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1971 BSA 500 TRAIL

I had looked at lots of bikes for a couple of years and, since I am 15, I thought I’d have to wait until I got my license. But my dad found a real bargain on a new 1971 BSA Victor Trail 500, so I bought it. I saw your road test on it in your Jan. ’72 issue, also.

Since I weigh only 120 lb., everyone thought I couldn’t handle it, but this bike is surprisingly easy to handle even though it is a 500. The first things I noticed about the bike were the undersize front tire (2.75-20), poor cables (the compression release cable hampered steering radius), and oil leaks in many places. Right off I stopped some leaks with O-rings and sealant and they worked OK.

The bike ran beautifully for the next three months except for hair-raising handling at about 70 mph because of front wheel imbalance. Then I ran into a pickup and wrecked the forks completely. The spokes of the front wheel were perfect, though. Amazing! Lots of guys with little 125s complain about broken spokes, but this Beeza hasn’t broken a single one!

When I wrecked out, I decided to stick to dirt riding entirely. I took off all the lights and street legal crap. Then I put Ceriani forks on the front with a Preston Petty fender. I put weights on the front wheel to balance it and I got a Pirelli knobby on the back. What a difference! The new forks and the balance job stopped the shimmy at high speed. The reduced weight helped handling considerably.

Performance of this one-banger is really great. It has oodles of torque all the way through the band and wheelspin is common in all four gears. The big engine has never failed. Oil leaks are still around and it burns it, too. This bike is perfect for hillclimbs.

After a couple of months the stock Girling suspension failed and I replaced them with Betor shocks. The drive chain stretches like mad and adjustment is frequent. The clutch was really hard so I took a look at the cable. It was really shot! Here’s a tip for ’71 Beeza 500s: Replace the old clutch cable with a cable that is nylon lined (BSA part No. 60 2445) and shorten it slightly to fit. This modification makes clutch operation 100 percent better!

Rory Davis Patterson, Calif.

Thanks, Rory, for your report. We have had many requests for information on several makes of dirt bikes. So if our readers have other recent models in all categories-motocross, enduro, dual purpose or trials-their comments would fall on eager ears.

We could use letters on all motocrossers, such as Husqvarna, Maico, CZ, Bultaco, Honda, Montesa, Ossa, AJS, Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Rickman, Greeves, and so on. Enduro and dualpurpose bikes of all displacements rate high on our request list. The trials riding population of the United States is still relatively small, but is growing so fast that some of our new readers who are considering taking up trials could use some advice from the more experienced hands. So let us hear from you!-Ed.

1972 KAWASAKI 350 S-2

I think it is about time someone set the story straight about the little baby of the Kawasaki Three family. I’m talking about the 350 S-2.

I had the wonderful pleasure of putting over 9000 miles on mine in a little over six months. These six months haven’t been trouble-free, though. I had an early plug-fouling problem. My bike now requires an NGK B8hc instead of the standard B9hc. I was afraid to run my bike hard with 8s for fear of burning holes in my pistons. So instead, I kept putting 9s in them and they continually fouled. My troubles are over now once and for all as I now use B8s as my standard plug.

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Another problem I had was a worn out rear chain after 5000 miles, but this was entirely my fault, not the bike’s. I tightened the chain without giving any consideration to the fact that the chain tightens when someone is sitting on the bike, and also 1 went through a period of screeching the rear tire during downshifting. I broke my new chain in for 12 miles before cruising to the Catskill Mountains in New York, but nevertheless this chain has not stretched irregularly as the other one had. Also, I had cracked a side plate of a link on the original chain.

I broke my bike in for 1263 miles, but it has developed some piston slap. And just recently I discovered a leaking carburetor gasket. These and one burned out headlight have been the extent of my misfortunes with my early edition 1972 S-2.

Other than these minor problems, I am proud to say that my bike served my needs whenever I wanted it to. When I gunned it around town or on the highway, it never let me down. When I wanted to tour, it was equally up to the task. And the bike is comfortable. It is the only bike I have ridden (excepting the Kawasaki 750 Mach IV) that you sit “in” the bike instead of on top of it. Vibration is minimal and only at high rpm. It is nothing that would bother anybody. It can cruise all day at 70 (6000 rpm) and 80 till you get tired of the wind.

The bike is expensive to run. I average about 29 miles per gallon. I have never gotten over 38 miles per gallon (that was my first tank of gas), with my lowest being 23 miles per gallon. This isn’t that bad on the pocket because you can use the most watered-down gas on the market. Contrarily, oil mileage is great with my average being 600 miles per quart.

The bike has a top end of 101 mph. This was done when I had 6500 miles on the bike. I never tried for top end while the bike was newer but I am confident 106 is not unreachable. The acceleration of the bike is where it’s all at. It takes some experience to be able to control the front end while slipping the clutch, never mind popping the clutch. (Continued on page 34)

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A bike that goes fast has to stop fast. This is a sore point for me because I must admit the brake does fade after very hard usage and is not good enough for two-up riding. The disc brake which Kawasaki added for 1973 is certainly wanted on my bike.

Undoubtedly the finest point of the bike is its handling. This bike belongs on twisty mountain roads.

