I'm 52. My father raced this exact bike in 1973 Ohio district 11. We have a few pictures of his 1973 tm 400. This is awesome. I dedicate this video to you dad. Thanks for teaching me and my two brothers how to ride 2 strokes. Love you dad. 👍
Danny Chandler had a Suzuki TM 400. One of the hardest charging competitors ever. He only knew attack attack attack on the coarse. A true champion motocrosser.
Too freakin funny! I'm old, and I remember exactly that. This bike would come on the pipe, and you'd better be pointed in the correct direction, and not sideways! Yeah, Roger handled it, but my name isn't Roger. The powerband of a 125, but on steroids. I rode an open class bike to escape this type of powerband. Husky 400's and even a 450. Shift when I want too.
This is the first dirt bike I ever noticed as a kid in 1973 that made me a fanatic. It was parked out front of a tire shop and advertised for sale. Went by it all the time and just drooled.
Friend of mine now dearly departed had a Widowmaker (yes a TM400, not an H2), I had a '74 Elsinore, and another guy took me to my first Unadilla had a then brand new Husky 250CR he raced. God These videos take me back...
I had one!!! I can't believe you are showing one of these! This thing produced most of its HP in a very small power and. I found it very hard to ride. Best channel on CZcams.
I had this bike, set up for hill climbs, was amazing ., won many comps, bike was very powerful, big primary sprocket gave me advantage ... love these bikes...
my first was a 74 TM 125 , still have old pictures of me riding it , I had the TM400 and then made the smart move to the RM after that , what a difference a suspension can make ! I am lucky I never got hurt on mine , used to have wheelie contests all the time and twenty times everything is fine and that one time you would it that extra powerband and the bike would flip ! then you let your hands and knees heel for a couple of days then do it all again ! great fun
I had one of these bikes. I swapped out the stator and flywheel for the heavier more forgiving TS-400 flywheel and stator. The tank was shot, so it got replaced with a PE-175 tank (Slight mod needed), and it had an aftermarket Circle F pipe, because the stock pipe was missing. But this bike was a trail beast. Good low end torque, great low center of gravity that was easy to handle, and would run forever on that big PE tank! Oh, and the oil injection was nice. Shame I don't have it any more, it was very dependable.
Straight out of my time frame. I owned with a friend the first two 73 Honda CR250m Elsinore’s. Raced both 250 class and open class never felt upstaged by anyone. When I was shopping, I tried them all; Ossa, Bultaco, Husky. Came down to the YZ and Elsinore.
Back when bikes were real!! Had a t500 myself still in bits needs rebuild! This one needs crankseal checkout otherwise they're bulletproof!! Best wishes from Plymouth UK!!
I bought a new TM400K in 1973. Raced it for two years....or tried to. I had sold my 400 Maico when I went to work at a Suzuki/Kawasaki/Norton dealership in Southgate, Michigan, and purchased the TM. Put a 4lb flywheel on the TM and Koni shocks. It was still a terrible handling motocrosser even after moving the shocks forward, and yes the brakes were not good. Sold it and bought a Husqvarna....best move I could have made. Still have found memories, though, of that Suzuki effortlessly lofting the front wheel through three gears.
A friend of mine owned a 1971 TM400. Had a orange tank instead of yellow. The throttle was more like a electrical switch - (on or off) Tons of power a blast to ride.
Talk about sparking up nostalgia I was 15 years old and used to ride around with my bottle of golden spectro behind the number plate in the front or Bellray
I don’t know how you find such fantastic examples time after time. I even love your Harley’s. Proper Harley’s With spoke wheels twinshock DYNA s. With big engine’s. It must be a ex motor x thing I’d like to see you take the Harley’s out like you did with the beautiful Yamaha rt360s Keep it up Ken
Wide World of Sports had Creedence Clearwater Revival as background music for an airing of the Carlsbad 500cc Grand Prix once. We are now being forced feed thrash metal or (c)rap music for sports soundtracks....yuck!!!!
