The 1983 battle for 500 cc supremacy between Honda's Freddie Spencer and Yamaha's Kenny Roberts would be one of the most dramatic seasons since the 1967 duel between Giacomo Agostini and Mike Hailwood.
Suzuki returned with defending champion, Franco Uncini, Loris Reggiani and Randy Mamola aboard a new version of the RG500 which featured a square tube, welded aluminium frame.
[2] The Honda team of Freddie Spencer, Marco Lucchinelli and Takazumi Katayama was made even stronger with the addition of British rider, Ron Haslam, all competing on the three-cylinder NS500.
[3] Yamaha team manager Giacomo Agostini had been unable to agree on a contract with rider Graeme Crosby, so AMA Superbike champion Eddie Lawson was brought in as Kenny Roberts' new teammate, both competing with the OW70 YZR500 with a V4 engine.
Uncini's title defense was hampered as Suzuki experienced development problems with their chassis which left the team struggling to post good results.
[2] Suzuki's pursuit of a lightweight and compact machine had led to a myriad of handling problems associated with the flexing of the thin aluminum frame tubing.
[4] Roberts then went on a three-race winning streak with victories in the Netherlands, Belgium and England, while Spencer stayed close with a third place and two second-place finishes.
[8][9] Uncini was injured in an accident at the Dutch TT when he crashed while exiting a curve, then was struck in the helmet by Wayne Gardner's motorcycle as he tried to run off the track.
In a fitting end to a successful career, Roberts won his last-ever Grand Prix race, however Spencer was able to secure second place to claim the world championship.