Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "Suzuki" in English language version.
Nor does the new engine seem to notice the load it is being asked to carry. It's a 54-degree V-twin with dual overhead cams turned by a novel two-stage chain drive system that teams with a semi-dry-sump lubrication technique and plated aluminum cylinder bores to keep the engine relatively light and compact. Compact, that is, for a 1783cc twin with pistons that are 4.4-inches across. Fortunately for all of us, the engine uses a balancer shaft to keep the big twin's shaking forces from buzzing our brains out.
The maker had produced motorcycles and small commercial vehicles in Myanmar under a joint company with a state-backed enterprise since 1998, when the country was ruled by a military government.
GM has held an equity stake in Suzuki since 1981, when it purchased approximately 5.3 percent of the Suzuki shares outstanding. GM's stake was diluted to 3.5 percent in subsequent years, but in 1998 GM increased its holding in Suzuki to 10 percent, and to slightly over 20 percent in 2001. In 2006, GM sold a 17.4 percent stake in Suzuki.
Suzuki Motor Corporation's Indonesian subsidiary, PT Suzuki Indomobil Motor, has officially launched the 2019 New Suzuki Carry. The highlights of the latest Suzuki Carry small commercial vehicle are more cargo capacity, increased comfort and improved performance.
Despite licensing the engine from NSU, Suzuki poured much of its own research and development money into the RE5′s rotary mill. The company actually holds some 20 patents for different parts of the engine, including on the engine's subsystems. The Wankel was less than ideal for a motorcycle, however, as it had high fuel consumption and generated a lot of heat, necessitating the use of various systems for cooling.
Company exiting U.S. auto market after 30 years
Marking a new beginning for the giant Japanese car, motorcycle and marine manufacturer in Australia, the new purpose-built complex will be in Melbourne rather than Sydney, the company's home for 18 years.
Motorcycle production is set to be boosted by strong demand from China, and the release of a new 50cc scooter called 'Choinori'.
Suzuki's U.S. auto sales rose less than 1 percent last year to 102,000, following three years of gains of at least 11 percent. In 2003, Rick Suzuki, the grandson of the company founder, predicted U.S. sales would reach 200,000 by the end of 2007.
Pak Suzuki Motor Company Limited (PSMCL) is a public limited company that was formed in 1983 as a joint venture between Pakistan Automobile Corporation Limited and Suzuki Motor Corporation Japan. A year later, the Company started its operations, which were initially limited to the assembly and marketing of Suzuki FX.
A couple of days later, however, I was in for a surprise. Having made a conscious decision to go out thrill-seeking, rather than just using the DL to commute, the smooth 1,000cc V-twin began to show its heritage. Based heavily on the tried and tested motor which once powered the frankly lunatic TL1000S and TL1000R sportsbikes of the 90s, the V-Strom showed remarkable venom once the revs really began to climb. The 90-degree V-twin which had previously been so gentlemanly had transformed into a fire-breathing monster. From 5,000rpm up to the redline, in gear after gear, the V-Strom has plenty of shove for the most brisk of overtaking manouevres.
Cue 1983, when Suzuki presented the RG250 Gamma and turned the class on its head. Although many motorcycles had been called road-legal racers before the Gamma, the RG was perhaps the first mass-produced motorcycle with a lightweight aluminum frame and a racing-type aerodynamic fairing, and it started a new trend in the process. Suzuki used all their two-stroke knowledge and racetrack experience when building the Gamma and it showed – it was light, fast, handled superbly and was an instant box-office hit in the racing circuits.
The Hayabusa was first shown to the world in 1998. Love blossomed from the press kit stage itself, and while a few detractors dug in their heels and obstinately referred to the thing variously as an ugly pig and a gigantic, shapeless buffalo, the rest of the world was not tuned in to that frequency. With magazines awash with top speed runs, the 314–321 km/h records were peppered by considerable astonishment. The speed was possible despite – and not at the expense of – the Hayabusa's market-defined role – that of a comfortable sport tourer.
Like its local rivals, Daewoo was looking more to the protected—and lucrative—domestic market, which bought 60% of all Korean-built cars in 1989, up from only 33% in 1987. But its rivals were introducing cars with newer technology. When GM balked at Daewoo's request for newer models to keep up, the Korean company inked a technology-sharing deal with Japan's Suzuki Motor Co.
Nor does the new engine seem to notice the load it is being asked to carry. It's a 54-degree V-twin with dual overhead cams turned by a novel two-stage chain drive system that teams with a semi-dry-sump lubrication technique and plated aluminum cylinder bores to keep the engine relatively light and compact. Compact, that is, for a 1783cc twin with pistons that are 4.4-inches across. Fortunately for all of us, the engine uses a balancer shaft to keep the big twin's shaking forces from buzzing our brains out.
Myanmar Suzuki Motor Co., Ltd. manufactures motorcycles, small passenger cars, and commercial vehicles. The company was founded in 1998 and is based in Yangon, Myanmar. Myanmar Suzuki Motor Co., Ltd. operates as a subsidiary of Suzuki Motor Corp.
ASMC's Chapter 11 Plan was confirmed by Bankruptcy Judge Scott C. Clarkson of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California in Santa Ana on 28 February 2013. The Chapter 11 Plan became effective on 31 March 2013, when ASMC closed its assets sale and commenced paying the claims in full of all consensually settling Automotive Dealers and trade creditors through the PE Creditor Trust established by the Plan.
American Suzuki filed for bankruptcy on 5 November 2012. Suzuki Canada scrambled to reassure dealers, employees and customers it would drive safely past the wreckage. That was wishful thinking.
Despite Suzuki's departure from the U.S. market, the company continues to be a player in other parts of the world, a fact underscored by the Geneva introduction of its new SX4 crossover. The SX4 has been one of Suzuki's most popular offerings, and the latest iteration continues to be a five-passenger vehicle, based on a front-drive unibody platform, but it is substantially bigger than the current model, with a much more contemporary look and upscale interior furnishings.
Suzuki may be struggling to maintain much of a presence in the U.S., but the brand remains a successful purveyor of small vehicles elsewhere in the world. Indeed, we could see the cars it's showing at the 2011 Tokyo auto show being received well in global markets—and there's one in particular that we wouldn't mind seeing here. A rundown of the quartet follows.
The Suzuki Alto 20th Anniversary Edition has been launched on the China car market, price starts at 52.400 yuan and ends at 61.400 yuan. Best thing: it comes only in Pink! The pinky special edition celebrates the 20th birthday of the Chang'an-Suzuki joint venture that started making the second generation Suzuki Alto in June 1993.
Unfortunately for ASMC employees, Rick Suzuki also wrote in the letter that due to the fact the company reported operating losses in 2007, it will reduce its U.S. work force of 674 by 55 employees through a voluntary retirement plan and that ASMC 'is in no position to provide any bonus, let alone pay raise this year'.
- General Motors Corp. is importing nearly 150,000 units a year from Japanese affiliates Isuzu Motors Ltd. and Suzuki Motor Co. Ltd. and buys another 100,000 to 150,000 units a year from New United Motor Manufacturing Inc., its joint venture in Fremont, California, with Toyota Motor Corp. (GM's joint venture in Canada with Suzuki, called Cami Automotive, is expected to provide another 120,000 utility vehicles a year to the U.S. automaker. The plant is scheduled to open in April.)
Suzuki formed Wangjian Suzuki Motorcycle Co., owned 50 percent by Wangjiang Machine Building Plant, 35 percent by Suzuki and 15 percent by Nissho Iwai Corp., in last month to produce 7,500 250-cubic centimeter Suzuki motorcycles in the first year and 50,000 in the third year.
In the U.S., Suzuki is best known for motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles, with sales of more than 1 million units here the last five years, or about 10 times more than the cars it sells in the U.S. annually.
Suzuki's RE5 arrived at the 1974 Tokyo Motor Show to huge fanfare. The hefty, 507-pound watercooled roadster used a 497-cc twin-rotor engine and sold for about $2,700. Suzuki rushed the RE5 into production, but a 31⁄2-month delay in delivery of the first bikes cooled demand. Then carburetor problems surfaced. Sales limped along until 1977, with only one production run of fewer than 5,000 bikes. The RE5 owners' registry lists 1,782 survivors worldwide.
The auto manufacturer released what it said was evidence that CU, which publishes Consumer Reports magazine, rigged results in 1988 to make the vehicle look bad and boost magazine sales.
The Nissan Frontier is ideally suited as the basis for the Equator, which is scheduled to arrive later this year. Its compact dimensions (slightly larger than a Ford Ranger and just a touch smaller than the mid-size Toyota Tacoma) neatly fits Suzuki's small-car-focused lineup, yet its solid body-on-frame construction and impressive power from an available V6 give it tremendous versatility.
The 50th anniversary Suzuki GSX-R1000 was launched in front of the media and Suzuki owners in the Suzuki hospitality today at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
In the September, 1966, issue of CW, Suzuki ran an ad for the X6 Hustler 250, a ferociously quick 250cc piston-port Twin with six speeds and "Posi-Force" oil injection. What made the ad stick in my mind all these years was the copywriter's line at the top: "We've invented a very fast way to lose 70 lbs." The point being, as the body copy of the ad made clear, that the Suzuki was as quick and fast as most 500s but it weighed much less.
That wonderful lunacy took place in September of 1985 (for the December, '85, issue) when Cycle World set a 24-hour world speed record of 128.303 mph on a Suzuki GSX-R750. And not by a slim margin: We went 10 percent faster than the previous record, 117.149 mph, set in 1977 by Kawasaki with a modified KZ650.
This then-new standard from Suzuki had apparently charmed the riding pants off everyone at the office. 'So easy to flick back and forth that turning around and re-running ess-turns isn't just an option, it's a necessity,' Cycle World's May, 1999, issue declared. And shockingly, 'Better performance numbers than Ducati's Monster 900.' Other turn-ons included the short wheelbase, low center of gravity, relaxed riding position, competent suspension, decent brakes, smooth gearbox, narrow waist, wide handlebars and cozy passenger perch. The perfect companion for novice and hooligans alike. And stunning good looks to boot.
The first memorable concept bike of the modern era may have been the Suzuki Falcorustyco (gyrfalcon in Latin – pictured above), which appeared at the 1985 Tokyo Motor Show. [...] Possibly still happily bemused at the reception the Falcorustyco had received, Suzuki was back at the 1986 Tokyoshow with the Nuda. This one, they said, is functional—not that anybody actually got to see it function.