Ken, I love these bikes, they do demand precise throttle control but so does my kx 500. My first tm400 I purchased as a basket case and built for my father who did not like to ride it so it became my bike. eventually I purchased a 83 xr500 and modified the frame to accept the engine and built a custom pipe for it to make it more rideable.
I'm glad when I watch your videos you're not playing hip hop or rap or something I wouldn't waste my time and watching your videos if you did thanks brother
Ya I bet it's just the crank seal since it's running well enough. Or maybe both! If I had the funds I wouldn't be scared of this thing though it looks like a pleasure to work on everything will be nice and clean and noone else has gone in there before you.
I had 73 125 looked exactly like that one except I mine had the suzuki with the rising sun graphic on the tank. Loved that bike. Ah the memories are coming back after view this vidjeo
I was 11 in 1973 riding my BRAND NEW XR75, thinking it was the fastest thing on earth.....until that 400 Cyclone blasted past me!! Scared the cap outta me...but it sounded and smelled SO GOOD.....wayback machine!!!!!!
I was a hundred pounds wet and 14 years old when I rode one. I couldn’t start it so the owner kicked it to life and handed it to me. I blasted down a gravel road and along the edge of a field a few times. I thought I was a motocross star in training lifting the front wheel in the air with every shift. After a few trips along the field I thought I better take it back , I didn’t want to but knew it was time. On the far end of the field when turning around to take the beast back, I stalled it and pushed it back to his house after trying again to kick start it without any luck, although I don’t think luck was what I was lacking.
Hell, yes, original.......the guy probably rode it for 10 minutes, had to empty his pants, and never touched again. Evil as hell, all motor and hurt a whole lot of us guys. My hat's off to anyone who could ride these stock. Even with DeCoster's skills the bike was heavily modified. Maybe I'm a "sheep" but I've ridden about everything in 50+ years. This thing reminds me of the SC500 Yam that could distort it's cylinder walls, your perspective, and your bones.....all in one ride. Thank God they're in museums!
That was the model and cc that wasn't competitive in it s class without a complete suspension change. The 250/125 that year were race ready out of the box. Collect it and ride it carefully, or just look at it. Clean and pretty!
The world champion bikes were nothing like the bike sold to the public, they were factory works bikes, raced by sponsored riders. The tm 400 sold to the public was faster then the euro bikes but did not handle. The frames also broke on these bikes.
A friend of mine from my neighborhood had one that his father shaved the flywheel , ported and polished the ports , rejetted . I’m not afraid to say it scared me a little bit.
I found one about eight years ago at a yard sale in as good as condition as that one. No lie it was perfect original hardly used condition. It came with a desert tank that they put on the bike when it was new and he had the original tank for it too. It was the original owner. $1200.00 but I didn't have the money at the time. It slipped through my fingers.
I first climbed aboard one of these when I was 13yrs old. It was one of the most terrifying times of my life. The handling is terrible and the power is absolutely violent! It doesn't matter what you may have rode in the past, you want be ready for one of these on the first ride. I'm sure there's plenty of these in barns across the country in pristine condition as many people never rode there's twice.
The 1971 to 1974 TM 400 was widely known as a widow maker. the bikes of those model years were notorious for having ignition systems that would go from 0 degrees for starting all the way to 24 degrees advance all at once and a change in ambient temperature would change when the advance would hit which made this bike unpredictable. the 1975 TM400 got a different ignition system which mellowed the bike out quite a bit. sadly by 1975 the reputation of the TM400 was damaged beyond repair. to sum it up in a quote "possible injury forces sale". some savvy people put on the ignition from a TS400 and it was a big help, no more thundering smack somewhere in the midrange where with the stock ignition advance curve would vary 200 to 500 rpms. the ignition from the TS400 did not have this problem. there was also the condenser trick but was very risky of frying your CDI box if done wrong.
