Can anyone identify this vintage motorcycle?

Simon

Here is a famous photo of Gilles Villeneuve, his wife Johann and their son Jacques on a motorcycle. I am guessing the photo was taken in the mid 70s (Jacques was born in 1971).

Can anyone identify the motorcycle? Not much to go by, I know, but the headlight does have a somewhat distinct shape, the left mirror has a reflector on it, Scrambler type handlebars, wide forks, etc.

BTW, I have no idea what it is myself.

Thanks

Simon

MR.CHocko · Posted: Thu May 26, 2011 1:57 am Post subject:

This is not a good picture, but from the headlight I can tell you that it appears to be a Suzuki.

ztnoo · Posted: Thu May 26, 2011 3:00 am Post subject:

I think MR.CHocko is right.
Below are a couple of pics of a headlight lens and a headlight rim which were listed for K125 T20 T200 TC200 TC250 from Paul Miller Motorcycle, LLC.
The bike you pictured may not be one of these models, but my eye tells me Suzuki.

zjeppe · Posted: Thu May 26, 2011 3:00 am Post subject:

T-250 (6)hunter Question

MR.CHocko · Posted: Thu May 26, 2011 3:20 am Post subject:

I think you are right. My first guess would be a TS series bike.

Rizingson · Posted: Thu May 26, 2011 5:59 am Post subject:

I believe there's 4 people on that bike. Possibly his daughter Melanie sitting in front of his wife.
BTW I'm not 100% sold on it being a Suzuki. Never seen forks that wide on a sukuki although the headlight does look like it may be, but the trim ring is also too thick or a undersized light has been used. Only a single instrument (speedo) makes me wonder what it really is. The T-250 had seperate tach and speedo.

mixer · Posted: Thu May 26, 2011 6:35 am Post subject:

... i dont think so guys... the headlight is a ROUND headlight in a weird bucket, it even looks like a sealed beam, not a globe. on top of that, the fork uppers in the trees are black, not chrome. on top of that, the upper tree is VERY thin totally UN-suzuki like.

now... as strange as this sounds, it looks like an Aemacchi OR a harley hummer. heres my reasons: the forks: on MOST aemacchi's and small HD had painted fork tops, suzuki's were body color (reds blues ect) as were the Aemacchi's, the HD was frame colored (black). the TOP tree was VERY thin, almost scary thin on both. the headlight almost looks like that "Italian styling screwed up by harley" look. and finally, its got a center mounted solo gage, not a twin in the bucket, and not a twin dash setup like suzukis mostly had. that tells me its a SMALL HD Aemacchi, HD was (still is really) notorious for not caring about RPM's and their bikes UNDER 250 had ONLY a speedo.

the tell-tale has to be the mirrors with reflectors and the absolute lack of signals. those two things will be the way to tell what it is. im not sure exactly what model they were on, but i DO remember that the HD's had a model with reflectors on the mirrors and no signals.

MR.CHocko · Posted: Thu May 26, 2011 2:28 pm Post subject:

The 60's era suzuki's did use a single speedo/tach combo. But it could also be a aermacchi.

Simon · Posted: Thu May 26, 2011 3:07 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the help guys.

I have been surfing the net with Google Images and I think I found what it is.

I Searched those H-D Aermacchi but I could not find any headlight buckets similar than the one on the pic.

Trying to find a better pic than the one I posted, I found a larger cropping of the same photo revealing a Canadian flag in the background. Basing my reasoning on the age of Jacques, the photo must have been taken in 1975 or 1976 in Canada, that would be before Gilles Villeneuve got into F-1 racing, when he was in Atlantic formula. The Italian connection (Aermacchi) could have been a logical and probable guess if the pic was taken the following years when Gilles was racing Ferraris, but since he was racing mostly in America... that type of bike would have been pretty exotic up here (I live in MontrÃ©al).

Anyhow, The Suzuki headlight bucket shape got me going. That extra wide fork made me thinking about minibikes with fat tires. A quick search and I came up with this. A 1973-73-74 RV90.

What do you think?

Correct headlight bucket
Single instrument (long)
2 cables coming off the left grip
correct handlebars
horn on the front and left side
black forks, thin tripple
etc..

S.

Simon · Posted: Thu May 26, 2011 3:14 pm Post subject:

Here is the larger cropping I was talking about.

S

Rizingson · Posted: Thu May 26, 2011 3:38 pm Post subject:

Simon, You got it, I'm convinced!!

Simon · Posted: Thu May 26, 2011 4:03 pm Post subject:

If I'm right, it's thanks to you guys.

I am a little disappointed the bike is a 2 stroke with fat tires. I was maybe going to find the same bike if I ever got to know what it was and make it my next project. A kind of a tribute to Gilles Villeneuve, but I can't see that happening with that model... I did find a few for sale locally from $400 to $850 but I'll pass. At least I now know what it is.

Thanks all.

S.

mixer · Posted: Thu May 26, 2011 7:05 pm Post subject:

that definitely looks like a winner.. out of all the good things that were thought out about trying to find out "what" that bike was... im mostly impressed that that little 90 has 2 grown adults AND two kids on it!

Russell · Posted: Thu May 26, 2011 7:58 pm Post subject:

We had a version of than Van-van Suzuki here in the era with a variation on the TS/TC 125 power-plant,as well as the 90cc model. Many served long lives as farm-bikes being particularly useful on cropping properties with vast areas of deeply tilled soil.I suspect many ended their lives as salt and sand encrusted run-abouts for beachcombers.

A family on a 90 c 2 stroke! Thats the real world of motorcycles even today. Most motorcycles on this planet are small engined work-horses that earn their living and have economic imperatives behind their usage. The sort of brilliant but vastly over-powered and resource hungry expressions of personal identity that many of us westerners choose to ride for recreation, myself included, are an expensive indulgence that most motorcycle users on our planet could not afford nor justify.

ztnoo · Posted: Fri May 27, 2011 9:57 am Post subject:

From the illustrated parts list for a '72 RV 90
Round headlamp, flat bottomed headlight bucket and headlight trim ring.
http://www.alpha-sports.com/offr/1972%20RV90/18.gif

[email]http://www.alpha-sports.com/offr/1972%20RV90/18.gif[/email]