DKW RT 125

Although the focus of Tiddlerosis is on models ranging from 1955 through 1975, the little DKW 125 of the Thirties deserves special mention. Dampf Kraft Wagen was founded in Germany in 1916 and began building small, two-stroke motorcycles in the '20's. DKW was the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer in the '30's. After several mergers with Audi, Auto Union, and Benz, DKW joined VW in '64 and the brand name was finally phased out at the end of 1966.

Why do we at Tiddlerosis give a Super Rat's ass about this ancient tiddler? The design of the DKW 125cc two-stroke engine became a significant part of war reparations paid to Allied countries after WWII. All the U. S.-built Harley two-strokes, from the first 1948 Hummer to the last 1966 Bobcat owe their heritage to the DKW RT 125. Would there ever have been a line of Yamaha motorcycles without the RT 125? We shall never know if the inspiration could have come from elsewhere anyway, but we do know that the DKW 125 was the direct predecessor of the first Yamaha, just as with the H-D tiddlers. Although never sold in high numbers in America, the BSA Bantam was yet another model founded upon the DKW tiddler. Yes, I know that Japan was not exactly in on the reparations deal, but Yamaha's 125cc YA-1 was a direct copy of the DKW design.

With their large wheels, triangulated, hard-tail frames, teardrop gas tanks, low handlebars, and sprung, solo saddles, there is no mistaking the similarities of the models by DKW, BSA, Yamaha, and Harley-Davidson described here. There was even a Russian version, the name of which I cannot even pronounce, and MZ continued production of the design later than the other brands. I cannot be sure of the model year of the black RT 125 pictured above. It has been designated as a 1950 model by one source and a 1952-58 model by another. If someone knows the correct year, you can add a comment and I shall update the post. You might accurately call the DKW RT 125 the true founding father of Tiddlerosis!

See Also: The H-D Hummer Chart
The DKW EMU Gallery
Yamaha YA-1 at Wikipedia
BSA Bantam at Wikipedia
DKW RT 125 at Wikipedia

Honda Sport 50

I have to pay homage to the little tiddler that I have wished for the most often, and ridden a number of times, but never owned. This is the later version of the Super Sport Cub that I clobbered with my Rotary Jet 80 at wide-open throttle, right in the chain guard, wearing nothing more than a pudding-bowl helmet, a t-shirt, shorts, and sneakers without socks! Slap that horrific image right out of your head! Yes, it hurt, but we both were released from the emergency room within a few hours. There were miraculously no broken bones, but we used up the hospital's entire monthly allotment of Mercurochrome and bandages. Hiyo, Silver! Let's go back to those innocent days of yesteryear!

The first motorcycle I rode was a 1960 Harley-Davidson Super 10 and the second was a Benly Touring 150. The third was the very same red and cream, three-speed Super Sport 50 that I clobbered with my Yamaha 80. I lived to ride a few other Sport 50's in the mid-Sixties, too. What impressed me from the moment I saw that first Super Sport was that this was, indeed, a tiny motorcycle! There was nothing scooter about it. You swung your leg over the seat like a man should and you made sure it was in neutral and then kick-started the little jewel, just as if it was a H-D Sportster that your cat could kickstart! The handgrips were of small diameter, a quality that did not say Sportster like the big fat ones on the Super 10 did. The engine was tiny, quiet, and felt a lot stronger than the one with only one-half horsepower less than that of the step-through Cub. There was no substitute for cubic inches, but if you couldn't have those, Japanese technology, four gears, and a clutch went a long way toward making you feel like a real man. Just don't look too closely at the pressed steel frame and leading link front suspension. I remember like it was yesterday when my dad somewhat mysteriously asked me if I liked the little Honda or the little Yamaha better. My immediate reply had a lot to do with a steel front fender, a cubic inch, telescopic forks, and larger hand grips!

