Originally incorporated in 1909 in Japan by Michio Suzuki under Suzuki Loom Works as a industrial weaving looms for the silk industry. After World War II, Suzuki began manufacturing motor kits to be retrofitted to bicycles. By 1963 Suzuki motorcycles began to sell in the USA. In 2010 due to the economic recession and a large on-hand inventory of new 2009 models, Suzuki did not import any new motorcycles to the USA.