Details on this much-hyped motorcycle were still suppressed by our Suzuki hosts, but the bike does closely resemble the showbike that raised our temperatures in the first place, even if, as previously announced, the concept B-bike's turbocharger didn't make the translation.
Suzuki sold a few, mostly to owners who must've parked the things under a cover once the honeymoon was over and reality set in. You really don't see many B-Kings running around, do you? It's destined to be a serious Craigslist bargain in another few years when owners throw in the towel after admitting that fashion is never going to catch up to this motorcycle.
Suzuki sold a few, mostly to owners who must've parked the things under a cover once the honeymoon was over and reality set in. You really don't see many B-Kings running around, do you? It's destined to be a serious Craigslist bargain in another few years when owners throw in the towel after admitting that fashion is never going to catch up to this motorcycle.
What the G-Strider did get right was its 'nextgeneration telematics system, with interactive communications over a bidirectional wireless infrastructure...all controlled via glove-friendly trackball.' Which is actually similar to the thumbdrive controller that sorts through all the electronics on BMW's new K1600s. This wouldn't be the first time BMW took some good cues from the generally proletarian Suzuki. [...] In 2007, Suzuki went so far as to announce that the Strat would be entering production at an unspecified future time. Shortly thereafter, as you may have noticed, the free-market system imploded, and our Suzuki contacts claim to have no knowledge of what became of the bike.
This is the Suzuki Biplane, penned at Suzuki's recently re-opened U.S. design center. Suzuki's goal was to give the rider the sensation of flying in a vintage biplane with no canopy, a distilled, in-the-wind riding experience. It (conceptually) uses a V-Four motor, with cylinder heads and exhaust headers visible on the sides, just like the fabric-skinned twin-wingers of the last century. The front end gets a girder fork (kinda like the Confederate Wraith) and rim-mounted brake discs (a la Buell XB). The exhaust is tucked in underneath the cowling, and the link-type rear suspension can be seen under the tractor-style seat.
The liquid-cooled RM250 of 1982 reigns supreme as the best 250 of the year. It's faster, lighter and has better suspension than anything in the class.
Under the terms of the joint venture, Suzuki and the government take turns in nominating MUL's managing director, for five years at a time. The present boss, Ravindra Bhargava, was Suzuki's choice. His term runs out this month, and the government and Suzuki cannot agree on his successor. The head of the Japanese firm, Osamu Suzuki, has been invited to India to help make the final decision. Even if a compromise is reached, this may be just a preliminary skirmish in a battle for control.
But before the Toyota and Honda SUVs were even a gleam in product planners' eyes, Suzuki had virtually invented the compact soft-roader market with the 1988 debut of the Escudo in Japan and launched a year later in the U.S. as the Sidekick.
In a March letter to employees, the 60-year-old Rick Suzuki wrote that he would step down 'to bear responsibility' for the automaker's poor sales and earnings. No timeframe was given for his departure. Chairman of American Suzuki since 1998, he is the grandson of Suzuki Motor Corp. founder Michio Suzuki.
SUZUKI is claiming its new hatchback will bring unbeatable value to the compact business car sector when it is launched this month. Priced from £9,995 on-the-road, the Liana – short for Life in a New Age – is a five-door, five-seat model that has the potential to drive Suzuki into the heartland of the C segment by offering significantly higher perceived value than European market pacesetters like the Volkswagen Golf and Ford Focus.
Suzuki hired its first 60 production workers (24 of them with the Coosa Valley certification) in 2002 and another 100 last year. Production is running at 300 all-terrain vehicles a day, with a 0.2% manufacturing-defect rate and, so far, no injuries.
VW appears to have had a hidden agenda, which was to bring Suzuki into its group as an affiliate. Such an intention was revealed in VW's annual report published in March that listed Suzuki as a consolidated entity within the group. This 'Freudian slip' caused shockwaves in Hamamatsu and was the last straw for Chairman Suzuki.
Suzuki's flagship scooter, the Skywave 650, has been updated with its styling, functionality, and fuel economy.
Last month, Suzuki, owners of 84 per cent of Andalusia's only car plant, Santana Motor, announced a 'suspension of payments' – its liquidity could not cover its short-term debts. It said it would not invest another peseta, that a new investor would have to come up with 38 billion pesetas (around pounds 190m) and that 60 per cent of Santana's 2,400 workers would have to go.
Take those wheeled pods. For the third Tokyo show in succession, the latest variation on the theme was revealed: the i-Real. This is a motorised chair that leans back as it speeds up, and leans into corners. Its name suggests that Toyota is serious about this device. Do you think it could work? No, nor do I. Suzuki does, though, and takes the notion a stage further with its Pixy + SSC. The Pixy part is, again, a three-wheeled, single-seater pod, this time weatherproof with a windscreen and roof, two of which can dock inside the Suzuki Sharing Coach (SSC) for higher speeds and longer drives. Electricity comes from a hydrogen fuel cell and solar energy, and the SSC recharges the Pixies as it drives along.
The powerplant of the Seeley Suzuki was closely derived from Suzuki's T500 Cobra road engine.
So it will sell well, and our first ride suggests it deserves to. It's thanks to the engine that Suzuki has been able to keep the cost around the £6,000 mark, as the four-cylinder, air and oil-cooled transverse four debuted back in 1986, when it powered the fearsome GSX-R1100.
Japan's brightest show stars come from Suzuki, whose TL1000S sportster combines a 123bhp V-twin engine with a racy chassis based on a lightweight aluminium frame. The TL features fuel-injection and an innovative rear damping system.
Which means the GSX-R600 K6 (as the 2006 model is designated) is millimetre-perfect in going precisely where you want it to, steering with no tendency to run wide, drop in or do its own thing in any way. It's astonishingly stable, so much so that this is the defining characteristic of the handling, despite an improvement in agility and the GSX-R's history of flightiness.
We're saving the best number until last: how about zero to 180mph in 18 seconds? Glorious, and all this on a bike that will just as happily trickle all day around the supermarket car park. Last summer, that is why Pirelli chose the Hayabusa to launch its new Angel ST sport-touring tyre with a speed-record attempt – the bike duly averaged 143mph for 24 hours over 3,209 miles, including all fuel stops and rider changes, setting the world record for standard production bikes.
Instead, six years on, the spirit of that show bike has been retained. The details are beautifully executed with exceptionally high-quality fit and finish, and the motor is based on the Hayabusa's imminent 2008 1,340cc unit rather than its slightly smaller and much older engine, which means a staggering 181bhp, making the B-King by far the most powerful naked street bike available.
BUY a Suzuki GSX-R1000 today! Right now! It doesn't matter if you're normally into tourers, trail bikes or whatever. If there is any soul in you, any quest whatsoever to experience truly mind-expanding excitement, then at some point in your life you really must own – or at the very least ride – this latest flagship supersports machine from the 500cc grand prix world championship-winning manufacturer. This bike not only offers more than any road-going sports bike before it in terms of power, handling and braking, it also plugs the rider into its dynamics with such clarity and obedient responsiveness that it feels as if your very nerve endings have been spliced into the wiring loom.
Suzuki's entry into the new superscooter class might be something of a latecomer, but, if anything, it's been even more eagerly awaited than the first machine on this improbable scene, Yamaha's 500cc Tmax. This has nothing to do with the fact the Burgman has an even bigger engine – its 54bhp, 638cc twin includes such high-performance features as double overhead cams, fuel injection and liquid cooling – but its transmission breaks new ground even in this innovative category.
As soon as I saw the Suzuki Intruder a sound entered my head and refused to leave. It was not the sumptuous aural thrill provided by the largest pair of reciprocating pistons ever installed in an internal combustion engine. That came later. First I imagined the American musician Lyle Lovett singing, 'No, you're not from Texas, but Texas loves you anyway.'
Suzuki plans to have a viable production fuel-cell two-wheeler on sale by 2015. It will cost more than a conventional, petrol-engined Burgman 125, which costs just over £3,000, but service costs will be minimal because the cell requires little maintenance and is intended to last the life of the vehicle. Compared with exorbitantly costly all-battery two-wheelers, there's no question hydrogen fuel cells present a more realistic alternative to petrol engines.
Given the rash of publicity that has been mounting around the already-certified, ready-to-go (Suzuki was granted Whole Vehicle Type Approval in March 2011 for the Burgman) Burgman FC scooter, it will almost certainly be the new company's first commercial product.
The G-Strider is as interesting and radical as it looks, and in many ways it builds on the direction taken by the Burgman 650 cc scooter tested in Gizmo last year and simply bristles with new ideas and functionality.
The raw figures are 1100cc, 24 valves, 180 horses and a motor reportedly turbine-like smooth. The motor is an engineering masterpiece akin to the miniaturized sophistication of a Swiss watch and the aluminium fairing, electrically-adjustable windscreen, LED headlights, adjustable handlebars, built-in GPS navigation just add to the high-tech cred. We're not so sure about the orange seat, but love the Katanesque profile.
Sometimes you look back in time and you see industrial designs that seem to be timeless. Like the Suzuki Nuda. It could come from 2045 or 1986, the year when it was actually introduced as a fully functional 174mph prototype.
Changan Suzuki Automobile Co., Ltd now has 4176 staffs, of which there're about 880 management and technology personnel. Changan Suzuki is mainly engaged in four products series: LingYang (came to market in June 1998); Swift (came to market in April 2005); TianYu SX4 (sedan) (came to market by the end of 2006) and SX4 (hatchback) (came to market in March 2007); new Alto (came to market in September 2009).
300, Takatsuka-cho, Chūō-ku, Hamamatsu City, JAPAN 432-8611
1–2, Utari, Shiratori-cho, Toyokawa-shi, Aichi.
2500, Iwai, Iwata-shi, Shizuoka.
4520, Shirasuka, Kosai-shi, Shizuoka.
In 1981 Suzuki continued to enjoy a developing level of success in the domestic market, but it was with the export of the SJ410 that the company really broke into new markets.
This year's show sees the European launch of the New SWIFT, which was previously premiered at the Paris Motor Show in 2004... We also introduce our recently established brand philosophy 'Way of Life!' which is to put further emphasis on our customers and their individual ways of life with our products. It is also to show, with this phrase, our devotion to creating cars that will bring true customer satisfaction.
