Suter 500 'could match MotoGP times'
UPDATE: Australian stars Chris Vermeulen, Troy Bayliss and Casey Stoner all express interest in the Suter 500 two-stroke! See tweets below...
Eskil Suter clai🎃ms his company's MMX 500 two-stroke🐎 would be around tenth place, with the right rider, if it went up against the current grid of MotoGP machines.
Rule changes saw four-strokes enter the premier-class in 2002. The bigger capacity bikes soon dominated the results and filled the grid from the following year. But despite the outright performance and technical superiority of the MotoGP prototypes, many still miss the purity o𒁃f the extinct 500sﷺ.
Enter Eskil Suter, whose company has built chassis for all three of the current grand prix classe🌊s. The Swiss ex-racer designed a modern version of the 500, featuring a 576cc V4 engine, producing 195hp at a weight of 127kg and estimated top speed of 310km/h (193mph).
The bike, which also boasts electronic fuel injection and counter-rotating crankshaft, is available 🎃to buy for 120,000 Euros. According to Suter, advances in technology mean it is probably quicker than the legendary machines it was built to imitate.
"What you get is pretty much a factory machine," Suter told mahbx.com. "20 years ago a machine like that could cost millions, it's all hand built of titanium, some parts hand cast and manu𒈔ally♛ machined.
"It's a bespoke factory bike, in fact I believe that it's ev💝en faster than those GP two-strokes.
"It's got 195hp, but the friendly tor💝que curve in combination with the modern chassis and tyres means that if you put an experienced rider on it he could probably 💛match MotoGP times, maybe P10.
"When I was riding it at Jerez I was only about 4.9 seconds off Rossi's 500 lap record and ꦉI'm 50 years old and 50kg too heavy. I think if you put Marquez on it he'd do a 1m 39, but I'm sure that Honda wouldn't allow that..."
Rossi's 2001 500cc lap record was a 1m 42.4𒅌21s lap, while a low 1m 39s would have been good enough for 💃ninth on the grid at the recent Spanish MotoGP.
"It's a really beautiful bike," said Suter, explaining the background to the machine, which also competed in last year's Isle of Man TT. "In 2010 we were sitting around wondering which direction to go in and I still had quite a lot of two-stroke technology from my racing career lying a🍨round. We had a chassis and all the bits and pieces and really all we had to do was to make an engine.
"It was just small talk fro🌟m the caf?, we wanted to do something fun which wasn't necessarily connected to the daily business.
"I thought it was a shame that a bike like that had never been made commercially available, you could only get them produ♈ced by racing factories from Japan and if you can't buy one you've got to m🍬ake it.
"The two-stroke 500s were special and we knew there was a big community of fans for them - including us. We saw thaꦑt projects like the Ducati Desmosedici had done well, they sold all of them despite the fact that it cost 100,000 Euros, so we felt it wasn't a crazy thing to do.
"There is a market for them and we pro𝐆duce them to order. Believe me, they are a hell of a lot of fun to ride.
"We actually went for a displacement of 580cc ju෴st to get a more friendly torque curve. We needed to fill out that 500cc two-stroke torq🦋ue hole that you get at about 8,000 or 9,000rpm and now the torque curve is beautifully flat and it's great to ride.
"It's still wild but it's really useable ꧒and 🤡you can just pull it straight through from 500rpm... [We've sold] around 20 or so but it's ongoing and we're preparing the next batch."
Suter❀ is hoping to r♔eturn to the TT with the MMX 500 in 2018.
That sounds like fun to ജride! -- Chris Vermeulen (@chrisvermeulen7)
want need-- Baylisstic 21 (@TroyBaylisstic)
We shouܫld get a couple TB and go for a spin! -- Chris Vermeulen (@chrisvermeulen7)
Hmmmm I 🍨do love 2-strokes!-- Casey Stoner (@Off🎐icial_CS27)
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen ൩Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s inju✅ry issues.
