Along with certain of the livelier pro-

fanities, “cheap” is a word traditionally

avoided by the motorcycle press in its

product reports—probably because to

many people the word suggests shoddiness

as well as a low price. But in Mr. Web-

ster’s dictionary this adjective’s first defi-

nition is given as, “purchaseable below

the going price or real value” and that

description fits Suzuki’s familiar 500cc

Titan roadster like a well-tailored Hart,

Schaffner and Marx Suit.

Make that a denim sun, for the twin-

cylinder Suzuki has denim’s no-nonsense

durability, and it’s the only thou-

sand-dollar 500cc road bike to be found.

The Titan offers no frilly extras and little

in the way of performance. It’s as basic

as a basic motorcycle should be, with no

pretensions toward being a superbike,

giant-killer or masculinity improver.

Flogged hard and expertly, the Titan

thuds through the standing-start quarter-

mile with times well into the 14-second

bracket, strains to touch an honest 100

mph, and has all the sex appeal of a 1959

Chrysler Imperial.

With all that, we still think the Titan

has a lot to offer. It’s the rock-steady rep-

resentation of Suzuki’s conservative engi-

neering and sales philosophy—a philoso-

phy from which they occasionally depart

but never entirely abandon. Suzuki never

intended that the Titan should set the

world on fire; only that it should create

a warm spot in its owner’s heart, a respect

for its basic virtues. The bike still does

those things today, more than five years

after its debut.

The Titan was the first big-bore road-

ster from Japan and as such generated a

lot of cautious curiosity within the in-

dustry when introduced in June, 1968.

The astonishingly fast Suzuki X-6 Hustler

was fresh in everyone’s mind and many

assumed that the Titan, sharing the same

bloodline, was intended to outclass the

world’s 500s in the same way an X-6

would dust off all the 250s. But every-

one’s assumptions proved to be wrong:

whatever else it was, the Titan was not

a hot performance bike, and almost cer-

tainly never was meant to be. Suzuki left

that slice of the American market to Ka-

wasaki’s 500cc triple, which was under

development at the same time, and was

introduced here only months later. It ran

circles around the Titan then and remains

capable of doing so to this day.

Sheer speed isn’t the Titan’s forte. Il’s

not a sprinter but instead is the typical

long-distance runner: not much for mus-

cle but plenty of heart and stamina, with

an almost supernatural willingness to

keep going without a wheeze or stagger

no matter how hard it’s pushed. We did

• Too often in this world we don’t get

what we pay for. Some of the time we

do, but this is to be expected—value equal

to price. On rare occasions a product is

worth more than its cost. It may not be

cheap, but for what it is, the price is a

bargain. We are getting more than our

money’s worth. The ten motorcycles cho-

sen herein are in this latter category. Each

one delivers an entirely serviceable, and

sometimes outstanding, product at a price

which cannot be met by other bikes in

its class.

Since price is the major factor in choos-

ing a bike as one of the top ten buys, and

price fluctuates all over the place, you

must analyze our selections based on the

prices supplied to us by the distributors.

All are 1974 Suggested Retail Prices as

quoted late in 1973. Realize that by the

time this appears some country or another

may have revalued or devalued its cur-

rency, lifted or raised tariffs, arbitrarily

raised or lowered prices, or altered ship-

ments so the natural law of supply and

demand reshapes the prices printed here.

Then, of course, some of the top ten selec-

tions would have to be reconsidered.

Also realize that many bikes not in-

cluded in the top ten would be if the prices

that can be negotiated in some areas re-

flected a national situation. For instance

Suggested Retail on a ’74 Honda 750 Four

is $1822, but Honda dealers advertising

in the Los Angeles Times will sell one for

$ 1479, most certainly a bargain. In an area

where dealers or supplies are scarce, how-

ever, a fellow will have to pay full list,

which is what the bike is worth, no more.

You may notice that some of the new

prices seem high. You’re right. The over-

indulgences of world economics have un-

burdened themselves on the consumer’s

24

wallet. Motorcycles with no changes for

1974 other than a new paint job cost a

lot more compared to last year. A 1973

850 Norton sold for $1795. Virtually the

same bike costs $2055 with 1974 in front

of its name. That’s a $260 increase without

any major technical improvements in the

machine.

Norton isn’t alone in adjusting prices

strictly out of economic necessity. Suzuki's

GT-185K street twin went up an even

hundred bucks, from $695 to $795. The

Montesa Cota 125 trials bike at $950 costs

$130 more than in 1973. So don’t hark

back to some of last year’s prices and

wonder why your favorite bikes aren’t on

the list. They might have been priced right

out of contention.

No bike was chosen for the top ten un-

less the Cycle staff felt it was satisfactory

or superior by these criteria: performance,

parts availability, serviceability, reliability

and resale. There are cheaper bikes avail-

able in some of the same classes repre-

sented in the ten best buys, but they are

lacking enough by one or more of these

criteria to be eliminated.

A top ten best of anything without an

overall winner is a cop-out. Cycle has

picked the Suzuki T-500K Titan as the

best buy in motorcycling. It wasn’t a hard

choice. The Titan has been a bargain for

five years. For the first time its price has

sneaked past the $1000 level even though

it’s basically the same bike as before. Sug-

gested Retail for 1974 is $1045, but since

the Titan is a steady (not runaway) seller,

its cost can usually be negotiated.

Justifying the Suzuki’s selection is sim-

ple: 75-mph cruising, decent handling,

adequate braking and a fairly smooth and

quiet ride give the Suzuki strong creden-

tials. Its performance was a threat to the

early Superbikes, but while its powerplant

remained unchanged, the others became

bigger, more exotic and therefore faster.

But the Titan will still handle two-up

touring with saddlebags and a windshield.

Top speed is an honest 100 mph. Gas

mileage averages 36 mpg.

Parts and service are available at any

of 900 Suzuki dealers. Since the bike has

existed almost without change for so long,

dealers are totally familiar with its parts

and service needs. No waiting, and no

mysteries.

Dependability and reliability are the

Suzuki’s hallmarks. It survives neglect,

abuse and age much like a good car. You

can climb on a Suzuki and brashly head

for the tip of Baja without any tools. A

Suzuki dealer near the Cycle shop showed

us a set of Titan cylinders after 47,000

miles with no maintenance. The owner

had brought them in for a bore job “just

because I assumed they needed it by

now.” They didn’t.

Think about what you’re getting for

$1045: 100 mph, 36 mpg, enough power

to go anywhere at any speed, reliability,

durability and pleasant styling. None of

the other bikes in its class come close to

meeting its price, and some don’t even

match its features. Its competition is: the

$1489 Yamaha TX 500 twin, too new to

have proven its reliability yet; the

Triumph Daytona at $1475; Suzuki’s 550

at $1445; Honda's 450 twin ($1325) and

550 Four ($1600); and Kawasaki’s 500 tri-

ple, which not only costs $1349, but also

wobbles and gets poor gas mileage. The

Titan is in a class by itself—the best of

the ten best.

Following a complete road test on the

winning Suzuki T-500K are profiles of the

nine runners-up.