That was my very first bike, got one brand new for Christmas when I was 16. I've been looking for one to restore myself. It's such a beautiful motorcycle and I had so much fun with that thing in the dirt and on the trails, and the Dual ratio transmission made it great for the street too
Looks incredible, my Father in Law is going to be so excited to see it again in person. Sad I wont be able to come back and pick it up with them. It was great meeting you and your wife. Great work Dale!
Hi Colt, yes it was great meeting you, and it is sad you won't be coming up. It is a long trip as you know. I am really happy with how it turned out. I think Darrell is going to love getting acquainted with his old bike again. Stop in anytime you're up this way.
Very nice. That was my first Dirt Bike in 1973 when I was 14 years old. Not the best Dirt Bike for a 14 yo, but it was a blast and solidified my love of two wheels.
You know it buddy.... nothing like racing castor oil burned in a two stroke. Thanks, I sure appreciate the comments and you hanging out with me in the shop.
Hi Mike, well I'm pretty close, this one was hauled up to me from Dallas Texas to restore last year. He is coming to pick it up this coming week. Making a vacation out of the trip, to visit Yellowstone, and Glacier parks. Thank you for your comment and for hanging out in the shop with me.
dale, you did awesome job on this bike!! what a beauty!! i love the 70s enduros as ive restored a few also. i still own a 73 f7 and a 72 f5. thanks for the video my friend and hope to see alot more of your videos. cheers
Thank you very much, these bikes from that era, just have the best lines and paint schemes bar none. The Kawasaki's lead the pack in that department. I have a lot to do to the F7 yet and I do have a 70 F5 hiding in the shed that will come out at some point. I have a couple videos on it that I made up a seat pan and rebuilt the seat. It just looked so bad when I got it, didn't want to put it up in that condition. Stay tuned for that.
hi dale, how are ya? i cant wait till you start the f-5 project!! its funny you mentioned that your f-5 has a seat problem..... me too!!! i need the foam for the seat as its just turning into dust!! i put a new cover on the seat 20 years ago. but now the foam is just disenegrading and comming out of the bottom of the seat frame. would you have any idea where i may find the foam? @@montana2strokeracer
I just bought the foam from Amazon and made a built-up seat cushion for the F5, I can remember for sure all the details. Look at my playlist, it shows one for the F5. I will be getting back to it at some time.
Thanks Jim, this little bike helped me really launch the channel, seems to be a lot of interest in these and the TS models, it has been fun but is time to move on to some of the other project bikes. Sure, appreciate you hanging out in the shop with me.
Absolutely beautiful 👍👍👍 I can't wait to have my blue tc restored....it has to wait till after the 74 rd350😁. Great job on the videos, I always appreciate them, thank you 🙏
Thanks Austin, I appreciate you hanging out in the shop with me. I would like to do a RD350, I have not run on to one is the only reason I haven't. I do have a 70 CS3C 200 scrambler and a 68 AS1C scrambler waiting their turn. Think it will be a nice change of pace. Good luck on your projects, send some pictures if you get a chance. Thanks again.
I’m working on a similar tc/ ts90 project I got for free of Craigslist . Thank you so much for posting these. It’s hard to find info on them. Kevin Bergeron told me about this project & your page. Been following ever since. Hope to get my bike running soon. I wanna feel what it’s like to ride a 90cc two stroke.
What a great project, just watch how things come apart and you will do just fine. Bet you have it running in no time. Thanks for hanging out in the shop with me.
Thanks Dean, I think he is, he has been following the entire project. I get texts from him after every video, he has always been very supportive of my work. Hey thanks for the pics of the air show, that sure brings back memories for sure. Spent a lot of time working on B52's. We just had the Air force Thunderbirds here last weekend; I live just below the airport and got a free show right from my deck. I don't go out on the tarmac any more too dang hot. Thanks for being here buddy, enjoy yours too.
Those are great bikes Victor, one thing about it is...they are only original once, if you restore that's gone. But most of them are way to gone at this point and restoration is the only way. Thanks for hanging out with me in the shop.
@@montana2strokeracer the tires have some cracks but are original, has a tank dig and needs to be cleaned out, and needs work on the lights, minimum hard to see rust on the chrome at 2 feet away, I will most likely do minimum amount of work and keep original, such a cool bike, ride nice, it’s a nice garage sale purchase for $ 700 Canadian dollars, I enjoy your videos, learning a lot, thanks.