The 2005 Geneva Motor Show presents the ideal opportunity to introduce both our new Swift compact, as well as our fresh new brand philosophy, which we've chosen to call 'Way of Life!' Like all our products, the Swift has been designed to deliver a driving experience with genuine worldwide appeal.
For riders who want the GSX-R experience in a middleweight machine, Suzuki introduced the GSX-R600 in 1997. Kunio Arase, project leader for this new member of the GSX-R family, says he started development with a mission: 'The mission shared by every engineer for succeeding models of the legendary GSX-R line has been to surpass the performance of any existing model in its class. We determined to achieve the fastest top speed and starting acceleration, yet the production model had to be transformable to a winning circuit racer with minimal modification. Indeed, the first GSX-R600 realized a top speed faster than that of the GSX-R750 two years earlier, taking the World Supersport Championship for two consecutive years.'
'Unlike the conventional centrifugal CVT using a rubber belt, the SECVT adjusts the CVT ratio by varying the drive-pulley diameter with an electric actuator motor,' relates Kazutoshi Ohashi who led development of the SECVT control systems in Group I, Miyakoda R&D Centre. 'The SECVT controller calculates the target engine revolution based on the vehicle speed and throttle position, and automatically adjusts the CVT ratio. Unlike conventional systems that adjust the CVT ratio only to the engine revolution, the SECVT's calculation is made with the throttle position – the rider's acceleration choice – also taken into consideration. That optimizes the CVT ratio for actual riding conditions.'
In the overseas markets, motorcycle exports to North America and other markets increased, but exports to Central and South America, Europe and other markets dropped. As a result, motorcycle exports as a whole saw a decrease from the previous year. On the other hand, due to increases in North America, Europe and other markets, automobile exports surpassed last year's level. Under such circumstances, Suzuki made efforts to increase sales in the domestic motorcycle market by enhancing our product lineup through the introduction of models such as the Choinori and the SKYWAVE 650. Literally meaning 'short time riding', the Choinori is a functional domestically produced 50cc scooter available at a highly competitive price of 59,800 yen while the SKYWAVE 650 is a large-size scooter featuring the world's first electronically controlled CVT system.
Suzuki Motor Corporation will sponsor FIS Nordic World Ski Championships that will be held in Sapporo, Japan from February 2007.
The AFF Suzuki Cup 2008 is the biggest football tournament in the ASEAN region since 1996. Aimed at raising the standard of ASEAN football to a world-class level and at making football more popular in the region, it will decide the top footballing nation among the AFF's 11 members: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and Timor-Leste.
Suzuki Motor Corporation is pleased to announce its renewed support for the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Cup as the tournament's title sponsor. Suzuki was title sponsor for the first time in 2008.
The last time the American market saw a Suzuki Swift was in 2001. Some of you might not remember the Swift, but you might recall its very close cousin the Geo Metro. The Suzuki Swift was originally named the Suzuki Cultus and first introduced to the Japanese market in 1983. From 1983 on, the Cultus was marketed in seven countries under several different nameplates, the best-known of which were Suzuki Swift and Geo Metro. Since 2001 we have been without the Swift nameplate, but recent news has pointed to the return of the Suzuki Swift for 2011.
The first Maruti vehicle, a Maruti 800, was rolled out on 14 December 1983. The first million was reached in March 1994 while the second million was completed in October 1997. The three millionth vehicle was rolled out in June 2000 while the four millionth vehicle was manufactured in April 2003, the last million being the fastest, coming in just two years.
Last month, Suzuki, owners of 84 per cent of Andalusia's only car plant, Santana Motor, announced a 'suspension of payments' – its liquidity could not cover its short-term debts. It said it would not invest another peseta, that a new investor would have to come up with 38 billion pesetas (around pounds 190m) and that 60 per cent of Santana's 2,400 workers would have to go.
Take those wheeled pods. For the third Tokyo show in succession, the latest variation on the theme was revealed: the i-Real. This is a motorised chair that leans back as it speeds up, and leans into corners. Its name suggests that Toyota is serious about this device. Do you think it could work? No, nor do I. Suzuki does, though, and takes the notion a stage further with its Pixy + SSC. The Pixy part is, again, a three-wheeled, single-seater pod, this time weatherproof with a windscreen and roof, two of which can dock inside the Suzuki Sharing Coach (SSC) for higher speeds and longer drives. Electricity comes from a hydrogen fuel cell and solar energy, and the SSC recharges the Pixies as it drives along.
Japan's brightest show stars come from Suzuki, whose TL1000S sportster combines a 123bhp V-twin engine with a racy chassis based on a lightweight aluminium frame. The TL features fuel-injection and an innovative rear damping system.
As soon as I saw the Suzuki Intruder a sound entered my head and refused to leave. It was not the sumptuous aural thrill provided by the largest pair of reciprocating pistons ever installed in an internal combustion engine. That came later. First I imagined the American musician Lyle Lovett singing, 'No, you're not from Texas, but Texas loves you anyway.'
In the ongoing wrestling bout between the Industry Ministry and Suzuki Motor Company (SMC) of Japan for the control of Maruti Udyog Limited (MUL), the Indian side has put its opponent on a half nelson.
The Regina concept will be unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show in Japan early next month, alongside an even stranger little creature called the Q-concept.
The two-lap 50cc race was regarded as a bit of a giggle by some cynics, but they could not have been proved more wrong as the Grand Prix battles between Suzuki, Honda and Kreidler spilled on to the Mountain Course.
History was made in the 50cc race, which was increased to three laps after the previous year's success.
Even the most prominent businesses like Toyota and Suzuki, camera-maker Canon and soy sauce firm Kikkoman have a tradition of adopting sons to continue the family business. The current chairman and CEO of Suzuki, Osamu Suzuki is the fourth adopted son in a row to run the company.
In fact, the joint project between Suzuki and Fiat is one of the fruits of its relations with GM, which owns 20 percent stakes in both the Japanese and the Italian carmakers.
When Suzuki introduced the X6 in the fall of 1965, it caused an immediate sensation. Developed with the goal of captivating the U.S. market, the Hustler was designed to be the fastest 250 cc motorcycle in the world. The bike featured Suzuki's first ever tubular steel double-cradle frame, and its air-cooled two-stroke sleeved aluminum cylinder engine was capable of just about 100 mph. Surprisingly sophisticated, this little engine achieved 100 hp per one liter cylinder volume, which meant it could outrun most of the bigger, faster bikes on the road. It featured automatic oil injection, but more importantly, it was the first six speed motorcycle ever to go into full production.
This was Japan's first proper 4-wheeled minicar. It was released in October 1955 with a 2-stroke, 360 cc engine. The 'Suzu' of the name was an abbreviation of its manufacturer, Suzuki, and 'light' indicated both the nimble operation of the car and evoked an image of illumination. The Suzulight was the first Japanese vehicle to successfully mount a 2-stroke engine in a 4-wheeled car, and it was also the first wholly Japanese vehicle to use a front-engine front-wheel drive set up.
Frontes were exhibited at the Tokyo Motor Show from 1962 to 1964, and the 800 cc class small passenger vehicle that was shown as an R & D vehicle was eventually released as the Fronte 800 in 1965. It featured a water-cooled 2-stroke 785 cc power plant and a front-engine front-wheel drive set up mated to a 4-speed transmission that propelled the car to a top speed of 115 km/h. Its styling was ahead of its time, which assured its favorable reception.
This motorcycle had a water-cooled, 2-stroke, 3-cylinder engine that provided good acceleration over a wide speed range from low to high. Technologies developed for Grand Prix racing were incorporated into the body structure and brakes. Easily visible meters and other features were also provided.
This masterpiece of ambition was equipped with a water-cooled, single-rotor Wankel rotary engine. The RE-5 gained popularity all over the world for its completely unique design by Giorgetto Giugiaro, as well as its peripheral port system and twin mufflers.
The Suzuki RG250G was the dream machine of road bikes, developed using technologies that Suzuki had accumulated on the Grand Prix racing circuit. Every imaginable technology was packed into the machine, including the first aluminum square-pipe frame in the world to be used on a mass-market motorcycle.
The Suzuki GSX-R750 came onto the market equipped with the styling and mechanisms of endurance-racing motorcycles. Suzuki incorporated into this mass-market vehicle technologies that it had developed through its racing experience, and it became a best-seller in the 750 cc class.
The Wagon R has a short bonnet and a tall body style. Featuring upright seats for ease of ingress and egress, its spacious passenger compartment accommodates 4 adults. It has a fully flat luggage compartment with a generous amount of space. The Wagon R has a highly rigid body and a wide field of vision and demonstrates its environmental consciousness by adopting the new R134a refrigerant. Named the 1993 RJC Car of the Year.
The Suzuki Hayabusa had a 1299 cc 4-cylinder DOHC engine, which employed the latest electronic fuel injection system. High-speed plated cylinders were used for the engine, and excellent piston cooling efficiency was achieved through the use of a compact and lightweight cylinder block and crankshaft. The multi-reflector low beam and projector high beam were characteristically laid out one above the other. Large air intakes to introduce boost pressure were laid out on both sides of the lights in locations that maximize running wind pressure. This contributed to greatly increased horsepower and torque. A large capacity clutch helped to realize fine gear engagement and light clutch feeling. The aerodynamic performance was optimized by an elaborate design around the cowling featuring a one-piece front fender, air intakes, and the like, as well as by optimal layout of the radiator and oil cooler.
The Suzuki Choinori was developed to be mainly used for short journeys for commuting and shopping. The appropriate engine output, body structure, and required functions were reviewed from the basic design phase in pursuit of mass reduction, rationalization of parts, and high quality. It achieved mass reduction of about 40% compared with a conventional scooter by reducing the size of parts, the application of a new engine, a newly designed frame, and by careful reduction of the number of plastic parts. Such rationalization, including a reduction in the number of parts tightened by nuts and bolts, enabled the Choinori to be sold at the low price of 59,800 yen. Colored resin was used for plastic parts to provide 6 body colors without the need for painting. A new high-speed cylinder plating technology was introduced for the newly developed 4-stroke engine to enable high-speed processing at low cost. This reduced the weight of the engine by about 40% compared with a conventional 50 cc engine.
Sales reached one million in 1985 and the three million mark was passed in 1993. However, expansion of Suzuki's subcompact lineup and the increasing popularity of RV-style subcompacts like Suzuki's own Type R slowed production of the Alto.
The recall involves GSX-R600 and GSX-R750 motorcycles from the 2004 through 2013 model years and GSX-R1000 motorcycles from the 2005 through 2013 model years.
