Screaming, smoking, sideway strokers are back ! Ladies and gents : the Suter MMX500... Let's cut to the chase. This modern interpretation of a 500cc Grand Prix bike weighs 127kg and gives 195bhp. That’s 1.54 bhp per kilo – almost 1.8 times the power-to-weight of Kawasaki’s brain-frying H2.
It’s by Suter Racing. Run by Swiss ex-GP rider Eskil Suter, they know how to build sharp bikes: they developed the Swissauto V4 for MZ’s dark-horse 500 of the 1990s, did the chassis for Kawasaki’s ZX-RR MotoGP bike and build championship winning Moto2 bikes. They’ve built the Suter MMX500 to recapture the "golden era", and also for WorldGP Bike Legends – an event that puts famous riders back on 500GP bikes. The first one was this summer at Jerez, and the hope is that Suters in period livery will be used instead of priceless originals, allowing Schwantz, Gardner and Spencer to actually race instead of just riding round.
Evolved from the MZ, the Suter MMX500 Two-Stroke V4 Engine has twin cranks geared together – it’s effectively two Parallel Twins. Capacity has grown from 500 to 576cc (there’s no official race class, after all), with fuel injection and two-stage exhaust valves. Titanium single-skin pipes ensure a suitable ‘ding’, with 195 horses at 13,000 RPM. It’s in a machined aluminium frame with adjustable geometry, flash Öhlins and magnesium wheels with 125/75 ZR17 and 205/75 R17 tyres.
They’ll build 99 at 120,000 Swiss francs each – just over £81,000. You can enter your bike in a GP Legends event for free, and race it yourself or hand it to one of the famous names. Tyres, fuel and oil are supplied, obviously. Alternatively buy one as the most delicious of playthings – after all, The Suter MMX500 is cheaper, more exclusive and has a better power-to-weight than Honda’s new RC213V-S...
500cc V4 Strokers ? You’re spoilt for choice...
The Suter MMX500 isn’t the only two-stroke V4 you can buy. German company Ronax sell a 500 that looks like Rossi’s NSR from the early 2000s. Their 499cc twin-crank motor has 160bhp at 11,500 RPM and is in a race-spec chassis. It weighs 145kg. Production is limited to 46 units, and they’re proving its abilities in various race classes. It’s £87,700 and you can buy it with lights too(making it legal is up to you, mind). Pay the required 30% deposit and they’ll let you ride a demonstrator on track.