You need 5th gear, there is none. The street/dirt switch 4 gears for street and 4 for dirt was a bad idea. Worst bike I ever owned. TS 125 with 5 speed gear box is better option. You did a great job refurbishing it. I had that bike when I was 15, that was 49 years ago. I hated it so much. It was my first bike. It's ok to strap on a RV and use it for riding around camp sites. Honda is a better choice for a camp bike. My vote goes to the Suzuki TC 125 has one of the top 5 worst bikes ever made, it does nothing good. Not good offroad or on road. You did a great job restoring it. If your just going to putt around the farm it's ok, much better choices out there.
Yeah, I get it. I think it is better for using it in low range than in high. High range it is hard to get going and it runs out of steam pretty fast. In low range it's a stump puller. It was just the times, I never cared for that type of bike either, but all the major brands made them. I like you enjoyed riding the woods fast, couldn't do it on these. I was more of the TS type rider too. I like the style and looks of them also. But for hauling heavy loads out of the woods, don't think the TS would be very good at it.
@@montana2strokeracer Yea the low range has good pulling power. High gears are useless. I could see it for a farm motorcycle at low speeds. The bike after you refurbished is beautiful. Just not a useful bike to me, based on the 1 I owned long ago. 1 of my favorite old time bikes was the Honda cl 450. Ton of power, cool bike my friend had one.
Hi Andrew, the TC has a HI/LO selector, so you have 4 gears in HI range and 4 gears in LO range. The TS has a standard 5 speed gearbox. That is the major difference but cosmetically the TC has more chrome fenders and such. Were as the TS is usually painted and the fenders are sportier. Thanks for hanging out in the shop with me.
Hey Robert, I am pretty much self-taught, I did work for a dealership back in the early 70's in southeast Kansas. I really learned a lot there and hung out with the older guys that were modifying bikes to race. But I grew up and got into cars more, then just a few years back I ran across a couple of 71 Yamaha 125 enduros, and well the rest is history. That really sparked my interest again and the wife thought I should give CZcams a try. So here I am. I feel like I am in the dealership shop again with the same old bikes. Retirement is grand, half the pay and twice the fun, so they say. Thanks for hanging out in the shop with me.
Hi John, thanks...I use Metal Rescue to remove rust and minor pitting from chrome. It works very well if it's not too bad. Then I just use a good wax and a lot of elbow grease to shine it. Most of the chrome on this bike was rechromed at a place in St Louis Mo. The rims were really bad, so I laced up new ones. The rear fender was an Ebay score and was in good enough shape that we didn't rechrome it. The fork tubes were bad, I had new ones made by Forking by Frank in Mississippi. Thanks for hanging out in the shop with me.
I have 1976 Ts400, the guy rebuild the motor but never put oil in it , so the inside of the motor has surface rust on everything, is this motor fixable?
Hi Robert, that is sad, but really if oil had been in it, if you're living in a high humidity area, the rust would have been anywhere there wasn't oil. Otherwise only half the gear would be rusty. Whether it is fixable or not, I would say yes. If it is indeed just surface rust, I would fill the crankcase to normal oil capacity with diesel, fire it up at low rpm for a couple minutes and drain, that should clean most of that out. Maybe be do it a couple times. If it's in the cylinder, I would remove it and use 400 grit sandpaper to clean the cylinder and wash it and the piston and ring with solvent, then hot soap and water. Reassemble with good coat of oil. If it's in the bearings that is different, but usually new bearings have a good coat of oil on them, at least when you install them most folks coat them good on assembly, so they are probably ok. Just something to think about. Wish you luck with your project. Thanks for watching the channel.
Hi there, I'm not sure what you are asking here. I don't have any exhaust pipes for sale. Right now, I don't have the time to restore one, it's not too difficult, it just depends on how bad the dents are and if it's rusted out anywhere. Thanks for watching.
@@montana2strokeracer Thank you. I just started watching your channel and am very impressed with your thoroughness. I will start restoring my wife's inherited 1975 TS400 this fall. She wants to ride it to decide if she wants to keep it. But I won't let her do that unless I make it mechanically safe first. I am looking forward to more of your videos.
