April 13, 1969 Suzuki TS250 at Adelanto Raceway

April 13, 1969 – I was still working at Dale Brown Motors in Long Beach Callifornia when I bought my first 250. I put it in the back of my ’69 Ford Econoline and headed for Adelanto after I got off work on a Saturday afternoon. My buddy Jerry drove the van while I was pulling lights and other street stuff off. I didn’t have anything to block off the tach and speedo drives, so I left them on the bike. The “Universal Trials” tires didn’t work too awful bad, but it was a stock motor, so traction wasn’t really an issue… ‘cept in the corners!! This is how the bike got it’s “Break In”… Ride it like you stole it!!

Willie featured in the cover art for the Clymer T500 manual. The picture on the cover came from a T500 modification article in Cycle Guide Magazine. Willie never got paid for the pic.

Willie on the cover of Cycle Mechanics – 1972 & below in 1973 with a GT750 Suzuki

Willie racing the T250 Hustler in 1972