60 years of Suzuki RGV500 vs GSX-R1000 - MOTOR GERR

These two blue and white machines represent the best of the Suzuki best. Right now, the 166bhp, 203kg 2012 GSX-R1000 is the ultimate incarnation of the Japanese firm’s road-going superbike and this 1998 ex-Nobuatsu Aoki RGV500, making 180bhp and weighing just 130kg was one of the last of the fearsome 500cc GP bikes.

One’s a two-stroke V4, one’s a four stroke inline four. The RGV500 is a prototype Grand Prix bike ridden by one the world’s elite racers and the other is fully road legal, available for anyone to buy from their local Suzuki dealer (and it’s the cheapest of all the 1000s) and one of the most iconic superbikes of modern times.

Despite their differences, the passage of time has made them very similar in performance so your new GSX-R1000 really is as fast as a 500 Grand Prix bike, which is pretty cool.

Although from different worlds, the RGV500 was a huge inspiration for Suzuki’s road-going superbike (as well as the mouth-watering RG250 and RGV250 two-strokes of the late 80s and early 90s)

 You can see from the pictures that Aoki’s bike has the same colour scheme and bulbous tail unit as the 1998 ‘SRAD’ GSX-R750.

It also inspired the road bike’s upside down forks, 17” three-spoke wheels and  aluminium beam frames with built-in ‘flex’ for better feel for the riders in the corners, cementing the GSX-R’s reputation of being the raciest of all its rivals.

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