OzVMX Forum
Marque Remarks => Suzuki => Topic started by: Doc on July 16, 2008, 07:21:40 am
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rumor has it at the TM group there are 3 of these hidden away in the US. Not resto's but spanking new reportedly never having had fuel in the tanks :o I want 1!..no..I want them all!! :'(
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brings back beaut memories of the day I bought mine, the look, the feel and above all..the smell of brand spanking new! ;D
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Wouldn't it be nice to stumble on such a thing? I was talking to a guy at CD5 who'd scored a brand new CR125 (76 or 77 model I think) some time back, and you keep hearing rumours that such things exist around the place. I often wonder what you'd find if you had a browse through a bike shop in a small town way out in the backblocks, one that had been open for say 30 years.
But what do you do with a bike like that? Keep it pristine as an 'investment', or ride it? For me I guess pristine is an option, but sorta so what? If I race it, then it's pretty soon another tatty old vmx bike (as pretty much what happened to my HL500 and Husky CR500). I think you'd have to keep it as is, otherwise there is really nothing all that secial about it.
Hmmm.... Nice to dream about, anyway.
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I often wonder what you'd find if you had a browse through a bike shop in a small town way out in the backblocks, one that had been open for say 30 years.
Nah.....Theirs NOTHING out here boys. Stay in your cities. :P
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I once did a photo shoot on a restored BSA Gold Star for a Brit magazine at a rather wealthy advertising executives harbourside home and was blown away by his unexpected bike collection. Among the various GP road racing bikes and MV Augusta roadies was a brand new TZ750 Yamaha, still in it's packing case, a brand new unridden Jawa 894 4 valve speedway bike and a brand new unridden BSA B50MX. He also had an almost complete DT1 that he was assembling totally from NOS parts he was picking up in various places throughout the world during business trips. My mate McCook in the USA has a new, unridden AJS Stormer 250.
In the early days of vintage one racer found a brand new Honda CR250M and rather than turn it into a museum piece or cash in on the find in those pre eBay days, he raced the thing. I still see the bike every now and then and it's just another Elsinore these days, albeit one that started its racing life twenty years late.
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And bugger me there are unused or even started VMXers about for only $120,000 or some rubbish too :D Closest I have come to one was the still crated CZs of the early nineties, I passed it up for $700 in about 97 .... Tim Hmmm maybe the bloke still has it must check...
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BULL SHIT Quicky ....I was out your way in the weekend just gone and managed to find a few little treasures ;D ;D
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if you weren't aware before check out this place www.primmmxcollection.com - talk about hoards of new bikes - several brand new of each model and lots of memorabilia. Apparently has another warehouse with the "to be" restored bikes.
cheers and enjoy
Rossco
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BULL SHIT Quicky ....I was out your way in the weekend just gone and managed to find a few little treasures ;D ;D
Hoy... Bring em back! How dare you rape my area. ;D
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OMG.. i want that 125 sooo bad!!
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How about that Powerdyne on the primmmxcollection site
I've always liked the look of them. Georgeous I reckon, but they're even better w betor front forks. Look delicious in red too!
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what about these :o pretty rare stuff from the pre TS90MX era (graciously borrowed from the Yahoo zook group)
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hmmm..what is it exactly??
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That's one groovy Honcho. My dunger 100 may end up looking a bit like that one.
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not exactly a Honcho Firko..a 90 yes but unsure of the engine used..carb on the left ignition on right..very different :-\
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Yeah Doc, I realised it wasn't a Honcho but like the looks anyway. Do you actually know what it is Doc? Is it some sort of Japan only release?
