Steve Wheatman just had to have that Suzuki 50 when he turned sixteen - Classic Motorbikes

Steve Wheatman just had to have that Suzuki 50 when he turned sixteen. He spent days and weeks working in his father's restaurant and finally got the cash he needed. That was just the start, 33 years ago. Now Steve runs his own "Suzuki Classic Racing Team" and he is living the dream, cherishing former Suzuki factory bikes and sharing stories with Suzuki legends.

Last year Steve came to Francorchamps with a small selection of his incredible selection of classic racing bikes. Steve was instrumental in getting Dutch racer Boet van Dulmen back on track, something Van Dulmen had always been reluctant to do. The Dutchman rode Wheatman's 1983 machine and thoroughly enjoyed it, as did the owner himself. "It was a real inspiration to see Boet on his 1983 machine and to hear the reception he got from all the Dutch fans with singing and chanting", says Wheatman. Last year's Bikers' Classics undeniably whet his appetite and there was no doubt in his head that he would be back in 2010 - with possibly seven bikes to be ridden by Van Dulmen, 1978 500 cc Francorchamps winner Wil Hartog, Randy Mamola and Phil Read. There is no mistaking, Wheatman is an incurable Suzuki addict. "I was fascinated by watching the racing and Barry Sheene was hero", explains Steve. "Unfortunately I never met him, but I would say that he and the Suzuki RG500 were the main reasons for my Suzuki fascination. When the road bike version came out in 1985 I had to sell everything else to buy one."

By that time Steve used to frequent the British racing circuits on a 1966 Suzuki Super Six. It was the first in his collection, he recalls. "I still have the bike, but my first proper racer was a RG500 MK1 fitted with the engine that Barry used in (fellow collector) Chris Wilson's XR14 at Assen in 1998. After Assen the engine was removed for repair and later installed in my bike. So it has a little bit of an association with Barry."

Although his collection is impressive - it includes not only bikes but rare carbon frames and engines as well - two stroke fanatic Wheatman does have a personal favourite. "My favourite period was from 1976 until 1985. My favourite bike is my 1983 Randy Mamola XR45 that he rode in South Africa and France that year. It's got those wonderful yellow HB Gallina colours, definitely the livery I prefer. It was not one of his favourites because of handling difficulties, but it is just so beautiful. Philippe Coulon rode this bike at Spa last year." He also has a soft spot for Barry Sheene's 1983 XR35, admits the Brit. "The bikes he used in 1983 and 1984 were not factory machinery, but old hand me downs. So we tracked the history of my 1983 Sheene XR35 and this is in fact Randy's 1981 number 1 bike that won many GPs that year and Randy finished second in the world championship on it. In 1982 the bike was used in GPs by Keith Huewen before being passed to Barry during 1983. Much to Huewen's very public disgust!"

Wheatman occasionally rides the bikes, but race preparation is done only by ex factory mechanics like Paul Boulton and Nigel Everett. The two experts have their work cut out for them, because Wheatman is planning numerous international trips. "The bikes have been to South Africa twice, we'll be at Spa, Verano in Italy and hopefully Imatra in Finland. We even have plans to go as far away as the USA and Australia in 2011. I want all the bikes to be running and available for people to see and listen to and if possible have the original riders on them. It would be really nice if we can get Marco Lucchinelli, Graziano Rossi, Tepi Lansivuori, Virginio Ferrari, Randy Mamola and Phil Read riding the very bikes they used to ride in GP´s. This has to be so much better than the bikes just lying in cellars or garages hidden away. Any wishes? Well, I would really like one of the factory V4s from the Schwantz era. I have almost assembled enough parts to build one. I just need a f rame and a set of carbs, so let's hope it could happen soon. But you know, it's a constant quest!"