25 Years Ago September, 1975
25 YEARS AGO SEPTEMBER, 1975
ROUNDUP
Can-Am’s “ultra-potent” 125 MX2 was pictured full frame on this month’s cover. “Once you get into third gear,” testers wrote of the Bombardier-built, rotary-valve two-stroke, “it’ll eat anything short of a full-blown 250.” • Buried within the pages, however, was the ultimately more significant debut of Suzuki’s RM125. Powered by a beefier version of the previous TM125’s two-stroke Single, the RM brought to the table an entirely new chassis with laid-down rear shocks. Raved editors: “Their performance simply cannot be faulted. They absorb, dampen and do not fade. More could not be asked.”
• “Now available nationwide!” crowed a quarter-page advertisement for Dunstall power products. Having migrated from England to California, designer Paul Dunstall was hawking his now-famous cafe-racer bits for Honda’s popular four-cylinder CB series, among other manufacturers’ models. The full-boat setup, including fiberglass fairing, seaf/tank unit, sidecovers, exhaust system, clip-ons and rearsets, could be had for about $700. Editor-in-Chief David Edwards has just such a combination in storage and ready for restoration.
• And in the classifieds, this: “1975 Yamaha YZM250 Monoshock. Never raced, ridden only in road test for September, 1974, issue of Cycle World. $1800 plus freight to your destination. Contact Joe Parkhurst.” What’s the story? The bike was not yet available in the U.S., so Publisher Parkhurst purchased a Canadian model. The bike is currently on display at the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum located on AMA grounds in Pickerington, Ohio. -Matthew Miles
