The Suzuki Motor Corporation is a Japanese company specializing in automobiles, four-wheel drive vehicles, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), outboard marine engines, wheelchairs and a variety of other small internal combustion engines.

The Suzuki Motor Corporation was founded in 1909 as Suzuki Loom Works by Michio Suzuki and initially made, as the name suggests, weaving machines for Japan’s growing silk industry. In 1937, after almost 30 successful years of manufacturing high complexity looms, Mr Suzuki decided that he needed to expand his business and they started looking at other products.

The project began in 1937, and within two years Suzuki had completed several compact prototype cars. A then-innovative, liquid-cooled, four-stroke, four-cylinder engine powered these first Suzuki motor vehicles. It had a cast aluminium crankcase and gearbox and generated 13 horsepower from a displacement of less than 800cc. Unfortunately, due to WWII, plans were halted as passenger cars were deemed as a ‘non-essential commodity’. After the war Suzuki returned to manufacturing looms when the US Government gave permission to export cotton to Japan. However, in 1951 the cotton market collapsed and Suzuki was at a stand still.

A number of firms began offering “clip-on” petrol-powered engines that could be attached to a bicycle. Suzuki’s first two-wheel vehicle came in the form a bicycle fitted with a motor called, the “Power Free.” Designed to be inexpensive and simple to build and maintain, the 1952 Power Free had a 36 cc, 1hp, two-stroke engine. The double-sprocket gear system enabled the rider to either pedal with the engine assisting, pedal without engine assist, or simply disconnect the pedals and run on engine power alone. The government granted Suzuki a financial subsidy to continue research in motorcycle engineering, and so was born Suzuki Motor Corporation. By 1954, Suzuki was producing 6,000 motorcycles per month and had officially changed its name to Suzuki Motor Co. Ltd. 

Following the success of its first motorcycles, Suzuki created an even more successful automobile: the 1955 Suzuki Suzulight. Suzuki showcased its innovation from the beginning. The Suzulight included front-wheel drive, four-wheel independent suspension and rack-and-pinion steering, which were not common on cars until at least three decades later.

From then on, Suzuki was set to become a household name in more ways that Michio ever thought. They now manufacture many different models of engines and vehicles with the iconic GSX-R and Hayabusa motorcycles. Suzuki were eventually to manufacture the Hayabusa, the fastest mass produced motorcycle in the world between 1999 to 2000 with iconic Suzuki fairings.

Suzuki’s motorcycles are some of the highest regarded of the Japanese range, main contenders with the GSX-R, Hayabusa, SV650 and V-Strom to name a few. They all have iconic Suzuki fairings and build quality that rivals most other motorcycle brands. 

Over the years Suzuki has evolved and adapted to overcome problems with incredibly complex machines that have been designed to be simple for the user. There is truly some incredible engineering that has gone into the designs behind Suzuki automobiles and their experience of over 100 years of manufacturing complex products has laid testament to their ingenuity and success. 

Paint Colour

The colour that your fairings are can make a huge difference to your visibility at both day and night. With the mass production of matt black fairings it is sometimes very hard to see motorcycles on the road. This is now counteracted, especially in Europe by daytime running lights and the use of reflectors, but even in the day it can be hard to distinguish certain colours. For example, if the majority of your riding is at night, it is probably inadvisable to have a black bike, however in the daytime, this isn’t so much of an issue. Also, matt paint can be somewhat dangerous too. Matt colours do not reflect as much light due to the rough surface of the paint, which give it the visual effect of being dull. This means in the dark, lights will not reflect off of your bike as much as they would if it was a gloss paint.

Colour of Your Gear

Many people tend not to think about the colour of the gear they wear, however from personal experience in the motorcycle trade, I know that most people will want gear that will match their bike. This is okay up to a point, but you are much safer if your gear is in contrast to the colour of your bike. This means that if your bike is not visible against a certain background, your body is, and vice versa. Many people will find that the majority of motorcycle equipment comes in black, or black. This is sometimes not the case, don’t just have a look at what your local store has in stock, ask them for a catalog, as there is usually more colours in a certain style available. The staff should be more than happy to assist you in getting the right gear and if they’re not, then I suggest you look elsewhere.

Damage to Fairings

Most riders at some point are going to damage their motorcycle. You need to know when it is time to do something about that damage, and it’s usually down to common sense. For example if your fairings are hanging off your bike and flapping around at 30mph, you probably want to remove and replace them as soon as possible. But also remember that your fairings also offer you wind protection and alter the handling of your bike. For example, if you remove your fairings on one side because they are damaged, it is probably wise to remove the other side too if you can’t replace them straight away. This is because the aerodynamics of the bike will change, and may make it unstable. Also, if you do remove fairings, think about things that are exposed after this. I know on my motorcycle, that if I remove all of my fairings, there are several sharp edges that become exposed and mounting points stick out all over the frame. This is a danger to me, but also to people around me should I have an accident. Also remember that fairings offer you some protection during a crash, they can stop your legs getting stuck under the bike by offering a buffer. Finally, fairings protect your bike should you crash, it is cheaper to replace your fairings than to replace your frame.