As I recall there was an aftermarket flywheel kit that made this motorcycle a little less pipey. But you're right, this model discouraged a lot of aspiring motocrossers.
factory rated at 36hp...weight 235..... the "TM" on the top of the gas tank wasn't there on mine and I bought mine brand new....great motor if you add a LARGE flywheel....brakes were almost nonexistent
Less than 3 hrs. WOW ! Understandable considering it was if not THE No 1 most dangerous dirt bike ever made. Be careful. It's been waiting 50 yrs to plant somebody.
These had a lot of problems with the electronic ignition. It would advance the spark without notice. Most guys racing these were tossing the electronic ignition and replacing it with the points ignition system for the Suzuki 400 Bighorn. With that in place these were great bikes. I rode CZ back in the day.
Thought that was Ken's brother or someone else lol. I had a buddy that had one back in the day and after a few pretty good (or bad) crashes he literally left it laying in the woods and never went back for it. That thing could flip you off in any gear. Of course we only weighed a buck 30 in those days.
That bike sucked the nuts up into my teen-age gut!! And he's right. The pipes took a beating. The replacement Bassani pipe cracked not long after it replaced the short lived stock pipe.
Wow in 73 I owned that very same bike!! It smoked everyone bike I rode with back then, How did you get all manuals and magazines write ups on it, so many years later????
I owned one of these bikes The guy who stole it BROKE HIS LEG ON IT...🤣🤣🤣 HE FOUND OUT I HEARD ABOUT IT & HE JOINED THE ARMY TO KEEP FROM GOING TO JAIL I first had a T-S 250 A T-S 400 Then a T-S 185 Enjoyed every one of them.
I'm 52. My father raced this exact bike in 1973 Ohio district 11. We have a few pictures of his 1973 tm 400. This is awesome. I dedicate this video to you dad. Thanks for teaching me and my two brothers how to ride 2 strokes. Love you dad. 👍
Danny Chandler had a Suzuki TM 400. One of the hardest charging competitors ever.
He only knew attack attack attack on the coarse. A true champion motocrosser.
Danny was the Greatest! Sad his Injury changed his life and because of that ended it early
The bike that started the “Injury forces sale” qualifying statement....
Too freakin funny! I'm old, and I remember exactly that. This bike would come on the pipe, and you'd better be pointed in the correct direction, and not sideways! Yeah, Roger handled it, but my name isn't Roger. The powerband of a 125, but on steroids. I rode an open class bike to escape this type of powerband. Husky 400's and even a 450. Shift when I want too.
This is the first dirt bike I ever noticed as a kid in 1973 that made me a fanatic. It was parked out front of a tire shop and advertised for sale. Went by it all the time and just drooled.
Friend of mine now dearly departed had a Widowmaker (yes a TM400, not an H2), I had a '74 Elsinore, and another guy took me to my first Unadilla had a then brand new Husky 250CR he raced. God These videos take me back...
Had a 73 400!! With a Bassini exhaust,red line swing arm,ported etc!! I was 15 yrs old racing the open class!! Loved those old TM 400's
I had one!!! I can't believe you are showing one of these! This thing produced most of its HP in a very small power and. I found it very hard to ride. Best channel on CZcams.
I had this bike, set up for hill climbs, was amazing ., won many comps, bike was very powerful, big primary sprocket gave me advantage ... love these bikes...
I owned one back in 76.ported,42 mm carb,a better expansion chamber and Wisco piston and rings.about 46 hp.lots of fun.
had a poster of Roger DeCoster on that back then. Thanks for the memories
My first bike was a 1974 TM 75 oil injected. That cyclone tho!! 🤤🤤🤤
my first was a 74 TM 125 , still have old pictures of me riding it , I had the TM400 and then made the smart move to the RM after that , what a difference a suspension can make ! I am lucky I never got hurt on mine , used to have wheelie contests all the time and twenty times everything is fine and that one time you would it that extra powerband and the bike would flip ! then you let your hands and knees heel for a couple of days then do it all again ! great fun
I had one of these bikes. I swapped out the stator and flywheel for the heavier more forgiving TS-400 flywheel and stator. The tank was shot, so it got replaced with a PE-175 tank (Slight mod needed), and it had an aftermarket Circle F pipe, because the stock pipe was missing. But this bike was a trail beast. Good low end torque, great low center of gravity that was easy to handle, and would run forever on that big PE tank! Oh, and the oil injection was nice. Shame I don't have it any more, it was very dependable.
