Meet The Classic Bike Suzuki AP50
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 11 ก.ค. 2024
- In another episode of the Meet The Classic Bike series, we take a nostalgic trip down memory lane and for us of a certain age our first taste of freedom. We take a look at an immaculate Suzuki AP50 from the seventies. We get an insight from the owner and we take her for a spin to see how she rides.
I also had one as a teen, september 1977......Freedom for the first time and great fun.
Absolutely!!!
Me also. I had a 1977 pre-restriction model in 1980. 50mph on the flat?
De-coke and clean piston/cylinder head every Sunday.
AP50's had a switch rather than a throttle and a candle rather than a headlight.
Great fun and for a teenager in a remote village complete freedom.
@@paulgeorge6353 bang on 🙂
Had the AC50 here, no pedals, epic bike, cut the rotary valve enough and they did 95kph with the original 50cc cylinder and all, no parts changed, just modify the rotary valve and enjoy 100cc power. ❤
I had one in1977, OEF 498R, flogged it everywhere, moved on to a RD250 with the coffin tank, teenage dreams,so hard to beat.
Bit of a leap to the RD but yeah I did same thing but with a TS100 as well for off road and commuting.
Had blue AP 50 ( VEC 162R ) in 1981, very happy times. Lots of my mates had Peds and we had great times. RD250E was my next bike but didn't have it long before I had a catastrophe 😬
I got a fizzie when I was 15, did 2 paper rounds a day to earn the money! Sold it before I was 16 and got a Gilera Euduro, which i ported, skimmed the head and fitted an expansion chamber, out performed every other sports moped around but needed lots of TLC to keep it running, but I learned a lot working on it! For me the AP Suzuki looked like an old mans ride to work bike, the Fizzie had the best looks for sure! Happy Days!
Happy days indeed
Those Gileras back then were to die for, really cool looking and fast little bikes....We sold loads of them at a dealer I worked at and the old boy engineer in there used to have one, was about 60 years old and came in every day to work come rain or shine back in the 70's... a truly lovely bike....
Fantastic renovation, Ap50 was my first bike, I bought it when I was 15 and hid it from my mum, the day I was 16 was never off it , all my mates were jealous of the speed, I once got it up to 60mph going down a hill more there but I bottled it.... Happy days.
Happy days indeed. It was the freedom to go where you want when you want, magic.
I have no idea how you ever got to 60mph on one of these, they didnt go that fast unless you were being towed by a car!! Your speedo was faulty mate or your dreaming big time, you were lucky to get 45 or 50mph out of a 50cc engine unless you put a 80cc barrel on it .
I know as I used to work at Browns Motorcycles in Southampton and we sold lots of those....
@@sitgesvillaapartmentneilsc7924 I rode it every day for two years unlike yourself, I had my engine rebuilt maybe you sold them but you never owned one, a unrestricted 5 speed with wind assist would do 55 on a flat road, I was only 9 stone.
@@sitgesvillaapartmentneilsc7924 55mph down the biggest hill I could find in the Lake District and flat on the tank. I don't believe 60mph either. And that was on a blue one. The red ones weren't as fast. 🤣🤣🤣
? I worked at one of the most famous Motorcycles shops as an apprentice mechanic until I finished my apprenticeship B E Brown Motorcycles in six dials, Southampton. A UK Russian, Italian and other bike specialist I had one of those at my disposal when ever I wanted and I chose to ride either a fizzie to work or a AP50 until I got my licence . I'm a fully trained Engineer now with more letters after my name than it spells it out and I have just retired after working 40 years in Nuclear Engineering and I can tell you that you without equivocation that your Speedo was out as never on God's earth will you have ever got 55mph out of a AP50. Do the Math and youll agree with me. 😄
The speedo may have shown it but it wasn't doing it....Enjoy the dreams like I do cos those bikes were physically not capable of producing that much horsepower unless you stuck on a 80cc bore and blew up the crank after a few miles.... Even then it would barely touch 60/65
I know because I used to fit them in the workshop as a "special unofficial" addon kit we sold in the 70's. After I left there I went to Rafferty Newman's another well known bike shops in Fareham then into GE
I can't see the point of arguing over this,. they were all good bikes back in those days whatever make , they got me out of the house and into earning some good money to pay to go to university and now sit back and retire with great memories. It was lovely to see it again thank you for making it.