William K. Guiffre Waldwick, N.J.

1972 SUZUKI TRAIL BIKE

I have a 1972 Suzuki TC90, which I have had for seven months. It has good top end power, but when it gets down to low rpm, throttle response is not very good. It will wind up to 68 miles an hour on long straights. It is excellent for a trail bike, but wouldn’t be very good for motocross (or any other kind of racing for that matter.)

It has a dual-range gearbox (four gears for street, four gears for dirt) and will climb a 30-degree hill in dirt range, but wouldn’t climb a 19-degree hill in street range.

The back sprocket is nearly worn out.

It never has had a tune-up, and never has loaded up. It does, however, foul lots of plugs. I have broken four clutch cables and one throttle cable. Vibration is extreme when on a smooth surface in dirt range at high rpm. The front end never washes out on curves. It has great flotation in mud. It has good reliability, but I would carry along an extra plug on long journeys.

Mike Schoggin Poyen, Ark.

1972 YAMAHA XS-2 650

In case any of your readers have been looking for a Yamaha 650 owner’s report, I would like to be of service.

I was the very happy owner of a 1972 Yamaha XS-2 650 for over 9000 miles, most of which were hard miles. I had used mine for going to high school, some touring, and general running around. My findings are as follows:

In all 9000 miles, my only repairs were to replace one turn signal bulb, and a headlight after about 7000 miles. I keep my lights on at all times. One of the bigger pleasures of owning this machine was never having to touch it.

As for riding it, it did vibrate, about on par with a Honda 450. But the rest of the comfort areas must rate an “A”—seat comfort and seating relationship, etc.

Handling is above average, but not great. If you’re unhappy with the slight wallowing in cornering, change the fork oil to 40 wt. and bolt on some Konis. With the stock shocks on “hard” you can get down hard enough on a sweeper to “twitch” the Dunlop K-70, but after riding say, a Benelli 650, and getting back on the Yammie, you can feel some frame flex.

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Larry Kahn Princeton, N.J.

1970 BMW R75-5

I have a 1970 BMW R75-5. My biggest complaint is oil leaks and vibration when the speed is over 70 mph.

I also have complaints about bad service at the dealer’s. Some even refuse to sell me simple parts such as an oil filter because I did not buy the bike from them. The dealer where I bought the bike refuses to order parts if the order is not over $ 10.

I wrote about this to BMW in München, Germany, and the distributor Butler & Smith; response from Germany within two weeks; from Butler & Smith, three months.

I have owned BMW motorcycles in Indonesia, Holland and now in the U.S. I am very lucky that I can do the servicing myself, because it looks like the dealers in the U.S. just sell and forget service to the customer.

Elias Herrewijn Lyndell, Penn.

1970 SUZUKI T-125

I decided to take advantage of your Feedback column because it is the only department among all the major bike magazines which gives the reader ample space to sound off about his bike.

My own mount is a Suzuki T-125 street Twin. It’s a 1970 model, and I purchased it new in Oct. ’70. Right now, I have a total of 17,000 miles piled up and still going strong.

Being my first bike, the Suzy took a lot of abuse during the first 4000 miles when I really began to get the feel of riding a bike. This abuse included leaving the battery dry during dealer setup. The bike paid me back by gobbling up plugs at the rate of one every 500 miles, and even with new plugs the bike had a severe miss under hard acceleration.

I went to hotter plugs (NGK B-6H), regular gas and heavier oil, and now everything’s cool. The bike hasn’t been back to the dealer since I passed 1000 miles. The Suzy handles good, will hold 55-60 up on the interstate, has a top speed of 70, and gets 55 mpg. I also use it for dirt and trail riding and it’s never let me down.

I’ve gone through one chain, a burnt-out headlight and a countershaftsprocket. The original tires still have a safe tread, but will need replacement in the next 3000 miles. The bike stays very clean and the only complaint I have is that rear braking power ranges from poor to non-existent.

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Congratulations to Suzuki for making such a bulletproof product, and although this model has been phased out, mine will be haunting the pavement, dirt and woods for a long time to come.

Bill Schroeder Orlando, Fla.

TWO 250 BSAs

Some of your readers might be interested in my experiences with two BSA 250 Singles I have owned.

The first was a 1968 model that I put 6000 miles on before I had to sell it( since Uncle Sam wouldn’t let me take it to Vietnam. There were tears in my eyes when its new owner rode it out of my driveway.

My new one isn’t quite as good. It’s a 1971 and unfortunately BSA was following the fads by taking an honest and unpretentious machine like the ’68 model and trying to turn it into a trail bike. Of course it’s uncompetitive with the Japanese two-strokes, although there’s just no question that the fourstroke thumper Single has much more “soul.” The bike is pretty good for my purposes—commuting through town to school, doing errands, taking an occasional bash in the boonies.

In the complaint department, I have just one biggie—the Eastern distributor stinks. He advertises bikes with certainequipment on them, charges you for it,' and then doesn’t deliver it. In my case it was an $11.60 bash plate. I wrote BSA East twice and they didn’t even have the courtesy to answer my letters, which tends to tick me off.

Harry C. Dees, Jr. Ell Bloomington, Ind.