'86 RG500 resurrection advise.

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IanC
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Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2021 12:51 am

'86 RG500 resurrection advise.

#1 Post by IanC » Wed Nov 03, 2021 11:32 am

My dad has an RG500 he bought new in '86. It has been sitting for about 25 years. I'm going to get this beast running for him again. I don't have any experience with these bikes and very minimal 2-stroke experience. Besides the obvious items that should be addressed on any bike that's sat for a long time, is there anything common to these that need to be looked at? The carbs were drained before it was parked but I plan on dropping the bowls and replacing seals and o-rings, the tank was emptied and is in good shape, and the motor spins freely. Any good source of parts?

tonyhes
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Re: '86 RG500 resurrection advise.

#2 Post by tonyhes » Wed Nov 03, 2021 10:54 pm

From my perspective.... I look at the value of these bikes. This isn't finding a 750cc Honda interceptor this is bike worth 15k+.
Personally aside from the motor there isn't anything particularly special about the RG... It's made to be light (aside from the exhaust) so be careful with the bolts into the aluminum but meh go for it. Keep in mind the plastic's will go brittle, the grease may have... lost its greasy.
The engine however. When you say little experience I think too myself and engine for one of these bikes sold for $5000ish in BC Canada. (Just the engine). Hell you could put some gas in and have it running no problem. (No mention of mileage) Or you could damage some rare parts and make yourself an uphill battle... the cranks have seals in them too. Choose wisely.

Ebay has parts, ebay uk has lots of NOS stuff (suzuki apparently still making some stuff), https://alexmichrg500.wixsite.com/, wemoto.com. Lots $till to be had.

Strokeofgenius
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Re: '86 RG500 resurrection advise.

#3 Post by Strokeofgenius » Thu Nov 04, 2021 10:18 am

I would say at the very least drop off the carbs and check the disk valve cover inners for signs of coming apart.This is a gasket type layer called pertinex ,I think ,which is glued on but comes apart and goes into engine.I've had 2 seizures caused by this crap breaking down.They can be still bought from suzuki or get uprated ones from Mark Dent which is what I did.
Please keep diesels from our roads

IanC
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Re: '86 RG500 resurrection advise.

#4 Post by IanC » Thu Nov 04, 2021 8:03 pm

I suppose I should have been more specific. I have limited 2-stroke experience in that I've only owned a GT550 and a GT185. I am a former European auto tech and currently a service manager for a large H-D dealer. I spend a lot of time working on bikes and reading service manuals. While the Gamma motor is pretty trick, it's a 2-stroke which are pretty simple. Mainly I was just looking for specific things to look for from other people's experience with these motors.
Thanks for the tips. I definitely planned to drop the carbs so I'll check the disk cover inners.

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ns86
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Re: '86 RG500 resurrection advise.

#5 Post by ns86 » Fri Nov 05, 2021 11:00 am

You may well be able to do the Carbs and RV Gaskets and get it running but I would be more diligent than that.

Obviously, crank seals are a real cause for concern after a quarter century sitting. After being out of commission for 25 years I would INSIST on doing a leak down test before making any decision on how to proceed.. Not an engine you want to "hope for the best" with.

Get it right the first time. Odds are it needs new crank seals and others as well.
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Questo vecchio rz
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Re: '86 RG500 resurrection advise.

#6 Post by Questo vecchio rz » Sat Nov 06, 2021 1:32 pm

Yep..25 years. 1/4 century , 2.5 decades..no matter how ya measure the time; it's a long time.

Providing there was no corrosion or condensation or freezing East coast Winters,that's it's truly stored in a decent environment hopefully with the pipes covered.

1.) Biggest concern for me would be condensation getting into the pipes through an open atmosphere and causing corrosion to the " cranks".

2.) Seals no doubt...As you know leaking seals on a 2 stroke number one cause of seizures. A complete reseal would be a good idea. As these motors can fetch 5 -10 k US dollars to build .

3.) Depending on the year there's a gearbox issue they could rear its ugly head and that "could" potentially
absolutely destroy your motor.
Research it and fix it if necessary.

4.) Carb clean & rebuild is a given... No advice necessary.

And yes reach out to Mark Dent, he's the leading Gamma go to guy...
Anything you want to know stock to modified, he can answer. Few if any can match his capabilities w the Gamma.


Even stock their exilerating , when modified there absolutely like .......NOTHING YOU WILL EVER RIDE...from 6500-redline...you have to experience one.
. also a few members here have them and have rebuilt them, I'm sure one will reach out to you e good advice
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IanC
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Re: '86 RG500 resurrection advise.

#7 Post by IanC » Sat Nov 06, 2021 1:35 pm

ns86 wrote: Fri Nov 05, 2021 11:00 am You may well be able to do the Carbs and RV Gaskets and get it running but I would be more diligent than that.

Obviously, crank seals are a real cause for concern after a quarter century sitting. After being out of commission for 25 years I would INSIST on doing a leak down test before making any decision on how to proceed.. Not an engine you want to "hope for the best" with.

Get it right the first time. Odds are it needs new crank seals and others as well.
That's exactly the kind of recommendation I was looking for. Thanks! Got the bike out of dad's garage to see it's first daylight in a very long time. Washed it up and hauled it to my place to start the resurrection.

