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

Continental Tire Rules The Vintage Racing Circuit

Continental’s Road Attack 2 Classic Race tires offer racers a modern high-performance tire in sizes suitable for classic machines. The Road Attack 2 Classic Race tires features contemporary components like high-performance compounds, radial construction, a multi-compound tread design, and other modern technologies not found in other tires designed for classic bikes. Proof of the tires’ performance is evidenced by victories around the world during the 2013 season.

John Hopkins British Superbike Round 2 Rundown

The Tyco Suzuki team is looking ahead to next week’s International North West 200 after a tough weekend at Oulton Park during round two of the British Superbike Championship. American John Hopkins took ninth place in Monday’s second race at the Cheshire venue after retiring from the opening encounter in the closing stages due to a problem sensor, which caused an intermittent misfire on his Tyco Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superbike. His team-mate Josh Waters took a brace of 13th-place finishes for his Oulton Park efforts and despite his obvious disappointment, the Australian did significantly improve his lap times from his visit in 2013.

2014 AMA Supercross – Las Vegas Results

Ryan Villopoto capped off his fourth-consecutive AMA Supercross championship with an impressive victory at the season finale at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas. The Monster Energy Kawasaki rider clinched the title at last week’s New Jersey round so he didn’t have to prove anything in Vegas. But he did, leading all 20 laps and winning by nearly 14 seconds.

Suzuki TU250X Returns for 2015 – But Still Not for California

Suzuki kicked off its 2015 model year announcements with the return of the retro-styled small-displacement TU250X. Introduced to the North American market in 2009, the TU250X will arrive in U.S. dealerships later this month.

Arai Helmet Sponsoring Upcoming Superbike Shootout Race Weekends

Arai Helmet has thrown its proverbial hat in the ring by signing up to sponsor the next two events of the new GEICO Motorcycle Superbike Shootout Presented by Yamaha. In addition, Arai has been named the official helmet of the series. The Arai Pacific Nationals will be hosted by the AFM next weekend, May 3-4, at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California.

Suzuki Contingency Money Available For GSX-R Racers At Sonoma

Suzuki Motor of America, Inc. has increased the funds available in its 2014 Road Race Contingency Program, and is now paying successful GSX-R racers competing in the three-race GEICO Motorcycle Superbike Shootout. The series opened April 26 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., and moves to Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., for the 2014 Arai Pacific Nationals May 3-4.

2014 WSBK – Assen Results

Heavy rains and a fortuitous red flag were the difference in the World Superbike Championship‘s visit to The Cathedral of motorcycle racing, the TT Circuit Assen in the Netherlands. Aprilia‘s Sylvain Guintoli captured his second win of the season in Race 1, which was halted early by a red flag with five laps to go just as it looked like reigning WSBK champion Tom Sykes was gearing up for a final challenge. The second race was also shortened, not by a red flag but because of a rain, turning the 21-lap race into a 10-lap sprint.

2014 AMA Supercross – New Jersey Results

A crowd of 62,217 fans in East Rutherford, N.J. witnessed the coronation of Ryan Villopoto as the 2014 AMA Supercross Champion. The Monster Energy Kawasaki rider took the holeshot and led very lap in a decisive victory to clinch the championship, his fourth in a row.

The World Endurance Championship Starts This Weekend

Endurance racing is perhaps the ultimate test of both man and machine. In the past, teams would pace themselves in order to rest both elements enough to make a final push at the end. These days, however, motorcycles are more reliable than ever, and riders train like triathletes.

Kevin Schwantz Tests Suzuki MotoGP Bike at COTA

Former World Champion and Texas native Kevin Schwantz joined the Suzuki MotoGP team at Circuit of the Americas to test its new racebike. Schwantz, who won the 1993 500cc World Championship with Suzuki, joined test riders Randy de Puniet and Nobuastu Aoki in riding the new prototype which is set to enter the MotoGP championship in 2015. Our own Troy Siahaan was in Austin for the MotoGP round and he was on hand to film this clip of Schwantz preparing for his ride: Post by Motorcycle.com.