Suzuki Motorcycles

About Suzuki

Suzuki Motor Corporation is a Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Minami-ku, Hamamatsu, Japan, which specializes in manufacturing automobiles, four-wheel drive vehicles, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), outboard marine engines, wheelchairs and a variety of other small internal combustion engines.

In 1909, Michio Suzuki (1887–1982) founded the Suzuki Loom Works in the small seacoast village of Hamamatsu, Japan. He was making looms, did some cars for a short time, faced cotton market collapse in 1951 and so he came to new products.

Suzuki's first two-wheel ingenuity came in the form a bicycle fitted with a motor called, the "Power Free." Designed to be inexpensive and simple to build and maintain, the 1952 Power Free featured a 36 cc, one horsepower, two-stroke engine. An unprecedented feature was the double-sprocket gear system, enabling the rider to either pedal with the engine assisting, pedal without engine assist, or simply disconnect the pedals and run on engine power alone. The system was so ingenious that the patent office of the new democratic government granted Suzuki a financial subsidy to continue research in motorcycle engineering, and so was born Suzuki Motor Corporation.

In 1953, The Diamond Free is introduced and features double-sprocket wheel mechanism and two-speed transmission. That year Suzuki scored the first of many racing victories when the tiny 60 cc "Diamond Free" won its class in the Mount Fuji Hill Climb.

By 1954, Suzuki had officially changed its name to Suzuki Motor Co., Ltd. S mark was adopted as corporate emblem in 1958.

In 1955 the Colleda COX debuts, a 125cc bike equipped with a steel frame. It features a 4-stroke OHV single-cylinder engine with three-speed transmission.

Using MZ’s technology (Ernst Degner defected to the west while racing for MZ in the Swedish Grand Prix, and he took knowledge of Walter Kaaden’s expansion chamber designs), Suzuki wins the newly created 50cc class in the World Championship. The company will win the class every year until ’67, and win the 125cc class twice in that period, too.

The T20 is released in 1965 (aka Super 6, X-6, Hustler). This two-stroke, street-going Twin is one of the fastest bikes in its class. The ‘6’ in its name(s) refers to its six-speed gearbox. The T500 ‘Titan’ (1968) is an air-cooled parallel-Twin two-stroke.

In 1971 the GT750 2-stroke surprises people with its three-cylinder liquid-cooled engine. In North America, it’s nicknamed the Water Buffalo; in the UK they call them Kettles. Also the TM400A motocrosser goes into production, a 396cc bike designed for 500cc motocross races.

With the GS750, Suzuki finally builds a 4-stroke, four-cylinder road bike in 1976.

The 779cc DR-BIG, dated by 1990, has the largest single-cylinder engine in living memory. The much-loved 16-valve, 1156cc air/oil-cooled Bandit 1200 appears on the scene in 1995.

In 1996 Suzuki calls the new GSX-R750 the ‘turning-point model’ thanks to its twin-spar frame instead of the older double-cradle frame. The engine is also redesigned and featured 3-piece crankcases, chrome-plated cylinders and a side-mount cam chain as well as Suzuki Ram Air Direct (SRAD) system.

Moto blog

2024 Suzuki GSX-8R Review – First Ride

A middleweight sporty-bike without the backache Photos: Kevin Wing As I write this, in the year 2024, it’s dawned on me that there’s a whole generation of adults that have little to no memory of September 11, 2001. Some weren’t even alive yet, and those who were were too young to remember. One of, if not the, defining moment for my generation is just a page in a history book for today’s young adults, just as December 7, 1941 was for me.

2024 Suzuki GSX-S1000GX+ Review – First Ride

A tech-laden, long-legged addition to the K5 family Photography by: Ula Serra, Amylee Photography Suzuki has produced more than 180,000 of its K5 999 cc Inline Four cylinder engine in the last 18 years, and now we’re seeing that engine tasked with powering a tall sport touring bike that Suzuki calls the “supreme sport crossover," sitting between the sport-touring GSX-S1000GT that the GX is heavily based on, and adventure tourers like that of Suzuki’s V-Strom line. Leggy sport tourers, or crossovers, aren’t exactly a new thing, and since bikes like the Kawasaki Versys, Yamaha Tracer 9 GT, and BMW S 1000 XR exist, there is already some healthy competition for Hamamatsu to contend with. Suzuki tells us this is its most technologically advanced motorcycle yet, making the GSX-S1000GX a sort of flagship product for the brand.

