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Suzuki motor corporation is proudly one of the top four largest automakers in Japan surpassed only by industry giants Toyota Motor Corporation, Nissan, and Honda Motor Co. Meanwhile, Suzuki holds the number three position in the two-wheeled vehicle market behind Honda and Yamaha and has made a huge splash in the marine outboard industry competing with the likes of Mercury, Yamaha, BRP, and Volvo Penta.
Founder Michio Suzuki and the Suzuki Motor Corporation have come a long way since its beginnings as Suzuki Loom Works, as it was then known, producing and distributing weaving equipment to hundreds of small fabrics manufacturers in Japan's flourishing textile industry. It provided a promising and stable market for the Suzuki enterprise and in 1920 Michio Suzuki took his company public.
The Early Years
Suzuki continued to manufacture weaving machines throughout the 1920s-30s and it is not until after WWII that Japan’s impoverished economy served as a catalyst for major changes within the business. By 1947 the company decides to relocate their headquarters and redirect their manufacturing experience gained during the war to begin production of its first motorized vehicle.
The Japanese builder first launched onto the market with a 5.5 horsepower 98 cubic centimeter engine which was in 1965. The Suzuki corporation’s main activity is the automobile, motorcycles are second and the motor marine business is third. Suzuki has always had a high-quality image. As an engine manufacturer, it was only natural for Suzuki to go into outboard engines. Suzuki was the first producer of outboard motors to use oil injection in their two-stroke engines in 1980. In 1997 was an important landmark as the United States Association of Nautical Builders awarded the DT200 as the most innovative product. In 1980 saw the electric fuel inject system used for the first time. In the whole story of Suzuki, the most famous engine is the 9.9 horsepower which they've been producing for over 20 years.
Innovation
Suzuki was the first to launch a 300 horsepower engine onto the market which was in 2006
and today their catalog includes 26 models from a 2.5 horsepower to 300 horsepower. The smallest a 2.5 horsepower is a very light outboard which can come with a long-stemmed shaft for sailboats. The new 9.9, 15 and 20 horsepower is the most evolved and the lightest on the market. The lightest is an important characteristic of these engines that they are often carried by hand and installed on the tender or the launch just when it's about to be used. The weight issue is important in terms of balance because when you mount an outboard that's too heavy the front of the boat raises up and it's difficult to get it to plane. All three engines including the 9.9 has electronic fuel injection and the lean burn system, the same one that was developed as a gas saver for the big Suzuki outboards.
The Suzuki 25 and 30 have three in-line cylinders and camshaft and are the lightest in their power class. Both have a 499 cubic centimeter block engine and design that minimizes energy loss, for example, these are the first engines of their class with roller bearings on the equalizers of the camshaft which greatly reduce the friction. The 40-horsepower is a robust engine,
it can get up to 60 horsepower it is the only one in its power to be equipped with a self-adjusting oil bath timing chain meaning it doesn't need any maintenance. The block has three cylinders and four valves each with a twin camshaft, the electronics of the engine automatically reduced the consumption and the cruising speed and the ignition which comes with just a simple touch of a key. It is however an engine like many other small Suzuki's
having all the top technology. Suzuki uses the same
technology from the top model to the bottom model as this is a main policy.
The new 150 and 175 Suzuki units are particularly vigorous. They have a higher cylinder capacity, almost 3 liters to go a little bit beyond for more power and torque. Distribution comes from a twin cam shaft which looks after those 16 valves. The 175 horsepower comes with a variable VV phasing system - which optimizes performance at all speeds. It also has lean burn consumption that lowers the Stoichiometric metric ratio to 18 to 1 that means that there is 18 times the amount of air to gasoline. The weight of the engine on the transom is determined
by the axis of the boat, that's why suzuki has planned that its balance point, the barycenter of the engine is as close as possible to the barycenter of the boat by misaligning the crankshaft in respect to the transmission shaft in contrast to other engines the crankshaft is found at the point furthest away.
A Look into the Future
The VF 200 is the latest offering, it is a four-cylinder developed around a big-block 2867 cubic centimeter big-block and in respect to its competitors with six valve cylinder it is more compact and lighter. It uses the consumption and emissions lean-burn system and the robust shaft that's seen in the 250 and 300 horsepower allowing propeller rotation to go either left or right by simply changing the electrics. the 250 and 300 horsepower engines have an advanced digitally electronic sequential injection system with lean-burn. For those who want to personalize their outboard ,Suzuki offers tanks by GP Design. More than fifty years have gone by since Suzuki built the first out order and today these engines are so high-tech it would be a sin not to use them. In 50 years of activity Suzuki has produced over three million outboard engines.