In Praise of Suzuki
Sunday, March 25th, 2007 at 9:34 pm by rhino
The following is a Letter to the Editor I sent to Motorcyclist Magazine in reference to the April 2007 article “The GS Papers”. This piece of prose traces Suzuki’s journey from quirky 2-strokes, through competitive 4-strokes to the legendary GSXR line. As an avowed Suzuki fan, this summary gave me perspective of how far Suzuki have come! The multiple photos of a pristine ‘79 GS1000 alone are worth the cover price.
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Thanks for the trip down Suzuki Memory Lane. My second motorcycle was an ‘81 GS1100E and it dragged me from practical transportation to lifelong addiction. I finally parted with it after 17 years and 55,000 mile, but immediately bought the first generation Bandit 1200 to replace it.
Just as English bikes will always be a 60s icon, I grew up riding in the ’80s and Japanese bikes will forever be a part of my psyche. Some riders are addicted to the throb of the V-twin, the howl of a triple or the thump of a single, but I will forever be commited to the scream of an inline four.
I’ve owned ten Brand S machines over my 27 years of riding and they continue to be my favorite. While Harley, Honda and Yamaha continue to fight it out for the top rung on the sales ladder, Suzuki goes quietly about the business of producing some of the best motorcycles on the planet. They seem the perpetual underdog and yet continually cross the finish line first in a preponderance of race series. I’ve dabble in several Euro-brands but it seems about every other time I buy a bike it’s got that classically beautiful stylized S on the tank.
Forever Suzuki!
Rhino
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Forever Suzuki…Except for when you ride your Euro-trash…