IanC
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Re: '86 RG500 resurrection advise.

#8 Post by IanC » Sat Nov 06, 2021 7:46 pm

This motor was gone through and slightly breathed on by Stan Stevens shortly before it got put to bed. Hopefully between the "recent" build and the temperature controlled storage it won't need too much. The tank had been coated before it went to storage and looks very clean. Just turning it by hand the motor spins freely. I'll be sourcing some plugs to block things off for the leak down test and will go from there.

Chris in TN
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Re: '86 RG500 resurrection advise.

#9 Post by Chris in TN » Mon Apr 18, 2022 3:44 pm

Or we could just start it!

Guys, I'm the original owner of the bike in question and while I'm aware of all the things mentioned in the comments above I also know the bike was stored after a fairly fresh rebuild by the premier Gamma specialist of the time (1991) Stan Stephens. The motor internals look good, the motor turns over just as well as it did when parked, compression is optimal.

So, we cleaned the carbs, misted the cranks with spray gun oil to make sure everything inside was slippery, poured fresh oil in the tank and made sure the oil pump was working, installed a new battery and air filter...and kicked it over. Popped on the 3rd kick, ran on one cylinder on the 5th then died. Ran again on the 3rd cylinder a little longer each time for the next 4 kicks. Ran continuously on #3 cylinder on the tenth kick and then over the next 90 seconds the other cylinders chimed in. It was pretty fun watching each exhaust pipe sprout its own smoke plume. Ran it for a couple of minutes before shutting it down and eyeballing everything looking for leaks or other problems. Found out #4 exhaust gasket wasn't sealing. Once the inspection was over, we tried starting it again. Leaped into life with just a prod of the kicker as it always did back in the day.

I think the engine is ready for some light duty after we finish refurbing some of the cycle parts. The front brakes are rebuilt, the wheels need new bearings, the chain has been replaced due to rusty links, new fairing parts are being integrated with the old and the whole will get a fresh paint job by a pretty talented guy who the area HD and BMW dealers send their work to. Hopefully it'll be on the road before the end of the summer and I'm looking forward to taking it up to Deals Gap which is only about 25 miles from my garage door. The light duty idea is careful riding in the local area for a couple of hundred miles giving the bike time to sort itself out. After giving the bike time to present any problems I'll try venturing beyond easy trailering range. :)

Plans for the future? Yes, the bike always had a few weak spots and there are solutions for some of them now. The disc valves and the cheesy phenolic they ride on caused the blow up that necessitated the rebuild in '91 so I'll be rebuilding those with the modern improvements pretty soon. The gearbox 2nd gear was a problem too but I have a spare set of gears and the gearbox couldn't be easier to access. The clutch basket is pretty used up so I'll be looking for a solution there too.

But for now, it's enough that the Gamma's heart is beating again after a very long sleep.

PS: That Gamma on eBay for $46K now is astonishing. I seem to remember I paid a London Suzy dealer about 3000 quid for the bike back in '86 which was about $4500 USD at the time.

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phildu31
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Re: '86 RG500 resurrection advise.

#10 Post by phildu31 » Mon Apr 18, 2022 4:50 pm

Running a 2 stroke motor after sitting 25 years without rebuilding it is a very bad idea.
But it is your bike, so you do what you want.

rz500guytexas
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Re: '86 RG500 resurrection advise.

#11 Post by rz500guytexas » Mon Apr 18, 2022 9:30 pm

After a long sit I agree on a rebuild. Man if you loose a cylinder or even worse a crank, bummer. I know we just want to ride but my TZR is at 1 year and on hold. Rings were not gapped properly. Wish Rick Lance was still around. I am sure he has had a hand on yours at some point seeing he was in North Carolina. They are a hoot when properly tuned. Rode both stock ones and modified ones that he had. The big bore engines were scary to ride. Could never get out of third gear at the most around those roads.

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Re: '86 RG500 resurrection advise.

#12 Post by 2manyprjx » Tue Apr 19, 2022 2:26 am

I didn't see any mention of cooling system maintenance in your posts. 25 years is a long time for coolant to be sitting in there.
If you drain it, look inside the radiator for signs of corrosion. Removing the water pump cover would also give you a good idea as to the condition. If it looks good, refill with new coolant.
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Chris in TN
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Re: '86 RG500 resurrection advise.

#13 Post by Chris in TN » Wed Apr 20, 2022 10:55 pm

Well, I guess we'll see. If the darn thing is still running like a top in a year, we'll know, won't we? Conversely, if it implodes we'll know that as well.

As to Rick Lance, I'm sorry I missed him but I spent the majority of the last 25 years working for the DoD overseas which is the main reason why my little stroker was in limbo for so long. I was pretty up to speed on Gamma matters in the UK and Germany in the 80's and early 90's but when I retired from the military in '95 and then went back overseas I lost touch with most things RG. I do understand that Lance was a notable Gamma specialist here in the U.S. but other than noting that he seemed somewhat controversial with some folks but not knowing why really or what the issues were I really don't know anything about him. In any event, no wrenches have touched this RG except mine and my sons since 1991 and the Stan Stephens Stage III rebuild.

Thanks to all for chiming in and letting us know what you think. The advice is appreciated even if, or perhaps especially if I choose not to follow it. It all grist for the mill and taken into consideration. Thanks!

Chris

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