Straight out of my time frame. I owned with a friend the first two 73 Honda CR250m Elsinore’s. Raced both 250 class and open class never felt upstaged by anyone. When I was shopping, I tried them all; Ossa, Bultaco, Husky. Came down to the YZ and Elsinore.
Back when bikes were real!! Had a t500 myself still in bits needs rebuild! This one needs crankseal checkout otherwise they're bulletproof!! Best wishes from Plymouth UK!!
I paid $400.00 for one when I was 16. My friends called it Total Madness! What a beast.
What a beast roger de coster rode that bad boy to the championship
I bought a new TM400K in 1973. Raced it for two years....or tried to. I had sold my 400 Maico when I went to work at a Suzuki/Kawasaki/Norton dealership in Southgate, Michigan, and purchased the TM. Put a 4lb flywheel on the TM and Koni shocks. It was still a terrible handling motocrosser even after moving the shocks forward, and yes the brakes were not good.
Sold it and bought a Husqvarna....best move I could have made. Still have found memories, though, of that Suzuki effortlessly lofting the front wheel through three gears.
Got to ride one of these when I was 14. What a rocket!
A friend of mine owned a 1971 TM400. Had a orange tank instead of yellow. The throttle was more like a electrical switch - (on or off) Tons of power a blast to ride.
Doug Kubash right, the first electronic ignition systems advanced to abruptly that’s why they called them the widow maker
i own a 1976 Suzuki TS400...original paint...title ..key...and got it very cheap...nice....love these old bikes
1976 was when the first RM was offered, too bad you missed the boat .
Dad let me ride his tm400 a lot my 1st race bike was a tm100 the 400 hurt me more than once good memories
Talk about sparking up nostalgia I was 15 years old and used to ride around with my bottle of golden spectro behind the number plate in the front or Bellray
I don’t know how you find such fantastic examples time after time. I even love your Harley’s. Proper Harley’s With spoke wheels twinshock DYNA s. With big engine’s. It must be a ex motor x thing I’d like to see you take the Harley’s out like you did with the beautiful Yamaha rt360s Keep it up Ken
Beautiful bike. Good music in a dirt bike video for once as well. Nice.
Wide World of Sports had Creedence Clearwater Revival as background music for an airing of the Carlsbad 500cc Grand Prix once. We are now being forced feed thrash metal or (c)rap music for sports soundtracks....yuck!!!!
I had one of every year from 71 to 74.
I was only missing a 75 which are very rare due to lower production numbers.
love these 2 stroke thumpers.
Two strokes are not thumpers
Ken, I love these bikes, they do demand precise throttle control but so does my kx 500. My first tm400 I purchased as a basket case and built for my father who did not like to ride it so it became my bike. eventually I purchased a 83 xr500 and modified the frame to accept the engine and built a custom pipe for it to make it more rideable.
I'm glad when I watch your videos you're not playing hip hop or rap or something I wouldn't waste my time and watching your videos if you did thanks brother
She's a gem
If the tires don't work you know they are original-terrible rubber on the TM! Great looking piece of history you have there!
One of my best friends, a bike nut in NY, last name Kaplan. No one can tell me he isn't a cousin he was too cool.
LOVE IT! I had this as a plastic model on my shelf as a kid. Never got the real thing...
Running tooo rich or a crack seal is broken, I saw these race back in the early 70's they did not smoke like this one, awesome bike.
Ya I bet it's just the crank seal since it's running well enough. Or maybe both! If I had the funds I wouldn't be scared of this thing though it looks like a pleasure to work on everything will be nice and clean and noone else has gone in there before you.
14 mosquitoes disliked this video.
Nothing like the sound and smell of a 2 stroke, especially when you run bean oil through it.
