View Full Version : I have a hankering
This is not a euphemism.
I seriously want an RG500 4 cylinder 2-stroke from the mid-80s. I was a huge fan of the Yamaha RD series of bikes, but never liked the RD500 V4 - I always said I'd have the RG instead if I was buying that kind of bike
Now I have the urge, so today I'm looking at a blue/white RG500 just because I can. There's one I know of not far from me that is owned by the brother of a close mate and it may be for sale if I wave folding pictures of the Queen under his nose. He's had it from new (1986) and it's been in dry storage for 15 years, it's almost like new to look at but it needs a new gearbox - that's a simple job.
I may be the proud owner by this evening if negotiations go well.
fizzwheel
23-03-08, 09:35 AM
do it :cool:
do it :cool:
+1.
And then we want pics, please!!
oh my, think of all those piston rings :-) x 4
STRAMASHER
23-03-08, 10:01 AM
Still got video footage of some loon-ball who had made a TDR/RG500 ripping up the uphill straight at Knockhill, mostly on the back wheel.
Motorbikes are all about the engine for me and the RG is got to be well in to the top ten of best ever!?
Do it! Just for the sound and smell of it!:p
yorkie_chris
23-03-08, 11:47 AM
Giz a go mister :-D
petevtwin650
23-03-08, 11:50 AM
Ring ding ding:D
Gonna cost a fortune to run with petrol prices being what they are now though. :(
Convert it to Diesel.:smt045 It'll still look good and smoke too.
dizzyblonde
23-03-08, 11:58 AM
Hmmm, you know my other half is an RD enthusiast as we've discussed before........without even asking his opinion I will tell you the answer to your question
http://file034a.bebo.com/11/large/2007/05/14/23/2665286241a4381795716b706340049l.jpg (http://www.bebo.com/PhotoAlbumBig.jsp?MemberId=4064209807&PhotoId=4381795726&PhotoAlbumId=4361528838)
yes the RD 500 was a bit of an animal, well it was when it was your first big bike was one...and it spat you off and ate you for breakfast!! I'm sure Im Indoors would approve of you getting an RG500, just keep it quiet, it might get him wanting one too!!!
Dangerous Dave
23-03-08, 12:08 PM
Go for it Lozzo!!!
Alpinestarhero
23-03-08, 12:11 PM
You buy it. You fit new gear box. You prepare the bike for riding. You come to the Ace Cafe. You let us all ride beind you so we can hear the glorious noise of a 4cyl 2stroke.
We all get dead jelous.
Matt
WestleyTDPR
23-03-08, 12:15 PM
Personally i just love the smell of two stroke in the mornin' and the RG's look so cool with the tiny strip number plate between the exhausts
Well I went and had a look, and the years haven't been as kind to it as I'd hoped. There's corrosion set in on just about everything, most alarmingly on the wheels, which have almost corroded through in one point on the rear where it's eaten away at the alloy under the paint. The bodywork is mint, not a single scratch anywhere I could see, but the carbs themselves have seized up somehow, even poking a finger in and trying to lift the slides was a waste of time. It did kick over, but with a fair amount of effort and noise coming from the gearbox side.
I'm going to give it a miss, it's gone too far for me to be interested, which is a shame because I knew this bike from new and it used to be really well cared for. The owner moved in with his girlfriend about 10 years ago and he hasn't even seen it since then. It needs a lot more money spending on it than I'm prepared to put in, and I'm not that desperate to own one. There's others out there that are better.
petevtwin650
23-03-08, 03:44 PM
Sorry to hear that Lozzo. :(
Sounds like it could be a money pit.
Got the bug though now haven't you? :D
Yep, I'm going to go searching for a nicer one, has to be an early model though cos I much prefered that era's white/blue paint scheme.
Blue_SV650S
23-03-08, 05:24 PM
It needs a lot more money spending on it than I'm prepared to put in,
I don't know what he is hoping for, but fust offer him a figure that reflects this ...
If he tells you to swivel, then walk away ...
I'd love a 4cyl 500 2-stroke but they are all money pits and breakdowns/seizures waiting to happen!! :D
Looking at it and working out in my head what it's going to cost to put the nasty bits right tells me that it's not worth it, that's if the bike came for free. There's a good couple of grand needing spending at least, just to get it running and MOTable, and that's without making it look good. It's not worth it when I can buy a good running one for similar money.
I'll see if he wants to flog it for buttons so I can rob the bodywork, and that's about all that it's good for.
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