Brilliant bike. The center cylinder was always the one that failed.
My 2 stroke love was a Yamaha RD400. Amazing handling and shockingly quick- it was fun passing the 750s on a curve.
Attachments
Water buffalo? Brother's friend had one, brush painted a lovely turquoise latex as I recall. Another one has either the RZ or RG 500 2-stroke, stolen within months. Probably saved his life.
lol - yep water buffalo! The Titan was a lurid purple colour - original. The 750 was an insurance tender buy and got the full on brush paint bush-pig colour scheme. Fugly.
Either of them required a sailing trapeze to get them around a corner. Should have had an RD like SY's. Altogether a much better bike.
Either of them required a sailing trapeze to get them around a corner. Should have had an RD like SY's. Altogether a much better bike.
double entendre
that's why we called them "SOB"s...
I recall a salesman trying to sell me a Chrysler Cordoba with the "rich Corinthian Leather" back in the mid 70's.. (they also handled imports, which I was really interested in). After waxing eloquent over its many attributes, he asked me what'd I think? I proceeded to notice a small bubble on the rear chrome bumper, grabbed it, and pulled a 3 foot strrip of chrome plating off in the showrrom. Handed it to him and asked "Do you have any Scotch Magic tape?", then left the dealership and moved on. No wonder Detroits' in such dire straits...
John L.
that's why we called them "SOB"s...
I recall a salesman trying to sell me a Chrysler Cordoba with the "rich Corinthian Leather" back in the mid 70's.. (they also handled imports, which I was really interested in). After waxing eloquent over its many attributes, he asked me what'd I think? I proceeded to notice a small bubble on the rear chrome bumper, grabbed it, and pulled a 3 foot strrip of chrome plating off in the showrrom. Handed it to him and asked "Do you have any Scotch Magic tape?", then left the dealership and moved on. No wonder Detroits' in such dire straits...
John L.
Oh, come on people! Probably the most unpleasant experience about getting a bike is the incessant fixation of all the non-bikers in your life who insist that you're just about the die a horrible death.
The first thing the first person I met said when she learned about my new bike was: "have you got life insurance?" :/
(that could not be allowed)
Oh, my brother's ridden for almost 30 years now and one of my fav people at work was a former national-level flat tracker. Both are to some extent bionic.
The RG500 & RZ500 deserved the widow-maker rep from my recollection, insane for their time 2-strokes in twitchy, flexy tubular frames. Emission standards ended early what insurance rates would have soon afterward.
edit: pulled this off some random site. remember, this is a 25 year old bike
The Suzuki RG500 GAMMA is a two-stroke, square four Grand Prix Replica
measures (stock)
Lenght 2100 mm
Width 695 mm
Height 1185 mm
Wheelbase 1425 mm
Dry weight 154 kg
two-stroke, liquid-cooled square four
swept volume 498 cc
performance (stock)
Max Power 95 Hp 70.0 kW
Max Torque 7.3 Kgm 71.3 Nm
Last edited:
This spark plug tease, reminds me of when I was a young boy about 12-13, and I had a neighbor who owned the orchard surrounding my house.
We became causual friends, and one day he complained loudly how autos had switched from 6V batteries to 12V batteries. He claimed it was a conspiracy to save copper. He could think of no other reason. Years later, reading auto engine design textbooks, like many of you probably have done, I was shown the ADVANTAGE of 12V coils, instead of 6V coils. See, it wasn't a real conspiracy after all, to cheat the public, although the 12V battery's extra complexity and therefore cost, might have been offset by the reduced copper (wire) to the lamps, and the starter motor, at the inception.
When you think spark plugs, keep an open mind, for the same reasons.
PS All of my friends rode Harley's.
We became causual friends, and one day he complained loudly how autos had switched from 6V batteries to 12V batteries. He claimed it was a conspiracy to save copper. He could think of no other reason. Years later, reading auto engine design textbooks, like many of you probably have done, I was shown the ADVANTAGE of 12V coils, instead of 6V coils. See, it wasn't a real conspiracy after all, to cheat the public, although the 12V battery's extra complexity and therefore cost, might have been offset by the reduced copper (wire) to the lamps, and the starter motor, at the inception.
When you think spark plugs, keep an open mind, for the same reasons.
PS All of my friends rode Harley's.
Last edited:
I taught this stuff at one stage, and the received wisdom was that the shift to 12V was to overcome the problem of excessive voltage drop in the increasingly complex electrical systems. Ohms law dictated the significance of this.
An additional (but secondary) benefit was the ability to run ballasted ignition coils - a coil wound to run at around 8V with a dropping resistor that was switched out at start-up. When cranking, the coil got full battery voltage, ensuring best possible starting performance, but once running the 8V supply meant better mid and upper rev performance due to the lessened inductive effects (and hence shorter coil primary rise time) at that voltage.
As I said, this was received wisdom - i don't recall reading any specific literature that set the progress out like this.
Ballasted systems actually existed prior to 12V systems - so called "penny in the slot" bypass was used in a number of early american vehicles. But I suspect the move to 6 and 8 cylinder engines and the comparatively short ignition dwell periods these required was a significant driver too - making both our recollections right
An additional (but secondary) benefit was the ability to run ballasted ignition coils - a coil wound to run at around 8V with a dropping resistor that was switched out at start-up. When cranking, the coil got full battery voltage, ensuring best possible starting performance, but once running the 8V supply meant better mid and upper rev performance due to the lessened inductive effects (and hence shorter coil primary rise time) at that voltage.
As I said, this was received wisdom - i don't recall reading any specific literature that set the progress out like this.
Ballasted systems actually existed prior to 12V systems - so called "penny in the slot" bypass was used in a number of early american vehicles. But I suspect the move to 6 and 8 cylinder engines and the comparatively short ignition dwell periods these required was a significant driver too - making both our recollections right
Last edited:
weight is also a major driver for that shift too - a 48V system would allow significantly smaller and hence lighter components. And weight equals fuel economy...
- Status
- This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.