Si Mungil Rk67: An Extraordinary Motorcycle Racing At Its Time

Suzuki RK67 (Photo: Suzuki)

JAKARTA - Despite having a capacity of 50 cc, this old Suzuki motorcycle has uniqueness. The motorbike, named RK67, has a system of fourteen accelerations, which is not obtained from other motorbikes.

This old Suzuki racing bike has a slim, small dimension, thin legs and tires and is equipped with a 2-tak engine with a capacity of 50 cc. It's hard to imagine if this bike ever triumphed on a racing circuit.

Suzuki embeds a system of fourteen accelerations not without reason. In the 1960s when the motorbike was developed, Suzuki's facilities and technology were still very limited. In addition, the competition with Honda is also very fierce because Honda has a compact 4-step engine.

As a result, the manufacturer based in Hamatatsu aims to increase the dental system in RK67 so that the motor can run up to 150 km/hour. Well, when compared to motorcycles in general, this speed has been obtained on motorbikes with a capacity of 150 cc along with other advanced technology.

For machines, Suzuki RK67 is equipped with 2-tok 50 cc twin parallel with an energy of 17.5 dk. The power issued is almost the same as GSX-R150 with 18.9 dk of power. Then with a combination of a power to weight ratio of 58 kg, RK67 with fourteen accelerations can go up to 176 km/hour in its time.

The climax was 1967, German racer Hans-Georg Anscheidt won the 50cc World Championships by riding RK67, as well as team-mates Yoshimi Katayama and Stuart Graham managed to deliver Suzuki to the best manufacturer title.

In the same year, the FIM (International Motorcycling Federation) announced its plans to limit the future 50cc racing engine to one cylinder and six transmission speeds. As a result, Suzuki also halted the development of the next model, RP68 with a 3-cylindrical engine, and withdrew from the World Championships at the end of 1967.