1990 Suzuki DR383

 Open eBay affiliate auction listing

Price: 3,750.00 GBP

1990 Suzuki DR350S 383cc — Formerly Owned by Kevin Schwantz — Gift from Team Pepsi Suzuki — 1993

The 383cc engine is particularly interesting

This wasn’t simply an untouched DR350.

The published account specifically says the bike was modified with:

• 383cc big-bore engine
• Adjustable forks
• Larger carburettor(s)
• High-compression piston
• Special/dedicated exhaust
• Power increased from approximately 30 bhp to 41 bhp.

That is important because it establishes that the 383cc specification is part of the documented Schwantz history, rather than simply a later owner claiming that the bike had been modified.

The key point is this:

You have original Suzuki documentation that names Kevin Schwantz as the purchaser/recipient of this exact motorcycle, and the VIN on that document matches the VIN on the UK registration documents.

That is a major piece of provenance.

What your documents prove

1. Original Suzuki Certificate of Origin — 1990

This is the most important document in the collection.

The original Suzuki Certificate of Origin for a Vehicle states:

• Make: Suzuki
• Year: 1990
• Model: DR350
• VIN: JS1DK41AXL2100149
• Engine: K404100335
• Engine capacity: 349cc
• G.V.W.R.: 315
• H.P.: 31.5
• Date: 24/02/1990
• It specifically names:

KEVIN SCHWANTZ

1117 Bingle Road

Houston, TX 77055

That is enormously important.

It isn’t simply an old owner’s statement saying the bike belonged to Schwantz. The original manufacturer’s paperwork identifies Kevin Schwantz in connection with this particular VIN.

Your UK V5C gives:

Registration: G475 CLE

VIN/chassis: JS1DK41AXL2100149

Engine: K404100335

Make: Suzuki

Capacity: 349cc

First UK registration: 24 July 1997

Declared manufactured: 1990

So we have:

Suzuki factory document

↓

VIN JS1DK41AXL2100149

↓

UK V5C

↓

same VIN JS1DK41AXL2100149

That is exactly the sort of continuity an auction house wants to see.

You have an original Taylor Racing invoice dated:

12 July 1997

It is addressed to:

Mr Peter Robathan

and relates to the Suzuki DR350.

The work/items include:

• Fit lighting kit + speedo kit
• SM speedo kit
• 12V horn
• handlebar switch assembly
• brake-light switch
• spring
• front bulb
• MOT/pass
• other associated work

This is particularly interesting because it establishes the motorcycle’s transition into UK road/supermoto specification in 1997, immediately before its first UK registration on 24 July 1997.

So we now have a very plausible sequence:

1990 – Suzuki manufactured

↓

Kevin Schwantz / Houston, Texas

↓

Pepsi Suzuki / Schwantz period

↓

Motorcycle ultimately brought to UK

↓

1997 – Taylor Racing / Peter Robathan

↓

24 July 1997 – UK registration

You also have a very early UK MOT certificate.

It records:

Registration: G475 CLE

VIN: 2100149

Make: Suzuki

Colour: White

Approximate year: 1990

Recorded mileage: 2

And the MOT dates are:

February 1999 → February 2000

The recorded mileage of only 2 is particularly interesting.

It suggests that this motorcycle was not being used as an ordinary high-mileage road bike after arriving in Britain.

This is another very important piece of evidence.

The dyno test is dated:

19/10/2005

The sheet identifies the bike as:

DR350S

and records:

41.5 hp @ 7,848 rpm

That is extremely significant because the published account of Schwantz’s DR350 says the motorcycle was modified from approximately 30 bhp to 41 bhp, with a 383cc conversion, larger carburetion, high-compression piston and special exhaust.

Your dyno independently records:

41.5 hp

So the contemporary published history and your surviving dyno documentation line up remarkably well.

The 2009 article isn’t just an internet rumour.

The Motoblog article, which specifically credits MCN as its source, says this exact 1990 DR350S had a history beginning in 1993, when Team Pepsi Suzuki gave it to Kevin Schwantz for transportation, before it was sent to England at the end of the season.

It also identifies the then-current owner as Keith Skinner, who had discovered the motorcycle in London and gone to considerable effort to acquire it.

Most importantly, the article describes the modifications as:

• 383cc
• adjustable forks
• larger carburettors
• high-compression piston
• dedicated exhaust
• approximately 41 bhp.

That is an extraordinary match with the documentation you have.

This is something I think is particularly interesting.

Your V5C shows a previous keeper:

Charles Skinner

and records that the vehicle was acquired on:

04/08/2009

The published article appeared on:

05/09/2009

and says that Keith Skinner was the current owner and had possessed the motorcycle for only 2–3 months.

That timing is remarkably close.

So we potentially have:

2009 V5C → Skinner

and

September 2009 published article → Skinner owning Schwantz’s DR350

This is not something I would ignore when presenting the bike to an auction house.

There may be a perfectly innocent explanation for the Charles/Keith first-name discrepancy — family ownership, registration details, etc. — but we should not state that Charles and Keith are the same person until we can establish it.

This is where your bike becomes particularly interesting.

We have:

Published Schwantz history

383cc / 41 bhp.

Your 2005 dyno

41.5 hp @ 7,848 rpm

Your 1997 Taylor Racing invoice

Evidence of specialist work and conversion to UK road/supermoto specification.

Original Suzuki documentation

349cc original factory specification — exactly what we would expect before the later engine modification.

So the story isn’t:

“Someone says this old DR350 was turned into a 383.”

It is much closer to:

1990 factory 349cc DR350 → Kevin Schwantz → Pepsi Suzuki association → specialist modifications → documented 41.5hp dyno → surviving UK documentary trail.