If one bike can almost sum up the race-replica paint job craze, it has to be Suzuki’s RGV500…
It helps that the race bike itself looked oh-so good and better still it was ridden by a real character in the form of lanky Texan Kevin Schwantz.
Out on the tracks the RGV was always fast, and often fickle, but it was ridden with skill and daring by Revvin’ Kevin – so much so that he earned himself a legion of fans in the UK.
In comparison to its 500cc V4 peers, in the 1990s the general rule of thumb was that the Honda NSR500 was the most powerful; the Yamaha YZR500 the most rideable and consistent; and the RGV seemed to be good on the brakes (or was that thanks to Schwantz?) but lacked consistency on all tracks.
Kevin would ride the RGV from his first full season in 1988 through to his retirement in 1995 – he took the 500cc World Championship in 1993. The bike itself would also win the 2000 500cc championship in the hands of Kenny Roberts Junior. Few other riders could even win on the bike – we can only recall Alex Barros’ Spanish GP win at Jarama in 1993. The bike was finally pensioned off at the end of 2001 when the 500cc two-strokes made way for the 990cc four-strokes on the MotoGP grid.
Despite other cool colour schemes such as Yamahas in Marlboro red/white or Hondas in Rothmans replica paint, there was something so cool about a Pepsi Suzuki or a Lucky Strike RGV… Suzuki’s RGV250 VJ21 would be marketed in a pukka Pepsi paint job and the later VJ22 would get its own Lucky Strike replica. The daddy square-four RG500 would even come in Pepsi branding and be advertised by king of pop Michael Jackson, no less.
As well as the production bikes, many a square four has been shoe-horned into an RGV chassis and then adorned with Lucky Strike or Pepsi bodywork.
Thankfully today, the UK-based Team Classic Suzuki often demos its ex-factory Suzuki RGVs, including the 1989, 1994 and 1999 versions.
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