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MOTORCYCLE ARCHIVE
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1981 Suzuki GSX1100S Katana on display at the Suzuki History Museum

MANUFACTURERS / SUZUKI

SUZUKI

Suzuki Motor Corporation

EST.
1909
HQ
300 Takatsuka-cho, Chuo-ku, Hamamatsu-shi, Shizuoka, Japan
ARCHIVE
15
Photo: Rainmaker47 / CC BY-SA 3.0

01 — History

HISTORY

Suzuki traces its origins to 1909, when Michio Suzuki founded Suzuki Loom Works in Hamamatsu. It entered the motor-vehicle field in June 1952 with the Power Free, a 36cc two-cycle auxiliary bicycle engine, and took the name Suzuki Motor Co., Ltd. in 1954. The Colleda COX 125cc four-cycle motorcycle followed in 1955, and the company won the 50cc class of the Isle of Man TT in 1962. The name Suzuki Motor Corporation was adopted in 1990.

Michio Suzuki founded Suzuki Loom Works in Hamamatsu in 1909; the company was incorporated as Suzuki Loom Manufacturing Co. in March 1920.

02 — Timeline

TIMELINE

  1. 1952

    Enters the motor-vehicle field with the Power Free 36cc two-cycle auxiliary bicycle engine

  2. 1954

    Company name changed to Suzuki Motor Co., Ltd.

  3. 1955

    Colleda COX 125cc four-cycle motorcycle debuts

  4. 1962

    Wins the 50cc-class championship at the Isle of Man TT

  5. 1971

    GT750 750cc two-cycle motorcycle debuts

  6. 1976

    GS series (400cc, 500cc, 750cc, four-cycle) debuts

  7. 1981

    GSX1100S Katana debuts in overseas markets

  8. 1985

    GSX-R750 750cc four-cycle motorcycle debuts

ICONIC MOTORCYCLES

03 — Machines

1952 Suzuki Power Free E2 on display at the Suzuki History Museum

SUZUKI

Suzuki Power Free

1952
Moped

Front-left view of a red 1965 Suzuki T20 at Suzuki Plaza

SUZUKI

Suzuki T20 (X-6 Hustler)

1965
Sports

Front-left view of a 1971 Suzuki GT750 in Candy Bright Red at Suzuki Plaza

SUZUKI

Suzuki GT750

1971
Standard

1981 Suzuki GSX1100S Katana on display at the Suzuki History Museum

SUZUKI

Suzuki GSX1100S Katana

1981
Sports

Suzuki RG250 Gamma on display at the Honda Collection Hall

SUZUKI

Suzuki RG250 Gamma

1983
Racer Replica

Suzuki RG500 Gamma displayed at Motodays 2019

SUZUKI

Suzuki RG500 Gamma

1985
Racer Replica

1985 Suzuki GSX-R750 on display at the Suzuki History Museum

SUZUKI

Suzuki GSX-R750 (first generation)

1985
Supersport

Suzuki VS800 Intruder

SUZUKI

Suzuki Intruder 800 (VS800)

1993
Cruiser

1995 Suzuki Bandit 400V on display at the Suzuki History Museum

SUZUKI

Suzuki Bandit 400 / 400V

1995
Naked

Suzuki Burgman 400, the export version of the Skywave 400 (second generation)

SUZUKI

Suzuki Skywave 400 (Burgman 400)

1998
Big Scooter

2000 Suzuki GSX1300R Hayabusa in Pearl Suzuki Deep Blue and Metallic Sonic Silver

SUZUKI

Suzuki GSX1300R Hayabusa

1999
Supersport

2005 Suzuki DR-Z400

SUZUKI

Suzuki DR-Z400S

2000
Dual Purpose

2003 Suzuki Choinori on display at the Suzuki History Museum

SUZUKI

Suzuki Choinori

2003
Gentsuki (50cc class)

Red 2005 Suzuki V-Strom 650

SUZUKI

Suzuki V-Strom 650 (DL650)

2004
Adventure

04 — Engineering

ENGINEERING

Engine layouts found among catalogued machines

05 — By Era

DESIGN THROUGH THE ERAS

06 — Motorsport

MOTORSPORT

Front-left view of a 1980 Suzuki RG500 (Mark V) at the 2023 Greenwich Concours d’Elegance

SUZUKI

Suzuki RG500 Grand Prix racer

1974
Race Machine

A road-racing machine developed by Suzuki for the 500 cc Grand Prix world championship. It used the square-four two-stroke layout proven in Suzuki’s 1960s Grand Prix programme and was designed by Makoto Hase. It finished second on its debut at the 1974 French Grand Prix and took its first win at the 1975 Dutch TT.

07 — Global Expansion

GLOBAL EXPANSION

Export names and market-specific specifications are recorded per market on each machine page. Corporate overseas milestones appear only when confirmed by official company sources.

08 — On Film

ON FILM

09 — Gallery

GALLERY

10 — Sources

SOURCES

  1. [1]History (1909-)Suzuki Motor Corporation · manufacturer · accessed 2026-09-26
  2. [2]History (1970-)Suzuki Motor Corporation · manufacturer · accessed 2026-09-26
  3. [3]History (1980-)Suzuki Motor Corporation · manufacturer · accessed 2026-09-26
  4. [4]HistorySuzuki Motor Corporation · manufacturer · accessed 2026-09-26
  5. [5]OutlineSuzuki Motor Corporation · manufacturer · accessed 2026-09-26
  6. [6]会社概要スズキ株式会社 · manufacturer · accessed 2026-09-26

11 — Image Credits

PHOTO CREDITS