The 2008-onward model of the famous Yamaha YZF R6 has had many upgrades to blast in into the top spot of the 600cc class. Indeed, the development team under project leader Kouchi Amano has implemented knowledge from Moto-GP. The focus for the 2008 model year was an refined balance between handling and rigidity. In other words, Yamaha targeted to make the R6 handle better on twisty tracks or small country roads and at the same time to improve stability at higher speed. To reach this target, the team modified the bike’s backbone, the die cast aluminum frame. It was not changed completely and you would have to look close to notice the differences to the previous model, and is not visible by looking at the R6 fairings, but the changes are very influential on the rigidity of the bike. 

The cross member between the to main spars was removed. This needed a countermeasure, so the thickness of the steering head and the swing arm pivot was been increased, as well as the frame’s wall thickness; and the internal ribbing was changed. Consequently they needed to create a different rigidity of the swing arm. It looks pretty much the same, but in fact it is a totally different part. 

Yamaha added ribs to the inside of the cast portion and the end portion and used forged aluminium instead of extruded material. If you look closer to the front fork you might spot the changes there. Yamaha redesigned the under bracket and the fork outer tube strength has been changed. These fundamental changes make the YZF-R6 handle more sharply and make the bike more exciting to ride.

Unusually, they made the rear sub frame from Magnesium. It is a rare case to use such a delicate material on a major structural part of a regular production bike. But the Yamaha are not about compromising. Yamaha simply go for the best. The rear frame holds the redesigned R6 fairings and seat. Again not a totally different looks, but fine adjustments were made to it. 

The rider position has changed slightly forwards as well as handle bar position was moved forwards and a little lowered. The rider will be sitting more “in the machine” with centre of gravity moved a little forward. Riders with race experience know that this improves handling and grip on the front end. As the R6 is a high-rpm engine, YCC-I makes the power delivery even more dramatic, improving power feel from mid-range to 14,500 rpm. This effect is particularly noticeable at high rpm when the secondary injectors kick in. Based on rpm and the degree of throttle opening, YCC-I instantly switches the air funnel length from long to short. This changes the intake pulse frequency, results in improved cylinder filling and higher power output.

As a result, the new R6 has a wider, more linear power band. Or, what riders will call a wider high rpm fun zone! To work with the new YCC-I, also the exhaust camshaft timing as well as ignition timing was modified and the exhaust pipe joints have increased diameter. To make sure that this high performance engine will run in a reliable way for tens of thousands of kilometres in daily use, several engine parts have been strengthened, such as connecting rod bearing, plain bearings, cam chain and tensioner and so on. With all these many technical improvements, lets not forget the new styling, this reminds of the modifications to upper R6 fairings and body parts. The YZF-R6 from 2008 has kept the same identity, but it just looks more neat and sharper then before.

The Ducati 1098 was made in three models, the 1098, 1098S and 1098R. Production started in 2007 and ceased in 2009. The 1098 was debatably the best Ducati since the original 916. It is a pure, blood red racing machine and is sports bike heaven.

The 1098 pushes out 160bhp with top speed of 180mph, earning its rightful place in the highest insurance group with 0-60mph in less than 3.0 seconds. The 1098’s Testastretta Evoluzione is the most powerful production V-twin engine ever made. It has 92ftlbs of torque at only 8000rpm and has a huge increase in power compared to the 999 and believe it or not, the 1098R is even faster with 180bhp.

Not only is it a speed demon, the 1098 has amazing feedback on the road. The front forks are perfection, which combined with the neutral chassis makes it arguably the best 1000cc class road bike ever. The 1098 will do exactly what you tell it to, whether you’re hanging off the edge or just having a relaxing ride. If you’re looking to spend an extra £2000 ($3400) on top of the £11000 ($18700) price tag, why not go for the 1098S. It comes with Ohlins suspension, upgraded brakes and of course an upgraded engine. But that would just be silly.

The 1098 is not without its looks. The opposite in fact. It is beautiful. The Ducati 1098 fairings are simply amazing. Sharing design elements with the older 998 than with its predecessor the 999, the 1098 has horizontally placed headlights and a non-integrated exhaust system. It also has the single-sided swingarm from the 916 and 998. The Ducati 1098 fairings came in three colours in true Ducati style. Black, red, yellow and if you went for the special edition 1098S Tricolore they have the Italian flag. In 2009 Ducati produced the 1098R Bayliss Limited Edition due to his win of the 2008 Superbike World Championship. With only 500 units produced, this bike boasted a 180bhp engine, Ducati Traction Control, similar 5-spoke wheels to Bayliss’ original and of course a bit of carbon fibre.

The Ducati 1098’s build quality is sublime as usual. The stigma around Ducati’s being unreliable has been blown out of the water by this machine. With people taking the bike on long tours and having no major problems with the exception of the odd flat tyre. However, the 2007 models did have the occasional problem where they would stall upon slowing down, but this fault disappeared in the 2008 and 2009 models altogether. With straight reliability the 1098’s are on par with any of the Japanese models of the time. So no worries about breaking down and having huge maintenance bills every year. Ducati also implement the “Good Will Warranty” where they will replace any faults in the bike that have not been caused by the user.

Overall, the Ducati 1098 is one of the best Ducati’s to be produced in a while. It has blown the 999 out of the water and made a huge improvement to an outdated design, whilst still incorporating the Ducati spirit. This bike got Ducati back on track, and their bikes have been brilliant ever since.