Mick Grant’s Heron Suzuki XR69 TT bike up for auction
The Heron Suzuki XR69 that Mick Grant rode at the IoM TT, NW200 and Macau is going up for auction this month
YOU could be parking a very special motorcycle in your garage this month, as Mick Grant’s Heron Suzuki XR69 TT bike up for auction with Car & Classic.
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Painted in what is probably the most iconic racing motorcycle livery of all time, the stunning XR69 was one of the bikes that helped with the resurgence of four-stroke motorcycle racing. As Japanese manufacturers now had swathes of affordable four-cylinder, four-stroke machines on sale, motorcycle builders like Pops Yoshimura were keen to help turn them into world-beating racing machines.
A seven-time TT winner, Grant competed in every TT from 1970 to 1984, campaigning this machine in 1982, using it also at the NW200 in the same year. When he retired from competitive racing in 1985, the XR69 was gifted to him in the exact spec and condition it is in today.
Speaking about the sale of the machine, Mick said:
It’s still in great condition overall and wears all of its original sponsors’ logos including Team Heron Suzuki, Shell Oil, Champion, Dunlop and Sonic Intercoms.
“My full factory XR69 has been in my possession since I retired from racing in 1985. It is the exact specification as when I raced it. It was given to me by Suzuki. To the best of my knowledge, there were only five or six of the special bikes made. For some reason my bike seems to be the best specification of them all, it has a dry clutch, magnesium carburettors, billet forks and twin spark plugs.
“I only know of two others that still exist, one is an ex-Roger Marshall bike with a collector in Ireland, and the other is an early twin-shock XR built for Graham Crosby.
“This machine is in very good mechanical and working condition. In the past, I've demonstrated this machine in South Africa and at Oliver's Mount, Spa Francorchamps, Brands Hatch, Mallory Park.”
The auction for this very special machine begins on June 20th at 17:00. The guide price is listed at £95,000 - £110,000.
To check out the listing for yourself head to: www.carandclassic.co.uk
Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