You can examine the detailed differences between the Sport 50's in the Scrambler Chart. The model was introduced in 1960 with a cream tank and side panels, low handlebars, a 3/4-length seat, and a three-speed transmission, albeit with a manual clutch, unlike its more numerous brothers. Through the years the model was available, the three-speeds increased to four, the seat got a little longer, the tank received body-color paint and chrome side panels, the side panels became body-colored, and the handlebars got a little higher. The strangest anachronism was in the name: the later, four-speed models were call Sport, but the earlier, three-speed models were called Super Sport! One little tidbit you may not have surmised is that the only (regular motorcycle) Honda model aside from this one with an OHV engine was the short-lived Honda 90 (CA-200) of 1963-66, making the Super Sport and Sport 50 by far the longest running, highest production model, non-OHC Honda motorcycle ever!

This is exactly what has made me daydream about having one of these little beasties in my garage, or even in my living room, for decades. Although I have displayed a version in black, a very common color for this model, I personally prefer the other three colors a little more. Although these were produced in black, red, white, and blue up until 1968, the final year, when only red and black were built, red and black were far more common than blue or white. I think the reason I like the lighter colors is that they offer contrast to the standard black parts, showing off the fact that this is a tiny motorcycle. I like the look of the black tires, hand grips, and seat contrasting with the painted motorcycle parts. I want to say I am riding the real thing, baby! The Lone Ranger knew to approach Silver from the left side. Swing your leg over that saddle like a real man. We don't need no stinking electric starters! You aren't coordinated enough to start rolling smoothly with a clutch and manual transmission? What are you, a wuss?

See Also: My First Motorcycle
The Honda Scrambler Chart

Suzuki X-6 Hustler

When I recently set up a poll question asking what your favorite classic 250 is, the Suzi X-6 came in second. My old favorite, the CL-72, came in first by one vote, but that model has already been covered extensively at Tiddlerosis. I was quite surprised that the H-D Sprint received no votes, but I featured it anyway, since it was a distinctive model in its day, although some might say that it was distinctive in an unfortunately negative manner. It was certainly no CL-72, or Diana, or Metralla!

I have a number of photos on hand of the X-6, but I chose this one to display because the blue sky coloring is so perfect. Although I have larger photos of other Hustlers, some are of the scrambler version and some show non-stock parts. As far as I can tell, this example is just as they rolled off the showroom floor. The model was officially sold in the U. S. as the X-6 Hustler in '66-68. This one is a 1967. The Hustler name came from the U. S. publicity department. The model was called Super Six in European markets. The Hustler name continued in the U. S. on later Suzuki 250 twins at least through 1970, and maybe later. The model was called a GT 250 in '73, but I am not sure about 1971-2.

Suzuki marketed a 250cc two-stroke twin in the U. S. from virtually the beginning of the brand's entrance into America. The 1963-65 models were relatively klunky with pressed-steel frames, full-coverage fenders, enclosed shocks, four-speed transmissions, premix fuel systems, 21 hp, 17-inch wheels, and the trademark flat-bottomed headlamp housing. The sporty, five-speed YDS-2's and '3's were giving them a hard time.

Suzuki made their first indelible mark on the American psyche with the introduction of the world's first six-speed motorcycle. The X-6 featured a double-downtube frame, 29 horsepower, chrome fenders, uncovered springs, oil injection, and a 14-second quarter-mile. The chrome fenders were changed to silver with a single stripe down the center that matched the gas tank color in 1967, as the photo above shows.

There are a number of styling details of which I am not sure at this time, mostly because I have never been that much of a Suzi fan, so I don't have as many Sixties brochures as I do of some of the other Japanese brands. I am sure that the first year (1966) had chrome fenders, as did the later '69-'70 versions, but I am unsure of the 1968. My best guess is that it had the silver fenders. Even the 1964 T-10 sports model had a slim, chrome front fender, but I don't have any photos to verify if there was a smooth styling transition between this model and the '66 X-6. The later Hustlers of 1969 and '70 produced 32 horsepower, yet the brochure quotes only a 15.3 1/4-mile. I think all the Hustlers had 18-inch wheels, but the T-10 had 17's. The changes to the scramblers were held to a minimum with cross-brace bars and upswept pipes, one on each side.