2023 Suzuki GSX-8S Review - First Ride

Suzuki fires on both cylinders with its new naked The Route Napoleon is considered one of the best drives across France. It starts near the French Riviera and runs up to the southern tip of the Alps. The route earns its namesake by following the path that the one-time French emperor used to covertly make his way north after escaping his first exile.

2023 Suzuki V-Strom 800DE - Video Review

Nobody reads anymore anyway The Dunlop tires worked well on pavement and hard packed trails, but in the looser terrain, a knobby tire would’ve been a better option.  Videos by Suzuki, Edited by Ray Gauger You’ve read the review (maybe), now watch the video! Skirting through beautiful twisty bits of tarmac intertwined with rocky fire roads, the Suzuki V-Strom 800DE’s excellent new Parallel Twin engine is a peach. On road, the Twin powers out of corners with all of the punch expected of a 776cc 270-degree crank-driven Twin.

2023 Suzuki V-Strom 800DE Review - First Ride

Suzuki hits a sweet spot in the middleweight adventure scene Flying over the second largest island in the Mediterranean gives a view of rocky coastlines, lush greenery, small villages, and surprisingly stout topography with mountains stretching more than 6,000 ft. into the sky. Idyllic yet rugged, the isle of Sardinia boasts addictively serpentine asphalt and endlessly challenging off-road terrain.

2023 Suzuki V-Strom 800DE/V-Strom 800DE Adventure First Look

No longer with a V-Twin, but the Strom heritage is still strong The Suzuki V-Strom line is a storied one that most riders are quite familiar with, but today in Milan, Suzuki opened the next chapter: the 2023 Suzuki V-Strom 800DE. While the entire bike is worthy of attention, the showstopper for the new Storms is the 766cc parallel-Twin engine. The V-Twin that gives the Strom part of its name has been assigned to the history books.

2023 Suzuki GSX-8S First Look

Suzuki's all-new platform is a sign of things to come. At long last, the spiritual successor to Suzuki’s wildly popular SV650 (but not the actual successor, the SV is still staying in the Suzuki lineup) is finally here. Say hello to the GSX-8S, a motorcycle Suzuki says was “engineered from the ground up as an innovative path for future Suzuki sportbikes…” While we all process what that means for Suzuki’s future, let’s delve into the present day and take a closer look at Suzuki’s new middleweight naked bike.

Showdown: Kawasaki Ninja 1000 SX Vs Suzuki GSX-S1000GT+

A clash between two sport-touring heavyweights Credit: Photos by Evans Brasfield It seems like all the splash lately has been about the ADV category and all the wonderful things they can do and destinations they can reach. We’re not going to deny adventure bikes their time in the sun, either. They’re definitely fun and capable bikes worthy of all the bandwagoning.

Church of MO: 2012 Suzuki DR-Z400S Review

And speaking of Japanese motorcycles with looooong shelf lives, how about the DR-Z400S? Suzuki sold the first one in 2000 as a serious enduro machine you could ride around on the street, too. And they’ll sell you one today, complete with 36mm Mikuni carburetor, for just $7,099 – which is $1750 more than 22 years ago.

2023 Suzuki V-Strom 1050 and V-Strom 1050DE First Look

V-Strom 1050XT gets replaced by a more capable off-road variant Suzuki announced updates for the V-Strom 1050, as well as a new off-road oriented version for 2023. The new 2023 Suzuki V-Strom 1050DE replaces the 1050XT model, and adds new features to make it a more capable off-road machine such as a 21-inch front wheel, longer-stroke suspension, and a larger aluminum bash plate. Both models remain powered by a 1037cc V-Twin engine, but for 2023, Suzuki introduced new hollow sodium-filled exhaust valves, claiming reduced temperature in the combustion chamber, and thus improved efficiency and durability.