Suzuki Live 2024 welcomes thousands of modern and classic motorcycle enthusiasts to Cadwell Park

Thousands of motorcyclists from across the UK rumbled into Lincolnshire’s Cadwell Park this past weekend for Suzuki Live 2024.

Taking place across both Saturday and Sunday, over 2200 fans of the brand were treated to sun soaked summer conditions, as well as non-stop modern and classic bike action on circuit. Test rides both on- and off-road were available too.

The event was run in conjunction with Classic Bike Trackdays, with customers able to take their modern and old school Japanese machines on circuit all weekend for £279. Each group was chock-full of two-and four-stroke metal, with bikes including smoking 500 grand prix replicas, radical homemade turbo GSX-Rs, beefed up twin shock Katanas, and more.

“It’s nice to see these older bikes being ridden, because that’s where they should be,” Suzuki GB Marketing Communications Manager, Tim Davies said. “On Saturday, we did over 60 test rides in a day and people are loving it. The feedback’s been fantastic.

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“People are coming off with smiles on their faces, which is what it’s all about,” he continued. “One thing I’ve heard over and over again by some of the riders is it’s so relaxed, and chilled, and everyone’s just chatting.”

There were also a number of classic Suzuki racing machines and riders on site too, with fans on both days treated to a handful of laps by three time British Superbike champion John Reynolds aboard the 2004 Rizla-coloured Suzuki GSX-R1000 he used to take that year’s crown.

“I don’t think I’ve ridden it since I finished racing,” Reynolds told MCN after his Saturday stint. “It was built for me, and everything feels in the right place. I just felt straight away that this could go quick.

“I’ve seen a lot of it, but having ridden it, and then come back and got somebody asking me questions, I welled up. I was in tears! It’s 20 years since I finished racing, but it’s just like yesterday and I still dream of racing motorbikes every night.”

On top of riding the GSX-R, John was able to slip back into his original leathers, adding: “I desperately wanted to get into them, and I thought ‘I need to shed a few pounds anyway.’”

Other racers taking to the circuit alongside trackday goers included former GP riders Steve Parrish, and Danny Webb, with road racer Shaun Anderson heading out in multiple sessions aboard the Team Classic Suzuki GSX-R1000 he rode to 8^th place in this year’s Senior TT race on the Isle of Man.

This is the second time the event has been run across two days, with weekend spectator tickets available for £15, including camping.

“It’s a beautiful circuit, and this is just a nice event,” visitor John Webb from Gainsborough explained. “You can see the bikes, and you can hear a two-stroke engine again, and it’s a cheap day out. It’s fantastic.

“I’ve liked watching the old bikes on track,” he added. “A lot of these bikes now get sold, they disappear, they go into a collection, and that’s it, because they’re so valuable. It’s nice to see them thrashed around a track.”

But that’s not all, there was also an off-road course that ran around the outskirts of the track, allowing people to sample either the V-Strom 800DE, or V-Strom 1050DE, as well as expert talks, and live music once the circuit fun had ended on the Saturday evening.

“I think it’s very important to see a manufacturer doing something for their core customers,” co-founder of Classic Bike Trackdays, Rob Beale said. “They make everybody welcome – look at all the free demos they are letting people do.”

Test rides out of the circuit were available too, with visitors taken on a 45 minute blast across the Lincolnshire Wolds on Suzuki’s current crop of larger capacity machinery. Dates are yet to be set for next year’s event, with more information found at bikes.suzuki.co.uk now.