How A Trailblazing Motocross Bike Became Infamous
It is somewhat telling of the troubled legacy of a motorcycle that being marketed as having “pointless electronic ignition” is the least of its problems.
Suzuki is a very well-known name in motorbike circles, producing a wide variety of bikes from entry-level models perfect for practice in a
motorcycle driving school to more famous and acclaimed superbikes such as the legendary
Hayabusa.
However, no successful manufacturer has achieved perfection every time, and nowhere is this more evident than their trailblazing attempt to bring motocross and trail biking to the average rider, which ended up garnering the nickname “widowmaker”.
The bike in question was the
Suzuki TM400 Cyclone, initially launched in 1971 in beautiful orange with a lavish ceremony hosted by a post-Star Trek but pre-TekWar William Shatner, features such as “pointless electronic ignition” and a promise that it has been built from the ground up as a dirt bike for everyone.
The problem was power and weight, or more specifically that the chassis and suspension could not handle the power it was given.
The result, one that typically emerged as soon as you take the Cyclone into what is supposed to be its home turf of bumpy terrain, dirt and gravel, was sudden, dangerous surges of torque once the bike is out of low rev ranges.
The result has often been described as akin to the kick of a mechanical bull, delivering power at the absolute worst times. It was the complete opposite of the experience most riders are looking for.
It sold amazingly well initially, bolstered by being ahead of the curve, capitalising on the huge popularity of motocross in the early 1970s and being astonishingly cheap for the power it had.
However, once the word spread, an entire cottage industry emerged trying to fix the bike’s many problems, leading to a sharp decline in sales before the model was discontinued in 1975.
