CLASSIC SERIES
Once back in neutral, the action of my right foot proved effective, and endearing sounds and smells from the four pipes promptly filled the summer evening air. What an utterly fantastic racket and odour. To be honest, I could have just sat there revving the Suzuki, letting my ears and nostrils savour those wonderfully sharp sensations. You just don’t get opportunities to sample big two-strokes like the RG anymore.
With the tallish first gear snicked into place again I pootled off. There’s decent drive from fairly low rpm thanks to the ‘Automatic Exhaust Control’ system that effectively alters the volume of the pipes to boost power. The whitefaced tacho may only start its rpm detection at 3000, suggesting a typically peaky output; the reality is more friendly. Screaming the motor and slipping its clutch to leave the line is not at all necessary.
However, that was the last compliment I paid the bike for quite some time. As we’d decided to take pictures of the RG before the sunlight faded, I went to turn round to get back to the corner we’d chosen. Trouble was, in an effort to slow the bike down I quickly discovered the brakes were… well, abysmal really. I would have been better off opening my jacket and putting my feet down. Give ’em a chance I thought, get some heat into the pads and they’ll improve. If they did, I didn’t notice. Though maybe it’s because my thoughts were then diverted by something else worrying – the tyres.
Man, they felt like they were made of mahogany, giving the impression they’d instantly have me off if I tipped the 500 over just a degree or two from vertical. I didn’t feel at all comfortable, and with Richard stood keenly watching me piloting his pride and joy, visions of him exploding with rage as he witnessed his precious steed sliding down the road proved too disturbing. I pulled in and explained my dilemma. He was disappointed that I was disappointed.
Things got better when I just went for a normal ride. Rounding the same corner repeatedly for photos can often ask a lot from a bike, the more flowing nature of the journey once the camera has been put away often shows things in a somewhat better light. And so it was with the RG.
Just a few miles is all it took to feel more positive. Sure the tyres and brakes still needed looking at, something emphasised by Richard, admitting he doesn’t ride the Suzuki that often. Storing bikes is like storing food to me – slowly but surely things start to go off. Servicing the brakes, and fitting some new rubber would no doubt improve the performance of both, and make the Suzuki nicer to ride. It was a shame that I couldn’t sample more of it.
Even so, I still got to feel the distinct and thrilling pick up in power when the twin cranks were spun harder. And though the thrust isn’t too strong by modern standards, like all strokers, when it got on the pipe a bit more it soon started to sing and thrill.
As it did, other things started to gel. The light weight of the 500 makes steering it quite easy, and though it has a 16in front wheel, its lazy 30° head angle helps to keep things more stable. Suspension action felt okay too. All in all I was having a better time, and then I started to appreciate another key dimension of the bike – its reputation. I realised I’d not been judging the bike to the full. It didn’t matter that the Suzuki had felt under par dynamically. Just like it’s done to Madonna, the passage of time has taken the edge off it a bit.