It's nice to see an old Suzuki from the 70's. Classic styling of the era.
Thanks, I understand fully, styling has not been the same since. These old bikes are just timeless.
Modern bikes may make more power but the old 70s bikes made more smiles.
I can't argue with you on that statement my friend. Well, said!
Great attention to detail. Fantastic workmanship.
Thank you, Cory, appreciate you stopping by.
Nice job Dale! One more finished and saved!
Thanks buddy, time to finish another one.
That was my very first bike, got one brand new for Christmas when I was 16. I've been looking for one to restore myself. It's such a beautiful motorcycle and I had so much fun with that thing in the dirt and on the trails, and the Dual ratio transmission made it great for the street too
Yep, great little bikes, and yours is a great story. Thanks for sharing.
I see this video is a year old but I have to say that bike turned out beautiful . Fantastic job
Thanks John, that was done for a man in Dallas Tx. He picked the color, thought it was very close to original.
Looks incredible, my Father in Law is going to be so excited to see it again in person. Sad I wont be able to come back and pick it up with them. It was great meeting you and your wife. Great work Dale!
Hi Colt, yes it was great meeting you, and it is sad you won't be coming up. It is a long trip as you know. I am really happy with how it turned out. I think Darrell is going to love getting acquainted with his old bike again. Stop in anytime you're up this way.
Very nice. That was my first Dirt Bike in 1973 when I was 14 years old. Not the best Dirt Bike for a 14 yo, but it was a blast and solidified my love of two wheels.
They were sure nice-looking bikes though. All that chrome really set them off. Yeah, not the best dirt bike, but nice for the cow trails.
Nothing like the sweet smell of success...and two stroke. Nice work looks beautiful.
You know it buddy.... nothing like racing castor oil burned in a two stroke. Thanks, I sure appreciate the comments and you hanging out with me in the shop.
Beautiful job! I had one in 1973. Awesome little bike!
Thank you. This was a fun project and I was happy with the turnout.
Sweet little bike, Dale. Beautiful job you did.
Thanks Peter, this was a real fun restoration. It came to me from Dallas TX for a ground up resto.
Thanks so much I’m working on a rv125 you got me fixed up great videos
Thanks Brad, glad you are finding some helpful content here. The RV125 as I remember is very much the same engine. Just a different bike.
Amazing work. I wish you were in Michigan. Would love to have my 1973 TS125 restored.
Hi Mike, well I'm pretty close, this one was hauled up to me from Dallas Texas to restore last year. He is coming to pick it up this coming week. Making a vacation out of the trip, to visit Yellowstone, and Glacier parks. Thank you for your comment and for hanging out in the shop with me.
Absolutely gorgeous! Great job.
Thanks Troy, I was pleased with the outcome, so was the owner. Thanks for watching
dale, you did awesome job on this bike!! what a beauty!! i love the 70s enduros as ive restored a few also. i still own a 73 f7 and a 72 f5. thanks for the video my friend and hope to see alot more of your videos. cheers
Thank you very much, these bikes from that era, just have the best lines and paint schemes bar none. The Kawasaki's lead the pack in that department. I have a lot to do to the F7 yet and I do have a 70 F5 hiding in the shed that will come out at some point. I have a couple videos on it that I made up a seat pan and rebuilt the seat. It just looked so bad when I got it, didn't want to put it up in that condition. Stay tuned for that.
hi dale, how are ya? i cant wait till you start the f-5 project!! its funny you mentioned that your f-5 has a seat problem..... me too!!! i need the foam for the seat as its just turning into dust!! i put a new cover on the seat 20 years ago. but now the foam is just disenegrading and comming out of the bottom of the seat frame. would you have any idea where i may find the foam? @@montana2strokeracer
I just bought the foam from Amazon and made a built-up seat cushion for the F5, I can remember for sure all the details. Look at my playlist, it shows one for the F5. I will be getting back to it at some time.
Another job well done
Bike looks splendid Dale.
Thanks Sean, it has been a fun project and I am happy with it.
Yes!!! Great to see Dale!! Wonderful job all around. Who doesn't love old fashioned craftsmanship?