Analysts said Suzuki will be the pioneer in the 'mini-sport utility' market, a segment in which the domestic companies have announced no plans to compete. The Big Three U.S. auto makers all sell full-size off-road vehicles, and American Motors has long been a major competitor with its Jeep line.
Also Monday, American Suzuki announced its 1990 automobile lineup. The Samurai is being de-emphasized, with fewer models and options being offered. Meanwhile, the Sidekick—a squat version of the Samurai with a lower center of gravity, is being offered in several new configurations. As last year, there will be three models of the Swift.
Japanese auto makers have started marketing mini-vehicles with upgraded standards, bolstering prospects for recovery of the mini-car market, industry sources said today.
American Suzuki Motor Corp. has appointed longtime company executive Rick Suzuki as its new president. He had been president of CAMI Automotive Inc., an auto manufacturing joint venture of Suzuki Motor Corp. and General Motors of Canada. Suzuki will be responsible for directing all of Brea-based American Suzuki's operations, including its automotive, motorcycle and marine divisions. Suzuki began his career with Suzuki Motor Corp. in Japan in 1974. He joined Suzuki Canada Inc. in 1987 and was responsible for overseeing operations for all three divisions of the Canadian subsidiary. He launched Suzuki Motor's automotive division operations in Canada.
Also unveiled in Switzerland for the Geneva show and likely to come to America: the Suzuki Liana, a five-door compact minivan-like vehicle known in Japan as the Aerio. The Liana, based on the Suzuki Esteem, will come in front-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive configurations.
The joint statement said Consumer Reports' use of the adverb 'easily' in describing the Samurai's tendency to roll over might 'have been misconstrued and misunderstood.' The magazine was referring to the results of 'severe turns' in certain tests and 'never intended to state or imply that the Samurai easily rolls over in routine driving conditions,' the statement said.
This month, GM sold 17% of Suzuki Motor Corp. for about $2 billion, leaving it with a 3% stake. That came after last year's sale of GM's 20% stake in Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., the maker of Subaru cars.
The Asian automaker will repurchase the shares for $230 million.
Suzuki said that its 'automotive division was facing a number of serious challenges,' including the low sales volume, a dearth of models, the unfavorable exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the Japanese yen, the cost of the maintaining a dealership network and the regulatory environment for the automotive industry in the U.S.
Unlike larger carmakers, the Japanese automaker failed to rebound from the recession as North American car sales plummeted 72% to 30,000 for the fiscal year that ended 30 March from a peak of 107,000 in fiscal year 2008.
From the front end, the headlight looks like the face of a Hasbro robot. The turn signals blink from the outer edges of the tank. Travel down the bike's body to its curved radiator and finned oil cooler, and you're looking at what appears to be the Dark Knight's voice box.
The deal sees the creation of a separate company called SMILE FC System Corporation, which both businesses have a 50 per cent stake in. Phil Caldwell, Intelligent Energy's business development director and a SMILE FC board member, said: 'This joint venture is the latest exciting development in the successful relationship between Intelligent Energy and Suzuki, which has previously resulted in the Crosscage motorcycle and the Suzuki Burgman Fuel Cell Scooter. It is a big step towards the mass production of automotive fuel cell systems.'
Suzuki still has a long way to go to become a household word as far as four-wheel vehicles go, but they're now better prepared to take on the big dogs with vehicles like the XL7. The trick is to get customers into their showrooms (and, as a corollary, for potential customers to find those dealers).
It has been used with outstanding success by the M.Z. designer, Walter Kaaden, who obtained a 20 per cent. power increase by combining this port with the standard Schnürle system.
It would scare you. I loved the Suzuki TM125 Challenger and felt that the TM250 Champion was a decent bike, but the TM400 Cyclone was totally unpredictable. I take that back. If you expected bad things to happen, it never disappointed you. Once, at a night race on a '74 model, I thought someone was trying to pass me on my left side; it turns out that the back of my TM400 was swapping so bad that I could see it in my peripheral vision. Down a rough straight, the TM400 resembled a fish flopping on a beach.
Whatever the case, reports indicate that the update could be heavily influenced by the classic T20 and T250 Hustlers which became such an iconic part of the brand itself.
Suzuki was in a unique position though. In addition to celebrating its 50th year in 2013, it also saw the end of automobile production in the States following approval of bankruptcy filings in March.
The T500 metamorphosed into the GT500 which had better brakes, suspension, electronic ignition – and less performance. Even so, the GT500 and T500 are very much siblings. Together the two models had a production life of over 9 years and this means that there are still many thousands of T500s in use.
The motor, tuned for torque, was a dream. Pulling stupendously high gearing, the T500 was cruising round the banking at over 130mph – with speed still in reserve. Now, touring round at the back of the field was forgotten. Those AHRMA trophies looked good!
So when the SV was launched the warning lights were well and truly lit on Suzuki's instrument panel. Gone was the frenetic rush of the eight-valve, dual overhead cam V-Twin which powered the TL. Instead, Sensible San in Hamamatsu re-cammed and re-mapped the same motor, so that it allegedly produced 120 hp – but felt about 20 hp less. The capacity remained at 996cc and the six-speed gearbox was retained from the TL but now the powerplant was a sportbike engine which the Health and Safety lobby would have us all ride.
Although it's not incorrect to describe the SV650 as a naked, downscale TL1000S, it's not entirely accurate either. True, the 645cc liquid-cooled, 90° V-twin engine borrows more than a few bits and pieces from Suzuki's high-performance TL bikes such as lower exhaust cams and triangularly arranged crank and transmission shafts to reduce engine height and length, a rear cylinder head pipe that routes through the swingarm, an internal water pump, and all-electric instrument gauges. But the SV650 also receives a few new tweaks of its own, such as an oil guide that sprays oil directly on the gear faces. The SV650 also receives two 39mm Mikuni downdraft carburetors instead of fuel-injection, but considering the glitches we've experienced in the past with Suzuki's EFI, carburetion isn't that bad of an idea.
To Suzuki's credit, the high-tech RE5 worked fairly well. But all that complexity resulted in a hefty curb weight of 573 pounds. That bulk, coupled with the rotary's large appetite for fuel, resulted in gas mileage in the 30 to 35-mile-per-gallon range at a time when Americans were facing gas crises. And the bike's limited cruising range didn't endear it to the touring market it was designed for.
Most remarkable of all, Suzuki and the other Japanese factories only built winning two-strokes after Suzuki paid star MZ rider Degner a king's ransom to defect from East to West and sell Kaaden's hard-earned secrets.
We've all drooled over Honda's CB1100R concept bike, willing Honda to bring it to the UK. On the other hand there was Suzuki's B-King and Yamaha's MT-01 that did hit the showroom floors. But what about the others? Over the last 25 years there have been dozens of show specials or concept bikes that the leading manufacturers have teased us with, never to go into production.
The 250cc four-stroke scooter has a long, low riding position designed specifically to transport two adults around a city in comfort, according to Suzuki. The large dual seat is almost completely flat to keep rider and passenger weight low, and a large lockable cubby hole in front of the rider is big enough to take a helmet. The gemma is currently just a concept, but the concept appears well developed enough to reach production if the Japanese public like the idea.
The press's reaction to the Katana was a mixed bag. Several books had the Big Kat on their December 1981 covers, including Motorcyclist and Cycle Guide, with futuristic layouts that stressed the starship, flashbike and quantum-leap aspects of the bike's aesthetics. But styling was clearly a love-hate issue. 'If visual impact is the Katana's primary reason for being,' wrote Cycle Guide, 'then it is a rousing, unqualified success. Because no matter where this motorcycle goes, it turns heads and draws stares like a flasher at a church social. But while there's no doubt Muth's creation is the most spellbinding motorcycle to come along in quite some time, there is some question as to why: Do people gawk at it because it is pleasing to the eye, or is it simply too bizarre for anyone to not look at it?'
Good news, bad news from Suzuki. As you'll see elsewhere in this issue, we are indeed getting the light, hot GSX-R600 and 1000 (that would be the really good news) but, contrary to some rumors, we are not going to see a TL1000-engined naked model for 2001. (Oh, and we wanted it so badly.) Still, there's plenty of good reason for V-twin fans to cheer, as the SV650S, a half-faired iteration of our favorite middleweight boomer, will finally come Stateside. Sporting a racier riding stance thanks to clip-ons replacing the naked SV's tubular affair, taller gearing and slightly revised steering geometry, the SV-S we get will be identical to the bike Europeans and Canadians have enjoyed for two years. Cool, eh? The naked SV650 returns unchanged, as do the Bandit 600, Katanas 600 and 750 and TL1000s S and R.
Although Suzuki's American lineup offered little to quicken our collective pulse, the company did show a few occasional flashes of genius abroad, showing there were still a few enthusiasts trapped within the corporate walls.
Given the current global economic downturn, all bets are off on reaching its sales target, but Suzuki's Canadian operation is currently operating with the throttle wide open nevertheless.[permanent dead link]
Though the Samurai wasn't the first Suzuki off-roader to be sold in Canada, it was more popular. Arriving in 1981, the rugged and affordable ute quickly became popularity. Unfortunately its high centre of gravity and quick steering made it prone to rollovers. Sales ended in Canada in 1989, but continued in the U.S. until 1995.
While the public was still enamoured with the three-wheel layout, Suzuki figured a fourth wheel couldn't hurt. While three-wheelers are nimble and agile, their triangular arrangement made them prone to rollover accidents. The fourth wheel dramatically reduced the risk of toppling over, creating what we recognize today as an ATV.
Suzuki's American division, famous for motorcycles and ATVs, is struggling mightily to sell cars.
The launch of the model, designed to run more than 20 kilometres per litre of fuel, followed a similar launch by Mitsubishi Motors Thailand of its new Mirage model on Tuesday. Five Japanese automobile manufacturers won tax privileges to design and produce compact, fuel-efficient passenger cars for the domestic and export market.
The announcement of the timetable for production of the Suzuki truck at Nissan's plant in Tennessee coincided Tuesday with Suzuki officials saying the company would build a new compact hatchback in India that will be sold worldwide.
The companies hope to gain an edge in the increasingly competive [sic] market for small, fuel-efficient cars with an engine displacement of 1,000 cubic centimeters and under. The agreement provides for each of the three companies to acquire shares in the other companies and to offer mutual technological and marketing assistance.
