Cooper (motorcycles)

Cooper was a brand of off-road motorcycles made in Mexico using engine parts made in Italy and later, engines made by Sachs. Imported into the United States in the early 1970s by Frank Cooper and sold as Cooper. Frank Cooper was a dealer for Maico when he contracted with Mexican motorcycle company, Islo to produce an Enduro and also a motocross model. Cooper made a "street legal"Enduro 250 cc bike using a Yamaha 250 2 cycle engine in addition to other bikes. The design was by Malcolm Smith. It had some inherent issues as it came from the factory as the drive sprocket was too large causing the chain to wear into the engine case. While the bike handled well, it wasn't up to the standards of the Suzuki TM250 or Huskys of the same time period. The workmanship was substandard (former dealer in 1973)

Islo also made a trials bike from 1971 - 1975 called GRM (Grapevine Racing Motors) that was imported to the USA, for Bill Grapevine, who designed the bike. Islo also supplied the engines for California's Jones Motorsports who had the AMMEX motorcycle franchise. The Islo manufacturing facilities and name were bought by Honda around 1982. Since 2000, the brand has resurfaced in the Mexican market under the ownership of Moto Road S.A. de C.V.; the same company that currently owns the Carabela motorcycle brand.

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