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Firko I don't know, I assume it is a factory 90 for all Japan 90 series they ran. I have no other imformation only to say the bike was shown at a Tokyo Motorshow around '67 '68 '69. Some say the clear pic is of a 250 rotary valve but one look at that peashooter stinger in my eyes dispells this notion, it's small bore. I've been hunting around for ages as I'm more than a little interested in the factory 125's and other tiddlers from '67 to '73..I have a genuine suzuki sticker that proudly states, Suzuki 125cc World champion 1970, 1971, 1972 okay, so where are the pics?? who were the riders?? where are the bikes?? Where is the history?? maybe if there was a little more imfo it wouldn't be such the obsession it is ;)
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Is two ways that may assist in finding just what thet little beastie be Doc.
A well earned Hoilday to the land of sushi and sweet talk a Suzuki official for a look see at the Heartech Plaza private museum.
or
Putting pen to paper and and snail mailing
The Heartech Plaza of Suzuki Motor co, Ltd.
300 Takatsuka,
Hamamatsu,
Shizuoka-Pref,
JAPAN.
They apparently dont do email
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I have a genuine suzuki sticker that proudly states, Suzuki 125cc World champion 1970, 1971, 1972 okay, so where are the pics?? who were the riders?? where are the bikes??
I thought that Gaston Rahier was the first 125 world champion around 75 - 76 as before this the 125 class was a European championship, not world???????
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I thought the sticker may refer to road racing Doc as Dieter Braun won the 125 title in '70 on a Suzuki but unfortunately Angel Nieto and his Derbi took the title the next wo years so that theory goes out the window! Maybe it was one of those American race series where they have a world championship with nobody else in it but Americans. A bit like the World Series baseball!
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I vaguelly remember, ( vague i do well) suzuking fudging the ad machine in the 70s. the 125 may have won a road race in 70 and the 250 in 71 and the 500 in 72. the statement still stands correct as suzuki being world champs in 3 consecutive years but......
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I agree GMC, the class didn't exist in but somehow the bikes did. Forgetting the sticker, the picture below of the '72 RA125 ridden by Christian Gouverneur of Belgium confirms there were RA's much earlier than 1975 :-\
(http://www.suzukicycles.org/photos/RA-series/RA125/1972_RA125_Scott-1_900.jpg)
Pokey you could be right, maybe they referred to the 250/500GP also..maybe I read the sticker wrong :P I think the bike I built with the RM125S in the TS125 chassis is as close as I'll ever get :D
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checking out a few basics on those machines Doc and the RA has a weeny small front brake hub and the mystery bike has a largish TS 185/250 one
The mystery bike also appears to have a late 60's design barrel yet the rest of the bike looks more modern in styling cept for that gearbox .. is it seperate from the engine?
Interesting looking lil thing
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Front brake on the right is pretty odd for a jap bike, no?
Can't be a big capacity machine, unless the races were one lap each - I doubt that fuel tank would feed a 250 for more than a single lap...
It definitely is a pretty little thing though!
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Cant offer any info the help you Doc but it is one very sweet little bike. Interesting to say the least. Maybe a letter to Japan will answer a few questions for you. Then you can lets us all know. ;D
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yeah Nathan, I'd swear the wheels are simply '67ish B100 hubs laced to mudcatchers. The front has alloy lowers which is odd for the era and the wheel appears back to front. Pokey, at first glance I thought it was pre unit construction as well. Wish there were better pictures available :-\ I also noticed the throttle housing is 90 degrees from the usual position and the lack of a killswitch is another thing that caught my eye. I'm wondering if infact the clear picture is the pre production mock up and the other the prototype it's based on. Someone reckons they are the same bikes but I'm not so sure :-\ no option of a right side gear shift by the looks either which also has me thinking Japanese domestic..call me curious George if ya like :D maybe a letter is in order, would save a whole heap of speculation..maybe, do ya reckon they'd reply?? :D
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Not in here either , also did a search of Suzuki history ( suzuki toyama) birth place of small suzuki motors .
http://motorcyclemuseum.org/halloffame/hofbiopage.asp?id=260
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Doc ,
just write the letter.