The first shipload of 900 fuel-efficient, 60-horsepower cars, called the Cultus, left for the United States from central Japan on Sunday, he said. G.M., which owns 5 percent of Suzuki and helped develop the car, wanted to import up to 100,000 of the cars a year. But because the cars are Japanese-made, they fell under that country's United States import quotas and the government allowed G.M. only 17,000.
Samurai sales, which had been running at 5,000 to 6,000 a month for the first five months of the year, dipped to 2,199 in June after the Consumers Union report. American Suzuki, which is owned by the Suzuki Motor Company of Japan, heatedly denied the accusation and offered a $2,000 cash incentive to its dealers – a very substantial amount on a vehicle with a base price of $8,495. That allowed dealers to cut prices aggressively, and at the same time Suzuki increased its advertising.
'This car is available in 103 countries throughout the world, this being the 103d, not the first,' said N. Douglas Mazza, vice president and general manager of the Suzuki of America Automotive Corporation in Brea, Calif. 'In the 102 other countries, they see it as a sports-utility car. But in our campaign, you won't see any reference to what kind of car it is. Let the buyer define it.'
Unlike three other Asian auto plants being built in Canada, the companies said they have agreed to abide by a treaty between the United States and Canada requiring greater Canadian content in cars produced here.
The Suzuki Motor Corporation began the first major Japanese investment in Eastern Europe today, signing a joint venture project that will start producing hatchback passenger cars at a former Soviet military base in northern Hungary next year. The $235 million Magyar Suzuki plant, near the Danube River in the city of Esztergom, represents the largest single foreign investment in Hungary.
In its comment on roll-over standards, presented to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration yesterday, the car maker included an affidavit from a former Consumers Union test mechanic that after the car failed to tip after several runs, a senior Consumers Reports editor in effect instructed the testers to find someone who could make the car go up on two wheels. Suzuki said a videotape of the test, obtained from Consumers Union under a court procedure, also reveals a car tester yelling, 'All right, Ricky baby!' when a Samurai driven by Richard Small tipped up in a test.
G.M. is strong in North America, Latin America and Europe, but it does not have a big presence in Asia. It hopes to use Suzuki as a springboard to increase its presence there.
In the deal, which is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in January, Volkswagen will purchase 19.9 percent of Suzuki's issued shares for ¥222.5 billion, or $2.5 billion. Suzuki will invest up to half of that amount received from Volkswagen into shares of Volkswagen.
The motorcycle manufacturer says corrosion of the front brake piston may generate gas within the brake system, reducing stopping power. There was no mention of any accidents related to the problem.
Suzuki says a derivative of the Concept-X will be built sometime in 2006. By then, the steering wheel, which resembles one you would see on a jet, will most likely be cut from the plan.
When Japanese clones began to arrive in the United States in the late 1980s – Suzuki's Intruder was the first – Harley was incensed that Honda had managed to duplicate its engines' distinctive sound, a result of Harley's simple crankshaft layout. Harley has applied for a trademark on the sound, a potato-potato-potato rhythm at idle and a staccato beat at cruising speeds.
The Suzukis are wild. Silent runner: the Crosscage is a fuel cell bike that really works; no gas engine at all. The powerplant is made by Intelligent Energy of the U.K., the same group that made the ENV fuel cell bike I tested – and thought was viable even if it sounded like a U.F.O., not a bike. The Biplane supposedly has a V-4, but the show bike is most likely a make-believe mockup. Looks to be straight out of a video game. When will either Suzuki be produced? Right after the 12th of Never.
Looking like the runt of the litter from an unholy union between a Mazda MX-5 and a Dodge Viper, the Cappuccino was a rear-wheel drive convertible that featured a removable roof and roll bar and was powered by a mighty 657cc three-cylinder engine. It was produced from 1991 until 1997 and a few are still visible on local roads, but now it seems there is a rumour doing the rounds that Suzuki is considering reviving its little RWD hero for a launch in 2016!
Suzuki Manufacturing of America Corporation (SMAC) was created in 2001 to establish Suzuki's first US manufacturing facility. SMAC will initially be building ATV's in it's [sic] 100,000 square foot manufacturing facility located on Technology Parkway in Rome, Georgia.
Somewhere around 4000 rpm, the electronic ignition would go from a mild retard mode, to FULL ADVANCE, with no graduation at all. Bang! The proverbial light switch. What made this problem even more pronounced, was that the 'jump' never happened at the same rpm twice in a row. When it was cold, it might hit earlier. As the engine warmed up, it might jump 200 or 300 rpm later. But you could never predict exactly when.
When the Suzuki Samurai entered the United States in late 1985... its ride was brutal. Its handling at highway speeds was frightening. And it was noisy... Today the Samurai is selling at the impressive rate of 8,000 vehicles per month, largely to younger buyers, 25 and under. It is also appearing before a growing number of juries in court cases stemming from roll-over accidents... Suzuki says its first-generation Samurai vehicles are safe. The plaintiffs disagree. Presumably, the courts will decide who's right. What's certain is that the 1988 1/2 Samurai is superior to those earlier models that have brought Suzuki so much fortune, fame and trouble.
Suzuki also qualifies as a four-stroke innovator, having won the American marine industry's top prize last year for its 65- and 75-horsepower models. Tests show that Suzuki has better acceleration than its competitors. In fact, Suzuki's engines have proved to be so good that the company now makes all the four-strokes for Outboard Marine Corp.'s Evinrude and Johnson lines.
The '75 was the first year for the RM series. It actually was only made for 6 months as the TM was in production at the beginning of the year and at the year end Suzuki introduced the new RM series.
JINAN QINGQI MOTORCYCLE CO., LTD.(JNQQ) was established in 1956, the headquarters is in Jinan City, Shandong Province, where the first civil motorcycle of China was made. Since 1985, Jinan QINGQI started to work with SUZUKI (JAPAN) technically, and manufactured the first scooter in mainland of China. Established the Joint Venture with SUZUKI in 1996, with PEUGEOT in 2006, and became the only company who has 2 different technical systems from both Europe and Japan.
The government has signed a memorandum of understanding and settlement with the Suzuki Motor Corporation under which appointments of chairmen and managing directors of their joint venture, Maruti Udyog Limited, will be made only after mutual consultation.
Suzuki Motor Corp owns 54.2 percent in Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, India's leading car maker.
'There have been talks at board level,' one of the people familiar with the matter told Reuters, a sign that the frosty relations between the two car makers may be thawing.
Suzuki Motor Corp (7269.T) Executive Vice President Toshihiro Suzuki denied recent media reports that it and Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) have resumed talks on how to resolve a dispute about a partnership deal.
Suzuki, a specialist in building small cars profitably for emerging markets, said on Thursday it initiated arbitration procedures with the International Chamber of Commerce International Court of Arbitration in London. A spokesman for Volkswagen reiterated that the company believed there was 'no legal basis whatsoever obliging us to surrender our shares.'
We first learned of Doctor Big, or 'Desert Express' as he's known by people with more mature senses of humor, in something of an aside in Kevin Ash's Tiger 800 review about Triumph being peeved that people (read: us) think the Triumph is unmistakably an effort to copy the [BMW R80]GS's design. It is, but Triumph argues that the BMW itself is simply a copy, of this Suzuki. And thus Doctor Big's place in history is assured.
In researching the market, Suzuki determined that with the influx of young people the average age of motorcycle buyers was no longer increasing. They further determined that the younger buyers entering the market desired practical and economical transportation, and thus the Gladius was born. The intent was for it to be more versatile than the Katanas by making it a naked bike with an upright seating position. It was originally targeted for the European market so they wanted something that was hip, urban and modern. Suzuki even sent Japanese designers to Europe for several months to study its fashion, architecture and motorcycle culture. The result is the flowing shapes and forward thrust, what Suzuki calls 'style meets technology.'
Rod Lopusnak, U.S. sales manager, told the plant workers that of the 311,537 four-wheelers manufactured at the Rome plant, more than 260,000 have been sold in the U.S. 'The last two years have been very difficult on Suzuki and the whole U.S. economy, but the power sports business in general has been challenged like never before,' Lopusnak said.
The XL7 evolved from the Suzuki Concept-X, which debuted at the 2005 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The midsize crossover SUV is stylish, roomy and versatile, lending itself ideally to its intended purpose.
Of all the Japanese brands, Suzuki is probably best placed to produce 'personal mobility devices'. After all, it is famous for making motorcycles as well as clever small cars. The PIXY is Suzuki's answer to Toyota's i-Real. The difference is that Suzuki has built a small van-like 'car' (called the SSC, for Suzuki Sharing Coach) that the PIXY docks into. So, you can drive on main roads in your SSC and then scoot along the footpath in your PIXY. It's a dream for now, but Suzuki already produces a small motorised buggy for the elderly, so maybe this isn't so far away after all.
The national and internationally recognised authority governing competitive snow sports in Australia, Ski & Snowboard Australia, has signed the Australian branch of the Japanese automobile manufacturer Suzuki as the official sponsor of the upcoming National Snowsport Championships.
Since 1959, Suzuki came into the Philippine motoring scene through the able management of Rufino D. Antonio and Associates Inc wherein they handled nationwide distribution of Suzuki motorcycles.
Suzuki Motor Poland rozszerza współpracę z kieleckim klubem. Od sezonu 2018/2019 będzie sponsorem głównym Korony Kielce. Logotyp Suzuki będzie zajmował centralne miejsce na koszulkach meczowych.
The powerplant of the Seeley Suzuki was closely derived from Suzuki's T500 Cobra road engine.
So it will sell well, and our first ride suggests it deserves to. It's thanks to the engine that Suzuki has been able to keep the cost around the £6,000 mark, as the four-cylinder, air and oil-cooled transverse four debuted back in 1986, when it powered the fearsome GSX-R1100.
Which means the GSX-R600 K6 (as the 2006 model is designated) is millimetre-perfect in going precisely where you want it to, steering with no tendency to run wide, drop in or do its own thing in any way. It's astonishingly stable, so much so that this is the defining characteristic of the handling, despite an improvement in agility and the GSX-R's history of flightiness.
We're saving the best number until last: how about zero to 180mph in 18 seconds? Glorious, and all this on a bike that will just as happily trickle all day around the supermarket car park. Last summer, that is why Pirelli chose the Hayabusa to launch its new Angel ST sport-touring tyre with a speed-record attempt – the bike duly averaged 143mph for 24 hours over 3,209 miles, including all fuel stops and rider changes, setting the world record for standard production bikes.
