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

2013 AMA Supercross Indianapolis Race Report

Ryan Villopoto continues to be in championship form, taking his third consecutive victory and sixth of the season with a win at Lucas Oil Stadium for the Indianapolis round of the 2013 AMA Supercross Championship. The Monster Energy Kawasaki rider had a calculated, methodical race to take the win and expand his championship lead to nine points ahead of Davi Millsaps. Millsaps took the holeshot in a chaotic start to the main event that saw several riders go down at the opening corner.

2013 AMA Superbike Daytona Race Report

The story leading up to the opening round of the 2013 AMA Pro National Guard Superbike season was whether anyone would be able to keep up with defending champion Josh Hayes. After all, the Monster Energy Graves Yamaha rider dominated the competition last season winning 16 of 20 races including a string of 10 in a row. The season-opening round at Daytona International Speedway appeared to start on script with Hayes qualifying in pole position.

2013 AMA Daytona 200 Race Report

Cameron Beaubier led a parade of Yamaha YZF-R6 racebikes to win the 72nd running of the famed Daytona 200. The Yamaha Extended Service Graves Yamaha rider started from pole position and led for 50 of 57 laps before winning by a 22.254-second margin. Behind Beaubier were four other R6 riders including his teammate Garret Gerloff who finished second.

2013 Jordan Suzuki Livery Inspired by Air Jordan XX8 Sneakers

Michael Jordan Motorsports revealed its racing livery for its 2013 AMA Superbike Championship Suzuki GSX-R1000 racebikes. The 2013 racebikes will sport a wavy blue camo pattern inspired by the new Nike Air Jordan XX8 sneaker. The team unveiled the new livery on the Skydeck on the 103rd floor of the Willis Tower (formerly known as the Sears Tower) in Chicago, where the team was founded and, more notably, where team owner Michael Jordan won six NBA championships with the Bulls.

2013 AMA Supercross Daytona Race Report

Ryan Villopoto won his fifth main event race of the year at Daytona to take over the lead in the 2013 AMA Supercross championship standings. The win is the third at Daytona in the Monster Energy Kawasaki racer’s career, matching the totals set by Bob Hannah, Mike Kiedrowski, Jeremy McGrath and Chad Reed. Only Ricky Carmichael, who designed the sand-based Daytona track, holds more Supercross wins at Daytona with five victories.

Brammo Electric Motorcycles Eligible to Race Against Gas-Powered Bikes in AFM

Electric Brammo motorcycles will share the grid with gas-powered motorcycles in American Federation of Motorcyclists competitions. The AFM, America’s oldest motorcycle road racing body, announced Brammo riders can compete head-to-head for championships against those riding internal combustion engine motorcycles. The Brammo Empulse R, Empulse TTX and Empulse RR will be eligible for competition.

Goodbye American Suzuki, Hello Suzuki Motor of America as Chapter 11 Plan Gets Approval

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court has approved American Suzuki‘s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, allowing the company to begin its restructuring. As announced last November, Suzuki is getting out of the automobile business in the U.S.

2013 AMA Supercross St. Louis Race Report

Ryan Villopoto captured his series-leading fourth win of the season in a red-flagged main event before a record crowd of 60,178 at St. Louis’ Edwards Jones Dome, as the 2013 AMA Supercross season reaches its midway point. The race started with MotoConcepts Suzuki rider Mike Alessi taking the holeshot with Muscle Milk Honda‘s Justin Barcia and Yoshimura Suzuki‘s James Stewart on his tail.

New: Venhill 888 fast-action twistgrips

CONTROL specialist Venhill has launched its new 888 range of bike-specific fast action twistgrips.  Supplied complete with the company's top of the range Featherlight cables, the kits are designed for a straightforward replacement of the factory-fitted equipment.  Bike-specific kits are now available for the Honda CBR600F, Kawasaki ZX-6R/ZX-10R, Suzuki GSX-R600/750, Triumph 675 Daytona and Yamaha R1/R6, among others, with prices from £105. Here's Venhill's description of the new product: "Manufactured with a robust CNC machined alloy body, the 888 fast action twistgrip provides a choice of two settings and is supplied with two rotors so that riders can select the throttle action that best suits the riding conditions.  Settings can be changed swiftly by undoing the two set screws securing the throttle body and changing the rotor. On the fastest setting there is 80° of rotation, (taking up 36mm of the cable), which is typically 45% faster than 'standard' throttles.

Suzuki to Join MotoGP Test at Catalunya

Suzuki plans to take part in the mid-June MotoGP test at Spain’s Catalunya circuit. If all goes according to plan, the June 17 test, which follows the sixth round of the 2013 MotoGP season, will mark the first time a Suzuki MotoGP bike has shared the track with the prototypes from rival manufacturers Ducati, Honda and Yamaha since 2011. When Suzuki announced its withdrawal from MotoGP racing in 2011, the Japanese manufacturer said it planned to return for the 2014 season.