Suzuki M15 and M15D
a.k.a. ”Sportsman”, ”Collegian” or ”Sovereign”
1964–1967

I have tried to tell the model history of the Suzuki M 15 as I know it. I would be grateful of any contributions — sales brochures, magazine ads, magazine articles, pictures, specs, facts, corrections etc. Please scan the material in JPEG format (large enough that all the details are visible) and send them to me. Please tell me the source and the publication date if possible. If you send me pictures of your own bike, please follow these instructions.

1966 Suzuki M15-2 received a ”Good Design Award” from the Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry.

The Suzuki M15 was a small 2-stroke bike with drum brakes and underbone pressed steel frame. A typical 1960’s Japanese bike, that is. Suzuki Motor Company (that ought to know) says on their Japanese home page that that M15 came 1965 but the model was already been sold at the end of 1963 in UK and USA. The difference between the 50MD and M15 wasn't that geat, perhaps Suzuki continued selling the bike as 50MD for another year or so in its homeland, I don't know. Anyway, the M15 had a 50cc two-stroke engine delivering 4.2 bhp that gave the M15 a top speed of 80 km/h (50 mph), in good conditions. The frame was an underbone type, made of pressed steel. There’s some chrome plating, including the shock covers, and plastic for the side-covers and headlight covering. It was available with a short or a long seat and with or without a luggage rack. The M15 was marketed as Suzuki M15 Sportsman in United Kingdom and as Suzuki M15 Collegian in the US.

Foreword from Suzuki M15 and M15D service manual, November 1, 1963. I believe the pictures show a preproduction bike with white tyre wallss.

Suzuki M15 was available in two version, the standard model had 6 V magnetic flywheel ignition with a kick starter, the M15D had battery/coil ignition with dynastart and electric starter. Both models had an air-cooled 35° inclined single-cylinder 2-stroke engine with a 15 mm carburator, delivering 4.2 hp at 8,000 rpm. The engine had a cast-iron barrel and an alloy cylinderhead. There was no Posi-Force or CCI system available yet, the engine was lubricated with pre-mixed 6% oil/gasoline mixture. The gearbox had 4 speeds and the final drive chain was fully enclosed. The front forks were leading link type, made of pressed steel. The oil-damped telescopic forks came with the upgraded M15-2 model in 1966. Suzuki M15D was a the only 50cc bike on the British market with an electric starter in 1964. The British motorcycle magazine Motor Cycling described the M15D Sovereign, as the model was called in UK, as having standrad specification which is avish, even by Japanese standards. The British version of the M15D was equipped with 12-Volt electrics, leg shields, turn indicators, chrome-plated carrier and a speedometer. The cheaper version, M15 Sportsman, had 6-volt electrics and no electric starter. Both version came with modern novelties like rear brake light and steering lock. Suzuki imports to Britain commenced in October 1963, through Suzuki (GB) Ltd, 87 Beddington Lane, Croydon.  The range was initially presented with 5 models: M15 Sportsman (50cc, £95-11s), M12 Supersport (50cc, £109-4s), M15D Sovereign (50cc, £114-9s), K10 Sports (70cc, £122-17s) and T10 (250cc, £248-17s). They were further joined in February 1964 by K11 (70cc, £128-10s). Imports of the original M15 Sportsman ended in United Kingdom in September 1967, to be briefly replaced by a M15 Mark 2 Sportsman imported from February 1968, only to be discontinued in September 1968. The timeline of the Suzuki M15 seems to be different, dependng on what country you are located in. According to Suzuki Japan the M15/M15D model came 1965 and was replaced by the M15-2 already in 1966. It's hard to create a model history page for such models. I will try my best. Please correct any errors that you may find.

1964 Suzuki M 15 Overall Lenght: 1 785 mm (70.3 in) Overall Height: 920 (36.2 in) Overall Width: 625 mm (24.6 in) Wheelbase: 1 160 mm (45.7 in) Ground Clearance: 130 mm (5.1 in) Dry Weight: 64 kg (141 lbs) Engine: Air-cooled 50 cc 1-cylinder 2-stroke. 4.2 hp (3.1 kW) @ 8 000 rpm, 3.7 Nm (0.38 kg-m) @ 7 000 rpm Here's more Suzuki M series info.

