1987 Suzuki RG500 – LOW MILEAGE *Sold £16,000*

Description

• Proper Race replica Two Stroke
• Stored for 22 Years
• Fully Recommissioned
• Mark Dent Carbon Fibre Rotary Valves Fitted
• Only 14,586 Miles

Derived straight from Suzuki’s half-litre RG Gamma XR45 factory Grand Prix racer, the Suzuki RG500 was a road-legal replica racer produced between 1985 and 1987.

From the mid-‘70s to the mid-‘80s, the manufacturer was a dominant force in premier class competition. Barry Sheene achieved back-to-back 500cc championship titles in ’76 and ’77 before the Gallina Suzuki team repeated the feat half-a-decade-later with riders Marco Lucchinelli and Franco Uncini in ’81 and ’82. Suzuki also won seven consecutive 500cc Class Constructors’ titles around this same time.

To capitalize on their reputation for building high-performance race bikes, Suzuki decided to develop a production version of its competition square-four machine.  The production model’s engine was based on the XR45’s race-bred 130 hp unit.

History

Having been previously dry stored for twenty-two years and then subsequently stored for another five, we are immensely confident in the 14,586 mileage that is currently showing on the Suzuki RG500’s odometer.

Our vendor has shared that the RG500 was imported to the UK shortly after production in 1990 and has four previous owners on the V5.

The previous owner to our vendor purchased the bike in 1995 and by all accounts only rode the bike for three hundred miles, including a journey to and from the Ilse of Mann to watch the TT.

Unfortunately, shortly after his return he was involved in a serious car accident that meant he could no longer ride the RG500.  Adamant that he would not sell it, he had the bike dry stored in his back room for twenty-two years.  Coming to the realisation that he would never ride the bike again he eventually lightly recommissioned it to get it through an MOT before promptly putting it up for sale.

Our vendor, who is an avid two-stroke collector, spotted the advert and snapped it up a quickly as he could.  After fully recommissioning the bike, which we will come back to, and using it for a couple of hundred miles it was his turn to store the bike within his impressive collection.  Unfortunately, things change and his collection is slowly being sold off with Evoke Classics being lucky enough to present these wonderful bikes in our auction.

Due to the extensive storage, it does not have a very large document pack but it does have all the important documents such as the V5, the original set up manual, a parts manual and the MOTs from 1992 through to 1996, which shows 11.457 mileage. By the time it was stored it had just 14,145 miles on the odometer.  There are also two more MOTs in the pack, the 2017 one that was done just prior to its purchase and a subsequent one from 2018 prior to it being stored for the second time.

The Bike

This wonderfully low mileage bike is presented in the famous Suzuki blue and white colours that are synonymous with these RG Gammas from this era.

The bike is incredibly honest and original and as such does show a few signs of use, the main being a small dent on the tank by the seat, note the black sticker placed over it.  There are also signs of flaking paint to the top fairing although the vendor assures us that the plastic is not cracked but it is evident of some paintwork early in its life.

Further inspection around the bike will show up minor blemishes here and there that are commensurate of a 35 year old bike. Now don’t get us wrong this is a lovely, lovely bike that is in fantastic condition with the odd nick here and there.

Just spend a little time looking through our image gallery and you will see that this really great example that has not been ragged and mistreated to an inch of its life, it is a very presentable collectable version of this iconic bike.

The Engine (Wow, that engine…)

The race-derived motor put down as much as 95 hp at 9,500rpm and 53ft-lbs of torque at 8,000rpm. Weighing in at just 340lbs dry, the RG500 offered a top speed of over 130mph and could fire off quarter-mile runs in 11-seconds flat.  In fact, the two-stroke 498cc square-four engine had so much technology from the day, including the rotary valve and twin-crank, it featured Mikuni 28mm flat-side carbs, an exhaust utilizing SAEC (Suzuki Automatic Exhaust Control), a six-speed cassette-style gearbox, and thermostatically controlled liquid-cooling.