Had a 1976 AP50 back in 1983. Paid £125 for it and loved it. Wish it was still in my shed. Had an SS50 5 speed and DT175MX round tube swingarm. Miss them all..
That's about right. I paid £125.00 for my FS1E back in the day
In 79 I had AP50 my Father use to tune Minis, I use to travel six miles to school, I went to Ireland for two weeks over Christmas, on return I took it out and was stunned to reach an indicated 64mph, as I was always moaning about only reaching 42mph he had taken a 70cc head modified it and increased porting .. his only concern was that I must not tell my mother, he was a great Dad ❤❤❤
Fantastic! I don't think many went through their life without some sort of mod to increase top speed
@@shuttersandspeed Fitting Ace-bars and laying flat on the tank with your feet on the rear rack going down hill you could reach the magic 60mph.
I learned to ride on an A-50 (no pedals). These things fly for a 50 ccm (even 80) and are robust. I wish I could find one even for rebuild, for old times sake. Thanks for bringing memories back with the video!
Thank you for watching
Great vid. I had a 1976 red one (obviously faster than the blue) in 1982/3. I fitted a 63cc kit and registered it as a motorcycle to pass the test. Good memories with sparks flying from the pedals going around roundabouts👍.
Those were the days
great review of the ap50 .... i had a candy red one in 76 reg OWW888P , used to ride from York to Scarbrough to see Barry Sheene racing . i loved mine
We all dreamed of being like Baza back in the day, Thanks for watching
@@shuttersandspeed would love to buy one again ! have a great day
Only a suzuki owner would say better than a fizzie!! I had the big brother of this one a GT250 ram air in 79 and that was great then moved up to a 750 , then Triumphs and now in Spain 46 years later a Suzuki LTZ 400 quad, the greatest ever made. This vid brings back tons of memories, my mate had one of these for a week in 78 and some bastard stole it, he had worked his balls off all summer to buy this...found a week later burnt out....great bike.....
APs are better and I later owned an RD250 I converted to 350 and a Mk 1 RG 250 Gamma I put a 350 powervalve engine in. Gammaha.😂😂😂
What a beautiful little bike.
A real credit to its owner
My first ever bike same colour great memory Thanks very jealous that you have one.
Gary is a very fastidious owner. Future generations will be able to enjoy this
My second moped , had mine in early 1982 , great memories.
On my 16th b'day I got a C50. Loads of my mates had mopeds and we used to all go out riding together. There was a couple of AP50's and I really wanted one. Then a year later I got an RD200 and never looked back. 40 odd years later and still riding.
You're right, it does bring back many good memories. 16 and free at last!
40 odd years where have they gone. When I was riding the AP50 it seemed only yesterday I was on my Fizzy. Hope you still enjoy your riding.
@@shuttersandspeed Always enjoy my time on my bikes. Got a single seater just for me and a Rocket 111 with loads of room for two and luggage.
Be safe out there and have fun:-)
Started at 16 with a TY50, also had an RD200, WOD 59X. Got a Honda monkey now, just for fun. Enjoy your riding.
@@johnseabrook1703 :-) so cool that you still remember the number plate. Mine was bright orange LOL! The RD 200 was a mad little bike......
The RD200 was a super fast brilliant but stinky bikeI have many fond memories of it! thenI went and got a Honda CB200 and felt a right prat after!! Moved on swiftly.....
It was the Yamaha FS1E`s that i saw the most in the 70s being ridden about.That sound of that moped is really identified.But i did remember seeing a few of the Suzukis aswell.Most likely the second choice bike
Saved up on a paper round for mine,together with a Nolan guardsman helmet and a belstaff
good video. I had a few fizzies in the early 80s. Great days. Filing out the exhaust port as wide as you could to try and match it to the micron exhaust, and trying different carb jet combos because you ditched the air filter element and it was acting up,which you blamed on the weather. loved those little bikes like the Suzuki Ap50, yam rd50, fs1e, Honda mt50,mb50, Kawasaki Ar50,Puch Monza grand Prix, Garelli tiger cross 50 and of course someone always had the iconic 'chicken chaser' or 'bog seat' as they were known. The cub 50.(usually with a 90 engine in to keep up with the fizzies).
