The Suzuki XR69 holds a special place in classic superbike lore. That puts it well inside the wheelhouse of Canadian builder Darren Begg, who specializes in fast bikes from the late 70s and 80s. He’s just finished piecing together this stunning XR69 replica?with a slightly period incorrect spec sheet.
?It?s not a traditional GS1000-engined XR69,? he admits, ?but I?m not much of a traditionalist. So it?s my interpretation of this historic racer.?

Darren operates as dB Customs out of Ottawa, Canada. He’s also a dealer for a few top-shelf parts manufacturers, so he’s a master of piecing together the best of the best on his projects. His idea here was to build a series of ten street-able XR9 replicas using his favorite components?plus a very special chassis. This one’s the first in the series, as the number on the side of the fairing suggests.

The XR69 was originally developed by Pops Yoshimura and Suzuki, and cleaned up when it hit the racetrack in 1980. It was powered by an eight-valve motor derived from the GS1000?but Darren’s replica borrows its motor from elsewhere in Suzuki’s back catalog.
Powering this retro-fabulous superbike is the motor from a 1997 Suzuki Bandit 1200. Darren refreshed the motor and topped it off with an early GSX-R750 head: ?It has more of a down draft design, with smaller combustion chambers for added compression,? he explains.

Inside are the cams from an oil-cooled GSX-R1100 and Kibblewhite springs, with s...