SUZUKI RG500

More parts stripped off, decisions made, parts ordered, Jeff (and family) are on the way to making a start on the RG.

Part three from Jeff Ware sees him get stuck in.

G’day! Well, last month I stripped the clothes off my RG and inspected everything external. Not surprisingly given the miles and age, I found more things to fix than I had bargained for: however, I am still impressed by the originality of the bike.

Take a look at the images of the maintenance notes that Helmut kept on the bike (opposite page). As an extremely fussy person myself, having these notes really makes owning this bike extra special. In fact, they are as important to me as the actual RG itself. There can’t be too many RG500S out there with a lifetime diary of every single thing ever done to it noted and dated, with mileage at the time and even brand and quantity of product used. Helmut recorded everything; such was the marriage between man and machine in this case. That’s just brilliant.

The notes are invaluable and I have been referring to them constantly. No wonder everything is so original on the bike, when you read how much effort he put into keeping the RG shipshape, even handoiling cables every 3000 miles, fork oil regularly changed, pivot points greased and cleaned, lots of gearbox oil changes, plugs, good quality two-stroke oil, well-adjusted oil pump and tuned and maintained carburettors. He was ultra-fussy and it paid off looking at the condition of the bike. The bike came with a box of spare spark plugs, oils, touch-up paints and other bits and pieces that were all neatly wrapped up and labelled in old biscuit tins. It is clear that the bike was a labour of love but obviously one that must have brought immense satisfaction to Helmut for decades. I hope to get as much enjoyment and fulfilment out of the bike as he did and I’m sure I will. With four kids under 10, I’m not going to be able to completely immerse myself in RG500 ownership but I can still set aside a good few hours each week. Right now I just can’t wait to ride it!

This month I have removed the rotary valves and I need to get a new set once the funds permit but they are expensive buggers. I’m sticking with OEM. These ones lasted 17 years’ riding and 65,000 miles, so Suzuki must have done something right with them! In the meantime I have them set aside and my next job is to strip, ultrasonically clean, and rebuild the carburettors. I have a new rebuild kit carburettor out of Japan for each and I found a new OEM float in Singapore of all places. This will replace a damaged one. Once the carburettors are done, I will set those aside and move on to the exhaust pipes for a de-coke and paint then inspect and service the powervalves. I have decided to leave the engine alone, aside from opening up the clutch housing side and inspecting the clutch, plates, gearbox and shifting mechanisms. Up top I will as mentioned do the powervalves plus wet comp tests and visual inspection through the ports. It is all looking stunning in there anyway, so I have decided to live and let live, as I like this bike original…

When it is back together, I’ll be spending a half-day on the dyno, jetting it and can re-assess the engine then but I am confident it is fine for my local club runs. Some parts have arrived since I updated you last, namely wheel bearings, fork seals, various gaskets and I also bought a frame with no numbers or plate on it as a spare. I could not believe it when I saw it for sale and it was just up the road from me! I picked it up for £270: about $500 over here… Anyway that’s my update for the month, most of the info is in the pictures. I reckon the bike will be running in a few months’ time which is exciting! I can almost smell it now!

WORDS AND PHOTOS: JEFF WARE

1/ I found this book in my office that I had stored. My family bought it for me for my tenth birthday and I was obsessed by the RG500 from that day onward. Looking at it brought back fond memories of daydreaming and now I am even prouder than ever to own my RG500.

42/ 3/ 4/ The priceless maintenance notes Helmut kept on the RG500 all the way through until he stored the bike on February 12, 2002. On that day, by looks of his notes, he took the bike for a 52km ride then parked it. In 2013 he lubricated all cables and pivot points. Helmut kept immaculate notes on every detail of maintenance from changing plugs to battery voltage, chain lubricating, gearbox oil changing, fork oil, brake fluid. The bike was maintained by the book. A small handbook given to me by his family has all of the RG500 records in it. He also hand-wrote new copies on A4 paper before he passed away. The notebook goes back to 1972 and has all of his bikes like his RD250 and RD400, RD350LC and others in it with the same level of thorough maintenance and notes as he kept on the RG500. Amazing…

5/ I just bought an RG500 frame with no numbers on it for a bargain price. I’ll polish it up and keep it as a spare as they don’t come along every day. 6/ While the rotary valves are on the way I will be removing all hoses to replace them all, then removing the exhaust pipes to de-coke and paint. Engine top-end inspection and powervalve servicing comes after that.

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1615/ The left-hand side rotary disc valves. As mentioned, these will be replaced which will help eliminate some of the idle rattle and new O-rings will go on. The inner covers will be removed and also resealed with new gaskets. 16/ All set aside and ready to be replaced. The carburettors will be my next big job!

87/ According to his notes Helmut added 50ml of Slick 50 every time he filled the two-stroke oil. Now, I’ve been around a while and was particularly sceptical of this stuff in the 1990s but after seeing the condition of this engine, I may have to do some more investigating. A mate had a similar experience with his CR Elsinore being as-new inside after 20 years… Helmut also used an additive in the gearbox every oil change and the RG is still on the original gearbox. 8/ The disc valve covers came off easily thankfully, just a light tap with an impact driver on each screw. I may replace these with brand new ones on assembly. 9/ I’m amazed at the condition of these as they have never been replaced and I would have expected them to be damaged or worn more. I will not be replacing the outer covers. 10/ The discs are worn, particularly the teeth on the spline, so I will be replacing all four with OEM items.

1311/ 12/ 13/ 14/ To access the left side valves the flywheel and stator have to be removed along with the housing behind it, which will have a new oil seal fitted and new gasket.

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