1968 Suzuki 80cc scrambler

Truthfully, I don't remember the exact year or model of my second bike. It was not too close to the 1969 TS-125 Stinger pictured above, that's for certain. Where the Stinger was a 125cc twin, mine was an 80cc single. However, it did have a "lay-down" engine like the Stinger, and the overall styling was very similar. It was probably a '66 to '68 model, 'cause it was well used when I got it, in 1970. I clearly remember that it had a radially-finned cylinder head, though try as I might I can find no evidence that Suzuki ever used such.

The reason I don't remember the bike all that well, I reckon, is that it was a miserable motorcycle. You tend to block out bad memories, you know? It was broke down more often than running, and the transmission was extremely persnickety. But 'bad memory' is relative when it comes to bikes! "The worst day I've ever had on a motorcycle was better than the best day I've ever had at work." I did have fun on the Suzi.. when it ran. It was a good deal faster than the M-50, and that went a long way towards making up for it's faults! But I've never owned another Suzuki, and don't have much use for the marque to this day.

Dec' 2006 Addendum- OK, it was really botherin' me that I couldn't remember this bike's specifics. So after a little research (Google is your friend!), I've come to the conclusion that what I had was not an 80 after all, but a 100! This specific one..

..in fact, a 1969 model Wolf 100.

It's a bit hard for me to believe that I've misremembered a 100cc bike as an 80 all these years, mind you. But 'tis the only thing that fits, for the only sure-'nough 80cc models Suzuki produced during that time frame were these..

..in 1968. Being a high-piped scrambler, the K11P is the most similar to my bike. But it lacks the 'lay-down' engine, and that is the one key feature that I remember about my bike. There is no mistake about that! Ergo, I must have had the 100cc Wolf, since it's engine matches my recollection of it's layout to a T.

As hard as it is for me to accept that my memory of the bike was that far off, I can see how it could've happened.. The Suzi had been stripped when I got it; all lighting had been removed, ditto the sidecovers, and it sported aftermarket plastic fenders. In any case, this 'Your 2nd bike was really a 100' theory is the only scenario that fits all the "facts". If the guy he bought it from said it was an 80, my brother would've never known the difference, since as a 2-stroke is was beneath his disdain.

And me? Li'l dumass that I was, if J said 'twas an 80, then I'd have never questioned it. Bit odd that I would've never noticed the tiny "100cc" that was no doubt cast into the cylinder somewhere. Perhaps it was behind the pipe, or maybe I just never noticed. I wasn't really in love with this bike at the time. Even at 12 or 13, bikes had already become something of an appliance, for me.

Perhaps I've outgrown that, for I really, really, really wish I could step into the cartoon with Theodore and Sherman, fire up The WayBack Machine, and go take a ride on that little bike!

BTW, here's a better photo of the 1969 model 125cc Stinger;

What a cool little bike. Being a 15 HP twin, I'm sure it was indeed a little screamer. Heck, if'n I had a WayBack Machine, I'd pop on back to '69 and BUY me one o' these li'l squirts!