It’s highly unlikely that the negative feedback on the TM400 didn’t get back to Japan, yet that didn’t prevent the Hamamatsu boys from launching a trail bike based heavily around the flawed concept that was the Cyclone. Sometime in 1970 the decision was made to launch a tamed version of the TM400 for use by the general public in response to Yamaha’s RT1 360 trail bike that had debuted that year. Suzuki was effectively one model year behind arch rivals Yamaha, having launched its very capable TS250 a year after Yamaha’s ground-breaking 250 DT1; therefore the resultant TS400 was always going to happen. Named the Suzuki TS400 Apache, the big two-stroke single would remain on the firm’s sales lists for just six years before being axed in the industry-wide response to two-strokes and environmental impact.
The initial 1972 J model, like every subsequent iteration, ran what was essentially a TM400 bottom end with a supposedly detuned barrel and, mercifully, a revised and significantly more userfriendly electronic ignition setup The bike’s chassis was loosely based around the motocrosser but, thankfully, with strengthening and reinforcements in strategic areas. Revised coils facilitated a lighting kit and, unusually for a Japanese trail bike of the period, the system ran on 12 volts rather than the usual six. Looking at the TS400J now, it’s tempting to say it was something of a parts bin special with an amazingly shallow headlamp pinched from any number of smaller road bikes in the range and a pair of all-steel forks that looked suspiciously like they were borrowed from the TS250. Due to the harmonics of the large motor a short ‘up-and-over’ exhaust as per the 250 was never going to be viable so the Apache was obliged to use a low slung ‘down and-up’ system similar to the Cyclone’s but this time with noise-reducing baffling The initial response from dealers and customers was overwhelmingly positive, and nothing like the reactions to the Cyclone The bike won fans for its easy-going nature, huge slice of creamy torque and a decent turn of speed. Period reports liken it to a four-stroke in its power delivery and most tests suggest the TS400 was probably the best dual-purpose trail bike on the market at the time.
In 1973 the K model was brought more into line with series production and the old lower steel fork sliders were swapped out for lighter alloy units. A lockable filler cap was added and the headlight defaulted to the same as those used on a wide range of the then popular GT twins. Cynics might very well suggest that the outgoing J model had been something of a toe in the water along with a tentative production run that used up odds and sods Suzuki happened to have lying around but, having shifted some 19,000 J models, it was obviously a viable concept. Other than a few tweaks, plus the usual cosmetic changes, the K was similar to the older model but Suzuki were latterly stung into action and didn’t necessarily go off in the right direction.
The J and K were generally well received other than a strange foible when ridden hard on unstable surfaces. Both bikes had been equipped with 19-inch front wheels which were fine on metalled roads but tended to “wash out” on sand or loose stones. Perhaps already wary following the issues with the wayward TM400, Suzuki chose to embark on a root and branch revision of the bike The successive L model of 1975 is probably best viewed as an interim format as it shared the crankcases with the J and K versions but ran a new chassis and top end. Although the frame’s various geometries remained unchanged, the build moved from single to twin downtubes. In response to perceived failings, the front wheel’s diameter went up two inches to 21 This necessitated a revised cylinder that moved the exhaust port from the lefthand side to the centre and, of course, a different exhaust which ran more baffling to keep the environmentalist...
The initial 1972 J model, like every subsequent iteration, ran what was essentially a TM400 bottom end with a supposedly detuned barrel and, mercifully, a revised and significantly more userfriendly electronic ignition setup The bike’s chassis was loosely based around the motocrosser but, thankfully, with strengthening and reinforcements in strategic areas. Revised coils facilitated a lighting kit and, unusually for a Japanese trail bike of the period, the system ran on 12 volts rather than the usual six. Looking at the TS400J now, it’s tempting to say it was something of a parts bin special with an amazingly shallow headlamp pinched from any number of smaller road bikes in the range and a pair of all-steel forks that looked suspiciously like they were borrowed from the TS250. Due to the harmonics of the large motor a short ‘up-and-over’ exhaust as per the 250 was never going to be viable so the Apache was obliged to use a low slung ‘down and-up’ system similar to the Cyclone’s but this time with noise-reducing baffling The initial response from dealers and customers was overwhelmingly positive, and nothing like the reactions to the Cyclone The bike won fans for its easy-going nature, huge slice of creamy torque and a decent turn of speed. Period reports liken it to a four-stroke in its power delivery and most tests suggest the TS400 was probably the best dual-purpose trail bike on the market at the time.
In 1973 the K model was brought more into line with series production and the old lower steel fork sliders were swapped out for lighter alloy units. A lockable filler cap was added and the headlight defaulted to the same as those used on a wide range of the then popular GT twins. Cynics might very well suggest that the outgoing J model had been something of a toe in the water along with a tentative production run that used up odds and sods Suzuki happened to have lying around but, having shifted some 19,000 J models, it was obviously a viable concept. Other than a few tweaks, plus the usual cosmetic changes, the K was similar to the older model but Suzuki were latterly stung into action and didn’t necessarily go off in the right direction.
The J and K were generally well received other than a strange foible when ridden hard on unstable surfaces. Both bikes had been equipped with 19-inch front wheels which were fine on metalled roads but tended to “wash out” on sand or loose stones. Perhaps already wary following the issues with the wayward TM400, Suzuki chose to embark on a root and branch revision of the bike The successive L model of 1975 is probably best viewed as an interim format as it shared the crankcases with the J and K versions but ran a new chassis and top end. Although the frame’s various geometries remained unchanged, the build moved from single to twin downtubes. In response to perceived failings, the front wheel’s diameter went up two inches to 21 This necessitated a revised cylinder that moved the exhaust port from the lefthand side to the centre and, of course, a different exhaust which ran more baffling to keep the environmentalist...
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Old Bike Mart (Digital) - 1 Issue, October 2019