Suzuki TM400? I get a real kick out of finding out that, in 1974, I earned CMC Open Pro #8 on the most vicious, malevolent motorcycle ever produced, on the meanest and roughest track in world history: Carlsbad (and Saddleback). It's fun to read historical stories about things we didn't realize back then. But to really appreciate what we are talking about, we need to hop into the "Wayback" machine. In retrospect, was the TM400 hard to ride? Yep, as were ALL Open Class bikes of the day. It was faster, accelerated past anything else on the market, was cheap by comparison, dependable, and was as traditional in design as you could find for the time. As with all MX bikes; even today's, the difference between winning and losing was more rider than machine; most especially back in those days. Although I had mucho experience with CMC for over six years (raced virtually EVERY weekend), I knew that the 10% difference between motorcycles was less than the 20% difference in rider talent. Hence, I saved money and bought a TM400. It was all the critics said. The throttle could have been replaced with a toggle switch, it handled kind of weird, everybody was afraid of it. But I could win on it, perhaps for those very reasons. I'm restoring one now, with NO intentions of riding it, or any other Open bike. I'm 63 and will have plenty of fun on a 250; a TM250, by the way. The Husky was too short, the CZ was too heavy, the Montesa was underpowered, and on and on. There was always something wrong with every Open bike. The bottom line was if you had the balls, or lack of brains, to get on one. I won on that TM against the best CMC had. Not always, but often enough. For today? They are easy to find, easy to restore, easy to find parts, they are supported by the aftermarket group, and they STILL take balls to ride. But you CAN win. Just use the same discretion and caution that you would apply to any other bike you would ride, and you will have fun. Well, gotta go. The pain medicine is starting to work and typing becomes a chore. Damn, I left my pills in the other room. Check out
www.motomanrules.com for pics of my latest project.