AIN'T NOTHING THAT SMELLS LIKE CASTOR OIL
Klotz smells 80s
CASTROL R here in England in my Last model Pe 175, I loved her.
I had 73 125 looked exactly like that one except I mine had the suzuki with the rising sun graphic on the tank. Loved that bike. Ah the memories are coming back after view this vidjeo
The rising sun graphics were on 75 models.
I was 11 in 1973 riding my BRAND NEW XR75, thinking it was the fastest thing on earth.....until that 400 Cyclone blasted past me!! Scared the cap outta me...but it sounded and smelled SO GOOD.....wayback machine!!!!!!
The widowmaker that´s a beauty!
very nice I worked for mayfairs Suzuki in Brisbane Australia back in those days remember the cyclone well
I was a hundred pounds wet and 14 years old when I rode one. I couldn’t start it so the owner kicked it to life and handed it to me. I blasted down a gravel road and along the edge of a field a few times. I thought I was a motocross star in training lifting the front wheel in the air with every shift. After a few trips along the field I thought I better take it back , I didn’t want to but knew it was time. On the far end of the field when turning around to take the beast back, I stalled it and pushed it back to his house after trying again to kick start it without any luck, although I don’t think luck was what I was lacking.
Hell, yes, original.......the guy probably rode it for 10 minutes, had to empty his pants, and never touched again. Evil as hell, all motor and hurt a whole lot of us guys. My hat's off to anyone who could ride these stock. Even with DeCoster's skills the bike was heavily modified. Maybe I'm a "sheep" but I've ridden about everything in 50+ years. This thing reminds me of the SC500 Yam that could distort it's cylinder walls, your perspective, and your bones.....all in one ride. Thank God they're in museums!
I love the sound of two strokes I built a motorized bike and I just love the sound and smell long live two strokes🤘🤘🤘
Clean bike! Cool extras!
That was the model and cc that wasn't competitive in it s class without a complete suspension change. The 250/125 that year were race ready out of the box. Collect it and ride it carefully, or just look at it. Clean and pretty!
T M stands for Text medic...1st prize a tm 400...second prize 2 tm 400's...had a 125 ..very good bike..125 was 74.
I used to have a 75 dt80 XTREAMLY MINT all origanal really miss that bike man
The world champion bikes were nothing like the bike sold to the public, they were factory works bikes, raced by sponsored riders. The tm 400 sold to the public was faster then the euro bikes but did not handle. The frames also broke on these bikes.
Sales people..lol
Cool.. complete with period music.
I loved that smell they put off! Incredible!
BEAUTIFUL
I had one when I was a teenager , fast as heel but the suspension sucked , the RM was a big improvement over a TM
Roger DeCoster!!!!! Yes!!!!
Awesome bike I broke my leg on mine never could get it out of 3rd gear had the most fun on a flat track with it
of all the bikes I never did get own but wanted the TS400 is high on the list, had a TS100 and TS250 which when it was in the power band it flew,
72 model was the scariest bike I ever rode...made an 03 KTM 250SX look tame by comparison.
Clearly this bike has never been raced. An amazing find, I'd say, and easily worth at least the 6 grand.
I miss mine
A friend of mine from my neighborhood had one that his father shaved the flywheel , ported and polished the ports , rejetted .
I’m not afraid to say it scared me a little bit.
My 1st bike 1972 tm 250 love it went like a scared cat owned in 1973
I found one about eight years ago at a yard sale in as good as
condition as that one. No lie it was perfect original hardly used condition. It came with a
desert tank that they put on the bike when it was new and he had the original
tank for it too. It was the original owner. $1200.00 but I didn't
have the money at the time. It slipped through my fingers.
You should have borrowed the money.
I first climbed aboard one of these when I was 13yrs old. It was one of the most terrifying times of my life. The handling is terrible and the power is absolutely violent! It doesn't matter what you may have rode in the past, you want be ready for one of these on the first ride. I'm sure there's plenty of these in barns across the country in pristine condition as many people never rode there's twice.
