One of the Big Four motorcycle manufacturers, Suzuki is a powerhouse in on-road and off-road motorcycles as well as in motorcycle racing. Offering up a full line of sportbikes, heritage rides, and scooters, Suzuki holds a commanding share of the North American market.

Suzuki History

Suzuki started out in 1909 as the Suzuki Loom Works to supply Japan, and the rest of the world, with silk-weaving looms. In 1937, founder Michio Suzuki started experimenting with four-wheel automobiles. Much like Piaggio's Vespa division did for Italy, Mr. Suzuki's focus was on inexpensive transportation for the masses in the wake of World War II, and his first effort produced the 36 cc Power Free in 1952. Essentially a powered bicycle, it was succeeded by the 70 cc Diamond Free the following year, which heralded the change in name to the Suzuki Motor Company Limited that we still see today. True to its roots in the transportation sector, the factory still produces whole automobiles and bikes as well as engines to power machines from other marques.

Suzuki Terminology

Suzuki Drive Mode Selector (S-DMS): Allows the rider to tune the engine's power delivery to match conditions. It's particularly useful in inclement weather and other low-traction situations.

Suzuki Composite Electrochemical Material (SCEM): A hard cylinder plating that allows for an aluminum bore sans any kind of heavy ferrous sleeve. Provides a long service life and good thermal conductivity. Necessarily precludes the possibility of cylinder reconditioning/re-boring.

Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD): A chrome-nitride deposit that hardens the cylinder rings in another bid to extend engine life.

Suzuki Clutch Assist System (SCAS): The factory's proprietary slipper-style clutch that delivers anti-hop protection for the rear wheel along with a light pull at the lever.

Suzuki Dual Throttle Valve (SDTV): A computer-controlled set of butterflies in the throttle bodies that helps to reconcile the difference between demand at the right grip and what the engine can smoothly deliver.

Idle Speed Control (ISC): Improves/stabilizes idle and provides some cold-start protection.

Suzuki Pulsed Air Injection (PAIR): Introduces fresh air into the exhaust stream to burn off unburned/partially-burned hydrocarbons and improve emissions.

Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC): A coating that treats the wear points within the front forks. Not only does it reduce wear, but it also makes the suspension supple and responsive to the slightest bumps in a bid to preserve the front contact patch.

Suzuki Motorcycle Models

Suzuki Sportbike

The Suzuki GSX-R came out in '84, and has since become synonymous with race-tastic street performance. Commonly called the Gixxerfamily, the line serves as Suzuki's sportbike/superbike line with models from the 248 cc GSX. Full body cladding and aggressive postures are the hallmarks of this line.

Suzuki Cruiser

Suzuki borrows from American-style cruisers to shape its Boulevard line. It starts out with the bottom-tier, 652 cc S40 that is comparable to the Honda Rebel and progresses to the massive, 1,783 cc M109R Blacked Out Special Suzuki (B.O.S.S.). A laid-back attitude, pull-back bars and forward controls puts the rider in an upright position that is kind on the back, shoulders, and wrists.

Suzuki Touring

The factory repurposes its Boulevard family for its touring line with the 805 cc C50 T and 1,462 cc C90T up for grabs. Again it borrows from the American market with large windshields and stock saddlebags along with a complete line of accessories that let you set up for your touring needs and taste. Aside from the touring gear, the models are otherwise identical to their cruiser base platforms.

Suzuki Standard

The standard line strikes a balance between the proper elbow-draggin' Gixxers and the good old Universal Japanese Motorcycles (UJM) to provide a viable commuter sportbike. At the bottom of the range is the VanVan 200 and TU250X that definitely channel the old-school UJM style with a 199 cc and 249 cc engine, respectively. Suzuki's naked-sportbike “SV” models come mixed with the genre that currently tops out at 999 cc. The category borrows from the looks of the GSX-R line, but comes with a slightly relaxed rider's triangle that'll let you tuck in racer style, or push off to get some relief for your wrists, shoulders, and neck.