1964 Suzuki M 15 D Overall Lenght: 1 785 mm (70.3 in) Overall Height: 920 (36.2 in) Overall Width: 625 mm (24.6 in) Wheelbase: 1 160 mm (45.7 in) Ground Clearance: 130 mm (5.1 in) Dry Weight: 67 kg (165.5 lbs) Engine: Air-cooled 50 cc 1-cylinder 2-stroke. 4.2 hp (3.1 kW) @ 8 000 rpm, 3.7 Nm (0.38 kg-m) @ 7 000 rpm Here's more Suzuki M series info.

1965 Suzuki M 15 Overall Lenght: 1 785 mm (70.3 in) Overall Height: 920 (36.2 in) Overall Width: 625 mm (24.6 in) Wheelbase: 1 160 mm (45.7 in) Ground Clearance: 130 mm (5.1 in) Dry Weight: 64 kg (141 lbs) Engine: Air-cooled 50 cc 1-cylinder 2-stroke. 4.2 hp (3.1 kW) @ 8 000 rpm, 3.7 Nm (0.38 kg-m) @ 7 000 rpm Here's more Suzuki M series info.

1965 Suzuki M 15 D Overall Lenght: 1 785 mm (70.3 in) Overall Height: 920 (36.2 in) Overall Width: 625 mm (24.6 in) Wheelbase: 1 160 mm (45.7 in) Ground Clearance: 130 mm (5.1 in) Dry Weight: 67 kg (165.5 lbs) Engine: Air-cooled 50 cc 1-cylinder 2-stroke. 4.2 hp (3.1 kW) @ 8 000 rpm, 3.7 Nm (0.38 kg-m) @ 7 000 rpm Here's more Suzuki M series info.

1965 Suzuki M15 and M15D specifications (Japan) Overall lenght: 1 785 mm (70.3 in) Overall height: 920 (36.2 in) Overall width: 625 mm (24.6 in) Wheelbase: 1 160 mm (45.7 in) Ground clearance: 130 mm (5.1 in) Dry weight (M15): 64 kg (141 lbs) Dry weight (M15D): 67 kg (165.5 lbs) Engine: Air-cooled 1-cylinder, piston valve 2-stroke Cylinder volume: 50 cc (3.05 cu in.) Bore x stroke: 41.0 x 38.0 mm (1.614 x 1.496 in) Starting system (M15-2): Kick Starting system (M15D-2): Kick and electric starter Ignition system (M15-2): Magneto ignition (6V) Ignition system (M15D-2): Battery ignition (12V) Carburetor: VM15SC Clutch: Wet multi-plate Maximum power output: 4.2 hp (3.1 kW) @ 8 000 rpm Maximum torque: 3.7 Nm (0.38 kg-m) @ 7 000 rpm Lubrication: pre-mixed oil/gasoline mix (petroil lubrication) Fuel Tank Capacity: 7.0 liter (1.84 US gal./ 1.54 Imp. gal.) Fuel economy: 75 km/l (30 km/h) Transmission: 4-speed constant mesh, rotary type Primary reduction ratio: 4.400 1st gear ratio: 3.170 2nd gear ratio: 1.940 3rd gear ratio: 1.430 4th gear ratio: 1.040 Final drive: 2.460 Frame type: Backbone, pressed steel Caster: 27°00′ Trail: 69 mm (2.72 in) Steering angle (left to right): 45° Mimimum turning radius: 1.7 m (5.58 feet) Front brake: drum Rear brake: drum Front Tyre: 2.25-17 4PR Rear Tyre: 2.25-17 4PR M15 retail price in Japan: 55,000 Yen M15D retail price in Japan: N/A

Model update. 1966 Suzuki M15-2 got a new engine. The power output was increased from 4.2 hp to 4.5 and the torque from 0.38 kg-m to 0.42 kg-m. The engine looked different, it's easy to spot the difference. The old engine, already used in the 1961 50M, had an oval bulge on the right side of the engine. The new M15-2 engine was round. There were nothing revolutionary with the new engine. It still was a 50cc two-stroke single-cylinder piston-valve engine with the same VM15SC carbutretor as the first incarnation of M15. The catalog claimed a maximum speed of 80km/h (50 mph) for the M15-2. Apart from the new engine, the difference from the previous model was that the seats and other outfits were renewed. Although not that different from other bikes from that era, the M15-2 was praised for its good looks. The Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry revarded Suzuki with a ”Good Design Award” for it.

