History of Tomos
The company started out building two-wheelers (some of which were licensed by Puch) in 1954 in the Slovenian city of Sežana.
Similar to Kymco, the brand name is an abbreviation for “TOvarna MOtornih koles Sežana.” Fittingly, this translates to “Motorcycle Factory Sežana.”
Their first motorcycle was known as the “Tomos Puch SG250.” In the late 1950s, they branched out into mopeds with the “Colibri” – a variant of the Puch MS 50.
As the rest of Europe got back on its feet after WWII, more markets opened up in countries like the Netherlands, where the company had a strong presence.
And when the United States embraced the moped in the 1970s, Tomos’ American affiliate sold over 2,000 units in their few months of business.
In fact, unlike other moped brands that went away, they made a brief return to American shores in the early 2010s.
During this brief renaissance, the company introduced two new models called the Racing TT and the Sprint.
The latter of which you can spot in this Moped Problems YouTube channel:
Some Common Models (And One Not So Common Model)
Tomos Sprint
Tomos Racing TT
Tomos APN 4MS
Tomos Classic 2 (Japan)
But the United States wasn’t the only far-off location that this moped brand traveled to. Enter the Classic 2 – a model made exclusively for the Japanese market.
While information about this particular model is scarce, its design is almost identical to the Sprint, which includes the pedals.
You are wrong about the Sprint above. The one in the video by Moped Problems is powered by an A55, not an A35. It’s also not at all rare. It was their entry level model, dating back to the 90s, and basically was the same as a step through Targa, without turn signals, with a smaller front fairing, and no engine scoop bodywork. Being the cheapest model in the Tomos lineup in the States, it sold quite well and is still a common find today. The Sprint in the first video is newer-I believe it got the A55 in 2008, but I may be off by a year or two. It also got better suspension, with the front end on A55 bikes having 30mm cast aluminum fork legs and triple trees with forged springs in an oil bath instead of grease smeared springs in between two concentric tubes with stamped steel, fixed position triple trees. The A55 bikes are piston port induction. With a Dellorto PHVA carb instead of a Reed valve induction and a Dellorto SHA carburetor (most were SHA 14.12 but some smaller sizes were used on older and lower top speed models).
The Sprints in the Tyler Taught Me video are indeed A35 bikes. Notice the different front forks compared to the first video? Also look at the side covers. Totally different style in the first video to accommodate the PHVA carburetor and other A55 changes compared to the A35 Sprint. Main frame is nearly identical. Also, the A55 bike has a boxed swingarm as opposed to the A35 stamped and tube steel unit.
Thanks for setting the record straight, Nick!