Hi there I never really got into tuning but a lot of my mates did and often waxed lyrical about the results.
Been out on my MT 50 today pal. 1979 model. JAP import. All original. Even the JAPANESE WRITING. Had the very same bike when I was 16.My first motorbike. Mine then was the EUROPEAN model and barely did 30 MPH. This one flies. GREAT FUN and GREAT MEMORIES. I am now 55.
@@iancharlesworth3654 I'm the same age as you mate. It's great fun getting out on a 50. Specially a fast 50. It's more fun going flat out on a slow bike, than going slow on a fast bike. Enjoy it mate, a bit of nostalgia does you good.
nice good job! I've got one sitting in my garden same colour too that needs restoring ......
Restoring one to this standard is something to aim for. Hope all goes well
Had a TS Goucho 50. Favorite bike
Those were the days were they not
I got a 1977 AP in 1982 when I turned 16yrs, blue as in the video. My friend had an FS1E but I could always out accelerate him because I had 5 gears, also he had to carry a bottle of 2T oil.
Happy memories.
I had a 1978 AP50 with foot pegs and apparently restricted but did 70 mph on it down hill a few times,would love another one even at 56
Yes me too
I also got 67 mph down a vey steep hill with a strong wind behind me, I had ace bars fitted. Speedo prob was exaggerating the true speed. Would do about 55 indicated on the flat though.
I remember in the 1970s the AP50 and the Yamaha FS1E were deadly rivals. Owners of each claiming their's was faster.
The pedal start put me off these. Two of my mates had em in 1987 and the chrome made them look so dated. My dad bought me a Honda camino (wtf was he thinking) I rode it for a few month under the impression it was better than walking. After being taken the peez out of I saved up n bought a Ts50x and after being bested by an old granny wearing a red piss pot riding a yellow Honda melody, I put a 66cc autisa kit on my bike and it went from 30 mph (hiding behind the handle bars) to around 55mph. Pre kit I was racing my mate riding on an ap50 and I was catching him slowly but surely and he could see I was just about to overtake but just so I did not beat he quickly braked and turned sharp left on to a lane. Sadly for him it had lots of loose gravel at the tuning and he slid off and got gravel rash and very scuffed chrome work and a buckled pedal. I nearly bought an FS1E but though it had a great top end ( about 55to 60 mph) I did not feel safe on it cos it was so small and you felt so close to the road. Great days.
Kick start on mine🤔
Were the restricted ones pedal start? I didn't think so.
I had a KTM Comet Cross 'P' reg. Produced a whopping 3 bhp but had so much fun on it. The 70's were a golden age for biking. I can smell the two stroke now ......
Wonderful bike. 50 mph! Yea of course I want one. fs1e yamaha? Nah that ap50 much nicer. Though I like the ar50/80 kwaki. Great of you guys showing this 50 cc.
No problem thanks for watching
My first bike couldn't wait for my birthday was out at midnight riding all around forest Hill and Bromley all night got pulled by police as they said the beeline was loud 😂 went everywhere with my mates we thought we was King's of the road good days shame we have to grow up. Mind you I now have a ducati foggy rep. Would love to go back to April 1980 😢
my first bike loved it great memories i was 16 great times
Absolutely!!!
Nice.
The correct Suzuki designation is A50P (P = Posi Force 2 stroke Lubrication). The direct previous first production version, the A50, which was petrol oil mix. The A50 also came as the "sporty" styled (high level exhaust) AS50, AC50, ASS50 & ACC50.
The moped was part of a "family" of sibling bikes, which were the A50P, A70P & A80P. Both the A70P & A80P were not imported into the UK, so as not to compete with the larger Suzuki A100.
My mate had a T reg AK50 which was the restricted version without pedals. He put an AP50 exhaust on it and it was faster than my unrestricted FS1-E!
