A superb and rare image of the Suzuki RG 500 Gamma Square Four cylinder works Grand Prix racer of 1978 and road racing ace Pat Hennen in 1978.

On this gorgeous image we see Pat Hennen, the first American to win a 500cc Grand Prix or MOTOGP motorcycle race. This was in 1976, when he won the Finnish Grand Prix for Suzuki. He went on to finish third in the 1976 500cc roadracing World Championship. The following year, he would again finish third in the world championship and won the 1977 British Grand Prix at Silverstone.He also won the New Zealand Marlboro series for three years in 1974-1975 ,1975-1976 and 1976-1977, riding Suzuki TR500, TR750 and RG500 Machines. The Marlboro Series was run over five seasons and he won three of them.

Unfortunately, his promising career was cut short when he crashed while competing in the 1978 Isle of Man TT. He had just recorded the first sub-twenty minute lap in TT history when he struck a bird at approximately 150 mph. The subsequent crash caused severe head injuries from which he was unable to fully recover. He subsequently retired from racing and currently lives in California.

Pat is seen riding a Suzuki RG500 works square four 500cc GP racer. In the 1960s Suzuki had gathered a wealth of two stroke technology knowledge and expertise. This became very useful in the 1970s, when the factory decided to seriously attack the 500cc road racing world championship. Using the successful 1960s square four engine design as a base, they developed a bike that would change the motorcycle racing world: the RG 500 square four! This magnificent racing machine debuted during the 1974 French Grand Prix. In the hands of Barry Sheene it finished 2ND behind the MV Agusta of Phil Read. A magnificent debut for the new machine. Within 3 years it would give Suzuki its first 500cc world title, and as an over the counter production racer it would become the first choice for many privateers. No wonder Suzuki gained another seven manufacturers’ titles in succession!

The Japanese Suzuki company started manufacturing motorcycles in 1952, the first models being motorized bicycles. During the 1950s, 1960s and the better part of the 1970s, the company manufactured motorcycles with two-stroke engines only, the biggest two-stroke model being the water-cooled triple-cylinder GT750. A large factor in Suzuki's success in two- stroke competition was the East German Grand Prix racer Ernst Degner, who defected to the West in 1961, bringing with him expertise in two- stroke engines from the East German manufacturer MZ. Suzuki hired Degner, and he won the 50cc World Championship for them in 1962.

However, it wasn't until 1976 when Suzuki introduced its first motorcycle with a four-stroke engine, the GS400 and GS750. Since then, Suzuki has established a reputation as a manufacturer of well- engineered sport motorcycles. Suzuki's racing machines have become legendary.  From the 1960s small capacity 50cc and 125cc two strokes to the magnificent RG500 Square Four two stroke, a machine that played a vital role in the 1970s world championship roadracing scene. In the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000's Suzuki wrote history with riders like Kevin Schwantz and, more recent, Kenny Roberts Jr.