Celebrating Barry Sheene at the 2026 Goodwood Festival of Speed

It’s 50 years since Barry Sheene won the first of his two 500cc Grand Prix World Championships. To celebrate the British legend, The 2026 Goodwood Festival of Speed has curated a collection of race bikes from his momentous career, while Suzuki commissioned a special paint job for its GSX-R1000R in honour of his 1976 RG500 XR14 race bike. I got the chance to ride up the famous hillclimb and chatted to Suzuki UK's Tim Davis to find out more about the iconic two-strokes Barry raced. The 1976 XR14 was ridden to GP wins in France, Austrian, Nations (Italy) and Sweden. Engine number 1101 was a little more special to the others used that year, so it was the number one engine for the season. 1976 500cc World Championship: France: 1st Austria: 1st Nations GP (Italy): 1st IoM: DNS* Dutch TT: 1st Belgium: 2nd Swedish: 1st Finland: DNS* Czech: DNS* West German: DNS* Total Points: 72 DNS denotes that he did not start the race. Back in those days there were races that didn't count towards the championship and these were mainly the road races like the IoM and Czech GP. Also, once the championship had been won, the riders invariably didn't compete after that and in Barry's case he probably went on holiday and had a rather large party or two! SPECIFICATION Engine Number: 1101 Engine type: Water cooled square four cylinder two stroke Bore x Stroke: 54 x 54 Swept Volume (cc): 464:69 Engine lubrication: Fuel pre-mix 20:1 ratio Intake system: 4 x crankcase rotary valve Carburettor: 4 x Mikuni, single float, magnesium Compression ratio: 8:2 to 1 Ignition System: Nippon-Denso CDI Magneto, twin ignition coil Maximum engine power: 114 @ 11,200rpm Maximum speed: 183mph Clutch type: All metal dry multi-plate Transmission: 6 speed, constant mesh Chassis: Steel round tube duplex cradle Steering head angle: 25:4 degrees Brake system front: Twin, floating steel disc, 295mm dia Brake System rear: Single, ventilated cast iron disc 220mm dia Tyre size front (inch): Variable using cast magnesium 2:50 x 18 rim Tyre size rear (inch): Variable using cast magnesium 3:50 x 18 rim Suspension system (F): Kayaba telescopic, air assisted, internal spring, oil damped, 35mm inner tube 130mm stroke Suspension system (R): Kayaba oil damped, external spring, 85mm stroke, aluminium box section swinging arm Dry weight (lbs): 132kgs (290) https://www.neevesybikes.com Carl Cox Motorsport clothing: https://carlcoxmotorsport.com Uggly & Co: https://ugglyandco.com Two Tyres: https://twotyres.co.uk Metzeler: https://www.metzeler.com