Suter MMX 500 Two-Stroke To Race Isle Of Man TT
Who says two-strokes are dead?
Read that headline again: Suter MMX 500 Two-Stroke To Race Isle Of Man TT. That’s right, Suter’s 580cc V-4 two-stroke grand prix replica is going to compete at the Isle of Man TT this year, not just parade around for a celebration lap. The news was reported on the official Isle of Man TT website, wherein it was also announced the MMX 500 would compete in both the Superbike class and the TT’s premier category: The six-lap Senior TT. If you’re not familiar with the MMX 500, you can read more about it here.
Only 99 of the MMX 500 two-strokes will be built, at roughly $123,000 a pop, and Eskil Suter himself is confident the machine will be competitive in the field. The former grand prix rider and CEO of Suter mentioned in the announcement that the MMX 500 will include features like electronic fuel injection and counter-rotating crankshafts. Suter continued, saying “We have phenomenally good power-to-weight ratio. She drives like a bicycle with rocket propulsion.”
Perhaps more interesting, however, is the notion that the MMX 500 could carry some trickle down technology to a possible revival of road-legal two-stroke motorcycles. In the announcement, Suter stated his firm had been in collaboration with “a renowned university” and claimed to have found “solutions to the challenge of the emissions and got it under control,” adding that the TT would be used as a testing ground.
Suter haven’t yet announced who would pilot the MMX 500 at the Isle this year. Suter’s Marketing Director Phillip Soutter said, “We are currently negotiating with two former TT winners. We want an experienced rider and the best suited to us would be an old TT warhorse.” With that, some possible names that come to mind are Bruce Anstey, Cameron Donald, and Ian Hutchinson.
Troy's been riding motorcycles and writing about them since 2006, getting his start at Rider Magazine. From there, he moved to Sport Rider Magazine before finally landing at Motorcycle.com in 2011. A lifelong gearhead who didn't fully immerse himself in motorcycles until his teenage years, Troy's interests have always been in technology, performance, and going fast. Naturally, racing was the perfect avenue to combine all three. Troy has been racing nearly as long as he's been riding and has competed at the AMA national level. He's also won multiple club races throughout the country, culminating in a Utah Sport Bike Association championship in 2011. He has been invited as a guest instructor for the Yamaha Champions Riding School, and when he's not out riding, he's either wrenching on bikes or watching MotoGP.
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YES YES YES! I need some reed valves and expansion chambers to scare the crap out of me on the roads!
Great news! The emissions issue and the tech needed to accomplish that, a great part of this announcement. After so many years of absence, we will get the pleasure of hearing a V-4 2 stroke scream through the TT course. I really hope US viewers will get to experience hearing that bike, along with all the race coverage again, on the network that has the rights to air the Isle Of Man TT coverage since the demise of Speed channel. Speed dropped a lot of 2-wheel programming the past couple years it was still on the air...Dakar and IoM TT were two, so was Speedway and Flat Track. Thankfully MAV TV has really done a service to motorcycle racing enthusiasts; even showing World Rally again in this market. Maybe they can get WSBK broadcast rights away from the deplorable coverage beIN Sports offers. With Velocity and MAV TV, we enjoy a large level of coverage.