I had an early visit from Santa this year. I purchased a 1974 Suzuki TS185 from an older gentleman in Calif back in October. He recommended a guy that had shipped for him before, a husband and wife team that basically deliver all over the U.S.
So in early December I got a call from the mover that me bike was being delivered, BUT there was a "slight issue".  Turns out somewhere in Colorado they hit a construction area and blew out two tires. In the trailer with my Suzuki they were also hauling a 7' fiberglass Santa. Well, Santa came loose, went flying, and landed on my bike. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
The perfect gas tank did not hold up too Santas attack too well. I was sick to my stomach when I saw it. To make it somewhat right, the mover gave me my $400 moving fee back, plus an additional $100 to go towards the tank repair, and another FREE cycle move when needed.
My tank is now in the shop being restored for about $600. 
At least I have a story to go along with the bike now. No telling what the Great Pumpkin or Giant Easter bunny could have done!
 

Ouch what a shame on denting the perfect looking tank. I love the TS185 series, they ride really well for as old as they are. Glad to hear the shipper stands behind his business! I'd be curious to hear your opinion on how they all perform as I've been surprised at how different my '72 CT2 175 and same year TS185 are. Kawasaki seems the least common of the three?
 
 

Wow, what great looking bike!
I'm looking forward to having all three up and running next year. The yamaha needs some work still.
In the meantime, I bought this 1974 edition of Cycle World. There is a comparison between the Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha, and Kawasaki.
Here are some of the photos from the article. They rated the Honda as #1. The Kaw had the most power but was too bulky and handled poorly.
They said the Yamaha was uncomfortable because of the small seat size.
Who knows? Honda may have greased their palms? LOL. Just kidding. I've only owned one Honda and that was a Trail 70 as a kid. 
 

Oh no. Nice looking bike too, looks mint. I guess the mover tried to go above & beyond to do their best to make things right. Probably a first for them too. How did Santa survive the incident-accident.

Thanks for sharing the article. I'd imagine the Yamaha is a tough pill for taller riders, I'm only 5'6" and it's notably smaller than the Suzuki, which is a good thing in technical terrain since the suspension doesn't exactly "soak it up". I'm with you on being baffled by the Honda, hard to imagine the 30-40lb heavier four stroke being the best of the batch. Magazines seemed to love them and users not as much due to some long term design flaws like the kickstart shaft.

Thank you.
Yep, that was a first for the mover. He said he has moved over 500 cycles and that was the first one that got damaged. Lucky me. LOL. He said that santa was awkward to secure. I'm just glad he delivered the santa before he got to my house or me and santa would have been duking it out in the street. :-)

My best friend Jeff had a 175 Kawasaki when we were kids.  Definitely had a lot of power...  felt more like a 250. 

I agree. They had a lot of pep. That 75 Kaw took me everywhere. I think I bought it new for about $500.

I got my F7 for $575 and it only had a couple hundred miles on it. It was a great bike, but the comments in that magazine were right on the mark. It handled terribly compared to my friends who had the CT3 and the TS185. But that rotory valve 175 would leave them in the dust on flat ground.
 

The only non Yamaha enduro I owned was a blue TS185…