In 1909 Michio Suzuki manufactured Silk Looms until about 1952 when due to financial problems Suzuki ventured into developing clip on engines to bicycle frames. The first models was called the Power Free (36cc) and the follow-up model was the Diamond Free (60cc). Suzuki produced its first motorcycle in 1954 called the Colleda (90cc).
Suzuki built small capacity bikes during the 50s and 60s and had only small export success until the introduction of the X6 (T20 super six) which gave Suzuki much name credibility.
With a well established name Suzuki dared enter the big bike market and in 1967 Suzuki introduced T500. Which was known as the Titan in America and the Cobra in England. The name changed over the years to GT500 due to many improvements but it was purely the sharp price and good reliability which kept the GT in production until 1977.
The Water Buffalo was introduced in 1971 in America and the Kettle in Britain - both the same GT750 bike and the start for Suzuki to enter the superbike market. The GT750 wasn't a very impressive machine and also couldn't match the other bikes in the market at the time. Once again the production kept going based on it’s demand for good price and reliability.
In 1976 Suzuki introduced the first GS750 which was an immediate hit in this very competitive market area. The GS 750 managed to out perform all rivals of the time and was the start of a very popular GS line for the coming years.
Most bikes produced around the middle 70s had enough power but lacked a steady frame. The introduction of the Suzuki GS1000 in 1978 changed this problem once and for all. The GS out preformed every other bike in it's category and had a frame to match its power. The only thing which could be said against the very popular and successful GS1000 was its dull looks.
The GS1000 was redesigned and new models based on the same original success bike were introduced. The GSX1000 in 1980 and the GSX1100S Katana in 1982. The later bike was a huge success due to it powerful performance, funky style, low weight and good pricing.
Suzuki pulled a stunt within the motorcycle market by introducing the GSX-R750 which was such a direct copy of their formula race bike with the only difference that this GSX was road legal. It turned the supersport motorcycle market upside down and dominated the way superbikes would look for the future.
The GSX-R750 was super fast, which wasn't hard to understand since there were hardly any changes to its race track design. Both on the street and in the race track the bike was a huge success. In 1986 the GSX-R1100 was also added to the line.
The GSX style and line didn't change much over all the years with improvements being made to the bike. A small fluke in design made Suzuki lose its performance lead with the GSX-R1100. But the GSX-R750 has remained a hit up until today.
Maybe still hurt by losing the performance edge with the GSX-R1100 redisgn in the 1990s Suzuki introduced the GSX-1300R (Hayabusa) in 1999. This sent the Honda Blackbird packing and became the world's fastest production bike at a whopping 190 mph (307 km/h).
In 2001 Suzuki introduced an upgrade GSX-R750 engine and created the GSX-R1000 (998cc) which is a super bike with outstanding performance. In 2003 the GSX-R1000 was restyled but still kept its position as a super class bike.
