The History of the Suzuki T500 Motorcycle

The Suzuki T500 was the first bike to introduce a large capacity two stroke engine withe the release of the Suzuki T500 Cobra in 1968. The release of the Suzuki T500 model had a short life with its home country of the United States. After the original Suzuki T500 many other releases made their way on to the biking scene with many significant changes. Though this bike had a dramatic effect on the public it never released the publicity or attention that many felt it deserved.

The Suzuki T500 Cobra offered many improvements over its predecessor including a much longer wheelbase, low-maintenance and even the handling helped this model get off its feet and under a biker for a memorable ride. The Suzuki T500 Cobra offered much more room than the original Suzuki T500 making room for extra passengers, mounting carriers, and even saddlebags. This model was the perfect bike to tour with and can still be noted to be a wonderful bike to this day.

Suzuki wanted to make a more appealing motorcycle to the public which gave way to a new model being born, this model was known as the Suzuki T500 2 Titan and was released in 1969. The new model offered many advancements such as 11 finned barrels with altered porting. Another highlight of this bike was the much stronger piston with even larger piston porting. The last, but important innovation made to the Suzuki T500 2 Titan was dropping the 34mm carburetor and installing a 32 mm mikunis instead.

The third release by Suzuki during the T500 era was the Suzuki T500 3. Many minor changes were made including a new paint job other minor adjustments. This 1970 release was similar to the Suzuki T500 2 Titan except for a few new fittings such as the tank luggage rack, which in this time of motorcycle creation, it was a standard. The engine also had minor adjustments made and the bike could easily range between 110-120 mph with the stock air-cooled 492cc parallel twin two stroke engine.

Between 1971 and 1974 there were four new releases of the Suzuki T500. These models had minor adjustments made to their body and mechanics. The Suzuki T500 models through these three years included the Suzuki T500R, Suzuki T500J, Suzuki T500K and the Suzuki T500L. Everything during these four years from the engine to the starter remained the same. The biggest difference in these models can be spotted on an instance, but that is just because there was changes to the body more than there was any mechanical changes.

The last model that arrived from the Suzuki T500 series as known as the Suzuki T500M which was released in 1975. This bike offered many new innovations over previous releases including a much larger tank, an electronic ignition and finally a front disc break. The Suzuki at first glance replicates the Suzuki 500, but Suzuki did add many new features to keep their customers happy. This street bike is recognized by many and it is known as the bike one would see every time they dream of touring the countryside with friends by their side.