely fast anyway, but some are a cut above the rest. This 1971 Suzuki T350R Rebel is listed here on eBay in Herriman, Utah, and the seller has a $4,300 buy-it-now price listed, or you can make an offer.
This interesting color is called Candy Lime Green, and it was also known as Morrow Green. I like the name Candy Lime Green, so I’ll stick with that. The Suzuki T350, also known as the Rebel, was made from 1969 through 1972, and it was an upgraded, enlarged version of the T305. The 350 part is a bit of a stretch, as the engine is a 315-cc model, not a 349 as you’d usually expect on a 350. It was reportedly the fastest “350” in its era.
This bike looks like it’s a gem; the seller says it’s original other than the tires, and that’s pretty amazing after 54 years. I think we’ve only seen one Suzuki GT380 here on Barn Finds, and that was over nine years ago! That’s the series that replaced the T350, and it was quite an upgrade. Not that there’s anything wrong with a 315-cc two-stroke street bike. I would love to have this one. At 323 pounds, it’s almost double my weight.
Speaking of the price, Hagerty values a #3 good-condition example at $2,400 and a #2 excellent bike at $4,600, so the seller is asking all they can for this one. It does look nice, and original is always best, especially for shows and other events. And, for the feel of how a motorcycle actually felt when it was new. Having traveled just 13,000 miles, this isn’t a cross-country road trip bike, so no need to go down that road, so to speak. Anyone looking at this one isn’t planning on riding it to Big Sur, Miami, or Maine; they’re going to ride it around town and on a few two-lane roads.
Here’s the 315-cc two-stroke parallel-twin; this one has a solid 40 horsepower and 29 lb-ft of torque. It’s sent through a six-speed, and the seller says it’s recently been gone through by a vintage motorcycle mechanic. It starts and runs great, and they say everything works as it should. It couldn’t look much nicer if it had been totally restored, and if the paint and chrome are original, this is an amazing bike. Have any of you heard of the T350R Rebel?
I sold a ’78 Bonneville 750 before we moved to Virginia,
& was looking into getting another bike,but after hearing of
bikers getting rear ended,etc. by idiot drivers (many on cell phones),
I decided it’s probably not a wise decision.
This is the kind of bike that interests me.Suzuki made some really
good bikes back then.A ’71 TS 185 Sierra in Green might change my mind.
Back in the early ’70’s we stopped by US Suzuki in Santa Fe Springs,-
California while on a family vacation,& I asked if I could get a Suzuki decal from them.They gave me a press kit with all of the different bikes they sold,
& had pictures too.Oh,I also got some decals!
Wow. Thats some awesome power from 350cc. Love to have a ride on this beauty. angliagt Suzuki has some great bikes in their lineup. The DR650 enduro, 365lbs wet, reliable as a stone axe🪓 unchanged since 96′ or so comes to mind. Awesome machine. You ever ride one of those SG ?
I haven’t ridden a bike in years,but still have my
M/C license.
Well, the fastest 350 in 1969, may I remind you all the Honda 750 came out in ’69, and would leave this in their cloud of 2 stroke smoke. I could easily see this as the fastest “350” however, it could keep up with a single carb Limey, or a poorly running( weren’t they all) Sporty. I thought Suzuki had the nicest styling, even though they were the last to milk the 2 stroke in a street bike. I think as much as Honda disliked 2 strokes, Suzuki disliked 4 strokes, and the “Water Buffalo” was probably their zenith. This was a fun city bike, nobody noticed the smoke then with Ramblers and Studebakers around, and I’m sure some poor sap rode one of these cross country.
In a related note, I kept my M/C license too, just in case, and in the snooze you snooze, you lose dept, I actually DID find that Kaw 1000, for $800 BUCKS, need carbs cleaned, but motivated seller. Well, it was in Idaho, and someone took advantage of that person, and now wants $4,000. Ain’t that America,,
WTF are you talking about?
In 1969 Kawasaki 500 was the fastest of them all!
Duh
As a 1960s kid who grew up on imported bikes, I still agree with most of your stuff Howard. But at more than twice the cubes, the Honda 750 had better beat the 2 stroke 350s (and not by as much as you think). And Kawis H2 750 would leave the 750-4 choking on that smoke.
Having enjoyed a Suzuki T500, this bikes bigger brother, these are a freaking gas to ride. Well mannered handling and that 2. -stroke power snap at 5k rpm. Great old vintage bikes.
There weren’t a lot of 350s from Suzuki out west. It seemed that if you could afford a 350, the 500 wasn’t much more than that, and it gave a much faster ride. I might add that the same went for the 305s. Probably moreso because I never saw a 305 in the flesh. You had to get a Honda or Yamaha to get that size.
I do remember a couple of Suzuki 350s and a Kawasaki Avenger 350 that tangled down in Great Falls. That “Kamikaze” blew the pegs off the Suzukis. If it was up to me I would give the nod to Kawasaki. I can’t remember if the Avenger ran rotary valves…
The 250 handled badly (I had a GT250) – there weren’t forward-facing frame rails from the swingarm pivot to the back of the tank – but at least it was consistent! I had a KH250 before, which I loved, but it handled inconsistently which was worse.
The Kawasaki 350 A7 Avenger was the fastest 350cc motorcycle on the planet. Could take on 4 stroke British bikes, and any Harley, any day.
I’ve been into m/c’s for 62yrs now. The Kawasaki 350 Avenger did have rotary valves. Bone stock I’ve seen them blow away Sportsters, ’69 sandcast CB750’s, Triumphs, it feared nothing. The one thing that ’69 CB750’s did well and often was to send their drive chains through the cases until Honda tamed the next years camshafts!
They also killed a lot of riders. Powerful and lousy handling.
The Kawa 500 in Greece was given the nickname kamikaze. It was rumored to have killed the most drivers of any bike. Next came the Yamaha 350. Due to this fame my father promised me to buy a car if i gave up on my Kawa. I did and found myself with a brand new Autobianchi (Lancia) A112, next year traded it for an Autobianchi Abarth (which i raced). Happy college years!
One of the bike magazines gave that label to the Kawasaki 750. I’m sure the Kawasaki folks were less than thrilled over that but it was scuttlebutt so no one could actually point a finger. I knew a guy who had a 500. He was a crazy rider and loved to wheelie when shifting to 2nd. One day he wheelied through an intersection, right into the side of the circuit court judge’s Cadillac…
The Kawa 750 was not as racy as the 500. Although 50% more capacity it was only 30% more power at the top and more torque at the lower end. Kawasaki tried to civilize 500’s manners but it was rumored that the engine was too heavy for the frame especially on fast turns bending the frame and spoiling the accurate cornering. The 1st and 2nd gear many years later i learned that they were calculated to give the best 0-100km result and prevail in mag tests with no need for the third. If you wanted to go relatively fast with 1st & 2nd you had to go for higher rpm.
I never owned a two stroke suzuki but owned several RD350’s and currently own a 76 Rd400 Yamaha. It’s hard to describe just how much fun a twin two stroke is to ride! Having said that, in 1970, cycle magazine tested 6 350 cc bikes. The rotary valve Bridgestone and Kawasaki were the fastest. The Honda 350 and Harley 350 sprint were the slowest. Not sure how the suzuki 350 compared to the Yamaha R5. But 1971 was the last year for the Bridgestone while Kawasaki replaced the rotary valve 350 twin with the 3 cylinder S2 which likely was the quickest 350 offered in 1971.
Still, this is one nice bike and worthy of a great home. Best of success to the lucky winner!