Suzuki Adventure

Suzuki favors the bird's-beak front end and deep saddle swale to give their V-Strom line an adventure-typical flyline with an emphasis on road work. It starts with the 645 cc V-Strom 650 and jumps right up to the 1,037 cc V-Strom 1000XT “Adventure” with a handful of models in between in a variety of formats. All come with a vented windshield, but only the top-line unit comes equipped with baggage. In spite of their off-road abilities, these bikes are rapidly overtaking the standard genre as the urban sport-commuter of choice.

Suzuki Dual Sport

On the other side of the dual-surface coin lies the dual-sport range that, while street legal, is set up with a bias for the dirt instead of the blacktop. Stealth knobbies, turn signals and fore-and-aft lighting make it suitable for road travel, but the suspension travel, wire wheels and bench seats clearly mark them as dirt-friendly machines. The line starts at the entry-level, 199 cc DR200S and includes a DR-Z400S in the midrange with the 644 cc DR650S at the top of the line. This range is the successor to the popular but dated Enduro sector.

Suzuki Scooters

The Burgman line carries the Suzuki banner into the scooter sector with a maxi-scoot look that diverges sharply from the early Italian-style scooters. Broad front fairing/legguards and vented windshields provide some weather protection and give the line a business-class panache. Engine sizes include just 200 cc and 400 cc for 2019 and come fused with a continuously variable transmission (CVT) that acts as a stressed unit and replaces the swingarm in the scooter-typical swing-mount configuration.

Further Reading

Suzuki Boulevard C50 / C50T

See our review of the Suzuki Boulevard C50 / C50T.

Suzuki Boulevard C90 B.O.S.S.

See our review of the Suzuki Boulevard C90 B.O.S.S..

Suzuki Boulevard C90T

See our review of the Suzuki Boulevard C90T.

Suzuki Boulevard M50

See our review of the Suzuki Boulevard M50.

Suzuki Boulevard M90

See our review of the Suzuki Boulevard M90.

Suzuki Boulevard M109R B.O.S.S.

See our review of the Suzuki Boulevard M109R B.O.S.S..

Suzuki Boulevard S40

See our review of the Suzuki Boulevard S40.

Suzuki Burgman 200

See our review of the Suzuki Burgman 200.

Suzuki Burgman 400

See our review of the Suzuki Burgman 400.

Suzuki DR200S

See our review of the Suzuki DR200S.

Suzuki DR650S

See our review of the Suzuki DR650S.

Suzuki DR-Z400S

See our review of the Suzuki DR-Z400S.

Suzuki Hayabusa (GSX1300R)

See our review of the Suzuki Hayabusa.

Suzuki GSX250R

See our review of the Suzuki GSX250R.

Suzuki GSX-R600

See our review of the Suzuki GSX-R600.

Suzuki GSX-R750

See our review of the Suzuki GSX-R750.

Suzuki GSX-R1000R

See our review of the Suzuki GSX-R1000R.

Suzuki GSX-R1000X

See our review of the Suzuki GSX-R1000X.

Suzuki GSX-S750 /750Z

See our review of the Suzuki GSX-S750 / 750Z.

Suzuki GSX-S1000

See our review of the Suzuki GSX-S1000.

Suzuki GSX-S1000FZ

See our review of the Suzuki GSX-S1000FZ.

Suzuki SV650

See our review of the Suzuki SV650.

Suzuki SV650X

See our review of the Suzuki SV650X.

Suzuki TU250X

See our review of the Suzuki TU2150X.

Suzuki VanVan200

See our review of the Suzuki VanVan200.

Suzuki V-Strom 650 / 650XT

See our review of the Suzuki V-Strom 650 / 650XT.

Suzuki V-Strom 650XT Touring

See our review of the Suzuki V-Strom 650XT Touring.

Suzuki V-Strom 1000

See our review of the Suzuki V-Strom 1000.

Suzuki V-Strom 1000XT

See our review of the Suzuki V-Strom 1000XT.

Honda Rebel 300 / 500

See our review of the Honda Rebel 300 / 500.

Suzuki

Read more Suzuki.