Your Collection: 1975 and 1976 Suzuki
Sunday, September 16, 2012 | 5:00 AM
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PrintThis weeks collection comes to us from Robert Orr.
Here are two of my Suzuki’s; 1975 TM125 and a 1976 RM250. I used to collect a bunch of vintage mxers when it was getting popular. Now I have started selling them off. Thanks for looking.
- Robert
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Those were what I grew up on! My 74 125 had the stripe on the bottom of the tank and I added some Preston Petty hex grips and away we go!!!! Loved the 76's tank, so classic looking, nice to see them still getting ridden!!! Thanks for sharing!!!
Had a TM 125 when I was growing up. Great trail bike, never raced it though.
Great bikes!
@BD25 If i still could get the petty hex grips I would use em on my Harley! Wow you could hangon with those no matter what!
PS: I think tyey were the best ever made but you had to make sure they were positioned perfect.
My intro to big bikes was an RM 100. I believe that second pick the guy has laid the shocks down on his own possibly? That was the rage to boost suspension. Or install a skunk works shock kit.
Welker..Yes those Hex grips from Petty were the ticket, mine were yellow and lasted a long time..one of the forgotten ideas that worked..Petty ;made good stuff fenders and all
The RM 100 has stock layout for the acc, shocks they have there. My brother and I shared a TM400 raced it in a harescramble even, woulda won, but I cut the track, on our last lap, and came into the pits askin "where'd everybody go??? 4 ft of mud. Bro gotta RM 125, we shared, I got that RM100 brand new 12-13 yr old, won my 1st ever entered motocross race at Irish hills michigan on it, 125 jr class. 2-2 baby! THANK YOU FOR THE GREAT MEMORYS SIR!!!
OOPPPS!!! OMG..... THATS THE 250!!!.... wine glass down..........I hada RM 250 C2 , hated it.
Joe..After my 76 RM 125A , I had the 78 RM250 C2 also, but I got along with it ..the suspension was good it sat to high in the front so we lowered it in the clamps a bit..plastic tank was cheesy..I went from that to the 79 RM 400, which I really liked..then got the 81 RM125 Full Floater and it was a great bike ..then I got a RM465 so we could race two classes but I did not keep long
Welker: I used some hex grips for a desert race in 1975 and my left glove was soaked in blood when it was over. I tossed the grips the next day.
KTMCote: The 1976 was the first year of stock long travel on an RM250. I guess we can call it "long" at 6-ish inches since prior to that 3 to 4 inches was the norm. Those shocks don't look stock, but the position is. As it so happens, my last bike was that same year and model.
I bought a TM 125 in March of the last year of the TM model. About 4 weeks later, Suzuki introduced the RM 125. Suddenly my new bike was obsolete and had lost all resale value. I felt like I had been cheated by Suzuki. They sold me a competitive race bike, knowing that they were going to intro a mid-year model a few weeks later that would make my purchase worthless on the track. Never have bought anything Zook since. I would expect it at the usual Sept intro of new models. But they should have informed a buyer of a race bike that they would make a surprise release that would make their own current year model obsolete. Dang, almost 40 years later and I'm still pissed!
I like to see a bike with a little lovin on it as much as a bike in jewel like state about as much. Not easy keepin a 70s bike humming, so props to you for keeping the dream alive. Hope you can still hear things! My 70 Pursang has permanently modified my hearing, moreso on the pipe side - badges of courage. Keep it on the pipe!
"Screamin Yellow Zonkers" I think thats what was written in the 1976 ads for the Suzukis. The ad had the models in a high speed jumping formation with no riders aboard them. The RM introduction instantly made the TM obsolete (@ yamaha317). God are we getting old.
Preston Petty made some good stuff to throw on a dirt bike. Hex grips were heaven compared to my Yamaha GT-1 80 blister making grips. I also loved the Pacifico face fender. Gave helmets a coolness factor when you couldn't afford the full face Bell Moto.
loved those suzukis. first race bike was a "76 RM125A bought it brand new out the door for $865 out the door raced at escape country in the ' first day ' class and won my first race those were the days
Nice bikes- that TM125 is pretty rare- the RM125 came out a few months later and the TM was extinct.
Got "surprised" too in mid '75 by the New " Holy S@$%" RM 125M. I just went and bought one. Lots of parts interchanged with my previous TM's. Actually bought a second one the same year and created what I believe was the first RM100 out of my 1 st. RM125 chassis. Put a TM100 motor in it for my little brother. We would get protested every race, but it was legal.