SUZUKI TS400 APACHE
Scoop has been scalped!
Do you believe in fate? Are coincidences real or imaginary? Are parts of our lives preordained?
I only ask because occasionally, just occasionally, the planets all seem to align and things mysteriously work in our favour. Just before I went on holiday (go on Bertie have another dig, ho-ho) I was idly perusing Facebook when, out of the blue, I chanced upon someone selling a TS400. This is indeed a rare situation as those that own Suzuki Apaches generally don’t tend to move them on, or if they do it’s only the dog rough ones that are sold.
The bike was located in Georgia, USA, and had been the subject of recent full-on cosmetic restoration… so far, so good. Trying really hard not to show too much enthusiasm, I messaged the seller and asked the usual pertinent and obvious questions along with a few more oblique
ones in the hope that I might be able to spot any glaring issues, oversights and/or omissions. Internet images tend to flatter any bike and it’s all too easy to get carried away. Even better, the Apache was from the second year of manufacture so it worked out to be the K model, i.e., one of the examples I’d decided I wanted.
Everything seemed to check out and the only wild card was the bike’s colour, which although better than just ok didn’t seem to tie up with my recently acquired parts book. The decals were definitely from the J model, but the colour was too wrong and yet it did look vaguely familiar. Some in-depth internet digging revealed that some TS185 Sierras had been available in a similar shade of blue with white graphics which is why I half recognised the style. Some more questions to the seller revealed that he knew exactly what model of bike he had, but didn’t like the original Coronado Blue paint and orange decals so went for the aforementioned set up. He’d also opted to use the J model’s side-panel badges, and to good effect in my opinion. The earlier badge is much more grandiose than the correct K model’s rather shy emblems. To top it all the seller also confirmed the paintwork had been done by Jeff Weier at moman111. Just Google it to see the level at which the guy works.
So, safe in the knowledge that I wasn’t looking at a rough and ready paint job from Randy’s Roadside Resprays it was time to have a closer look at the bike, courtesy of the large number of detailed images I was sent. A fair number of OEM gothic ‘S’ headed bolts suggested the bike had been restored sympathetically; there were anti-vibration grommets in the key areas viewable; the engine cases sported crosshead JIS screws and not Allen bolts; and all the zincing looked to be correct. As pointed out in a long exchange via Messenger, the headlight bowl was in need of re-chroming, the fork seals had decided to leak post re-build, and there were some assembly chips to the black paint on the engine, but in the great scheme of things nothing too bad or potentially insurmountable. Crucially, the important/ expensive hard to find stuff was all present and correct. The exhaust system appeared to be complete and in decent condition along with its often lost or damaged lower guard, which act as an impromptu bash plate given the low-slung exhaust.
Even the steering damper, unique to the J and K models, was on the bike and even if it needed replating at least it was present and correct.
The indicated mileage of 4419 was believed to be correct and this would tally with the seller’s comments that the engine sounded so fresh and sweet he hadn’t the heart to rip it apart. This is something I was going to have to take as a given, but at least I knew, if it all went noisily tits up, I could still get engine parts for an Apache. What I probably wouldn’t find any time soon were items such as the chromed exhaust heat shield, gauges or the starter lever which actually operates the
decompressor. Doubtless some sharp-eyed CMM readers will have spotted the bike is missing its indicators, but the Apache as found didn’t come with any. This is not a show stopper and many period Japanese trail bikes sold in America were offered sans blinkers, which were sold as an optional extra. You’ll also note the bike has no rear light unit, but fret ye not as it’s in a box, just not fitted for fear of damaging it during storage. All things considered I reckon the bike has been restored by a home mechanic who cares about what they do and has an eye for detail. When you see someone has either bought a new clutch cable guide wire (mounted on the right-hand side of the cylinder head) or had the original replated, I reckon it’s a good indicator of their attention to detail and passion for the subject matter.
All very reassuring so far, but I’m still buying a bike on the other side of the pond from someone I don’t know so there’s a big potential risk involved,unless
Lady Luck is on your side, which she was. My good mate Simon Neil happens to live in Tennessee not far from the state line, so I was wondering if he might be able to have a peak at the TS400, which was just south of Atlanta.
A quick phone call on a Friday revealed that not only was the bike nearish to hand, but that he would be virtually driving past the seller’s front door on the Saturday evening on his way to a soccer match. See what I mean about preordained destiny? How lucky was that? Long story short, Simon went over the bike, talked to the owner, heard the engine running and reported back that it was easily worth the asking price, given the rarity of the bike and the restoration work carried out. So that sounds like a done deal and, hopefully, by the time this instalment is on sale ‘my’ Suzuki TS400 Apache will be making its way across the Atlantic bound for a new life on the western fringes of East Anglia. Here’s hoping the progress is hitch free and the bike lives up to expectations.