| November 5, 2023
Cycle News Archives
COLUMN
Gaucho. Honcho. Stinger. Hustler. Sierra. Sebring. But Ah, the Apache
By Kent Taylor
In the 1970s, it seems as if U.S. Suzuki must’ve thought that every motorcycle should have a name. We say this because as a matter of fact, every Suzuki motorcycle did have a name! From the Trailhopper 50cc to the mighty, liquid-cooled GT 750 Le Mans, Suzuki blessed each motorcycle in their lineup with a moniker that would not only help distinguish, for example, the five-speed TS 125 Duster from the eight-speed TC 125 Prospector, it would also seduce the buyer into believing that under the skin of their workaday average American selves lurked the spirit of a Savage (TS 250).
In the enduro world (long before the term dual-purpose had been coined), the alpha male on Suzuki showroom floors was the 400cc two-stroke single, dubbed the Apache. The TS 400 was one of the last of the big ring-a-ding singles, which were slowly surrendering the trails to the quieter, more ecologically friendly four-stroke singles. It would disappear from the lineup in 1977, and most of the TS lineup would follow it into the braap heap soon after.
Street bike or dirt bike? The 1975 Suzuki Apache was a nice idea, but…
Like the famous Apache medicine man and fighter by the name of Geronimo, the Suzuki TS 400 was certainly enigmatic. Geronimo spent his years fighting the encroaching presence of the white man, even though he also claimed to be something of a soothsayer. Apparently, even knowing that the white man was going to win in the end wasn’t going to deter Geronimo from putting up a good fight.
The Suzuki Apache, at least according to Cycle News, seemed to be fighting its own battle within. Was it a street bike that could be taken off-road? Or a dirt bike that could be ridden on the street?
“Physically, it is as big as any 350-500cc street bike,” wrote tester Lane Campbell. If the reader were looking for more reasons to keep the TS 400 on the pavement, Campbell added that the bike was “long, tall and bulky between the knees,” the kind of description that would make modern-day suitors rapidly swipe left!
The Cycle News’ staff found the big Suzuki overweight, and they weren’t shy in saying as much. They found the bike’s 296 pounds unacceptable (today’s Suzuki DRZ-400 tips the scales at 317 pounds!). “It was by far the heaviest thing we had taken out into the dirt since fooling around with TR5-T Triumph,” Campbell stated. “We thrashed it around second and third gear trails, chased our buddies’ nose-tail like sex-crazed ground squirrels, charged the big clay bluffs, played picky-picky trials riders in spots, really trying to adjust to this monster…”
The big Suzuki failed nearly every test that the staffers put it through. “Nose heaviness” and a rear-end that kicked badly apparently made riding the bike a chore—and a scary one at that, Campbell writing that “the bike seemed to be constantly conspiring to toss the rider over the bars.” By the CN account, the Apache needed more than new shocks or a fork kit; anything short of an exorcist wouldn’t be able to drive the demons out of this machine.
The sniping continues throughout the test: weak brakes, dirt/street tires that have too much knobby-like tread for the street but not enough for the dirt. The Suzuki had a “lumpy” idle and the ground clearance was “nothing to shout about.” Its top speed of 65-70 mph led the staff to conclude the big Suzuki was “short-winded” and needed a larger carburetor to take advantage of the 400cc powerplant.
Our review of the 1975 Suzuki Apache wasn’t a favorable one.
Nary a positive thought was “thunk” about this two-smoker. Near the end of the article, Campbell did say that, while the Suzuki’s cumbersomeness won’t allow it to “duck and weave all that quickly on a tight trail,” the rider should fear not, for the 400 “is heavy enough to demolish all but the more mature trees in its path.”
The Apache’s lumbering personality stood in stark contrast to that of its evil cousin, the TM 400 Cyclone. On the motocross track, the pipey Cyclone developed a reputation for being difficult to ride, thanks to a powerband that operated much like a stick of dynamite—sizzle, sizzle, WHAM!
If the Apache had any sort of firecracker hidden within its powerband, it wasn’t discovered during this test. Heavy and slow, unfit for street or dirt, the Suzuki TS 400 Apache seemed to be something of a dud in every imaginable way. CN