Send them something Auzzie for a thanks (Qld Sticker/postcard) and a return envelope and you'll get heeps of stuff back.Trust me I work in the tourist industry and they love Aussie stuff. :)
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stuffed if I know what it is.
found some early pics of Suzuki MX bikes and none of them look like that
RH65 i think?
http://www.saksi.se/vmx/image/1965nohead.jpg (http://www.saksi.se/vmx/image/1965nohead.jpg)
http://www.saksi.se/vmx/image/1965luftburk.jpg (http://www.saksi.se/vmx/image/1965luftburk.jpg)
http://www.saksi.se/vmx/image/pic1.jpg (http://www.saksi.se/vmx/image/pic1.jpg)
The mystery ride looks mid 70's in its styling, The out of focus bike is a different bike than the other two shots but shares the same engine. Hmmm could it be a prototype pre unit RM with a disk valve? orr maybe its a factory frankenbike ;D
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Pokey, I have looked and looked and searched even the most obscure sites and there really is little if any 125cc> history pre dating 1974 excepting trials and tar bunny stuff. Suzuk also had a few bikes entered in the ISDT of the 60's with decent results but I can't find sweet bugger all on those either. The 90's I posted I'd estimate to be about '68 or '69 The tank and decal styling is slightly reminicant of the RH67 or around that era. I'm also kinda leaning toward the models being pre or just on Pettersson days as the engine styling is 'sort of' like the really oldschool suzuki stuff before they had any outside influence.
I found this little snippit also that attracts my curiosity..
1969 Olle Pettersson comes in 3rd place in World Motocross Championship GP250 class series ranking. Kinjiro Yajima piloting an RA wins the All Japan Motocross Championship 125cc class title.
This taken directly from Suzuki Corp. Racing History. So the RA was around at least in Japan well before 1970. Now I just want to see the bikes 8)
it seems they were also successfull at home before the Ole Pettersson CZ infuence..this taken from the same site. At least I have a few names to work with now..more than I had last night ;)
1959 April The inaugural All Japan Motocross race. Kazuo Kubo wins both the 125cc and 250cc classes
VMX247, I've been os a few times and I know how it seems other nationalities seem to go out of there way for us 'Aussies' ;D I'll send the letter and wait for a reply and I sure hope they can spreak ingrish better than some of the ones I've met out here :D
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Have a look at the frame loop that goes up under the tank on the pics of the '65? models you found. Compare to the frame design on the 90 and there be similarities that are not to be found in suzuki MX or offroad frames designed after the late 60's. Now, what's the Japanese picture for hello? :P
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I vaguelly remember, ( vague i do well) suzuking fudging the ad machine in the 70s. the 125 may have won a road race in 70 and the 250 in 71 and the 500 in 72. the statement still stands correct as suzuki being world champs in 3 consecutive years but......
Hmmmm, tenuous at best. I can tell you OTTOMH that Phil Read won the world 250 title in 1971 on a privateer Yamaha, and that Ago was the 1972 world 500 champ. Maybe they were world champs at sticker production.... ;)
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Am conviced its a pre unit job but the rest of the bike I dunno, the rear top shock mounts are more honda style , Frame looks like its twin downtube Hmmmm...Im not sure its entirely suzuki. not unless that engine is from one of the tiny road racers from the period with 6 millioms gears , they were disk valves and had the carb on the left
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Pokey that road race motor theory might hold true. The RM-RT62/63 single cylinder 125cc and 50cc racers of the early 60's did indeed have the carb on the left and ignition on the right. I have just noticed the Colleda model of 1959 that Kazuo Kubo won on was also designated as RA125 by the factory. This could be the bike (modified for MX) mentioned winning the all japan series of '59. (picture below) Thing that dispells this theory is with the next model the designation changed to RB125 which meant the RA was no more. At least not till it resurfaces in the late 60's, early '70's. I give up and the letter to Hammamatsu will be in the mail pronto ;)
(http://www.suzukicycles.org/photos/vintage/1959_Colleda_RB59_450.jpg)