Thanks Jim, this little bike helped me really launch the channel, seems to be a lot of interest in these and the TS models, it has been fun but is time to move on to some of the other project bikes. Sure, appreciate you hanging out in the shop with me.
great job dale looks and sounds mint well done
Thanks Mark, it has been a nice project. very happy with the outcome. Thanks for hanging out with me in the shop.
Graphics look great.
Thanks they were made and installed by a local man here in Montana. They are not available from the normal sources as far as I know.
Absolutely beautiful 👍👍👍 I can't wait to have my blue tc restored....it has to wait till after the 74 rd350😁. Great job on the videos, I always appreciate them, thank you 🙏
Thanks Austin, I appreciate you hanging out in the shop with me. I would like to do a RD350, I have not run on to one is the only reason I haven't. I do have a 70 CS3C 200 scrambler and a 68 AS1C scrambler waiting their turn. Think it will be a nice change of pace. Good luck on your projects, send some pictures if you get a chance. Thanks again.
That bike looks badass. I'm gonna do my 75 TS in that color. Way to go Dale.
Thanks buddy, I have to agree... I like the color a lot. Give it a shot, I think you will like it too.
Way to go Dale, it's what I've been waiting on...
Glad you like it Larry, been a lot of work, now its finished.
I’m working on a similar tc/ ts90 project I got for free of Craigslist . Thank you so much for posting these. It’s hard to find info on them. Kevin Bergeron told me about this project & your page. Been following ever since. Hope to get my bike running soon. I wanna feel what it’s like to ride a 90cc two stroke.
What a great project, just watch how things come apart and you will do just fine. Bet you have it running in no time. Thanks for hanging out in the shop with me.
Beautiful bike Dale, I think the owner will be overjoyed. Runs and sounds great. Another one saved as you say.
Have a great weekend, Dean.
Thanks Dean, I think he is, he has been following the entire project. I get texts from him after every video, he has always been very supportive of my work. Hey thanks for the pics of the air show, that sure brings back memories for sure. Spent a lot of time working on B52's. We just had the Air force Thunderbirds here last weekend; I live just below the airport and got a free show right from my deck. I don't go out on the tarmac any more too dang hot. Thanks for being here buddy, enjoy yours too.
@@montana2strokeracer you're welcome my friend.
Great job Dale! Looks awesome, and sounds sweet.
Thank you, sir, I am happy with it. I'm sure the owner will be also; he has been following the entire process on the channel too.
Beautiful
Thanks buddy
Beautiful bike, not many left in that condition
This one wasn't in this condition either, it was pretty rough if you remember.
dad gum, you did it again by minutes!
Slow Frank
@@montana2strokeracer Cain beat me by a minute, im either second or the first looser, story of my life.LOL
Nice bike, I have a 1974 TC 100 all original, rides nice, needs restoration, but looks good as is, but would be nice if it looked as good as the 125
Those are great bikes Victor, one thing about it is...they are only original once, if you restore that's gone. But most of them are way to gone at this point and restoration is the only way. Thanks for hanging out with me in the shop.
@@montana2strokeracer the tires have some cracks but are original, has a tank dig and needs to be cleaned out, and needs work on the lights, minimum hard to see rust on the chrome at 2 feet away, I will most likely do minimum amount of work and keep original, such a cool bike, ride nice, it’s a nice garage sale purchase for $ 700 Canadian dollars, I enjoy your videos, learning a lot, thanks.
Awesome brother. I would love to be the owner.
Thanks man, wouldn't mine myself
Nice!!
Thanks, Gary, it was a fun project. Glad you were here for it.
You need 5th gear, there is none. The street/dirt switch 4 gears for street and 4 for dirt was a bad idea. Worst bike I ever owned. TS 125 with 5 speed gear box is better option. You did a great job refurbishing it. I had that bike when I was 15, that was 49 years ago. I hated it so much. It was my first bike. It's ok to strap on a RV and use it for riding around camp sites. Honda is a better choice for a camp bike. My vote goes to the Suzuki TC 125 has one of the top 5 worst bikes ever made, it does nothing good. Not good offroad or on road. You did a great job restoring it. If your just going to putt around the farm it's ok, much better choices out there.
Yeah, I get it. I think it is better for using it in low range than in high. High range it is hard to get going and it runs out of steam pretty fast. In low range it's a stump puller. It was just the times, I never cared for that type of bike either, but all the major brands made them. I like you enjoyed riding the woods fast, couldn't do it on these. I was more of the TS type rider too. I like the style and looks of them also. But for hauling heavy loads out of the woods, don't think the TS would be very good at it.