Instead, six years on, the spirit of that show bike has been retained. The details are beautifully executed with exceptionally high-quality fit and finish, and the motor is based on the Hayabusa's imminent 2008 1,340cc unit rather than its slightly smaller and much older engine, which means a staggering 181bhp, making the B-King by far the most powerful naked street bike available.
BUY a Suzuki GSX-R1000 today! Right now! It doesn't matter if you're normally into tourers, trail bikes or whatever. If there is any soul in you, any quest whatsoever to experience truly mind-expanding excitement, then at some point in your life you really must own – or at the very least ride – this latest flagship supersports machine from the 500cc grand prix world championship-winning manufacturer. This bike not only offers more than any road-going sports bike before it in terms of power, handling and braking, it also plugs the rider into its dynamics with such clarity and obedient responsiveness that it feels as if your very nerve endings have been spliced into the wiring loom.
Suzuki's entry into the new superscooter class might be something of a latecomer, but, if anything, it's been even more eagerly awaited than the first machine on this improbable scene, Yamaha's 500cc Tmax. This has nothing to do with the fact the Burgman has an even bigger engine – its 54bhp, 638cc twin includes such high-performance features as double overhead cams, fuel injection and liquid cooling – but its transmission breaks new ground even in this innovative category.
Suzuki plans to have a viable production fuel-cell two-wheeler on sale by 2015. It will cost more than a conventional, petrol-engined Burgman 125, which costs just over £3,000, but service costs will be minimal because the cell requires little maintenance and is intended to last the life of the vehicle. Compared with exorbitantly costly all-battery two-wheelers, there's no question hydrogen fuel cells present a more realistic alternative to petrol engines.
The Associated Press reported that Suzuki Motor Corp.'s joint venture with Vietnam has started operating an assembly plant to make light trucks and motorcycles. The financial newspaper Investment said the factory, located in the Bien Hoa industrial zone north of Ho Chi Minh City, had set a production goal of 10,000 trucks and 30,000 motorcycles per year. The venture's product will be sold locally in Viet Nam and exported.
Suzuki called it the Wagon R. Launched in late 1993, Aoshima's creation became Japan's car of the decade. It accommodates four adults and luggage, and has seats that recline, fold flat into a bed or tuck away to maximize storage space. 'It's like a 4.5-tatami room,' marvels one Tokyo-based analyst, referring to the multifunctional spaces in small Japanese homes. Every Japanese minicar maker borrowed the Wagon R concept, and it appeared later in the two Mercedes designs, the A-class and the Smart.
The revenue from selling about 5,500 vehicles, as Suzuki did in Canada last year, do not come close to covering the costs of designing and developing vehicles for a market this size, along with meeting regulatory requirements that are different than those of the company's other large markets such as Japan and India.
For the first time, Suzuki sold more cars in India than in Japan during the first half of the fiscal year and by March 2009 will be making nearly 1 million cars a year in the country.
Suzuki said on Friday it will sell its 50 percent stake in CAMI Automotive Inc. to GM for an undisclosed price. The deal marks the demise of a nearly three-decade relationship between the two companies and gives GM full control of the factory.
Whether the Regina will replace the Alto is unclear, but Suzuki has at least confirmed that the new concept offers a preview of its next-generation city-car plans. The current Alto is less than three years old, so a replacement is likely sometime away.
Efforts are being made to tell the story of two Suzuki T500 motorcycles which were once the workhorse of our traffic police.
In May 2002, Suzuki Manufacturing of America Corp. (SMAC) opened in Rome, Ga., as Suzuki's only U.S.-based manufacturing facility and began producing the Eiger series of ATVs. Today, 300 SMAC employees are building ATV frames, molding plastic and assembling KingQuad 400s, 450s and 750s at a rate of more than 200 units in an eight-hour shift. Last year almost 60,000 quads came off the line.
Globally introduced at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2006, the Suzuki SX4 compact sport X-over with AWD will make its North American debut at the NYIAS. The all-new SX4 features a versatile, rigid five-door design, a standard all-wheel-drive system and for the U.S. market, a sophisticated fuel-sipping 2.0-liter DOHC engine.
With the 1983 RG250 Gamma, Suzuki was the first factory to deliver a true racer replica using race-bred technology to the public. The next step was to build a 4-stroke 400cc machine for the Japanese home market and a year later a 750cc machine, culmination to the Suzuki's racing experiences in the World Endurance, AMA Superbike and Championship. The GSX-R750 was first presented at the 1984 IFMA Cologne Show in West Germany. Although it was fully street legal, it was clear that it was built even to compete in the various Worldwide Championships.
Years ago some clean shaved kind hearted Japanese men come down to Karachi – better known as the 'city of no-lights' located in the 'country of no-lights' with the same aim as Tata. In 1982 Awami Auto Limited began the production of the Suzuki SS80 or Suzuki FX as we call it and the very next year Awami Autos Ltd was renamed Pak Suzuki Motor Company Ltd which in 1988 ceased the production of FX and brought in the second generation Suzuki Alto which in Pakistan is called Mehran.
Suzuki has been operating in Vietnam since 1996 with the construction of a motorcycle and automobile plant in Long Binh Techno Park in Dong Nai Province. In 2006, it built a new motorcycle plant to meet demands from the expanding market in Vietnam with an annual output of 80,000 units, also in Long Binh Techno Park.
Viet Nam Suzuki Corp began to manufacture motorbikes at Binh Da factory in Dong Nai in 1996.
We can be pretty certain that whatever the new machine turns out to be, it won't follow the mechanical pattern of the original Hustlers, which were 250cc two-stroke parallel twins. Suzuki's new 250cc four-stroke twin, as used in the naked Inazuma, might be a good choice.
The RG makes a claimed 95bhp, which translates to a genuine 78bhp at the wheel, all packed in a svelte 156 kilos with a genuine top speed of 144mph. But that's not all, it comes with an incredibly trick alloy frame, lifted straight off the race bike. Suzuki's glory days in Grand Prix may be going through a lean time, but the RG still bristles with purpose and lessons learned off the track.
Simply put, the RGV was nothing short of a revelation and a quantum leap forwards in performance and production bike technology.
The first GSX-R750 (it was sold as a 400 in 1984 in Japan) was incredibly light at 176 kg with sophisticated suspension and race-ready brakes. Oh yes, and it came with drop-dead gorgeous racer styling, to all intents looking like a factory endurance racer, and finished in factory colours to boot. In 1985 there was nothing sexier.
For their cash, GSX-R1100 buyers got an oil/air-cooled 1052cc dohc, four-cylinder, in-line motor housed in a lightweight double cradle frame made from aerospace quality aluminium and, since their front wheels would be spending so much time in the sky, that was a necessary luxury. Like the 750, the GSX-R1100 featured SACS (Suzuki Advanced Cooling System) as well as the new TSCC (Twin Swirl Combustion Chamber) and a host of acronyms which helped give mucho grunt from 5000 revs.
Like a sleeper secret agent the Bandit has been doing its part to corrupt a generation of bikers into its wicked ways since it was launched in 1996. This big-bore monster was the first proper streetbike, boasting an air/oil-cooled 1,157cc motor that was very closely related to the legendary GSX-R1100's lump while its styling was simple, naked and designed to show off this heart of metal. It wheelied like a banshee and went round corners, too. A perfect example of the philosophy keep it simple.
Of the major Japanese players, this leaves only Suzuki to offer up a contender and the latest is obviously the famed GSX-R600, first launched in 1996. But there were two earlier offerings. Back in 1992 in the 'States you could get a GSX-R600, although it was only a sleeved-down 750 engine in a 750 chassis. For the UK in 1993 came the RF600R – a powerful enough (100bhp) machine but one which had to pull too much weight. The beast tipped the scales at 195 kilos and was never going to be a genuine supersports contender, more a comfy, relaxed all-rounder for dad to enjoy.
In 1985 Suzuki produced this concept, the Falcorustyco. Really? It had a 500 cc square four water-cooled engine with 16 valves and 3 camshafts, no gearbox and relied on hydraulic pumps to provide final drive to both wheels. Front and rear swinging arms provided hub-centered steering and the bike had electromagnet brakes.
The wonder of the internet means documents that once could only have been found by rooting through reams of hidden paperwork or scrolling endless microfilm rolls are available to anyone who cares to look. But as far as we know no publication has ever revealed these images showing the secrets of the most advanced motorcycle of the 1980s.
Nobody would call the B-King beautiful when it was shown as a concept bike, but onlookers clamoured for the machine to be put into production nonetheless. It was just so brutal.
Probably the single most interesting concept bike shown in the last decade, Suzuki's Stratosphere briefly looked like it might reach production. Those hopes have now receded, with sales for expensive naked bikes dropping away sharply worldwide.
The scooter looks set for the Japanese market only for the time being, but given the recent fuel price hikes there are strong rumours of it finding its way over here. Using the motor from the four-stroke 250cc Burgman, but with a new management system, the bike will be a full seven kilos lighter than the Burgman, 10 cm longer with a longer wheelbase for stability.
The XL7 is based on General Motors Corp.'s Theta platform (Chevrolet Equinox, Saturn Vue, Pontiac Torrent). The XL7 will be built at Suzuki's CAMI Automotive Inc. joint venture with GM in Ingersoll, Ont., Canada, which last built a Suzuki vehicle in January 2004. CAMI also produces the Equinox and Torrent.
Even the most prominent businesses like Toyota and Suzuki, camera-maker Canon and soy sauce firm Kikkoman have a tradition of adopting sons to continue the family business. The current chairman and CEO of Suzuki, Osamu Suzuki is the fourth adopted son in a row to run the company.
Suzuki's American division, famous for motorcycles and ATVs, is struggling mightily to sell cars.
American Suzuki filed for bankruptcy on 5 November 2012. Suzuki Canada scrambled to reassure dealers, employees and customers it would drive safely past the wreckage. That was wishful thinking.
300, Takatsuka-cho, Chūō-ku, Hamamatsu City, JAPAN 432-8611
This was Japan's first proper 4-wheeled minicar. It was released in October 1955 with a 2-stroke, 360 cc engine. The 'Suzu' of the name was an abbreviation of its manufacturer, Suzuki, and 'light' indicated both the nimble operation of the car and evoked an image of illumination. The Suzulight was the first Japanese vehicle to successfully mount a 2-stroke engine in a 4-wheeled car, and it was also the first wholly Japanese vehicle to use a front-engine front-wheel drive set up.
