Suzuki Motorcycles - Bits of History

Founded by Michio Suzuki, a successful business man in the looming industry, Suzuki Motor Company is now one of the major players in the motorcycling scene.

The company started manufacturing motorcycles in 1920 but sales went slow until the famous Mount Fuji Climb was won on a Suzuki Diamond Free, back in 1953. It was then when people started noticing the “S” brand.

By the way, the logo with which we currently recognize the Suzuki brand was adopted in 1954.

After a few more years of carefully watching the motorcycle industry and finding ways to adapt technology to their advantage, Suzuki obtained another important victory in the 1963 Grand Prix World Championship.

One year after their first victory in the Grand Prix World Championship, Suzuki motorcycles started to be sold in the United States. It was then when things really started to take off for them.

Nowadays, Suzuki motorcycles are considered to be beautiful, fast and reliable. Personally, they are one of my favorites…

Over the years, Suzuki has seen success in the racetrack, the streets and particularly off road.

Here are some road bikes from Suzuki that have become classics…

In 1965 Suzuki introduced the X-6 Hustler (also called the T20 Super Six), equipped with a 247cc air-cooled two-stroke engine, this model was their first street legal performance bike as well as one of the fastest in the 250 cc category available at that time. This bike was soon followed by a bigger 500 cc model called the Titan (T500).

In 1972 Suzuki surprised the world and their competitors with the introduction of the GT750. This was a very powerful bike equipped with 3 cylinder water-cooled two-stroke engine capable of reaching 110 mph (177 kph) and accelerating from 0 to 60 mph (96.6 kph) in only five seconds. This motorcycle was very well received by the public and became a classic.

Another revolutionary bike from Suzuki was the 1985 RG500. This motorcycle was bred in the racetrack and it was the closest to a GP bike you could buy for the streets in that time. It was produced until 1989.

Other Suzuki motorcycles that cannot be omitted are the ones derived from the GSX platform that was launched more than 25 years ago. I just checked Suzuki official site and there is a GSX bike for 2008: the GSX650F. The longevity of this platform beats even the very successful CBR series from Honda (1987 to 2006).

Off-Road riding, a Suzuki affair!

In motocross, Suzuki (known as the “yellow make” because of the color of their off road motorcycles) has been a major player almost since they entered the scene back in 1965. In 1970, they won their first World Championship. In 1999, they had already won 27 World titles. Today, Suzuki is still a major competitor and their bikes are still yellow!

The first official Suzuki motocross bike was the 250 RH 67 produced in 1967. This bike was not ready to win the championship yet, but it didn’t take long for the RA and RN series to reach the top positions in motocross races around the world.

Touring and cruising…

Suzuki has also gotten involved in touring and more recently in the cruising scene with the Cavalcade LX (touring) and the Boulevard (cruising).

I know there is still a lot more to write about Suzuki motorcycles and it would be impossible to tell everything there is to say about the “S” brand in one blog post or even in a whole blog. But as I move forward with this blog, I will talk in depth about some of my favorite models from this great motorcycle manufacturer.

Personally one of my favorites is the Suzuki Katana. I used to have a 600 cc Katana on which I made thousands of miles. The bike always took me where I wanted to go rapidly and safely. I had lots of fun with it.

What about you? Do you like Suzuki motorcycles? What is your favorite model? Why? I invite you to leave your answers in the comments of this post.

Enjoy the ride!

Rider
WorldWideMotorcycles.com

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