Elements such as the barrels and crankcases on the RG500 were virtually identical to those on the XR45 race bike, although a few changes were obviously made for the sake of the road-going model’s longevity.  Whatever your thoughts on its competition, the RG500 was the closest thing to a race bike you could buy, the others really just looked like their counterparts, this really was the real thing.

Pin the throttle on an RG500 and the first thing you will notice is the light-weight and smooth power delivery. The design of the engine (a square four with a diagonal firing order) ensures near-perfect primary balance. So good is the balance that Suzuki did not fit a counterbalance shaft to this engine which of course helps to keep the overall weight down.

Either way once you are through the initial acceleration and reach the powerband it will literally want to yank your arms from there sockets, at full throttle these babies are not for the faint hearted, did we say they were the closest thing to a race bike you could get?

Bring the pace done to a more sedate speed and these RG500’s are surprisingly easy to ride as the engine is very refined at low speeds, even more so when hearing from our vendor that on purchase he stripped down the rotary valves and replaced them with Mark Dent Carbon Fibre replacements as the originals are commonly known to delaminate and seize.

He also has a handful of receipts from it previous ownership that evidence the fact the troublesome leaky fuel valves have been upgraded so that other common issue has been resolved before it even appeared.  As you would expect, all the fluids and filters were replaced as needed when he purchased it and even now after its second spell of storage it has been given the once over and is running sweetly.

A very well sorted Suzuki RG500 that is ready to be ridden and with the benefit of all the little niggles that these are known for ironed out.

The Wheels Tyres Suspension and other

The chassis is a work of art and in wonderful condition. Made with aluminium, it features pressure castings for the headstock (which also serves as an airbox) and swingarm pivots with square section extruded tubes. The rear shock is squeezed by Suzuki’s excellent Full Floater set up which meant both ends of the shock are pivoted by connecting links and squeezed at once.

With modern brand spanking new Bridgestone tyres fitted to the original near perfect wheels and with the rear suspension, forks and every bush working perfectly the ride is just like it was when it left the factory. It even has a new battery.

During its recommissioning our vendor had the brake callipers front and rear and the anti-dive units repainted.  He also replaced the front disks, predominantly for aesthetic reasons as they had surface rust on the originals.  He has subsequently cleaned them up since and is happy to supply them with the bike.

Our view 

For those with or starting a motorcycle collection, a two stroke classic is very likely to be the first on your list and let’s be honest a Suzuki RG500 two stroke race replica is mooted as being the closest bike to the real racers of the 70s and 80s. To add Barry Sheene as a previous rider, there is no argument it has to be your first choice two stroke classic..

As stated above, this particular example is not in concours condition but with a small amount of detailing it won’t be far off.  A truly lovely example of this iconic race replica from what was arguably one of the most exciting eras in the pinnacle of Motorcycle racing.

Our advice is that you need to move as quickly as this bike if you want to snap it up as we envisage some serious bidding action!

Happy Bidding! Please remember, our site uses anti-sniping software which ensures fairness to all bidders. So, if a bid for a lot is received in the last minute, the auction will go into a 2-minute overtime period for each subsequent bid.

Vehicle Location: Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire SA73 – it’s the responsibility of the winning bidder to make collection / transportation arrangements directly with the vendor.

Have a question about this Suzuki RG500? Please contact the Evoke team at auction@evoke-classics.com and we will speak to the vendor on your behalf.

Guide Prices?

We’re different. But you know that. And we’re always honest. In a sector where no two classics are same, how does anyone put a ‘guide’.

Well, everyone knows the broad value of classic, let’s all be honest. So we don’t need to tell you what you already know, do we.

The ‘market’ decides and the old cliché that ‘it’s worth what someone wants to pay’ is no less true. So why kid everyone!

But, because we are different, if it really does matter to you, that’s fine, we want you to be happy. Just drop us a line at auction@evoke-classics.com and one of us will be delighted to ring you back and discuss, it’s what we do.

Tedious but it’s vital you read this, please.

We will always strive to offer the most descriptive and transparent auction listings available. However, we can’t claim to be perfect. Your own analysis is very important and we are here to help and also answer any and all queries you may have prior to purchase.

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