I had a 1971 just like this.Kept breaking spokes so I replaced them all with Husky spokes .I put a compression release on it to keep it from dying in the tight turns.Hit a big rock and flattened the expansion chamber and had to weld it back together with a cloths hanger and a torch.Great memories hearing that erratic monster.This is considered to be the most dangerous dirt bike ever made because the timing advance kicks in at random times making it unpredictable.
i think a lot of it has to do with the way suzuki designed the pipe, the down pipe was so impractical but it made the lines of the bike flow, that's why they used the same basic pipe design on the TS enduros , they were the best looking dual sports of the era...
Just picked up at TS400 - the bike my dad sat me on when I was 6 and got me hooked on motorcycles for the rest of my life. These bikes are awesome. Good idea putting on the MX boot to save your shin from the kick starter. lol
We bought a 74 TM 400 new, not for the faint of heart, i was a kid so all i could do was ride it in a straight line pretty much, if reminded me of what a passenger jet felt like taking off yes it was that fast 40 solid HP with a 90 lb kid on it it pulled like a top fuel drag car to a kid anyway.
you think the 74 wasn't for the faint of heart, you should have ridden the 71, the 74 was at least somewhat civilized compared to the 71. I read a description one time that someone wrote about the 71 tm400 that I think summed it up perfectly, "The 71 TM400 was a rocket with a hair trigger and the only way to ride it was to pin the throttle and hang on for dear life!"......
ROFL, "A T Rex that tried to kill me every time I rode it " I think that's my new favorite quote about riding the TM400, it's always amazed me how, when riding the tm400 you couldn't stop smiling even while you were being completely terrified to death.....
Dr who: that's the cylinder fins amplifing what's going on in the cylinder, they fitted rubber blocks in later years to take the resignounce out of the fins acting like a tuning fork. Trev New Zealand 🇳🇿
All or nothing! Not much low end for a bigbore mainly due to very light inner rotor flywheel, very abbrupt midrange and hard hit up top. Ive owned 71, 74, and a 75 model still own the 74 and 75, great bikes once you work out the bugs🍻
Just loaded up.....once he blows it out,,, then you look.....Suzuki had great seal design.....I owned one plus worked at a shop......possible old and hard now tho…. that's a lot of years to stay fressh
I had a 1971 just like this.Kept breaking spokes so I replaced them all with Husky spokes .I put a compression release on it to keep it from dying in the tight turns.Hit a big rock and flattened the expansion chamber and had to weld it back together with a cloths hanger and a torch.Great memories hearing that erratic monster.This is considered to be the most dangerous dirt bike ever made because the timing advance kicks in at random times making it unpredictable.
It may not have been a very good racer, but IMHO its one of the most beautiful motorcycles ever made.
i think a lot of it has to do with the way suzuki designed the pipe, the down pipe was so impractical but it made the lines of the bike flow, that's why they used the same basic pipe design on the TS enduros , they were the best looking dual sports of the era...
Just picked up at TS400 - the bike my dad sat me on when I was 6 and got me hooked on motorcycles for the rest of my life. These bikes are awesome. Good idea putting on the MX boot to save your shin from the kick starter. lol
We bought a 74 TM 400 new, not for the faint of heart, i was a kid so all i could do was ride it in a straight line pretty much, if reminded me of what a passenger jet felt like taking off yes it was that fast 40 solid HP with a 90 lb kid on it it pulled like a top fuel drag car to a kid anyway.
Uncle Quack ahh come on, if you got on it hard, it wouldn’t go in a straight line, if you rode it as a kid, I tip my hat
you think the 74 wasn't for the faint of heart, you should have ridden the 71, the 74 was at least somewhat civilized compared to the 71. I read a description one time that someone wrote about the 71 tm400 that I think summed it up perfectly, "The 71 TM400 was a rocket with a hair trigger and the only way to ride it was to pin the throttle and hang on for dear life!"......
BAD ASS MOTOR . HAD THAT BIKE .
She's a Beauty.
I remember these as a young buck, riding a Honda Trail 50. Here's a pretty funny article on this bike, plus 9 others.
when I was a kid I knew a guy who had one of these. couldn't keep the front end down wheelie machine brings back good times!
Yes, it does wheelies through every gear!
Love these big old two strokes.
My 71 ts250 savage has that same tank. Very nice bike
Nice bike Man pure power
nice
My second bike. First one was a TM 125.
Tunning power !
all you guys do is kick kick kick start it up ride the effing thing
More people have been hurt just looking at this bike than any other bike in history.
You didn't have to rebuild or clean out the carb after 10 years it wasn't gummy?
where can i locate parts for TM400 tto order? help!!!
A T Rex that tried to kill me every time I rode it let alone race it. Sounds like some piston rattle going on.
ROFL, "A T Rex that tried to kill me every time I rode it " I think that's my new favorite quote about riding the TM400, it's always amazed me how, when riding the tm400 you couldn't stop smiling even while you were being completely terrified to death.....
Dr who: that's the cylinder fins amplifing what's going on in the cylinder, they fitted rubber blocks in later years to take the resignounce out of the fins acting like a tuning fork. Trev New Zealand 🇳🇿
Beautiful bike. Who needs a silencer, right?
How is the power ?
All or nothing! Not much low end for a bigbore mainly due to very light inner rotor flywheel, very abbrupt midrange and hard hit up top. Ive owned 71, 74, and a 75 model still own the 74 and 75, great bikes once you work out the bugs🍻
Is it forsale
rev it up butt boy
Too much blue smoke. Needs new crank seals.
Just loaded up.....once he blows it out,,, then you look.....Suzuki had great seal design.....I owned one plus worked at a shop......possible old and hard now tho…. that's a lot of years to stay fressh
How is the power ?
40 horsepower