In 1989, the Grand Prix grid was stuffed full of tobacco-sponsored bikes – from Gauloises Blondes to Rothmans, Lucky Strike and Marlboro, Suzuki bucked the trend with a bike that was adorned in the livery of a soft drink that Michael Jackson wouldve been proud of.
The Pepsi factor certainly worked, as title sponsor the Kevin Schwantz-piloted Suzuki RGV500 won its first race at Suzuka despite being down on power. Pepsi remained the main sponsor the following year where Suzuki would also run a successful season finishing as first runner up.
In a recent post on Facebook, I asked which livery followers would like to see again, and the red, white and blue of Pepsi was a popular choice, so it would simply be too rude not to feature it on a slew of Kardesign concepts. Enjoy!
Like them? Let me know what you think and what you’d like to see next on Instagram and Facebook
