RG500 HMM rebuild? No, but a freshen up, YEP!

[Arronduke]

Well this may bring back some memories!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY1KN...hannel&list=UL

Yesterday on board an RG500 heading to a race win at Manfeild!!

Neil R....I assume! great vid.... I am loving your work!

[Arronduke]

must be hard to keep your licence on it ,NO wait its booze not speed that ya lose licence from......

Ok... how do i ban this wise ass....

[nudemetalz]

Nice......but I always thought my old RZ500 looked better, despite actually being rather inferior to the RG..

[george formby]

.... I have given up beer!



home brew... I can spend the extra cash on the RG... now thats a plan. Any one like small children?

Oh, home brew. I put mine into 750 ml bottles, thing is after 4 bottles I end up trying to embed my spanners in the dart board from 30ft while wearing a pair of my G/F's knickers on my head. That's what it looked like in the video anyway, I have no recollection.
Keep the kids, you will need small hands at some point.

[dangerous]

Nice......but I always thought my old RZ500 looked better, despite actually being rather inferior to the RG..

same, but some one tell us why the RG is suposed the beter?

[Arronduke]

Nice......but I always thought my old RZ500 looked better, despite actually being rather inferior to the RG..

I did to begin with but I had owned heaps of RZ's and LC's... then the RG250WD... that was a cool little bike.

[Arronduke]

Oh, home brew. I put mine into 750 ml bottles, thing is after 4 bottles I end up trying to embed my spanners in the dart board from 30ft while wearing a pair of my G/F's knickers on my head. That's what it looked like in the video anyway, I have no recollection.
Keep the kids, you will need small hands at some point.

Haa true... I am doing my first all grain beer tomorrow night... only take 4hrs.

I should be pulling the RG apart!...

[nudemetalz]

same, but some one tell us why the RG is suposed the beter?

Well, a mate had a black / white and red one exactly like this one (but completely stock) when I had my RZ500.

When we used to do the Akaroa GP, I found that the RG used to accelerate harder out of the slower corners (and hoist the front wheel when you weren't expecting it to..) plus it was more stable through bumpy bends. The RZ used to shake the front end quite a bit, esp when under power to the point where you really had to hang onto it. Out of the faster corners wasn't too much in it...and down the straights (on completely closed off to the public, race-track conditions only of course),...the RG had about 10km/h more than the RZ in top-end.
Where the RZ was better I found, was a smoother power delivery which made it more predictable.

I guess the specs speak for themselves:-
RG500 95hp 154kg
RZ500 85hp 173kg (steel frame)
RZV500 64hp but 164kg (the alloy frame shed 9kgs).

[imdying]

Yeah I found the RZ was easier to ride than the RG, didn't try to kill you as much; it kept the front wheel on the ground where the RG was all hey up she goes! Shit even a tuned RG400 wanted to reach for the stars all the time.

But I thought the RG was a better looking bike, just never liked the RZ upper fairing, and the mirrors were hideous. RZ build quality was higher though, although neither was stellar.

Both made a cool noise though

Hummed and harred a lot about it, and nearly bought another, but in the end naaaah, better left as a (very) fond memory.

[Klark]

If Im not mistaken, Im sure thats an RG400 chassis if its the one I saw in Wanganui on display. Get the vin checked, 500's were HM31a-******, 400's were HK31a-******

[celtickiwi]

same, but some one tell us why the RG is suposed the beter?

basically the rg was the better bike (in my opinion) because when the japs were making 2 stroke race replicas suzuki was the only one that had the balls to do it properly.i.e they took barry's bike put lights on it chucked in a balance shaft and altered a few ports and then put it in the show room.a standard rg engine is THE CLOSEST you will ever get to having a works engine in a road bike.honda ns400 had the engine upside down compared to the race bike(and only 400cc) and the rd500 was nothing like the race bike....v4 with 2 cranks?????? go figure. nope rg500 wins hands down.it was a race bike with lights....the rest were just look a likes

[nudemetalz]

..................and the rd500 was nothing like the race bike....v4 with 2 cranks?????? go figure............

errr,..The YZR500..??
http://www.yamaha-motor.co.jp/global...s/yzr500_0w81/

But yes you're right, the RZ engine was nothing like the YZR. The fact that they were both V4 twin-crank two-strokes was the only similarity.

[gammaguy]

Honda thought a single crank was the holy grail for some reason

Most Yam and Suz 2T multi were twin crankers

Ask Barry Sheene what he thought of them though!

[dangerous]

some interesting info above... GP engines were not what went into the RZ/RD or NS, but ya cant be telling me the RG5 as we had it here in NZ on the road had the same engine casings and frame as the GP bike? surley?

And what was with the twin cranks anyway? how can a twin crank be beter off when it near adds twice the weight to the bottom end and Id expect more friction?
Granted needed with a square4but not a V or like Kawa did with the tandom.

[nudemetalz]

It solved the torque reaction issues by spinning them in opposite directions (geared together). Apparently this was a major issue with the single crank NSR.
Admittedly not an issue on 85/95hp roadies but when you're cranking out 160ish hp in 130kgs.....