Suzuki Motorcycles: - Company History

Suzuki Motor Corporation with headquarters in Hamamatsu, Japan not only manufacturers all-terrain vehicles, outboard engines and wheelchairs but also motorcycles.

As with other organisations such as Piaggo and Yamaha, Suzuki didn't start out as a motorcycle manufacturer. Michio Suzuki actually found the Suzuki Loom Company in 1909 to manufacture weaving looms, of course - which it did so for the first 28 years. In 1937 Suzuki saw the potential of motor vehicles and decided to build a prototype with a liquid-cooled, four-stroke, four-cylinder engine. It was the Second World War that put an end to the development of the machine as manufacturing assets were put to war-time use.

After the war, the cotton market collapsed and Suzuki was determined to make a success of his motor vehicle interest. At the time clip on motors for bicycles were all the rage and so he developed his own version; the "Power Free" which had a 36 cc engine with one horsepower. As Suzuki gained more success in this new field, they changed their name to Suzuki Motor Co. Ltd.

It wasn't until 1971 that the GT750 was marketed. Some other popular models are the Bandit 1200s which was a street motorcycle, along with the RGV250 and the Hayabusa. For off-roading you have the DR series such as the DR200SE.