The X-6 brought real pizzaz to the Suzuki name. The machines were flashy, stylish, and fast, and the battle with Yamaha for 250 two-stroke domination had only just begun. Generally speaking, Yamaha usually won on the racetrack, if not the showroom. With 20/20 hindsight, my best guess is that the earliest Yamahas were more common than the early Suzis, then the X-6 brought some serious sales to Suzuki for a few years, only to be eclipsed again by the legendary RD-350. I also bet that the early X-6's are more desirable to collectors than the '69-'70 models. The Morro Green and Mesa Orange shades of the later models offset whatever styling gains they had made with separate instruments and chrome fenders. Most of the tiddlers have always looked best in bright, primary colors, even with single instrument nacelles, chrome-sided gas tanks, and silver fenders. Some of the juiciest nostalgia seems to have rubbed off of many or our favorite tiddlers as they entered the styling trends of the Seventies. I think this is particularly true of the Suzuki X-6 Hustler. It's time was fading fast.

See Also: The X-6 Wikipedia Page
A Detailed Story About the X-6
A Report on the Super Six from the UK

Allstate SR 125

Thanks to inspiration from a tiddler fan named PJ, a Sears Technician who has commented as delta69 on the Allstate Compact page, I have rounded up a decent photo of the very rare SR 125. As PJ has stated, the SR 125 was sold in 1968-69 from the Sears catalog and stores. I don't think I have ever seen one of these except in the catalog. I may have seen an SR 125 in a Sears store back when they were being sold, but if so, I do not recall it. I certainly have never seen one on the street! As I remember it, this model was sold in only one color combination, red and silver, as in the photo. PJ says the model had 17" wheels, which appears to be true from this example. The 125cc single used a chrome bore and a distinctive radial head. You can see from the styling, particularly the gas tank, that this was a contemporary of the later Puch 250 Twingle. I do not recall exactly how this marketing plan fit in with the Gilera 106 and 124. According to the last catalog photo found in the Allstate Gallery, the 106 was sold alongside the SR 125, at least for a time. My best guess is that the Gilera 124 was not. The photo in the gallery is listed as 1967, when PJ says the model was a '68-'69-only. I cannot vouch for the 1967 date, as that statement came from elsewhere.

PJ has also mentioned that the Compact came in white in its last year of production. I have no doubt that this is true: I think I remember seeing at least one somewhere; however, I do not have a photo of a white Compact to back up this apparent fact. PJ mentioned a white Vespa model, too, and if you look at the Allstate Gallery, you will see a white Vespa paired with a red one. Thanks again to PJ for the new info!

I have been working on a new 2010 edition of my 2002 powerboat book, so Tiddlerosis has been ignored recently. I hope I can post more often soon.

See also: The Allstate Page
Allstate Scrambler
Allstate Compact (with PJ's original comments)

Harley-Davidson Sprint H

I have had an approach/avoidance conflict with the Sprint H since 1963, my favorite model year of this lovable/cantankerous beast. We all know the storyline. H-D was having its V-twin lunch eaten by a horde of little Japanese minisquirts, and the company just had to do something about the onslaught. They thought that Americans had respect for Italian motorcycles, and the troubled Aermacchi factory was for sale, so they bought it and began to put their logo on the gas tanks of a bunch of 50-350cc models imported throughout The Sixties.

My feelings toward the Sprint are no better or worse than they are toward most '60's Italian bikes. I simply do not care for OHV thumpers, hard, narrow seats, right side shifters and left side kickstarters, or machines that feel compelled to make just starting up a fussing, cussing affair to remember. The '63 H-D brochure showing the Sprint H climbing a hill is one of my fondest marketing memories. I love the off-road styling with its exposed rear springs, rubber gaiters, high, abbreviated fenders, and high exhaust pipe, but you can still take that buckboard seat and shove it. I would guess that the 1963, and to a slightly lesser degree, the '64, Sprint H is my favorite classic Italian tiddler after the Ducati Diana.

