Suzuki PE 175

There I stood with an original 1981 PE 175 that had less than 800 original miles on it. It was not locked up, and it had good compression. I took it home, cleaned the carb and changed the oil. One kick later and it sprung to life!

I have to admit, it was a great bike. It was super reliable and was a blast to ride on the trails. I installed new fork seals, sprockets and chain. It was truly like a new bike. After a short time I added an FMF universal spark arrestor and some boyeson reeds. This coupled with a larger rear sprocket made this bike that much better. It was quiet, but had a nice tone while on the pipe.

Back in the late 1970’s, there were some really good woods bikes being developed. Yamaha had the IT series, Suzuki had the PE series, and Kawasaki had the KDX series. At that point in time the popular size was 175cc. This was a great mix between a 125 and 250. These bikes were meant to be light like a 125 but with power characteristics more of a 250. At the time, the PE 175 was the most technologically advanced. It still had twin shocks until 1982, but regardless the bike outhandled the Yamaha IT 175 with it’s “Yamahop” rear suspension known to mysteriously kick out over roots and large bumps. The Suzuki offered a well rounded package and the rear wheel and axle could be removed in 30 seconds. This bike was truly built for trails. The suspension was adjustable, and the power was there – from top to bottom. The Yamaha had more of a pronounced midrage hit and would fall flat on top. Having owned both bikes, I can attest to the versatility of the PE 175. It was truly a great play bike and I can see how it was so competitive in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. If you ever come across one, don’t turn it down. Restore it, ride it, and enjoy it! You can’t go wrong.

Source: Luke, Only Trail Bikes