The Suzuki PE thread

175's, 250's, 400's , lets see 'em please!!
I raced both a 175 and 250 back in the day, and have just picked up this 1980 PE 250T for VMX this year!
Always been a huge Suzuki fan, had a few RM.s as well , but thats for another thread, we'll keep this one to PE's

Here is my '77 250B a few months back when I bought it. Complete and original except for the front fender and front number plate. Tank has some dents and fading but it still has all the factory stickers in place so I will run it like it is. Speedo and odometer work and show 1600+ miles. Judging by the holes in each knob and lack of scrapes, it was ice raced by a previous owner. The last owner bought it in a package buy and knew nothing about it or the 75% complete '79 250N I got in the deal.


I have since rebuilt the engine and gear box,replaced the bars w/ a set of FLY vintage MX,replaced the throttle w/ a Motion Pro CR,replaced the side covers with new repro's,replaced the front fender with a Preston Petty Mudder, hung Progressive dual rate shocks on the back, installed Race Tech Gold Valve cartridge emulators and fork springs up front and then shod it w/ a set of Bridgestones: M203S front/M204S rear.
Been riding it @ some local trails and have to say that it is a damn fun bike to ride. I'm gonna race it in place of my '73 Tri TR5T in some regional HS's and enduros and in AHRMA CC this year.

I had a PE250. I don't think I ever worked on that bike. Never put a piston in it. Never put a chain on it. Just rode and rode and rode. Same with an IT175 I had, also 100% reliable.

Back in '78 I was able to buy my 1st new bike, a PE 250. Damn, I rode that bike a lot. Rode my 1st 2 enduros on it. I picked up this '82 175 for $400 and went through it, all new bearings, bushings, tires, chain and sprockets. The motor was fine, just the carb needed a new float needle. The greatest thing about it is that back then the seat height is low enough I can still flat foot it. And boy is it light!




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Time to start prepping the PE, first race not far away!
Thought I'd start on the chassis first, motor seems OK, so out with the swingarm, complete



and strip and inspect! Amazing how many bits there are!



Looks like it will only need the needle roller bearings to tighten everything up, they have a part number on them so I'll go seethe local bearing mob tomorrow. The brake backing plate is cracked, I'll get that welded up,to stop any further damage



Been trying to find a DeCarbon dealer to see if I can get a rebuild kit, but no luck so far, are these things even made any more?

Wow!!! Nice rides guys! There's a guy in NH that rebuilds pe's. Anyone know him? Bet he's got some sweet pics!

I had a 1982 PE 250.
Fast and forgiving...easy to ride fast and quite reliable and more tractable then a full on motocross.
A great woods bike with tons of usable power!
It was in no way like one of those street legal "enduro's"...it would eat 'em for lunch...easily.
I also had a 1972 Yammy DT250...nice dual purpose ride for a young buck...but in no way in the same class as the PE.
But then again the PE was not street legal.

This thread has me lookin' and thinkin'. Found this. Looks interesting but too far away for me.

I found this here in South Dakota, I talked to the guy and the bike runs and everything.

Aaron

http://sd.craigslist.org/mcy/3553809337.html

My 1980 PE 250, this is what it looked like when I bought it. I bought it from the original owner's brother who had pulled the engine to start the resto and lost interest.






After a winters worth of elbow grease it turned out pretty good. Great bike, super tough, I use it for Post Vintage Cross Country events.




Here it is after a mud race in Florida.

This should be good, had my 1980 175 for about 4 years after many years of no bikes. love the reed valve, rebuilt the thing twice now. know it inside and out, unfortunately it ate the piston in December idle screw tip broke off, of all things! had a awesome time with this bike. see if i can get a pic up, first time using forums.

The brake backing plate is cracked, I'll get that welded up,to stop any further damage

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oh yes sidetrack one please get another backing plate, that is done! should be some on ebay, i get a lot of stuff on there.

Aint she a bueat Clark!!

Picked this 80 400 at the scrap yard for $65.
Rigged the carb to try to start it and badaboom...cranked up and ran!
Goes like stink!
I have stripped all the black/orange paint off so it looks a lot better.
Going start on it soon for a restore.

Man, that's one heck of a find for $65. It looks like it's in pretty darn good overall shape, too. That's awesome.

Ya a 400 would go like stinko...hang on!
I wish I was young eneogh to ride one of these broncos.
Actually it is getting harder to find a place to ride 'em.
Places you could ride 'em back in the day are chained or fenced off due to liability reasons.....

Actually I think I could handle a 175...maybe the perfect size for tight woods...

Man i'd love a 400 but they are hard to come by here, and when they do 2k plus, even 250 are pricey.
as for tight woods i think they are are awesome i toss mine around easily, it only weighs 105kg/230 pounds
with six gears and 12 counter sprocket it's good for tight woods and the road.

That is the steal of the PE century right there!

Some awesome bikes there guys, loving it!
Mine has been reduced to this!




and a couple of boxes of bits!!



Slipped the forks apart


for some fresh seals


Now heres an old skool trick that you probably all know , but I'm telling you anyway!!
To get the damper rods out I needed to hold the inner but I didnt know what size it was, so out with the broomstick and knock it in!


Once I had it out I determined it was a 19 mm nut size si I fabbed up a tool for the other one and for reassembly


More tomorrow

hey sidetrack one looks like it's in good nick, have a good look around the top shocky mounts for cracks i found 4 all up, and sub frame section,
you doing a freshen up or rebuild? are they yamaha seals?

I've done exactly the same with the broomstick and tool.