These bikes from the 70’s are works of arts especially when restored like this one.
@@montana2strokeracer Yea the low range has good pulling power. High gears are useless. I could see it for a farm motorcycle at low speeds. The bike after you refurbished is beautiful. Just not a useful bike to me, based on the 1 I owned long ago. 1 of my favorite old time bikes was the Honda cl 450. Ton of power, cool bike my friend had one.
Very nice. Curious, what is the difference between the TC and TS?
Hi Andrew, the TC has a HI/LO selector, so you have 4 gears in HI range and 4 gears in LO range. The TS has a standard 5 speed gearbox. That is the major difference but cosmetically the TC has more chrome fenders and such. Were as the TS is usually painted and the fenders are sportier. Thanks for hanging out in the shop with me.
Nice, have you always repaired these bikes, if so, on your own self taught or did you work at a dealership.?
Hey Robert, I am pretty much self-taught, I did work for a dealership back in the early 70's in southeast Kansas. I really learned a lot there and hung out with the older guys that were modifying bikes to race. But I grew up and got into cars more, then just a few years back I ran across a couple of 71 Yamaha 125 enduros, and well the rest is history. That really sparked my interest again and the wife thought I should give CZcams a try. So here I am. I feel like I am in the dealership shop again with the same old bikes. Retirement is grand, half the pay and twice the fun, so they say. Thanks for hanging out in the shop with me.
Looks so sick. May have missed it in your videos, but what's your process for polishing and rehabbing chrome like on the rims, fenders, etc?
Hi John, thanks...I use Metal Rescue to remove rust and minor pitting from chrome. It works very well if it's not too bad. Then I just use a good wax and a lot of elbow grease to shine it. Most of the chrome on this bike was rechromed at a place in St Louis Mo. The rims were really bad, so I laced up new ones. The rear fender was an Ebay score and was in good enough shape that we didn't rechrome it. The fork tubes were bad, I had new ones made by Forking by Frank in Mississippi. Thanks for hanging out in the shop with me.
Hi sir I think their is a fuel leak on your petcock @ 6:25-6:29 min maybe. Hope these would help.
Yes there was, I fixed it in the video. Thank you for your concern, and for watchin.
I have 1976 Ts400, the guy rebuild the motor but never put oil in it , so the inside of the motor has surface rust on everything, is this motor fixable?
Hi Robert, that is sad, but really if oil had been in it, if you're living in a high humidity area, the rust would have been anywhere there wasn't oil. Otherwise only half the gear would be rusty. Whether it is fixable or not, I would say yes. If it is indeed just surface rust, I would fill the crankcase to normal oil capacity with diesel, fire it up at low rpm for a couple minutes and drain, that should clean most of that out. Maybe be do it a couple times. If it's in the cylinder, I would remove it and use 400 grit sandpaper to clean the cylinder and wash it and the piston and ring with solvent, then hot soap and water. Reassemble with good coat of oil. If it's in the bearings that is different, but usually new bearings have a good coat of oil on them, at least when you install them most folks coat them good on assembly, so they are probably ok. Just something to think about. Wish you luck with your project. Thanks for watching the channel.
Hello friend, I am interested in getting an exhaust for the Suzuki tc125 for a restoration.
Hi there, I'm not sure what you are asking here. I don't have any exhaust pipes for sale. Right now, I don't have the time to restore one, it's not too difficult, it just depends on how bad the dents are and if it's rusted out anywhere.
Thanks for watching.
do you crate these up to send to Texas?
No, him and his wife are coming back up next month to pick it up.
@@montana2strokeracer i see a steak dinner in the making!
So what caused the gas leak?
petcock oring
@@montana2strokeracer Thank you. I just started watching your channel and am very impressed with your thoroughness. I will start restoring my wife's inherited 1975 TS400 this fall. She wants to ride it to decide if she wants to keep it. But I won't let her do that unless I make it mechanically safe first.
I am looking forward to more of your videos.
First
Always, except at 2 in the morning
The petcock is leaking
Yep, this was 2 years ago, it got a new o-ring and is doing well....no leaks
Hi are you on messenger?
Yes