I had a red 1977 AP50 my mates all had Fizzys, Honda SS and the odd fantic, garelli ect, none of them could keep up with the AP. not a lot in it just edged the fiizzys. Sounded like a swarm of smoking wasps going down the road.
Ohhh yes those were the days. I had a purple FIzzy and all my mates had fizzys AP's and as you said the odd tiger cross Puch etc. Fantastic fun. And 40 odd years later I finally got a go on a AP.
Hi friend. I have two suzuki A50,K50
i had an A50P from brand new 1976 , £199 brand new, on the stroke of midnight on my16th i was out, did a 1000 miles in the first week, never went back to school, never took my exams, as jasper carrot used to say, all i want to do is ride, ride, ride , OH HAPPY DAYS, my mate`s had the usual fizzys, ss50`s,caballeros, malaguttis , but the ONLY bike quicker than mine was the fantic gt...............😪😪😪😪
i had one in '79 it was fast man i had 63 on the clock. my mate had a red one which was faster but on reflection it was faster cause my mate was alot smaller and lighter then me. we both pissed on every fizzie we met though. great days man!
Indeed great days.
I had an AP50 in 1979 and it easily beat the Yam fizzies my mates had- you could get 55mph, two up, in both directions on a level road. I used to think it was because it had needed a rebore but may be it was just that the AP's were faster bikes. Fizzies were better looking though.
@@smellthecoffee5314 you reckon? mine had ace bars and a little nose fairing.and the kid who had it before me painted it in racing green and put gt 50 on both side panels. . my mate had a fizzie it was goldish but looked ratty . the later ones looked good though but were restricted. mine went great!
Hey Gary, can I come along a re-live my youth, at least for an hour?
Posted this on another channel:
I was hooked when at 15, a mate let us all have a shot of his Suzuki AP50. My other mate bought a Gilera which was a slightly taller better looking and a trail bike. I was ready to sign up for the Gilera but at the last minute, went for the AP50. Another mate bought the same Gilera model so both gilera's were held back by me insisting I do my 500 mile run-in. I was at about 480+ miles when I was overtaken by a guy on what we used call a (not politically correct! ) P*%f Chariot, the Honda Cub 50. The guy laughed and pointed at me as he passed. I got annoyed so instantly gave up running it in. I blasted past him easily and went on to 65 MPH. I couldn't believe it! I found my two mates and said Ok guys, lets go. I left the Gilera's for dead.
I bought the bike in 1977 for £198. Not only was it pre-goverened but it was the same beautiful blue shown here and with all the chrome. My two other mates in our small gang of five, saw how much faster the AP50 was and they too, bought AP50's although also pre-governed theres were unique in that they were the newer more plasticy versions. we all made good money selling them on. Mine because it was chromed and theirs because they were new style but pre-governed. I think I sold mine two+ years later for something like £250+
We used to go to the petrol station and pay 40p for a gallon of fuel and for the Gilera's, an additional 10p for a squirt of two-stroke into the tank. It didn't take me long to realise I could fill up my little two-stroke tank and pay the cashier 10p rather then paying £1.00 for a tiny bottle of two-stroke. Wasn't long of course, before the stations realised and the self-serve two stroke disappeared!!
Great days!!
I had a 1966 one with the leading link forks. Crashed it and got a C15 stuck msinly with BSA after that last bike an A65 which I really miss.
Hope you are able to get back in the saddle at some point
In Germany we had the Suzuki A50K with foot pegs and a kick start. As far as I know, there has never been a combination of pedals and foot gear on the German market, from any manufacturer, probably for legal reasons. But maybe someone knows better.
In the UK (back then) we could ride a moped at 16. Moped stands for "MOtor assisted PEDal cycle". When fitted with foot pegs, (no pedals) it became a motorcycle, and couldn't be ridden until age 17.
They had both pedals facing forwards, but one of them could be turned around and it could then be pedalled along like a cycle. The gearing was very low, so progress was very slow!
