Suzuki X-6 Hustler

When I recently set up a poll question asking what your favorite classic 250 is, the Suzi X-6 came in second. My old favorite, the CL-72, came in first by one vote, but that model has already been covered extensively at Tiddlerosis. I was quite surprised that the H-D Sprint received no votes, but I featured it anyway, since it was a distinctive model in its day, although some might say that it was distinctive in an unfortunately negative manner. It was certainly no CL-72, or Diana, or Metralla!

I have a number of photos on hand of the X-6, but I chose this one to display because the blue sky coloring is so perfect. Although I have larger photos of other Hustlers, some are of the scrambler version and some show non-stock parts. As far as I can tell, this example is just as they rolled off the showroom floor. The model was officially sold in the U. S. as the X-6 Hustler in '66-68. This one is a 1967. The Hustler name came from the U. S. publicity department. The model was called Super Six in European markets. The Hustler name continued in the U. S. on later Suzuki 250 twins at least through 1970, and maybe later. The model was called a GT 250 in '73, but I am not sure about 1971-2.

Suzuki marketed a 250cc two-stroke twin in the U. S. from virtually the beginning of the brand's entrance into America. The 1963-65 models were relatively klunky with pressed-steel frames, full-coverage fenders, enclosed shocks, four-speed transmissions, premix fuel systems, 21 hp, 17-inch wheels, and the trademark flat-bottomed headlamp housing. The sporty, five-speed YDS-2's and '3's were giving them a hard time.

Suzuki made their first indelible mark on the American psyche with the introduction of the world's first six-speed motorcycle. The X-6 featured a double-downtube frame, 29 horsepower, chrome fenders, uncovered springs, oil injection, and a 14-second quarter-mile. The chrome fenders were changed to silver with a single stripe down the center that matched the gas tank color in 1967, as the photo above shows.

There are a number of styling details of which I am not sure at this time, mostly because I have never been that much of a Suzi fan, so I don't have as many Sixties brochures as I do of some of the other Japanese brands. I am sure that the first year (1966) had chrome fenders, as did the later '69-'70 versions, but I am unsure of the 1968. My best guess is that it had the silver fenders. Even the 1964 T-10 sports model had a slim, chrome front fender, but I don't have any photos to verify if there was a smooth styling transition between this model and the '66 X-6. The later Hustlers of 1969 and '70 produced 32 horsepower, yet the brochure quotes only a 15.3 1/4-mile. I think all the Hustlers had 18-inch wheels, but the T-10 had 17's. The changes to the scramblers were held to a minimum with cross-brace bars and upswept pipes, one on each side.

The X-6 brought real pizzaz to the Suzuki name. The machines were flashy, stylish, and fast, and the battle with Yamaha for 250 two-stroke domination had only just begun. Generally speaking, Yamaha usually won on the racetrack, if not the showroom. With 20/20 hindsight, my best guess is that the earliest Yamahas were more common than the early Suzis, then the X-6 brought some serious sales to Suzuki for a few years, only to be eclipsed again by the legendary RD-350. I also bet that the early X-6's are more desirable to collectors than the '69-'70 models. The Morro Green and Mesa Orange shades of the later models offset whatever styling gains they had made with separate instruments and chrome fenders. Most of the tiddlers have always looked best in bright, primary colors, even with single instrument nacelles, chrome-sided gas tanks, and silver fenders. Some of the juiciest nostalgia seems to have rubbed off of many or our favorite tiddlers as they entered the styling trends of the Seventies. I think this is particularly true of the Suzuki X-6 Hustler. It's time was fading fast.

See Also: The X-6 Wikipedia Page
A Detailed Story About the X-6
A Report on the Super Six from the UK