1–2, Utari, Shiratori-cho, Toyokawa-shi, Aichi.
Suzuki was in a unique position though. In addition to celebrating its 50th year in 2013, it also saw the end of automobile production in the States following approval of bankruptcy filings in March.
Frontes were exhibited at the Tokyo Motor Show from 1962 to 1964, and the 800 cc class small passenger vehicle that was shown as an R & D vehicle was eventually released as the Fronte 800 in 1965. It featured a water-cooled 2-stroke 785 cc power plant and a front-engine front-wheel drive set up mated to a 4-speed transmission that propelled the car to a top speed of 115 km/h. Its styling was ahead of its time, which assured its favorable reception.
2500, Iwai, Iwata-shi, Shizuoka.
4520, Shirasuka, Kosai-shi, Shizuoka.
The original Jimny, the LJ10, was unveiled in Japan in 1970 – although it first appeared in Australia in 1974 as the LJ20, powered by a 360cc water-cooled two-stroke engine.
This motorcycle had a water-cooled, 2-stroke, 3-cylinder engine that provided good acceleration over a wide speed range from low to high. Technologies developed for Grand Prix racing were incorporated into the body structure and brakes. Easily visible meters and other features were also provided.
This masterpiece of ambition was equipped with a water-cooled, single-rotor Wankel rotary engine. The RE-5 gained popularity all over the world for its completely unique design by Giorgetto Giugiaro, as well as its peripheral port system and twin mufflers.
Marking a new beginning for the giant Japanese car, motorcycle and marine manufacturer in Australia, the new purpose-built complex will be in Melbourne rather than Sydney, the company's home for 18 years.
Though the Samurai wasn't the first Suzuki off-roader to be sold in Canada, it was more popular. Arriving in 1981, the rugged and affordable ute quickly became popularity. Unfortunately its high centre of gravity and quick steering made it prone to rollovers. Sales ended in Canada in 1989, but continued in the U.S. until 1995.
In 1981 Suzuki continued to enjoy a developing level of success in the domestic market, but it was with the export of the SJ410 that the company really broke into new markets.
Pak Suzuki Motor Company Limited (PSMCL) is a public limited company that was formed in 1983 as a joint venture between Pakistan Automobile Corporation Limited and Suzuki Motor Corporation Japan. A year later, the Company started its operations, which were initially limited to the assembly and marketing of Suzuki FX.
While the public was still enamoured with the three-wheel layout, Suzuki figured a fourth wheel couldn't hurt. While three-wheelers are nimble and agile, their triangular arrangement made them prone to rollover accidents. The fourth wheel dramatically reduced the risk of toppling over, creating what we recognize today as an ATV.
The Suzuki RG250G was the dream machine of road bikes, developed using technologies that Suzuki had accumulated on the Grand Prix racing circuit. Every imaginable technology was packed into the machine, including the first aluminum square-pipe frame in the world to be used on a mass-market motorcycle.
The Suzuki GSX-R750 came onto the market equipped with the styling and mechanisms of endurance-racing motorcycles. Suzuki incorporated into this mass-market vehicle technologies that it had developed through its racing experience, and it became a best-seller in the 750 cc class.
Sales reached one million in 1985 and the three million mark was passed in 1993. However, expansion of Suzuki's subcompact lineup and the increasing popularity of RV-style subcompacts like Suzuki's own Type R slowed production of the Alto.
Like its local rivals, Daewoo was looking more to the protected—and lucrative—domestic market, which bought 60% of all Korean-built cars in 1989, up from only 33% in 1987. But its rivals were introducing cars with newer technology. When GM balked at Daewoo's request for newer models to keep up, the Korean company inked a technology-sharing deal with Japan's Suzuki Motor Co.
The Wagon R has a short bonnet and a tall body style. Featuring upright seats for ease of ingress and egress, its spacious passenger compartment accommodates 4 adults. It has a fully flat luggage compartment with a generous amount of space. The Wagon R has a highly rigid body and a wide field of vision and demonstrates its environmental consciousness by adopting the new R134a refrigerant. Named the 1993 RJC Car of the Year.
Suzuki called it the Wagon R. Launched in late 1993, Aoshima's creation became Japan's car of the decade. It accommodates four adults and luggage, and has seats that recline, fold flat into a bed or tuck away to maximize storage space. 'It's like a 4.5-tatami room,' marvels one Tokyo-based analyst, referring to the multifunctional spaces in small Japanese homes. Every Japanese minicar maker borrowed the Wagon R concept, and it appeared later in the two Mercedes designs, the A-class and the Smart.
The first Maruti vehicle, a Maruti 800, was rolled out on 14 December 1983. The first million was reached in March 1994 while the second million was completed in October 1997. The three millionth vehicle was rolled out in June 2000 while the four millionth vehicle was manufactured in April 2003, the last million being the fastest, coming in just two years.
Viet Nam Suzuki Corp began to manufacture motorbikes at Binh Da factory in Dong Nai in 1996.
Changan Suzuki Automobile Co., Ltd now has 4176 staffs, of which there're about 880 management and technology personnel. Changan Suzuki is mainly engaged in four products series: LingYang (came to market in June 1998); Swift (came to market in April 2005); TianYu SX4 (sedan) (came to market by the end of 2006) and SX4 (hatchback) (came to market in March 2007); new Alto (came to market in September 2009).
The maker had produced motorcycles and small commercial vehicles in Myanmar under a joint company with a state-backed enterprise since 1998, when the country was ruled by a military government.
Myanmar Suzuki Motor Co., Ltd. manufactures motorcycles, small passenger cars, and commercial vehicles. The company was founded in 1998 and is based in Yangon, Myanmar. Myanmar Suzuki Motor Co., Ltd. operates as a subsidiary of Suzuki Motor Corp.
The Suzuki Hayabusa had a 1299 cc 4-cylinder DOHC engine, which employed the latest electronic fuel injection system. High-speed plated cylinders were used for the engine, and excellent piston cooling efficiency was achieved through the use of a compact and lightweight cylinder block and crankshaft. The multi-reflector low beam and projector high beam were characteristically laid out one above the other. Large air intakes to introduce boost pressure were laid out on both sides of the lights in locations that maximize running wind pressure. This contributed to greatly increased horsepower and torque. A large capacity clutch helped to realize fine gear engagement and light clutch feeling. The aerodynamic performance was optimized by an elaborate design around the cowling featuring a one-piece front fender, air intakes, and the like, as well as by optimal layout of the radiator and oil cooler.
The Suzuki Choinori was developed to be mainly used for short journeys for commuting and shopping. The appropriate engine output, body structure, and required functions were reviewed from the basic design phase in pursuit of mass reduction, rationalization of parts, and high quality. It achieved mass reduction of about 40% compared with a conventional scooter by reducing the size of parts, the application of a new engine, a newly designed frame, and by careful reduction of the number of plastic parts. Such rationalization, including a reduction in the number of parts tightened by nuts and bolts, enabled the Choinori to be sold at the low price of 59,800 yen. Colored resin was used for plastic parts to provide 6 body colors without the need for painting. A new high-speed cylinder plating technology was introduced for the newly developed 4-stroke engine to enable high-speed processing at low cost. This reduced the weight of the engine by about 40% compared with a conventional 50 cc engine.
Globally introduced at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2006, the Suzuki SX4 compact sport X-over with AWD will make its North American debut at the NYIAS. The all-new SX4 features a versatile, rigid five-door design, a standard all-wheel-drive system and for the U.S. market, a sophisticated fuel-sipping 2.0-liter DOHC engine.
The XL7 is based on General Motors Corp.'s Theta platform (Chevrolet Equinox, Saturn Vue, Pontiac Torrent). The XL7 will be built at Suzuki's CAMI Automotive Inc. joint venture with GM in Ingersoll, Ont., Canada, which last built a Suzuki vehicle in January 2004. CAMI also produces the Equinox and Torrent.
Suzuki still has a long way to go to become a household word as far as four-wheel vehicles go, but they're now better prepared to take on the big dogs with vehicles like the XL7. The trick is to get customers into their showrooms (and, as a corollary, for potential customers to find those dealers).
Rod Lopusnak, U.S. sales manager, told the plant workers that of the 311,537 four-wheelers manufactured at the Rome plant, more than 260,000 have been sold in the U.S. 'The last two years have been very difficult on Suzuki and the whole U.S. economy, but the power sports business in general has been challenged like never before,' Lopusnak said.
Suzuki, a specialist in building small cars profitably for emerging markets, said on Thursday it initiated arbitration procedures with the International Chamber of Commerce International Court of Arbitration in London. A spokesman for Volkswagen reiterated that the company believed there was 'no legal basis whatsoever obliging us to surrender our shares.'
The deal sees the creation of a separate company called SMILE FC System Corporation, which both businesses have a 50 per cent stake in. Phil Caldwell, Intelligent Energy's business development director and a SMILE FC board member, said: 'This joint venture is the latest exciting development in the successful relationship between Intelligent Energy and Suzuki, which has previously resulted in the Crosscage motorcycle and the Suzuki Burgman Fuel Cell Scooter. It is a big step towards the mass production of automotive fuel cell systems.'
The launch of the model, designed to run more than 20 kilometres per litre of fuel, followed a similar launch by Mitsubishi Motors Thailand of its new Mirage model on Tuesday. Five Japanese automobile manufacturers won tax privileges to design and produce compact, fuel-efficient passenger cars for the domestic and export market.
The 50th anniversary Suzuki GSX-R1000 was launched in front of the media and Suzuki owners in the Suzuki hospitality today at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Despite Suzuki's departure from the U.S. market, the company continues to be a player in other parts of the world, a fact underscored by the Geneva introduction of its new SX4 crossover. The SX4 has been one of Suzuki's most popular offerings, and the latest iteration continues to be a five-passenger vehicle, based on a front-drive unibody platform, but it is substantially bigger than the current model, with a much more contemporary look and upscale interior furnishings.
The recall involves GSX-R600 and GSX-R750 motorcycles from the 2004 through 2013 model years and GSX-R1000 motorcycles from the 2005 through 2013 model years.
Suzuki may be struggling to maintain much of a presence in the U.S., but the brand remains a successful purveyor of small vehicles elsewhere in the world. Indeed, we could see the cars it's showing at the 2011 Tokyo auto show being received well in global markets—and there's one in particular that we wouldn't mind seeing here. A rundown of the quartet follows.
