Suter 500 Factory V4 – Thank You for Smoking

Asphalt & Rubber is based out of California, so that means smoking is akin to a cardinal sin out here, and on the hierarchy of egregious crimes against humanity, it ranks just slightly under torturing babies with hot pincers (heaven forbid you cause a baby to start smoking).

Smoking indoors in outright verboten virtually everywhere, while puffing some nicotine anywhere outside that is near a restaurant, bar, club, ATM, hospital, pre-school, or tobacco shop is liable to cause a citizen to go murder-death-kill on you John Spartan.

The issue is so pervasive here, that it has even extended beyond cigarettes and into the realm of motorcycling, with The Golden State leading the charge on the banning of two-stroke motorcycles.

We are now purely a “suck, squeeze, bang, blow” society, and while that suits many motorists just fine, there are some who enjoy the smell of pre-mix in the morning — you know who you are.

You enjoy the sound of angry bees following you from apex to off-camber. You think a displacement for “serious riders” starts at around 250cc. You like your engine compression low, and your powerbands narrow. You sir (or madam), are a two-stroke junky, and we have just the fix you need.

Just as MotoGP replaced 500GP, we know see Moto2 & Moto3 replacing the lower two-stroke classes that remained in Grand Prix racing. Leading the charge on this mechanical front are a slew of new companies, most notably the chassis manufacturers, of which Suter is perhaps the most well-regarded.

Making the weapon of choice for Marc Marquez in Moto2 this year, the Swiss company already had a sterling reputation before it went racing at an international level, but the firm’s success in the 2010 Championship exposed it to a whole new world of tw0-wheel performance.

Having a bevy of intriguing two-wheeled projects within its walls, the Swiss bike that catches our eye today is the Suter 500 Factory V4: a two-stroke, 500cc, V4, track weapon that puts out over 200 hp and weighs 284 lbs ready to race — no, that is not a typo.

We’ll let you take a moment before continuing past the jump for more.

With its GP pedigree at hand, and surely on those specs alone, you would expect the Suter 500 Factory V4 to command a price that only GP race teams could afford, but its modest cost of 156,00 CHF (about $166,845 USD at the time of this writing) is a bit more down to earth, though still decidedly pricey, even when compared to the Ducati Desmosedici RR.

Of course, Suter is building the bike to your specifications, and the opportunity to ride a motorcycle with nearly a 2:1 power-to-weight ratio (hp:kg) is a rare one indeed (for reference, production sport bikes are lucky if they can best a 1:1 ratio).

Features include all the usual components you would expect: Marchesini wheels, Öhlins suspension, Brembo Brakes, Marelli electronics. The frame is a tried-and-true twin-spar aluminum design, while the motor has counter-rotating crankshafts, and a dry SRT slipper clutch.

With four cans in a traditional GP arrangement, you will surely get to enjoy the titanium exhaust that Suter provides as well. The only downside? It takes six to eight months for Suter to build and deliver your machine. If you want one in time for Christmas, we suggest placing your order now.

Technical Specificaitons of the Suter 500 Factory V4:

Source: Suter via Racing Café