Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128112
MT Racing 1979 Suzuki RM250N Restoration By KIT PALMER bo ut a year and a half ago , you m ight re c a ll a column I wrote about vintage motocross ra cing and the many aspects of the s po rt th at I enjoy, on e of th em; be ing able to purchase and usually restore a motorcycle that yo u a lways wanted but ne ve r got whe n you were a kid, or wheneve r. That m otorcycle for me was the 197 9 Su zuk i RM250N . I was jus t about to turn 18 wh e n th a t m aste rpiece with funn y fen de rs ap peared in the m ag a zin es a nd then the show ro o m floors. Unfo rtunate ly, th at was a lso abo ut the time that some... perso n ... cen ter -p unch e d m e on t h e tr ack, lea ving me with my foot po int ing in one d irection a nd my knee in th e oth e r. By th e time m y bro ken leg A Before: It's amazing what you can find at a garage sale. 46 JULY 11,2001 • cue • e was all mended and I was rea dy to race again , the 1980 model s were about to come out. So I wa ited . I ended up bu ying a 19 8 0 RMI25T , because I rea lly wasn 't big enough to handle a 250 ye t - I was a skinny ra il back then . St ill, that desire to own a '79 RM250N nev e r left m e. But mo re th an 20 ye a rs later , I fina lly fulfilled th at desire . When the vintage racing bug bit me a couple of yea rs ago , I knew my first purchase wou ld be t he ' 7 9 Suzuk i RM250N that I a lways wa nted, though m y first restoration project would be my 19 8 2 S u zu k i RM2 5 0Z tha t had spent the last 15 or so yea rs in my pa re n ts ' back yard . O nce that wa s don e, the search for the '79 RM began. I eventually found one at a ga rage sa le and purchased it for $400. It was ha m m ered , but inc red ibly orig ina l. It st ill had th e stock, square fende rs on it, the original seat cover (a lbe it torn to shreds) , side -panels, and shocks an d springs. The bike had obviously never been modified, just ridde n to death. It ba re ly ra n , a nd when I showed my friends what I had just purchased , they a ll laughed an d thought I was crazy, sa ying the bike was beat and ugly but, to me, it was bea utiful. I' ve d iscov ered that restoration projects go in ph ases . At first , you 're n e VIl' S pretty m uch all gung -ho and fired up about getting started on yo ur project. Th ings always seem to go we ll at first: The bike washes up nicely, th e p arts c ome o ff easily enoug h , yo u order a bun ch of "fun" little parts, but th ings alway s seem to st a ll ou t when it comes to t he bigg er not - so -f un st uff, like the cr a cked rims a nd bro ken s po kes , the c rac ked fra m e , the sa cked -o ut s us pen sion, the dente d up ex haust p ipe a n d t he b low n-ou t silencer, etc. This is when things us ually start boggi ng down , a nd other duties s tart tak ing precedent over you r restoration project, like putting out s nail killer in the garden. I was in t h is s ta ge wh en MT Ra c ing ' s Mike To lle came to my rescue. Wiseco 440/951-6600 (Piston, Rings, Gaskets) O'Neal Racing 818/998 -1049 (Handlebars and Grips) Wheel Works 714/ 530-6681 (Wheels, Spokes, Tire, Tubes) Terry Cable 760/244-9351 (Cables) Works Performance 818/7 0 l- lOI0 (Shocks) AC Powder Coating 909/509 -2880 (Motor, Frame, Hubs) CEET Racing 760/599-0115 (Seat Cover) MT Racing 909/353-1253 One da y, he ha p pen e d to ask m e how my restoration project was coming along, and I p retty much to ld him it wasn't. That's when Tolle offered to fin ish the pr oject fo r m e . You see , Tolle loves working o n b ikes . His ma in business is m od ifying modern MX bikes, such as the o ne featu red on page 40 in th is iss ue , bu t one of his passion s is res toring old MX bikes . Shortly thereafter, I visit ed Tolle's s ho p an d left him with fou r bo xes full of o ld RM pa rts . A few m onths later, he was done. And the b ike lo o ked awesome! I was shocked . "I rea lly ta ke pr ide in restoring o ld bikes ," Tolle says. "I like the his tory part of restori ng bikes. I try to emulate that tim e of era . I look t hr o ug h o ld magazines , st ud y the s pecs, and do 720 I Industrial Park Blvd.. Mentor, OH 44060 9800 Eton Ave., Chatsworth, CA 9131 1 12787 Nutwood Ave., Garden Grove, CA 92840 17376 Eucalyptus St., Hesperia. CA 92345 21045 Osborne St., Canoga Park, CA 91304 7505 Jurupa Ave. liD Riverside, CA92504 1220 Ube rty Way, Vista, CA 92083 7505 Jurupa Ave.. Suite C, Riverside, CA 92504