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

Suzuki has prepared a touring version of the V-Strom, the 1050XT Tour

Suzuki has expanded its lineup by simply adding three black-painted aluminum panniers to the older V-Strom. The resulting "V-Strom" package has acquired its own name: Suzuki V-Strom 1050XT Tour. The total volume of the top and both side cases is 112 liters.

Comparing Each End of the Sportbike Price Spectrum: Ducati Panigale V4R and Suzuki GSX-R1000R

How Much Motorcycle Does $40,000 Actually Get You? Credit: Photos by Evans Brasfield (street), Caliphotography (track) | Videos by Sean Matic You all know the saying, “You get what you pay for.” It’s an important life lesson that rings true for many aspects of life. Like cheap tools, the pleasure we get for the minimal cost outlay quickly evaporates as soon as it breaks much sooner than it should.

Suzuki Burgman 400 Long-Term Wrap-Up

There’s really not that much to wrap, frankly. It’s been mostly drama-free. The Suzuki Burgman 400 entered my fleet in mid-March with just 70 miles on the clock, and now sits at 731.

2020 Honda CRF1100L Africa Twin Vs. Suzuki V-Strom 1050XT

Two spruced-up Japanese ADV bikes go head-to-head. Credit: Photos by Evans Brasfield | Videos by Sean Matic We’ll admit this is an unusual ADV test. There are any number of competitors we could have lined up against the new-and-improved 2020 Honda Africa Twin.

SoCal Distancing #1: Suzuki Burgman 400 to St. Francis Dam

Disasters 'r Us Credit: Photos by <a href="https://hatchillustrations.com/" target="_blank">Jim Hatch Illustration</a> (photo illustration) It’s important to keep things in perspective; the coronavirus isn’t the first disaster to befall us and you know it won’t be the last. Well, I mean it could be… Wherever you live, you can probably find all kinds of things that have gone spectacularly tits up over the years in your own backyard. The bigger the town, the bigger the pile of massive cock-ups, as the English like to say.

Readers' Rides: 1997 Suzuki Savage Cafe Racer

Gary Corde tells us about his eye-catching 1997 Suzuki Savage cafe racer: I’m happy to brag about my cafe racer. This bike started out life as a ’97 Suzuki Savage. The bike was an unloved and rusted basket case that I purchased to repurpose into a useful motorcycle.

Church of MO: 2000 Suzuki Bandit 600S

Therefore I say unto you, Be not anxious for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than the food, and the body than the raiment? Behold the birds of the heaven, that they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; and your heavenly Father feedeth them.

Retro Rumble Redux: Kawasaki Z900RS Vs Suzuki Katana

Katana Hot Tin Roof Credit: Videos by Sean Matic Lately, it’s like time travel around here. A couple years ago we put the then-new Kawasaki Z900RS up against the Suzuki GSX-S1000 in a slightly apples-to-oranges comparo, Retro or Not(ro), which the Kawi won by a hair. Now that Suzuki has their own retro based upon the GSX-S in the Katana, we felt like we had to do it again.

2020 Suzuki V-Strom 1050XT Review – First Ride

ADV for Everyman, now with more power and cruise control Credit: Photos by Suzuki and John Burns How can any red-blooded American not love Suzuki, the blue-collar working motorcycle so many of us thrashed as youths, left parked in alleys with no loss of sleep, covered in fur for a brief period there in the (I think) ’90s… In spite of all the abuse we dished out, Suzuki’s loyalty was never in question. 2020 Suzuki V-Strom 1050XT Editor Score: 88% Engine 18.0/20 Suspension/Handling 13.0/15 Transmission/Clutch 9.0/10 Brakes 8.5/10 Instruments/Controls 4.0/5 Ergonomics/Comfort 9.5/10 Appearance/Quality 8.5/10 Desirability 8.5/10 Value 9.0/10 Overall Score 88/100 2020 Suzuki V-Strom 1050 First Look Of all the GSX-Rs, GSX-Fs, SVs, RMs and TLs that have graced the editorial garage, I think the big V-Strom has emerged as my favorite, even if it wasn’t clear what role the first DL1000 was supposed to play in 2002? Back then, it was all about the GSX-R.

Suzuki GSX-R1000 Sportbike Gets New VVT System

Suzuki has adopted the SR-VVT (Suzuki Racing Variable Valve Timing) system on the 2017 GSX-R1000. A centrifugal drive system is integrated into the intake gear and adjacent guide plate. It features 12 steel balls and slant grooves to rotate and synchronize the intake valve at a predetermined RPM for increased power at high RPMs.