Latest Posts:
Asphalt & Rubber
Tag

Suzuki

Browsing
MotoGP

Video: Suzuki MotoGP Development Report, Part 4

By 9 Comments

The fourth installment of Suzuki’s four-part video series (part 1, part 2, & part 3 here) on its MotoGP program is out, and this time around the Japanese OEM is talking about the relentless perils of testing, testing, and more testing (no surprises here). One of Suzuki’s biggest hurdles though, as it gets ready for the 2015 season, is switching from its Mitsubishi electronics system, to the spec-ecu being built by Magneti Marelli for Dorna.

The process is more difficult than it sounds. Not only does Suzuki have to do the general development necessary to get the most out of the Suzuki XRH-1 GP prototype (more photos here, too), but then once complete, Suzuki must port those settings to the Magneti Marelli unit. Meanwhile test riders Randy de Puniet and Nobuatsu Aoki are constantly finding things to improve with the race bike, which can require further changes to the ECU software.

No one ever said it was easy to race in the premier class of motorcycle racing, and Suzuki’s efforts prove that point. With the MotoGP proving itself to be an ever-changing landscape for rules and regulations, Suzuki also faces a very slim window to use the bike that they are currently developing. Thus in our minds, their place as the 2015 underdogs has already been solidified well ahead of their debut. Good luck to all of them.

Keep Reading
By
MotoGP

Video: Suzuki MotoGP Development Report, Part 1

By 17 Comments

When Suzuki decided to move their return to MotoGP back a year, from 2014 to 2015, questions were raised over just how serious they are about actually coming back. The odds appear stacked against them: the bikes were some way off the pace, over 1.8 seconds at Misano.

Suzuki is still working with their Mitsubishi electronics unit, not yet having moved to the Magneti Marelli unit which is compulsory from 2014, and coming to MotoGP in 2015 would leave them just two seasons before a new set of regulations is to be introduced, likely to include a rev limit and compulsory spec software. Suzuki face an uphill task.

Despite the challenges, they seem determined to come back to motorcycle racing’s premier class. One sign of their intent is the launch of a new four-part video series on the progress made on the MotoGP project, the first video of which was released yesterday.

Keep Reading
By
MotoGP

Video: Suzuki MotoGP 2013 Testing Goodness

By 17 Comments

For our American readers, it is time to get back in the swing of things from the long Thanksgiving weekend; and for our non-American readers, well…the last few days must have been pretty boring for you (especially for our Canadian readers, who are probably still baffled about why we Americans celebrate Thanksgiving over a month late).

Anyhoo, it is Monday here at Asphalt & Rubber HQ, and while we let the caffeine soak into our veins, we have some high-energy content to help you get going at the workplace job thing. First up is a little video from Suzuki, which has just concluded its 2013 MotoGP testing schedule.

It is mostly just motorcycle porn for racing fans, but to our knowledge the video is the first time that Suzuki has publicly acknowledged its inline-four cylinder engine design for its XRH-1 MotoGP test bike. Suzuki will be back testing in 2014, with Randy de Puniet now solely committed to test-riding the machine for the Japanese OEM.

High on the team’s list is getting its race program to work on only 20 liters of fuel, as well as switching from Suzuki’s current Mitsubishi-designed ECU to the spec-ECU supplied by Dorna and built by Magneti Marelli. Neither task is an easy one as Suzuki gears up for its 2015 return to Grand Prix motorcycle racing.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

And More Photos of the Suzuki Extrigger Electric Concept

By 8 Comments

A brand better known for trotting out the same “timeless” designs each year, Suzuki seems to be finally waking up from its recession-induced slumber, and debuted two intriguing motorcycle concepts at the Tokyo Motor Show.

We already showed you today more photos of the turbocharged Suzuki Recursion street bike concept (please Suzuki, build this bike), and the Japanese OEM has shown a shining for the budding electric segment as well.

The Suzuki Extrigger electric concept is an interesting machine, as its form factor is very similar to the Honda Grom. Using the same electric motor as the company’s Suzuki E-Let’s scooter, we can assume that the Extrigger is packing the same unimpressive figures of 2hp and 11 lbs•ft of torque as the E-Let, though Suzuki does say that the Extrigger weighs a paltry 137 lbs, which is alluring.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

More Photos of the Turbo-Powered Suzuki Recursion

By 41 Comments

Forced-induction was the trend du jour at the Tokyo Motor Show, with Kawasaki showing off a supercharged four-cylinder engine and with Suzuki debuting its turbocharged Recursion concept.

While Team Green is being tightlipped with what exactly its up to (all we know is that the supercharged motorcycle engine has been developed completely in-house), Suzuki is more keen with teasing its machine.

Releasing some more photos of the Suzuki Recursion, this bike is looking like a winner to us, with its water-cooled 588cc twin-cylinder engine that features an intercooled turbocharger.

Suzuki says the engine package is just shy of 100hp at 8,000 rpm, with peak torque coming in at 74 lbs•ft at 4,500 rpm. The Suzuki Recursion is also quoted as being 384 lbs dry.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

Up-Close with the Suzuki XRH-1 MotoGP Race Bike

By 44 Comments

One of the advantages of actually going to the yearly EICMA show, as opposed to phoning it in like some other outlets do, is that you get see things that don’t find their way into a press release.

Take for example the Suzuki XRH-1 MotoGP race bike prototype that Randy de Puniet has been developing and Davide Brivio has been heading. On display at the Suzuki stand, it was perhaps the most technologically advanced motorcycle at EICMA, yet you would only know that if you went to Milan last week.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

Suzuki EXTRIGGER: An Electric Monkey Bike?

By 7 Comments

In addition to the turbocharged Suzuki Recursion concept, Suzuki has also teased its electric-powered EXTRIGGER concept ahead of the Tokyo Motor Show.

The pint-sized Suzuki EXTRIGGER draws some obvious cues from the Honda Grom and it seems impossible not to compare the two machines to each other — they even share a similar mission statement: “to give more people the chance to find out the fun of motorcycle.”

Suzuki has gone a step further than Honda though, with the EXTRIGGER sporting an electric drivetrain — borrowed from the Suzuki e-Let electric scooter . The choice is a well-thought-out one, as the limited range and power that is surely to be expected from a bike like the Grom fits in line with what a machine like the EXTRIGGER can offer a rider as well.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

Suzuki Recursion Concept: Bring on the Turbo!

By 37 Comments

We are still a few weeks away from the Tokyo Motor Show, which begins on November 22nd, but that hasn’t stopped Suzuki from teasing a couple of its concept models ahead of time. First up, we have the Suzuki Recursion concept, a striking half-faired street bike.

Featuring a new 588cc water-cooled two-cylinder engine, the Recursion at first glance doesn’t seem like much, but what we really think is going to get your motor purring is the machine’s intercooled turbocharging system.

Keep Reading
By
Recall

Massive Recall for 200,000+ Suzuki GSX-R Sport Bikes

By 9 Comments

Suzuki Motor of America may be still a young company, having just come out of the ashes of American Suzuki’s bankruptcy, but it has some big shoes to fill today, as the NHTSA has announced the brand’s massive recall of its GSX-R sport bikes.

Citing an issue where a combination of older brake fluid and corrosion to the brake piston, inside the front brake master cylinder, could lead to the generation of gas, which in-turn could reduce the fluid pressure to the front brake, this massive recall spans the 2004-2013 Suzuki GSX-R600 and Suzuki GSX-R750 motorcycles, as well as the Suzuki GSX-R1000 from 2005 to 2013.

Keep Reading
By