1966 Suzuki M15-2 got telescopic front suspension and updated engine.

1966 Suzuki M15-2 Overall Lenght: 1 785 mm (70.3 in) Overall Height: 960 mm (37.8 in) Overall Width: 665 (26.2 in) Wheelbase: 1 160 mm (45.7 in) Ground Clearance: 130 mm (5.1 in) Dry Weight: 66 kg (146 lbs) Engine: Air-cooled 50 cc 1-cylinder 2-stroke. 4.5 hp (3.3 kW) @ 8 000 rpm, 4.1 Nm (0.42 kg-m) @ 7 000 rpm Here's more Suzuki M series info.

1966 Suzuki M15D-2 Overall Lenght: 1 785 mm (70.3 in) Overall Height: 960 mm (37.8 in) Overall Width: 665 (26.2 in) Wheelbase: 1 160 mm (45.7 in) Ground Clearance: 130 mm (5.1 in) Dry Weight: 70 kg (154 lbs) Engine: Air-cooled 50 cc 1-cylinder 2-stroke. 4.5 hp (3.3 kW) @ 8 000 rpm, 4.1 Nm (0.42 kg-m) @ 7 000 rpm Here's more Suzuki M series info.

1966 Suzuki M15-2 and M15D-2 specifications (Japan) Overall lenght: 1 785 mm (70.3 in) Overall height: 960 mm (37.8 in) Overall width: 665 mm (26.2 in) Wheelbase: 1 160 mm (45.7 in) Ground clearance: 130 mm (5.1 in) Dry weight (M15-2): 66 kg (146 lbs) Dry weight (M15D-2): 70 kg (154 lbs) Engine: Air-cooled 1-cylinder, piston valve 2-stroke Cylinder volume: 50 cc (3.05 cu in.) Bore x stroke: 41.0 x 38.0 mm (1.614 x 1.496 in) Starting system (M15-2): Kick Starting system (M15D-2): Kick and electric starter Ignition system (M15-2): Magneto ignition (6V) Ignition system (M15D-2): Battery ignition (12V) Carburetor: VM15SC Clutch: Wet multi-plate Maximum power output: 4.5 hp (3.3 kW) @ 8 000 rpm Maximum torque: 4.1 Nm (0.42 kg-m) @ 7 000 rpm Lubrication: pre-mixed oil/gasoline mix (petroil lubrication) Fuel Tank Capacity: 7.0 liter (1.84 US gal./ 1.54 Imp. gal.) Fuel economy: 75 km/l (30 km/h) Transmission: 4-speed constant mesh, rotary type Primary reduction ratio: 4.400 1st gear ratio: 3.170 2nd gear ratio: 1.940 3rd gear ratio: 1.430 4th gear ratio: 1.040 Final drive: 2.460 Frame type: Backbone, pressed steel Caster: 27°00′ Trail: 69 mm (2.72 in) Steering angle (left to right): 45° Mimimum turning radius: 1.7 m (5.58 feet) Front brake: drum Rear brake: drum Front Tyre: 2.25-17 4PR Rear Tyre: 2.25-17 4PR M15-2 retail price in Japan: 57,000 Yen M15D-2 retail price in Japan: 62,000 Yen

1967 Suzuki M 15-2 Overall Lenght: 1 785 mm (70.3 in) Overall Height: 960 mm (37.8 in) Overall Width: 665 mm (26.2 in) Wheelbase: 1 160 mm (45.7 in) Ground Clearance: 130 mm (5.1 in) Dry Weight: 66 kg (146 lbs) Engine: Air-cooled 50 cc 1-cylinder 2-stroke. 4.5 hp (3.3 kW) @ 8 000 rpm, 4.1 Nm (0.42 kg-m) @ 7 000 rpm Click on the image for larger format.

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