Your Collection: 1974 TM 75
Sunday, June 24, 2012 | 6:00 AM
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PrintThis weeks collection comes to us from Charlie Pausina.
My name is Charlie Pausina and I purchased this bike back in June of 2011. This was actually the first bike my brother (who is 4 years older than me) owned. He has been looking for one for about 5 or 6 years and I found this one from Ron at Decal Works (and it still ran when I got it!) and began the restoration. My brother was unaware that I purchased it and I decided this would be the ultimate Christmas gift. I stripped it down to bare bones and started hunting for, what I was unaware of, some very rare parts. The frame, triple clamps, swing arm, and hubs were all powder coated. The fenders and gas tank were painted and I painted the motor along with the exhaust. The forks, front engine cradle, and a few other miscellaneous pieces were rechromed.
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Very cool, good job. That brings back the memorys of my TM400, at 12 yrs old, The 400 would teach throttle control!! My brother and I won our 1st harescramble ever entered on the TM400.. (heavy team).at 12 yrs old. Then we got Rm's. Felt like riding on a cloud of air, after the beast.
Amazing job!! Been along time Suzuki fan, but I had forgotten the TM 75.. bet you made your brother very happy. My first true MX was the 74 TM 125 Challenger....was not as fast as DeCoster, Robert, Geobers or Wolsink, but my bike looked like theirs...
Thank you for posting this. My brother and I shared a 1975 TM75. It would barely pull a wheelie, And was heavier than a ton of bricks, but it was a great starting point for us. I added a TS125 carb(inside the left case) and it ran like a raped ape until I tried to re-jet it. Never worked after that and went back to the smaller carb. 2nd gear finally broke and that was all she wrote. I ride an RM250 now after many different bikes I swear at times it has a similar "feel" to the old TM.
Nice job!
Too bad I can't view the whole picture because the stupid rotating ad on the right stays blocks part of the pictures (hint, hint, racer x).
I grew up in a small town with only a Suzuki dealership so most owned Suzukis...
My friend had the TM75 and I owned a TS50, man that TM75 seemed like the greatest bike ever (nevermind the super tricked out XR75's/YZ80's that we only got to read about in the mags of the day). Something about a purpse built moto-cross racer that the ads read something to the affect of "what Roger would ride" made it totally cool.
Why didn't you do all the bike as in the pictures it is either missing the front end or the back end.....oh never mind it is a dumb arse ad that blocks the pictures when they are enlarged :(
Mr Mx Sounds like you had a good time rock n roll n..All those bands where big as I grew up ..think I might be little older than you ..born 8/25/57 ..
Suzuki Dual purpose and MX bikes in 1970 : TS 50 Guancho, TS 90 Honcho and TC 90 Trail Blazer, TS 125 Duster, TM125 Challenger, TS 185 Sierra, TS 250 Savage, TM 250 Champion, TS 400 Apache, TM 400 Cyclone
oops for got that TM 75 again .
@Mr-Mx
We share some similarity here; my early bikes:
1976 RM125A
1977 RM125B
1978 RM125C
1979 RM 125D
1981 RM 125 Full Floater (best bike ever - the starting gates were full of these)
1982 RM 250
Then went on a Kawasaki stint (back in the Team Green sponsorship days) - never liked the handling of the KX
Went back to Suzuki ever since. Guess you could say I am a Suzuki fan...
@Mr-Mx
With you being from the Akron/Canton area, did you race in any district #5 races back in the day? Harbor Woods in New Castle, PA (my favorite track) or Lawerence County Fair Grounds were not too far from Akron. Raced 125 and 250B classes early in my racing career before moving into the A class and beyond. The B classes were super-competitive back then. Always had 30-40 bikes on the gate and even had to run qualifiers on occasion.
Well after the 74 TM 125- 76 RM 125A - 78 RM 250C2 - 79 RM 400 - 81 RM 125 - 82 RM 465 then had some 3- Honda's and 4- Kawasaki's before I got back to 01 Rm 250 then a couple Gas Gas now a 08 RMZ 250 and a whole bunch of fun thrown in!!!
What's with the gay ass add over half the pic's when you enlarge them,glad this is a free site.
@mr mx, I was a district 14. guy (southern michigan) and district 12 (ohio) only went to Delta on saturday nights though. The harescramble days were before MX. I think the win on the TM400 was at Branch county competition club (1975?) in Quincy michigan,,,,4ft of mud...perfect for no suspension and 45 hp light switch. :O
I dont recall seeing too many of these TM 75's around. Again good job, and I think I'd keep that puppy , maybe hang it above the kitchen table or something? (do this while wife isnt home)
@ MrMX -Oh yeah about 3 months in the c.m.c. Comprssed t-7 t-8 saddleback, that was it for 3 yrs, never was any good after that. But I never have gotten the sport outta my system. I'm like the rest of ya's. Joe.
