SUZUKI RG500

It’s time to put the fairing back on the RG500 and hope that there are no leaks or squeaks.

Jeff Ware finishes the RG!

G’day! Well, the time finally arrived and I am still as proud as punch. The RG500 is finished and ready to ride. Over here we have Historic Registration, so any vehicle over 30 years old can be used up to 60 times per year and registered under the umbrella of a club’s insurance.

I joined the VJMC over here and they posted me the forms. Now all I need to do is get the bike inspected and get what is called a Pink Slip, get a few forms signed by the VJMC rep and head to a registry to pay a very moderate fee of around 30 quid for a year of riding. That is insanely cheap, as usually a bike would be as much as 1000 plus insurance (another 1000 or more) per year to register in New South Wales.

I have full comprehensive insurance for the beast, so I’m ready to go. I just need some time to get it all sorted, but I have been busy with

my real job lately, testing all the new 2019 models. To get the RG500 finished, all I had to do was give it a final look over, make some fairing repairs, dress it and get it off the bench. I poured myself a glass of wine (different, eh?) and carefully read through my original checklist of what the RG needed.

I had crossed these off as I did them, so now I just wanted to double check I actually did the jobs (all those beers over summer, you never really know…) and inspect the main fasteners – axles, caliper bolts, pad pins, chain, engine mounts, fork pinch bolts, footpegs, sump plug(s), coolant bolts, steering head, fuel system fasteners and so forth. I found nothing loose or forgotten, which was a relief. It was then time to start on the fairings. They had been gathering dust on a storage shelf for a year so I took them down, placed them outside on the grass, washed

them down with warm soapy water and gave them a good rinse. After that I blew them dry with compressed air and sat them in the sun while I had a Pepsi (I have a lot of launches to attend and track testing to do so I’m not able to drink much beer at the minute, sadly). The top fairing was cracked around the mirror mount area so I used some epoxy glue to repair that and hand-painted the small area with a touch-up pen that closely matched the original black. The mirror covers the area, so it’s all good. The same goes for the mounting bolts at the front under the headlight, and I did the same there. I got the top fairing on the bike and made sure the wiring was in the correct place. The headlight worked and so did the indicators. The bike started to get a face back again, too. Happy days.

The mid-section panels got a good cut and polish and I had to repair one of the quick release fasteners. The six upper fasteners are all original and mint. The bottom six, well, there are five original quick release ones and one longer 6mm Allen head with a nut and washer behind it. These are covered by the belly-pan so all is ok. With that done, I gave the bike a wipe down and admired it for a moment. I then walked inside and gathered the Ware clan and told them to come on down to the shed for the big moment.

We all stood around looking at the bike while the compressor built up enough air for me to lower the bench. When I did, it was cheering all round and a bit of confusion for my youngest two as they have never seen the RG500 off the bench! We rolled the bike out into the lane and I fired it up as the kids ran around and cheered. It was really cool, even if they all had to go and get changed afterwards because they stunk of two-stroke fumes just like dad! I could not resist and I jumped on the bike and ran it up and down the gears in the alley just to make sure all was ok. I then rode it back into the shed and parked it, waiting for the oil drips and coolant leaks.

Well, there were none, so I was stoked. The final job was to fit the belly-pan, which I did with the help of my youngest son, then we rolled the bike out into the backyard and took a few pictures for Boss Man Bertie. Job done, now I need to test ride it and get together with all of the crew of mine and Helmut’s mates and ride the bike around. Next issue I’ll take the bike on a maiden trip, tool kit in bag, and then catch up with mates to celebrate!

After a few years the RG500 is finally finished. I’m not completely satisfied with the bodywork, but I ran out of cash and in the end I wanted it original not restored so can’t complain. She does look nice in the Aussie sunshine!

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2 01/ 02/ These shots show the work my friend Chappie did for me bronze bushing the gearlever pivot point. Chappie also did that amazing float pin stalk repair for me a few issues ago. It helps having a talented machinist mate who works for Coopers Pale Ale!

6 06/ The (rare) belly-pan had a huge hole in it, thanks to fuel overflow, which I repaired. The Suzuki official fix is to drill two 12mm holes on the side and poke the overflow lines out. 07/ I used a hot glue gun to give a base for the acrylic body filler. The hobby hot glue is flexible and great for smaller fairing repairs. Once dry, I mixed up the first batch of filler and applied it to the area. 08/ I permanently joined the belly-pan halves together for this job. It can be reversed in the future if I get the fairings professionally restored. Once I had done the layers, sanding, more layers etc, I cut out the ventilation hole.

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3 03/ The final arvo on the bench after a full 12 months of enjoyable work. It wasn’t a rebuild or a restoration, more a major service front to back that included a complete strip down and reassembly, with parts repaired or replaced along the way. The factory service manual was my best mate during the process. The 500 is a complex little beasty and there were countless late nights when I had to flick through the book to ensure I got the job done right. 05/ I procrastinated about whether to do a full respray of the fairings (by a pro), replace them with Chinese panels and store them or just use them with a tidy-up. I went for the latter.

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11 09/ I then painted the inside of the belly-pan in satin black with an acrylic rattle can paint. I watched it dry over a few cold beers by the swimming pool. 10/ 11/ I masked up the original Suzuki decals; I wasn’t going to lose those. Then I used an antique white enamel Dulux rattle can self-priming paint to cover the repair, blending it into the original paint and stickers. Came out well, I reckon. Had another beer after that…

My RG500 with my first ever new motorcycle, a Royal Enfield INT 650. They look good together!

13 12/ Special moment. The first start-up off the workbench. I actually rode it up and down the back alleyway to make sure the clutch and gearbox were operational: all good. I can’t wait to take it on a big run. Once I get it registered on ‘Historic Rego’, I’m on my way! 13/ Taking the RG500 off the bench. I bought the bike a few years ago now and I’m sure my mate Helmut (RIP), the previous owner, would be proud that I have his beloved RG back in mint condition after having been stored since 2001.

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