Suzuki RG 500

The Suzuki RG 500 was a Grand Prix racing motorcycle built by Suzuki for the 500cc class of Grand Prix motorcycle racing from 1974 to 1980. It was designed by Makoto Hase around a two-stroke square-four engine, an arrangement Suzuki had developed in its Grand Prix programme of the 1960s, and it replaced an earlier Suzuki 500 racer based on the production TR500 that Suzuki's European importer developed and Jack Findlay raced in the early 1970s. Barry Sheene finished second on it in its first race, the 1974 French Grand Prix, won his first Grand Prix on it at the 1975 Dutch TT and took the 500cc world championship on an RG 500 in 1976 and 1977. From 1976 it was sold to the public, which let privateer racers compete in the championship, and RG 500s took 11 of the first 12 places in the 1976 premier class. The model won seven manufacturers' titles in succession. It is a different machine from the road-going Suzuki RG500.