No RM's avalable in 1983, I took a yz 250 (squatty lil thing) squashed it over bonzai hill.
just finished a rebuild on a clapped out 82 RM250, put a couple thou into it......I raced one of these back in 82 when i was 18 yrs old, after owing an 81 RM250, thought I was Kent Howerton in my JT gear!! In 83 went all out and got the biggie...RM500, jetted it, put some reeds in it, one sided airbox, and an answer pipe....holeshots!! Hurt myself, tore up my knee, that was it until now. The 82 I just rebuilt has basically a new motor and is scary fast. Dunno how I used to ride it with those drum brakes!!!
By the way, a TM was a total POS ....
Seriously.RacerX When I click to open the TM75 picture to full size it is blocked by you advertise with us thing. What the hell!
Sweet. Great memories. I bought a new 1975 TM75 which was my first real bike. I still remember the advertising tag line in the magazines..."If Roger DeCoster was a boy, he'd ride a TM75".
I thought it was the greatest thing, but an XR75 would eat it for lunch. At least until I fixed the stock lean jetting condition. Then it could at least hold its own. I didn't really care; I was too busy playing Roger!!
Mr MX. I use to go to stormstown before i raced to watch my older bro. I remember savisky and a guy by the name of Gary Pustulak. Super fast on a husky from erie pa.Those guys were my hero's when i was ten. Won my 1st trophy there in '79 on a kx 80. That ski jump was awesome. The Pustulak family was the nicest people you could ever meet. Great memories. Use to race a track by there called glasgow too. Long drive from jersey back in those days
also remember a young guy by the name of Kenny briggs who was smoking fast> won the support class @ dilla GP one year but gave up racing for college.When he was 16 no one could touch him in district 6.
I have a 74 TM75. Fired it up this spring. It had sat for about 8 years. Runs great!. Don't have the orignal tank anymore. Too much rust, Have a 75 tank. Also a Mini Mudder front fender, Answer Bob Hannah bend bars, aftermarket rear shocks, Brand??? Bassani pipe and a factory big carb kit, Has a 20mm carb, Sand cast right side case and carb cover. Has a big bore in it, Don't know what kit. Back in 85 when I rebuilt the engine, found that it was about 3mm bigger than stock. Used a 79 RM80 0.50 piston, Had to cut the head some to make it work, Rotory valve is ported, Much larger hole than stock. Mom used to ride it. Rode it in the mountains of Co. I'm the 4th owner, Bought it from my brother in a box. It did have the TS50 5 speed in it. Originally came from Town's Edge Suzuki Honda, Marion Ia, The owner's son's race bike in 74.
@Mr MX
I have a '75 Yamaha with that exact tank colors...it is sitting in my vintage garage
would sell it for 500.00. Needs some work but everything is original all the way'
to the rear shocks with resoviour shock.
Mrmx me and my bro got into talking about the tracks today about back then. Remember a guy by the name of Tim Sheppard who was flying @ a track called shade gap in southern western pa and Brian Merrit. We use to race broome n moto masters in ny too. Moto masters had the best soil all loam and hoses around the track where spectaters would just pick them up and water. I remember Tommy Rice and Rich Coon flying in those days. In pa there was lycoming and jersey shores. Awesome tracks if you ever had the chance to be there!
Carson mr hole shot. In the early eighties i had the luxery of meeting all those guys> J D Hicks and Bowen. My sis her her bf where photographers and sold to mx action and Gary Bailey. So as a teen i was living the dream in the pro pits and going to dinner with those guys. Hannah and Bevo were the best. Always the center of attention had all the waitress's laughing. Jojo doing donuts in omara's rental in the pits after the national. It was a different culture back then. They were rock stars but only to us mx's.
Wasnt it Bob and Julie Tamm that ran that team. I think they had pink and blue colors. I also think Mickey K rode for them too. Mike Guerra gave me his pull over from dilla in '81. Remember when they rode with those for the GP"s. I remember the race when Howerton and Hannah overall was decided by 1/2 second and world champ that year was carlquist who got 3'rd. I'm pretty sure they lapped everyone but him. Crazy to to see them race two 40 min moto's and never be 2seconds apart. Talk about b'n on a different planet. Mike Beier was also a factory yamaha rider for a year. Also remember hannah @the hotel in johnson city for broome telling the japenese mehanics who didnt speak english about the play in his clutch. Saying you see this wiggling his clutch . Thats a half second a lap.They just smiled and nod'd. JD Hicks was like Bob they have no idea what your saying. Bob was a perfectionist!!!
JD's brother was the smith goggle rep too. Gave me like 5 pairs and roll offs when they first came out. Dam being a local amateur and getting stuff like that and hanging with those guy's was the best. I rode kawis in the early eighties and had Billy Liles and Eddy Warrens jerseys. That was the shit. Thanks for the flash backs