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

Top 10 Least Expensive (Cheapest) Motorcycle Sportbikes of 2009 by MSRP

Are you stuck on the idea of getting a sportbike but feeling a little light in the money clip? Luckily for you there are lots of price conscious solutions on the sportbike market. This list will give you a good idea about what kind of bike you can get for as little money as possible.

Top 10 Best Sportbikes of 2009

Since it’s inception Motorcycle.com Specs has been the best place for bikers and enthusiasts (like you) to voice their opinions; there has been a lot to spout-off about too! Over 528 Motorcycle models have been updated for you to review in 2009 alone. It’s great to see what the Motorcycle Community has to say about the bikes they ride.

2009 Suzuki GSX-R1000 Review – First Ride!

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A Different Bike Magazine

Motorcycle Retro is a pet project of former Motorcyclist editor Mitch Boehm, launching as Motorcyclist Retro in early 2008 under the Source Interlink media umbrella. It featured a contemporary look at motorcycles of the 1960s through the 1980s. However, the circulation numbers of MR didn’t meet the expectations of the media conglomerate, and they cancelled production of the magazine after just two issues.

Craigslist Motorcycle Rip-Off

Eduardo S. Cordero III, 22, allegedly robbed three Sierra Vista men at gunpoint in Tucson. Cordero advertised a Suzuki GSX-R motorcycle that evidently didn’t exist, on Craigslist for $4,000 and lured the buyers in by taking $500 off the listed price.

Electric Motorcycle Conversion

Donald and Andrew Higginbotham, are a father and son team that converted a Suzuki RF900 into an electric motorcycle at their home over the course of three months worth of Saturdays. It ended up costing about $3,000 to complete with parts from Electric Motorsport. The bike gets about 35 miles per charge at a maximum speed of 55mph.

Top Motorcycle News Stories of 2008

2008 was an interesting year in the world of motorcycles. But the biggest stories of 2008 have left some big questions for 2009. What’s in store for the New Year?

Are Motorcycles Safer With Antilock Brakes?

A new report says riders with ABS-equipped bikes can dramatically reduce the chance of a fatal accident. The study compared fatality rates among riders on bikes that have antilock brakes, and it found that death rates were 38% lower on motorcycles equipped with the optional ABS systems compared to non-ABS bikes. In 2005-2006, the fatal crashes per 10,000 registered motorcycles without antilock brakes was 6.6.

5 Awesome Motorcycle Gift Ideas for those Pesky Teenagers

Those darned teenagers and their troublesome ways could use some motorcycle-inspired gifts for the holidays. And although you may not understand the mind of a teenager, you can at least massage their brains a bit by imposing your motorcycle hobby onto them. Here are 5 awesome motorcycle gift ideas for pesky teenagers: Capcom’s MotoGP 08 Video Game Recommended Ages: Rated E for Everyone Who Has It: Anyone who sells video games should have it ( BestBuy for example ) How Much: $59.99 They’re not old enough yet to be speeding around a track at ridiculous speeds but at least they can pretend to be and MotoGP will put them in the riders seat.

Electric Sportbike Debuts at NEC Show

Zero to 60mph in 3.5 seconds, top speed of 125 mph and a recharge time under two hours with a standard 13 amp power supply. Wait, what? Those are not typo my friends, they are the stats for the TTX01 electric sportbike unveiled at the 2008 NEC Bike Show in Birmingham.