Whatever the case, reports indicate that the update could be heavily influenced by the classic T20 and T250 Hustlers which became such an iconic part of the brand itself.
The T500 metamorphosed into the GT500 which had better brakes, suspension, electronic ignition – and less performance. Even so, the GT500 and T500 are very much siblings. Together the two models had a production life of over 9 years and this means that there are still many thousands of T500s in use.
The motor, tuned for torque, was a dream. Pulling stupendously high gearing, the T500 was cruising round the banking at over 130mph – with speed still in reserve. Now, touring round at the back of the field was forgotten. Those AHRMA trophies looked good!
Efforts are being made to tell the story of two Suzuki T500 motorcycles which were once the workhorse of our traffic police.
Somewhere around 4000 rpm, the electronic ignition would go from a mild retard mode, to FULL ADVANCE, with no graduation at all. Bang! The proverbial light switch. What made this problem even more pronounced, was that the 'jump' never happened at the same rpm twice in a row. When it was cold, it might hit earlier. As the engine warmed up, it might jump 200 or 300 rpm later. But you could never predict exactly when.
Imagine having an amazing amount of horsepower you could turn on instantly like a light switch. Now, imagine never quite knowing when that light switch is going to suddenly flick on and accelerate you forward to the point of making the Kessle Run in less than 12 parsecs. Also, you're off-road and it's 1971.
It would scare you. I loved the Suzuki TM125 Challenger and felt that the TM250 Champion was a decent bike, but the TM400 Cyclone was totally unpredictable. I take that back. If you expected bad things to happen, it never disappointed you. Once, at a night race on a '74 model, I thought someone was trying to pass me on my left side; it turns out that the back of my TM400 was swapping so bad that I could see it in my peripheral vision. Down a rough straight, the TM400 resembled a fish flopping on a beach.
The '75 was the first year for the RM series. It actually was only made for 6 months as the TM was in production at the beginning of the year and at the year end Suzuki introduced the new RM series.
The liquid-cooled RM250 of 1982 reigns supreme as the best 250 of the year. It's faster, lighter and has better suspension than anything in the class.
So when the SV was launched the warning lights were well and truly lit on Suzuki's instrument panel. Gone was the frenetic rush of the eight-valve, dual overhead cam V-Twin which powered the TL. Instead, Sensible San in Hamamatsu re-cammed and re-mapped the same motor, so that it allegedly produced 120 hp – but felt about 20 hp less. The capacity remained at 996cc and the six-speed gearbox was retained from the TL but now the powerplant was a sportbike engine which the Health and Safety lobby would have us all ride.
A couple of days later, however, I was in for a surprise. Having made a conscious decision to go out thrill-seeking, rather than just using the DL to commute, the smooth 1,000cc V-twin began to show its heritage. Based heavily on the tried and tested motor which once powered the frankly lunatic TL1000S and TL1000R sportsbikes of the 90s, the V-Strom showed remarkable venom once the revs really began to climb. The 90-degree V-twin which had previously been so gentlemanly had transformed into a fire-breathing monster. From 5,000rpm up to the redline, in gear after gear, the V-Strom has plenty of shove for the most brisk of overtaking manouevres.
For riders who want the GSX-R experience in a middleweight machine, Suzuki introduced the GSX-R600 in 1997. Kunio Arase, project leader for this new member of the GSX-R family, says he started development with a mission: 'The mission shared by every engineer for succeeding models of the legendary GSX-R line has been to surpass the performance of any existing model in its class. We determined to achieve the fastest top speed and starting acceleration, yet the production model had to be transformable to a winning circuit racer with minimal modification. Indeed, the first GSX-R600 realized a top speed faster than that of the GSX-R750 two years earlier, taking the World Supersport Championship for two consecutive years.'
In researching the market, Suzuki determined that with the influx of young people the average age of motorcycle buyers was no longer increasing. They further determined that the younger buyers entering the market desired practical and economical transportation, and thus the Gladius was born. The intent was for it to be more versatile than the Katanas by making it a naked bike with an upright seating position. It was originally targeted for the European market so they wanted something that was hip, urban and modern. Suzuki even sent Japanese designers to Europe for several months to study its fashion, architecture and motorcycle culture. The result is the flowing shapes and forward thrust, what Suzuki calls 'style meets technology.'
'Unlike the conventional centrifugal CVT using a rubber belt, the SECVT adjusts the CVT ratio by varying the drive-pulley diameter with an electric actuator motor,' relates Kazutoshi Ohashi who led development of the SECVT control systems in Group I, Miyakoda R&D Centre. 'The SECVT controller calculates the target engine revolution based on the vehicle speed and throttle position, and automatically adjusts the CVT ratio. Unlike conventional systems that adjust the CVT ratio only to the engine revolution, the SECVT's calculation is made with the throttle position – the rider's acceleration choice – also taken into consideration. That optimizes the CVT ratio for actual riding conditions.'
In the overseas markets, motorcycle exports to North America and other markets increased, but exports to Central and South America, Europe and other markets dropped. As a result, motorcycle exports as a whole saw a decrease from the previous year. On the other hand, due to increases in North America, Europe and other markets, automobile exports surpassed last year's level. Under such circumstances, Suzuki made efforts to increase sales in the domestic motorcycle market by enhancing our product lineup through the introduction of models such as the Choinori and the SKYWAVE 650. Literally meaning 'short time riding', the Choinori is a functional domestically produced 50cc scooter available at a highly competitive price of 59,800 yen while the SKYWAVE 650 is a large-size scooter featuring the world's first electronically controlled CVT system.
Despite licensing the engine from NSU, Suzuki poured much of its own research and development money into the RE5′s rotary mill. The company actually holds some 20 patents for different parts of the engine, including on the engine's subsystems. The Wankel was less than ideal for a motorcycle, however, as it had high fuel consumption and generated a lot of heat, necessitating the use of various systems for cooling.
To Suzuki's credit, the high-tech RE5 worked fairly well. But all that complexity resulted in a hefty curb weight of 573 pounds. That bulk, coupled with the rotary's large appetite for fuel, resulted in gas mileage in the 30 to 35-mile-per-gallon range at a time when Americans were facing gas crises. And the bike's limited cruising range didn't endear it to the touring market it was designed for.
Sometimes you look back in time and you see industrial designs that seem to be timeless. Like the Suzuki Nuda. It could come from 2045 or 1986, the year when it was actually introduced as a fully functional 174mph prototype.
Suzuki sold a few, mostly to owners who must've parked the things under a cover once the honeymoon was over and reality set in. You really don't see many B-Kings running around, do you? It's destined to be a serious Craigslist bargain in another few years when owners throw in the towel after admitting that fashion is never going to catch up to this motorcycle.
Suzuki sold a few, mostly to owners who must've parked the things under a cover once the honeymoon was over and reality set in. You really don't see many B-Kings running around, do you? It's destined to be a serious Craigslist bargain in another few years when owners throw in the towel after admitting that fashion is never going to catch up to this motorcycle.
What the G-Strider did get right was its 'nextgeneration telematics system, with interactive communications over a bidirectional wireless infrastructure...all controlled via glove-friendly trackball.' Which is actually similar to the thumbdrive controller that sorts through all the electronics on BMW's new K1600s. This wouldn't be the first time BMW took some good cues from the generally proletarian Suzuki. [...] In 2007, Suzuki went so far as to announce that the Strat would be entering production at an unspecified future time. Shortly thereafter, as you may have noticed, the free-market system imploded, and our Suzuki contacts claim to have no knowledge of what became of the bike.
This is the Suzuki Biplane, penned at Suzuki's recently re-opened U.S. design center. Suzuki's goal was to give the rider the sensation of flying in a vintage biplane with no canopy, a distilled, in-the-wind riding experience. It (conceptually) uses a V-Four motor, with cylinder heads and exhaust headers visible on the sides, just like the fabric-skinned twin-wingers of the last century. The front end gets a girder fork (kinda like the Confederate Wraith) and rim-mounted brake discs (a la Buell XB). The exhaust is tucked in underneath the cowling, and the link-type rear suspension can be seen under the tractor-style seat.
The original Jimny, the LJ10, was unveiled in Japan in 1970 – although it first appeared in Australia in 1974 as the LJ20, powered by a 360cc water-cooled two-stroke engine.
He needed to reassure everyone in his organization ... that it will be business as usual for Suzuki Canada: meaning many late-Monday-night phone calls and meetings, plus a media release indicating as much.
Viewed up close it looks, well, scary. If the B-King appeared in a feature film, the villain would ride it. Had 'Star Wars' been a biker movie, Darth Vader would have been in his element astride this Suzuki. The bike is menacing in black and has a mask-like shield around its headlight. Its pointy stinger tail and overall angular styling would go well with a cape.
For Suzuki, the new Indonesia plant is part of a campaign to expand rapidly in Asian markets outside Japan, and to solidify its lead in India. While the company remains committed to its home market, sluggish demand and intense competition there have led it—and most other Japanese auto makers—to seek growth abroad. The yen's rise to record highs against the dollar has made exports from Japan less competitive, so the makers are ramping up production elsewhere.
Imagine having an amazing amount of horsepower you could turn on instantly like a light switch. Now, imagine never quite knowing when that light switch is going to suddenly flick on and accelerate you forward to the point of making the Kessle Run in less than 12 parsecs. Also, you're off-road and it's 1971.
And after nearly 30 years on these shores, the company had failed to craft much of an identity among American consumers. In China, Malaysia and elsewhere, Suzukis are seen as cheap yet stylish transportation, an image that it could never build here. Suzuki's models were never top of their class in any particular measure; the 16-year battle with Consumer Reports over its pillory of the 1988 Suzuki Samurai didn't help. Among motorcycle enthusiasts, the Suzuki Hayabusa remains legend as the world's fastest production bike, but Suzuki never found a way to translate the enthusiasm for its two-wheeled products to those with four.
Introduced to the United States in 1985, the Suzuki Samurai made an instant name for itself with a combination of bargain-basement pricing and real off-road ability, even if it only had 62 hp under the square hood. The good times ended a few years later when Consumer Reports ran the photo above, warning the Samurai 'easily' rolls over in sharp turns. That story sent Samurai sales plunging, and Suzuki filed a libel suit against the magazine in 1996, a year after halting Samurai sales in the face of tougher safety standards.