I had the same experience when I bought an '86 CR500 in the early 90s. Way too much power and starting it could be an ankle injuring experience.
Dream bike
Love it!!
The 1971 to 1974 TM 400 was widely known as a widow maker. the bikes of those model years were notorious for having ignition systems that would go from 0 degrees for starting all the way to 24 degrees advance all at once and a change in ambient temperature would change when the advance would hit which made this bike unpredictable. the 1975 TM400 got a different ignition system which mellowed the bike out quite a bit. sadly by 1975 the reputation of the TM400 was damaged beyond repair. to sum it up in a quote "possible injury forces sale". some savvy people put on the ignition from a TS400 and it was a big help, no more thundering smack somewhere in the midrange where with the stock ignition advance curve would vary 200 to 500 rpms. the ignition from the TS400 did not have this problem. there was also the condenser trick but was very risky of frying your CDI box if done wrong.
As I recall there was an aftermarket flywheel kit that made this motorcycle a little less pipey.
But you're right, this model discouraged a lot of aspiring motocrossers.
It's hip to be square Ken!!
Nice! Memories of Roger Decoster
I can smell the Bel Ray exhaust as we speak!!
Lots of these around. Very evil bikes that ended MANY careers.
Not sure we’re your from but here in nz they are rare as hens teeth
factory rated at 36hp...weight 235..... the "TM" on the top of the gas tank wasn't there on mine and I bought mine brand new....great motor if you add a LARGE flywheel....brakes were almost nonexistent
The timing has a mind of its own 👹
Less than 3 hrs. WOW ! Understandable considering it was if not THE No 1 most dangerous dirt bike ever made. Be careful. It's been waiting 50 yrs to plant somebody.
Roger Decoster...those were the days & muscle cars & women without bras...
Awesome!!!!!
One day yer gonna have to get a Hoss for the museum
BOSS HOSS 💪💪💪
These had a lot of problems with the electronic ignition. It would advance the spark without notice. Most guys racing these were tossing the electronic ignition and replacing it with the points ignition system for the Suzuki 400 Bighorn. With that in place these were great bikes. I rode CZ back in the day.
Roger could haul the mail on those old TMs.
3 hours of original ride time I wonder if I scared the crap out of the guy
Thought that was Ken's brother or someone else lol. I had a buddy that had one back in the day and after a few pretty good (or bad) crashes he literally left it laying in the woods and never went back for it. That thing could flip you off in any gear. Of course we only weighed a buck 30 in those days.
Bad Ass!!!!!!!!
That’s old school brother!!
"BACK WHEN MEN WERE MEN AND SHEEP WERE SCARED"??? DUDE WE SCARED THE CRAP OUTTA THE FARMERS!
Badass 💯✅🆒😎
How Cool 😎!
That bike sucked the nuts up into my teen-age gut!! And he's right. The pipes took a beating. The replacement Bassani pipe cracked not long after it replaced the short lived stock pipe.
*Definitely Subbed*
OMG that is gorgeous.
Wow in 73 I owned that very same bike!! It smoked everyone bike I rode with back then, How did you get all manuals and magazines write ups on it, so many years later????
Beautiful thumbnail 😋
They never let us know what they sell for...
The first bike that made me see stars
I owned one of these bikes
The guy who stole it BROKE HIS LEG ON IT...🤣🤣🤣
HE FOUND OUT I HEARD ABOUT IT & HE JOINED THE ARMY TO KEEP FROM GOING TO JAIL
I first had a T-S 250
A T-S 400
Then a T-S 185
Enjoyed every one of them.
Good...
NICE
I had one and it would scream wide open on it's own with no warning. A real trench digger. Fun but scary.
I have this bike need to fix her up, nice bike boys. Mine is a 74
Need help finding vintage parts for my resto Please help!
Our founding father of deathtraps 💀
Thinking about getting one, this or a 71.
😻
I'll take it!
“Ole Smokey”
Aluminium rims on that year?