THE HISTORY BIT
In the UK, Suzuki (Gt Britain)
Limited first imported and assembled machines between
1963 and 1965 from spare AMC premises at the rear of the James factory in Gough St, Birmingham. Although no actual trials machine was offered by Suzuki at the time, the B105 Bearcat was available in the States from 1966 and rapidly evolved into the TC and TS100S of the early 1970s.
The Bearcat sported an upswept exhaust, knobbly tyres, scrambles-style front mudguard and high bars. It also featured a piston-ported 120cc 2-stroke engine, with 4-speed gearbox, posi-force lubrication, and twin rear sprockets to allow relatively simple switching from tarmac to trail.
In 1968 the KT 120 Trailcat appeared, with a new three-speed gearbox and an all-new Hi-lo final drive using a heel lever above the gearbox sprocket. This gave the bike instant trail or highway ratios, though there were some misgivings about the three-speed gearbox.
In 1969 the Trailcat TC120 appeared with a similar drivetrain (three speeds with Hi-lo final drive gearbox) but revised styling and a dual seat, along the lines of its bigger brother, the T125 Stinger twin. In 1970 the TC120II appeared, with marginal differences to last year’s model – slimmer tank, fork brace and black exhaust.
Then in 1970 the TC90 appeared, with a new frame and revised styling but, most importantly, a new discvalve ported engine with
four-speed gearbox plus the Hi-lo final drive. The rear rack remained, with a shorter seat, but the disc valve engine plus more ratios in the gearbox improved the performance.
In 1973 the engine was upped in size to 100cc and sold as two versions: the TC used the four-speed and Hi-lo transfer gearbox; and the TS which now received a more street scrambler look, with a five-speed gearbox (without the Hi-lo). Both models featured dual seats.