Description
Additional photos of this Suzuki RG500 Gamma are available here for your perusal.
Derived straight from Suzuki’s half-liter RG Gamma XR45 factory Grand Prix racer, the RG500 was a road-legal replica racer produced between 1985 and 1987. From the mid-‘70s to the mid-‘80s, Suzuki 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 the brand’s reputation for building high-performance race bikes, Suzuki decided to develop a slightly-tamed production version of its competition square-four machine. 7,340 examples were produced in the first year of production (1985), with another 1,412 in 1986 and a final 532 specimens in 1987, making for a total of just 9,284.
Classic Motorbikes described the Gamma’s place among its competitors by stating, “Place the RD500, NS400 and RG500 Gamma side-by-side and you would have three of the top manufacturers attempts at producing a replica of their respective GP racers, however, with all but one of those machines, all you purchased was a mere shadow of the original design. That is not to say the others were rubbish, far from it in fact, but the RG was definitely nearer the mark, and actually far closer to the race machine than you might ever imagine. The Suzuki is almost an exact replica of the race machine.”
This example is VIN: HM31AD103994. The seller acquired it a year ago from a 2-stroke specialty dealership in the UK.
The odometer shows 25,981 miles.
“Back in the late 80’s I was an apprentice mechanic at a Suzuki dealership in Rob McElnea’s home town, he used to pop in from time to time, a friend of mine had a Skoal Bandit RG500 at the time and I was in love with it and vowed that one day I’d have one of my own! Fast forward 33 years and my dream came true when I found this bike I had to have it. Having have missed out a few times over the years acquiring an RG500 albeit in standard colours I wasn’t going to let this one go but being a bit of a perfectionist it still had to be right.”
“Having have restored many bikes over the years I was pleasantly surprised to find this machine was in remarkable standard condition apart from the rasping Jim Lomas stainless and carbon pipes! Right down to the uncut rear fender and all the fittings and nuts and bolts, there is very little sign of any corrosion at all so I have resisted the urge to make any changes or improvements to it! This colour scheme was originally painted by Dream Machine race paint in Nottingham, England and as they have painted all my bikes it seemed wise to let them handle repainting of one side panel for me to address a few very minor scratches, there is no damage at all on the bike!”
“The bike is road registered and MOT’d here in the UK and I have done a few hundred miles on her this year just on local runs and shows as I didn’t buy it to rack up the miles! I have other bikes for that. It was fully serviced and given a thorough check over by a renowned 2 stroke race shop/dealership here in the UK a year ago and it runs, starts and performs sweet as a nut, exactly as you would wish, the carburisation has been set up perfectly for the JL pipes and it revs cleanly and strong right through the powerband and the performance is impressive for a 37 year old design.
“It really is a pleasure to look at and ride and own but the time has come for me to reduce my collection and concentrate on a few projects ongoing and let someone else enjoy her as it’s too nice to leave it sat on the workshop under cover not to be seen.”
“The bike has a spare screen, the pillion seat, an original toolkit plus a full set of original pipes in superb condition just in case you wished to put her back to complete stock.”
Modifications:
Skoal Bandit paintwork.
Jim Lomas stainless and carbon fiber race pipes, jetted to suit.
Tinted windscreen.
Cosmetic Blemishes:
“Very very minor imperfections if you look hard only due to normal wear and tear of a 36 year old bike and I am super picky.”
The sale includes three keys and “an incredibly rare original Suzuki RG500 paddock stand so you can display the bike.”
Currently located in Barnard Castle, England, this Suzuki is offered on a clean England title. Have any RG500 stories or questions about this listing? Let us know in the “Comments” tab!