Ok so its not an AP50 its an A50P that had the drum break and the A50PD had a disc brake, The one I used to own was as quick as a Fizzy, not much in it to be fair but we all remember it differently don't we, you could get 65 out if it on a good day but you had to have a pay with the porting and and barb settings to get it running sweet a little of the head helped to and a grade cooler on the plug or you would burn a hole in the piston, what days they were loved it and still do cheers Paul.
My bike was UFJ4R on the Reg plate my first love, love to have it back again.
I would love to have several of my bikes back again. I loved them all
It’s an AP50
No mention of the posi force lubrication system. In my opinion a much better bike than the FS1e
Yes that was quite an innovation in the day. My first experience of this was the X7 which had a similar oil setup
@@shuttersandspeed I had the T200 Invader. Neat 2 stroke oil pumped directly to the main bearings and cylinder wall if I recall. Much better than premix. I think the Yamaha version was 'autolube'
I had the Ap 50 in the same colour and my mate had the fizzy. I could never beat him on the Ap50. But the Ap50 was a better ride.
Those were the days.
I from Chesterfield and not sure if it was once mine. Still have happy days with my ns400r hrc colours I've own for 24 years. 👍
Glad to see you are still enjoying 2 wheels
@@shuttersandspeed Always 👍
To think how I used to flog by FS1E down the road. Probably worth 1000's now.
Yes I wish I still had mine
On the back of my mates ap 50 we got 50 mph !!!
I have a concourse ap50 R-reg registered at Lings in Lowestoft in Red....its better than new! It rides well but also have a racoon tuned Fizzy popsycle purple that has the edge on it,i also have a Fantic Caballero 6m its good but very noisy and the Suzuki is such a better bike. When i was 16 i had a Puch Grand Prix special in black and to be very honest was a very very quick moped!
Those were the days.
I had a blue one, 55 on the flat, 67 down a very steep hill with following wind, just remembered puch Grand Prix was the only moped that was faster! I remember doing about 55 ,and it flew past at I reckon 60-65 on the flat.
I had one in red about 1982, made the bad mistake of trading with a poxy ER50.
Oh dear!! you I regret getting rid of a lot of my previous rides
Restricted then?
The man is like the scotty kilmer of england.
REV UP YOUR ENGINE!!
Could you ride one of these on a car licence?
Yes I think you can
In 1980 yes, but not so sure now. Best to check.
My first bike when I was 17 in 1975 was wiped out by a drunk driver in Belfast Ireland 🇮🇪
Got me a yamaha dt 50m 1979 still in the shed just needs the points sorting as I may sell it if any one wants it
Had the bike 16 years ago and sold it to my m8 and had it back 6 k miles from new had lots of money I'm my keep wheels refurbished had the tank repainted all original
Reliable moped, Garelli Tiger alot faster than these Nip bikes..👍
Fizzy was faster because it was lighter even though the AP had 5 gears, but should go 55 mph max
I had a fizzy back in the day . I think the truth is that there is not a lot in it and it depended on whether you got a 'good' one or not
@@shuttersandspeed yes your right I had both AP and fizzy mine used to go 55 down hill used to race people on same bikes that owner would say goes 60 but still mine went faster, great days provisional license cheap,£40 pounds insurance and tax can't remember price and off you go, crazy when you think of it,
@@williamlowther7051 It was mad, I was given a C50 for my 16th birthday with absolutely no training. Then saved up and bought myself an RD200 exactly a year later. When I got my new bike I had no idea how to use a clutch so I kept stalling it until I got he hang of it, then off I went! Totally self taught. Two people from my year killed themselves on bikes before they got out of their teens. It was almost survival of the fittest.
All the AP50s in our group were significantly faster than all the fizzies in our group. Fizzy is flat out at 45mph and AP50s are good for 50+ mph.
The A50P actually does the speeds that modern 16er 50cc sc**ter riders can only BS about.
NOt as fast as a fizzy
My AP50 was faster than my mates Fizzies.
They all thought their bikes were the fastest until we actually raced eachother.
Nice bike... No gloves? Really?....
thank you Gary i had a fizzy but really wanted a ap 50. my mate had one it was slightly faster than my fizzy but felt more like a proper motorcycle due to the 5 speed box and oil injection. 👍👍🤏🤏🤏