The 1961 Sprint C was brought in much as the Italians had originally designed it, with a large tank and fenders, seventeen-inch wheels, eighteen horsepower, and a somewhat crouched riding position. Did I mention that the Sprint had a one-up, three down shift pattern exquisitely designed to be an accident ready to happen? The sportier, off-road oriented H became the companion to the basic C in 1962. The first H can be distinguished by its eighteen-inch wheels, high exhaust, white tank panels, chrome covered rear shocks, and low front fender. The '63 model had a red tank with a wide white stripe, exposed chrome rear springs, and a high-clearance front fender. The white tank panels returned in '64, and this was the last dirt-oriented 250cc Sprint H. The photo above is a 1965 model H, and you can see the chrome covers on the upper rear springs and the new low pipe and front fender. Other photos I have show an exhaust pipe more like that of the earlier H's, with a bullet-shaped muffler bulging from a smaller diameter pipe. I am not sure if the exhaust on the bike in the photo is original or not. I would not be surprised either way: the company could have changed it back then or the owner of this machine may not have been able to locate an original 1965 pipe for restoration.

Although the Sprint continued in the Harley-Davidson lineup for several more years, the party was quietening down rapidly as the CL160 showed the Sprint H its tailpipe for a much lower price. Even my extensive collection of H-D books offers little confirmation of the model year details as the Sprint continued into the later '60's. Harley added the SS model and the option of a black paint job, but even a shorter-stroke engine design was not enough to launch the Sprint rapidly off the showroom floor. Depending on which version you believe, the Sprint grew to 350cc in either the 1969 or '70 model year. Just imagine the ease with which the CL-350, SL-350, DT-1, and RT-1 would run and hide from a 350 Sprint while its rider was still back at the ranch trying to start it!

See Also: Harley-Davidson Scat

Aprilia RS 50

The Aprilia RS 50 is the raciest 50cc bike ever offered to the public for legal street use in the USA. The Fluo Red example you see here is a current 2009 model. As with most of the prior year models, the '09 also comes in black. The RS 50 has been offered in a variety of colors and graphics patterns over the years, most of some combination of black, red, white, and silver in flashy patterns. No technical component of the RS 50 has been left in the past. Although the wheels are still seventeen inches, just like those on the original Honda 50, the tire compound and tread have been strongly influenced by the racetrack and the brakes are discs. The engine is a 50cc liquid-cooled two-stroke making six horsepower through a six-speed transmission. The top speed claimed is between 50 mph and 70 mph, and I'm sure that is a function of gearing and rider weight. Two nonracetrack-inspired items are the oil injection and electric starter, but the aluminum, perimeter box frame, full fairing, fat gas tank, thin seat pads, upside down fork and monoshock all scream racer!

Of course the price for this exotic little hotrod minisquirt is a lot bigger than its displacement, and that's the leading reason the little Italian is rare on American streets. I have never seen a new RS 50 listed at less than $3595, the official 2004 base price, making it somewhat higher than the cost of a Kawasaki Ninja 250!

See Also: The Aprilia RS 50 Page
The RS 50 Wikipedia Page

Chopper Cub

Here is the final photo and iteration of the Chopper Cub. Although this is the only photo of this final development I have, at least it shows all the changes. The pressed-steel handlebars were removed, along with the plastic headlight nacelle and speedometer housing. The chrome handlebars you see here are probably the later, higher version from the Sport 50. The handgrips are those soft, fat type made in Italy. Although the headlight was left in abstentia, the speedo was left secured in place with its bracket. Only the plastic housing surrounding it was removed. The remaining changes were that the front fender was removed and the same nice uncle who fabricated the exhaust system built a black leather (not vinyl) pad for the sissy bar.

At the end of 1969, or maybe it was the beginning of 1970, I had acquired enough cash to move upmarket. I know this sounds positively insane now, and yes, it does make me wish I had bought a garage full of crated tiddlers in the '60's. I would like nothing more now than to have a fresh new Sport 50, a YG-1, a Scrambler 90, a blue '69 G3, and a Suzuki Maverick sitting in my garage waiting patiently for me to sigh contemplatively and wipe my drool off the gas tanks before I left. I returned the sweet little '66 C-100 to its original stock condition and traded it at the Kawasaki dealership for a new '69 G3-TR. I had paid $120 when the Cub was a year old at the local Honda dealership. The Kaw dealer allowed me $150 in trade-in value. I had never removed the spark plug.

See Also: Close View Cub, Metalflake Cub, Night Cub, Lake Cub, & Mud Cub