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►Anyone whose heart's desire is one of those
jewel-like, small displacement road racers can now step into his local Suzuki
store, squint his eyes a bit, and take a look at the new T-125 Stinger. This
all-new piece of machinery looks competition quick. Standing still it invites
substitution of those wrongly wide handlebars for clipons to facilitate the
racing crouch. Indeed, when the shopper straddles the Stinger, his initial
impulse is to thrust his rump rearward, and plaster his chin to the sleek tank
behind an imaginary fairing. He tends to hum faintly the high-pitched sounds of
grand prix gear changes. A ride
on the T-125 is every bit as much fun as the indoor racer had imagined. The
two-stroke Twin will scream upward through its five gears in true GP fashion,
and the rider can fling it through the bends with the abandon of Itoh being
pursued by Read and Ivy. The tachometer, redlined at 9500, occasionally shows
11,000 rpm. Handfuls of brake haul down the tiny missile as brisk toe-tapped
gearchanges are made for a rapid exit from the hairpin.
What is this machine, this
undersized excitement generator? Whereas some motorcycle manufacturers tend to
follow Detroit practice and each year announce "all-new" models that are simply
last year's models given surface restyling treatment, Suzuki's T-125 Stinger
truly is a new machine.
The engine, which is the major
contributor to the Japanese bike's flavor of Italy, is a parallel Twin, tilted
forward 68 degrees from the vertical, and assembled in-unit with the gearbox.
Bore and stroke are square at 66.5 mm. Total piston displacement is 124.8 cc.
Compression of the tipped Twin is 7.3:1. Suzuki's rating of the engine is 15.1
bhp at 8500 rpm.
This powerplant delivers its
output through a smooth, positive clutch to the five-speed transmission, and
single-row chain final drive. Standard overall ratios, first through top, of
22.60:1, 16.55:1, 12.48:1, 9.93:1 and 8.73:1 proved well spaced and fully
adequate to meet any road situation up to a top speed of approximately 75 mph.
Changes are of the quick, crisp, accurate variety.
The engine/gearbox unit is
suspended by three through bolts, two at the top of the gearcase, one at the
bottom, well below the swinging arm pivot, from what Suzuki fancies to call a
tri-form frame. Tri-form it may be, but it resembles nothing so much as a
cantilever bridge truss—and exhibits like characteristics of strength and
rigidity.
From the steering head, two
tubes extend rearward, underneath the tank, to form the saddle mounting loop.
These are paired to two downtubes that extend downward and rearward to the
gearbox mounting points, then upward to join the flanges that anchor the rear
suspension upper mounting points. Both pairs of tubes are cross braced,
gussetted and filleted for added strength and resistance to torsional stresses.
The swinging arm pivot is in a plate structure at the angle of the downtubes.
Front suspension is by a
conventional hydraulically damped telescopic fork; and the shrouded coil springs
at the rear are damped by telescopic shock absorbers. Tire sizes front and rear,
respectively, are 2.50-18 and 2.75-18.
Little can be said about the
T-125's internal expanding brakes, front and rear. As one test rider put it,
"They're bloody good—and that's it." Deceleration is rapid under full braking
pressure, yet the transition from go to stop is exceptionally smooth.
So far, in this report, only
major components have been discussed. However, the little things are what
enhance the overall reflection of the Suzuki Stinger.
Prime example is the flip-top
saddle. This unit, on release of a right-hand catch, swings upward to expose the
oil tank filler pipe and cap, and neatly insulated electrical circuitry—complete
with a small, clear plastic pouch which contains two spare fuses. Among other
niceties are dual instruments—an exceptionally accurate speedometer/odometer,
and a tachometer—with white on black numerals, and easily readable scales. An
enduro style headlamp, amber turn signal lamps, side reflectors and an
exceptionally large taillight are part of this pleasing package.►
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Bike Tests 
