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 GSX-R Recall Affects 210,228 Motorcycles in US

Suzuki’s front brake master cylinder recall for GSX-R sportbikes going as far back as 2004 affects a whopping 210,228 motorcycles. We wrote about the recall earlier this month, but the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has now released information about the extent of the recall for the U.S. market.

Ben Spies Retires from Motorcycle Racing

Ben Spies announced his retirement from motorcycle racing, as injuries cut short a once promising career for the American. Spies retires with a World Superbike title in his first and only season in the series, and three AMA Superbike Championships. “I want to thank everyone from racing organizations, factories, teams and all my fans for helping me and supporting me throughout my career,” says Spies.

WSBK 2013: Jerez Race Report

Eugene Laverty did everything he could, scoring a pair of race wins but it was not enough as Tom Sykes rode smartly and conservatively at the season finale in Spain, securing his first ever World Superbike Championship. Sykes landed in Jerez with a 37-point lead over Laverty and a 38-point lead over Sylvain Guintoli. While Laverty battled Marco Melandri to win Race One, Sykes coasted comfortably in third for most of the race to score 16 points, enough to clinch the title.

2013 AIMExpo: Suzuki Unveils GW250

Suzuki unveiled a new lightweight naked standard motorcycle at the 2013 American International Motorcycle Expo (AIMExpo) – the GW250. Powered by a 248cc liquid cooled in-line twin-cylinder engine, the GW250 would seem an ideal choice for newcomers not interested in sportbikes like the Honda CBR250R and Kawasaki Ninja 300. Editor-in-Chief Kevin Duke had a chance to ride the newest Suzuki and will be providing a review in the coming days.

2004-2013 Suzuki GSX-R Sportbikes Recalled for Master Cylinder Replacement

Suzuki is recalling 2004-2013 GSX-R600 and GSX-R750 sportbikes as well as GSX-R1000 models from 2005-2013 because of a problem with their front brake master cylinders. As of publication, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has not officially announced any recalls because of the federal government work stoppage, but notices have been sent out to dealerships across the U.S. Meanwhile, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission has posted a recall, and we expect to see further news to come from other markets.

2014 Suzuki Burgman 200 ABS Officially Confirmed for US

As first reported here on Motorcycle.com, the new 2014 Suzuki Burgman 200 scooter to the U.S. market. We’ve known about the 200cc version of the Burgman since June when it received an executive order from the California Air Resources Board, and last month, Suzuki unveiled the new scooter along with a new 125cc version in France.

Rare Racing Motorcycles To Be Displayed At AMA Legends Weekend

A number of rare, one-of-a-kind bikes with ties to the AMA Motorcycle Hall Of Fame‘s newest inductees will be on display at the 2013 AMA Legends Weekend, at the Green Valley Ranch Resort in Las Vegas, Nev., Friday and Saturday, Oct 18-19. Tickets are available to the general public. Jeffrey V.

Video: Nissan Preparing To Break Nurburgring Record With Nissan GT-R Nismo

The Nurburgring is typically used by automakers to test their new vehicles in an attempt to gauge how fast it can go around the track relative to the competition. Now, it appears that Nissan is setting up shop at the ’Ring this week in an attempt to set a new lap record for the Nissan GT-R . The car that’s poised to challenge that mark?

2013 Motocross of Nations Results

Ken de Dycker led Team Belgium to victory in the 2013 Motocross of Nations at Germany’s Teutschenthal track. De Dycker was joined by Clement de Salle and Jeremy von Horebeek in winning Belgium’s first MXoN title since 2004. Team U.S.A.

WSBK 2013: Laguna Seca Race Report

Tom Sykes and Eugene Laverty each came away with a victory as the World Superbike Championship made its return to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The first race featured two red flags, ironically caused by AMA Superbike regulars Danny Eslick and Roger Hayden, the two men with the most recent experience at the famed track. The second race was a much cleaner affair, with a dramatic finish, setting up the final two rounds of the championship.