Issue link: http://trailridermagazine.uberflip.com/i/962346
Thorwaldson when he signed a contract to race the TM400s in the desert for the Suzuki factory. Thor quickly realized that he was going to splat- ter himself all over the landscape with the stock chassis, so Suzuki had a half-dozen frames made. All of a sudden TM400s were winning races! No wonder. The frame is a work of art and the dry weight of the bike is a few pounds over the 200 mark. Superb! To top things off, this par cular bike had the wide-ra o TS gearbox installed, which gave the machine a decent low gear and an eye-watering fi h gear. Very li le haggling was done over the transac- ons. I laid two $100 bills down and the guy scooped them up. Then the fun part started: He gave me several boxes of spares and parts: rings, brakes, crank pins, special tools, and stock forks—all sorts of goodies. A er ge ng the "new" bikes back home, I washed them up and started the sa sfying pro- cess of taking the carbs apart, s cking in a new plug and, eventually, ge ng them fired up. The two bikes then took their place out on the pa o, wai ng for the me when I would detail them out perfectly. According to my wife, that would take place shortly a er the first snow- ball-throwing contest in hell. You would think that would sa sfy the Vin- tage Itch. Nope. The very next week I was scanning the ads once again, looking for more old relics. My wife saw where it was heading, and insisted that I seek help. Her words were something like: "You are com- pletely out of control! Before you know it, this house will once again be turned into a dirt bike junkyard. I made an appointment for you tomorrow with Dr. Szylagyi. Three o'clock sharp. Be there or I'm running off to join the circus." The doctor was a strange-looking sort: tall, with red hair and a largish nose. Somehow, he looked vaguely familiar. But he got right to the point: "Your wife says you're preoccupied with vintage things. Old things. She says that it has become unhealthy." "Nonsense! By the way, is that watch you're wearing one of those original Casio calculator watches that came out about 40 years ago?" The doctor beamed. "Why, yes! I've had it since 1974. It's never missed a beat. Quite a beauty, isn't it?" I was impressed. "Yes. It has simple styling, but rugged good looks. I think the new watches are far too gimmicky. And I couldn't help but no ce that you have a lava lamp over there in the cor- ner. Boy that sure brings back some memories." Dr. Szylagyi smiled. "It is quite unique, in a bar- baric '60s kind of way. Now, back to your prob- lem..." "Problem? I don't have any problem. But I see that the '65 Mustang you have out in the park- ing lot has a bad oil leak. Is that yours?" "Yes. I bought it at an auc on about ten years ago, and it's literally doubled in value since then. You ought to see the looks I get when I drive around town. About that oil leak?" "Oh, that. No big deal. Get underneath there and ghten up the oil pan bolts. The gasket tends to harden and shrink with age. More o en that not, you can just ghten it up and cure the problem. If that fails, just slap on a new gasket." The good doctor looked relieved. "Wonderful! Now, let's get back to you.. *** My wife looked up from her latest copy of Gold- en Retriever News. "So, how did it go with the doctor?" "Great! We hit it off really well. In fact, he's go- ing to stop over here in an hour or so. "For more therapy?" "Uhh, no, not exactly. You see, he sort of wants to buy that CZ enduro. I figure I can make a cou- ple of hundred bucks profit out of the deal, and if I teach him how to ride, he'll knock 500 bucks off the Mustang I'm going to buy from him. Isn't that great, honey? I'm cured!"