1976 Suzuki RM

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Prior to the mid-seventies, the world of motocross was exclusively the realm of the Old World European brands, llike BSA, Husqvarna and CZ. Then in 1965, the little upstart from Hamamatsu by the name of Suzuki made the bold decision to try their hand at Grand Prix motocross racing. Initially, their new RH works racers were woefully underpowered and comically overweight. They handled poorly, broke constantly and struggled to even finish a moto in the first few years of competition. By 1969, however, they had completely transformed their program. With the RH69, Suzuki had the most advanced machine on the track, and its first World title with Sweden's Olle Petterson at the controls. In a mere four years, Suzuki had gone from laughing stock to World Champion. During these remarkable years, Suzuki put a motocross machine into production, introducing the TM 250 and then the TM 400. However, the production racebikes were poor performers. In the early seventies, Suzuki ads touted the TM's as being direct descendants of the Factory racers of Geboers and DeCoster, while in actuality they shared not a part in common. The RH's were everything the production TM's were not: fast, light and built to win. If someone bought a TM400 expecting to get The Man's race machine, they were in for a rude (and often painful) awakening. Then in 1976, following the introduction of the all new RM series, Suzuki dropped a bomb on the motocross establishment with their works replica RM250A and RM370A. They looked to be nearly exact copies of the factory RH race bikes and a quantum leap ahead of the unloved TM's they replaced. With the introduction of the new RM's, Suzuki was poised to create a motocross dynasty that would dominate late seventies American motocross. With the new RM370A, Suzuki had set out to build a no compromise production racer. Gone was the heavy and flex prone carbon steel frame from the TM400 Cyclone, to be replaced with a genuine chrome-moly steel chassis like the Factory racers. The suspension on the RM was all-new as well and featured massive long-travel units front and rear. The motor was a trick "power-reed" design that stole the case-reed technology right off Roger's RN370 and mated it to a slick shifting five speed transmission. The new RM was pure performance, plain and simple. The heart of the new RM370A was its undersquare 77 x 80mm 372cc mill. The air-cooled two-stroke single featured a 6.9:1 compression ratio, upswept works style "through" pipe and Suzuki's maintenance free PEI (Pointless Electronic Ignition) system. While the basic motor design was fairly conventional for the time, its intake system was unique to the RM. In 1976, Suzuki introduced an innovative semi-case-reed intake design they dubbed "Power Reed". The Power Reed consisted of a hybrid combination of the traditional piston-port and case-reed intakes into one cylinder. On the RM370, there were actually two separate intake tracts, one above the other. The theory behind the Power Reed was to combine the excellent top-end power flow characteristics of an unobstructed piston-port intake, with the low-end response and superior torque of a reed-valve intake. By providing both intakes in one design, Suzuki hoped to achieve the best of both worlds-low-end grunt and top-end power. On the track, the RM370's Power Reed motor produced a very "Maico" style of power. This meant a very tractable flow of low-to-mid-torque that was easy to get hooked up and well suited to Open class racing. Off idle, the RM picked up quickly and pulled strongly into a strong midrange blast. Past the midrange hit, the RM slowly tapered off as it approached the rev limiter. At 38.50 horsepower, the RM370 had the power to run with the best in the class in '76. It preferred to be lugged and torqued around the track, instead of being revved like a big 250. While its output was a shade less that the Maico 450, its delivery was very similar. With the introduction of the RM line, Suzuki finally had a competitive production racer. After a decade of futility, Suzuki was no longer the door mat of the motocross world. The RM370A immediately erased the memory of the infamous TM400 Cyclone and its pitiful performance. It truly was a production replica of DeCoster's works bike and closer than any Suzuki fan had a right to hope for. The RM's would prove to be the body blow that would finally put the nail in the Europeans coffins. What Honda had started with the Elsinore, Suzuki would finish with the RM's, On offer here is a great example of the 1976 RM370A. In good overall cosmetic condition with only a few scratches and minor scuffs to engine cases and frame, and a small tear in the seat cover. Mechanically the bike is great with good responsive power, good brakes and suspension. With fresh paint on the tank, fresh tires and a fresh service, this icon of 1970s motocross is ready to race in the next AHRMA event.