Suzuki History
Suzuki Canada Inc. sells and services its various products across Canada through a network of independent recreational products dealers.
Suzuki Canada
Suzuki Canada Inc. located in Barrie, ON, was founded in 1973 by Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) based in Hamamatsu, Japan. At that time the company, comprised of 30 employees, was oriented towards motorcycle sales. Today, Suzuki enjoys a much more diversified business approach, and is seen by Canadian consumers as a major motorcycle, ATV and outboard company.
Suzuki’s Beginnings
In 1909, Michio Suzuki founded the Suzuki Loom Works in the small seacoast village of Hamamatsu, Japan. He gifted his first loom to his mother, which became the talk of the surrounding villages, and was soon bombarded with orders. This was the beginning of the history of Suzuki.
Suzuki Racing
The Suzuki Brand has long been synonymous with performance and racing. Thanks to Suzuki’s history of racing success on the World stage, models such as the GSX-R have become household names, conjuring images of victory laps and champagne showers. Those traditions continue as development of future Championship winning product is always underway.
Historical Moments
- 1909
- 1920
- 1952
- 1954
- 1958
- 1962
- 1965
- 1973
- 1976
- 1981
- 1983
- 1985
- 1987
- 1991
- 1996
- 1997
- 1999
- 2001
- 2006
- 2009
- 2014
- 2016
- 2017
- 2020
- 2021
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Michio Suzuki opens the Suzuki Loom Works in the small coastal village of Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. The new factory makes weaving looms for Japan’s massive cotton industry. Michio’s intention is simple: to build better, more ergonomic looms than anything that is currently available.
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Company is reorganized and incorporated, as Suzuki Loom Manufacturing Co. with Michio Suzuki as president.
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Suzuki enters the motor-vehicle field with the launch of the Power Free 36cc, 2-cycle auxiliary bicycle engine.
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Company changes its name to Suzuki Motor Co., Ltd.
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Suzuki adopts the “S” mark as its corporate emblem.
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Suzuki wins the 50cc-class championship at the Isle of Man TT race.
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Suzuki enters the outboard motor field with the launch of the D55 5.5hp, 2-cycle outboard motor.
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Suzuki Canada Ltd. (a direct sales subsidiary) is established in Ontario, Canada.
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Barry Sheene wins his, and Suzuki’s, first 500cc world title on the RG500. The legendary bike took the top six places in the championship.
Meanwhile, the GS750 – Suzuki’s first big four-cylinder bike – is released.
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Suzuki stuns the biking world with its futuristic GSX1100S Katana. The bike’s aggressive styling and superb performance make it a huge sales success.
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Suzuki introduces the Quadrunner 125 (LT125D), the first ATV on the Market.
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The bike that is to change the face of motorcycling arrives. Suzuki’s GSX-R750 will always be remembered as the first true race replica machine. Delivering 100 horsepower and weighing in at 176kg, it created a whole new category of performance bikes.
The GSX-R750 achieves a 1-2 finish in its World Endurance Championship debut race, the Le Mans 24-hours Endurance Race.
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DT200 Exanté wins the first “Most Innovative Products” award from the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA).
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The first KingQuad (LT-F4WDX) makes its debut with a host of upgrades over previous models, and is marketed as the “King of Quads”.
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Suzuki re-invented the GSX-R750 again in 1996. This is the turning-point for the GSX-R750 with the newly equipped twin-spar frame instead of the double cradle frame. Dimensions are derived from the GP machine, and the result is a new performance benchmark in the industry.
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DF60 and DF70, the first Suzuki Outboards to feature electronic fuel injection, win the NMMA Innovation Award.
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Suzuki breaks the mould once again with the unveiling of the GSX1300R Hayabusa. The ultimate 1298cc liquid-cooled DOHC in-line 4-cylinder engine that powered the Hayabusa represented the epitome of no-compromise engineering. The Hayabusa’s most notable features were its aerodynamic design and its superb balance of the engine performance and handling in a wide speed range on the road.
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An unforgettable year, which saw the launch of the ultimate sports bike – the Suzuki GSX-R1000. The newest addition to the GSX-R family had the same impact as the original upon its release in 1985 and re-wrote the rule books on performance, weight, handling and styling. It would soon be dominating race tracks and awards ceremonies around the world.
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DF300 is the industry’s first 300HP V6 4-stroke outboard, and the first outboard to utilize an electronic remote control. Wins 2006 “NMMA Innovation Award”.
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The all new GSX-R1000 is launched. In the United States, Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Mat Mladin clinches his seventh AMA Superbike Championship riding a GSX-R1000.
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Suzuki announces their return to moto GP.
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Suzuki introduces 9 new models including the GSX-S750, V-Strom 650XT, Burgman 400 and the latest generation of GSX-R1000/R flagship models.
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The DF350A becomes Suzuki Marine’s flagship model. This revolutionary outboard wins the company yet another “NMMA Innovation Award”.
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The Legendary Katana returns to Suzuki’s model lineup.
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Famed for its abundant power, agility and majestic presence. Suzuki unveils the new 2022 Hayabusa .
Suzuki’s long tradition of exceptional engineering and innovation will yield many more milestones along the road ahead. Join us on this journey to make history.
