Watched this with a massive smile, i was 17 in 1988 and bought an RG 125, could only dream of the 500. But the weekends spent with my mates ( AR 125, DT 125 , and a 1980 derestricted RD 125 ) The memories and that beautiful smell... priceless.
I actually did have an RG500 when I was 19, due to the rather relaxed licensing laws here in Australia in the 80's. It used to frighten the hell out of me when it got in the band. Now I'm 53, with a S1000RR and the RG would probably feel slow. Not in 1988 did it! Like every guy that owned one, I wish I still had it.
I don’t believe that you would find it slow especially if you took it on the track … so light and powerful. I think it’s similar hp per Litre as your RR … I got a run on a track on Pat Henans old RG race bike , owned by John Woodley in NZ and the only bike that day that could touch it ridden really well was a TZ350 Yamaha, the Yamaha was a knife edge powerband to ride , the Suzuki much more relaxed … If anyone out there in STRAYA has an RG500 stock street bike, two seater, I have a 1981 GSX1100 I’d be willing to trade … I’m in Kalgoorlie Boulder …
I think top end speed is misleading in terms of excitement. My KTM300 was far more exciting to ride than my Fireblade even though it did half the speed 😁
At the age of 52, I think it is a thing of huge beauty! Grew up on a diet of RG's, RD's etc. That bike is way better looking than any of the modern stuff!!
An important point. The main reason for the bikes GP success was that by being a square 4 that that allowed for the use of rotary valves. Up to that point Yamaha's dominance of that GP class was based on their use of the in-line 4 and the relatively newer reed valve technology. Suzuki's ace up-their-sleeve was that someone in their racing department did some outside-the-box thinking and realised that the 60s tech rotary valves were superior to the 70s tech reed valves in terms absolute horsepower delivery. All they need to do in order to make this possible was to build a square 4 engine.
It may not be "pretty", but I think it looks stunning and full of charm in a way that no modern bike ever does anymore. Those four pipes for example...
The GP bikes had the real killer looks but I think they did very good with the street version, solo seat looks better, weather wasn't the greatest but didn't look to be pushing its potential
I used to work for Cusworths Motorcycles as a sales person back in the day and I was able to ride all the latest bikes coming out in the mid to late eighties. I remember riding this bike all the time. Once you got it in the power band, this became a weapon. I absolutely loved this model and like everyone watching, I wish I had one now. Spectacular bike. This was the era of RD500LC, Honda 400, GSXR1100R, GPZ1000RX and I got to ride them all, but this was my absolute favourite. The memories! What a video!
I love watching videos on RG500s. This is a cool video that very accurately represents anyone who likes these machines…….they’re such a buzz. Actually very smooth, much more so than RD500 I have always wanted an RG500 so went and bought one two years ago. The best thing I have ever bought…..
Had a Pepsi one back in the very early 90s. What a blast to ride. Its all about the powerband. Hanging onto the gear would reveal an extra kick near the red line. This brings back memories. It certainly felt quick at the time, and very light. I got the 250 version a few years after I sold it. I missed the smell sound and 'fizziness'. Top video
RZ350 first bike. Threw a set of pipes on it and never fell out of love with it. Always dreamed of move up to an RG500. That bike taught me real throttle control and paved the way for a lifetime of fun at the club racing level.
I had a 1970 Kawasaki H1 Mach III. Now there's a bike with (non) handling and (non) braking to scare the crap out of you! Mind you, I was 19 years old and saw it as pure unadulterated fun! Lucky I'm still alive.
Most fun i EVER had was the brief period of time i owned a heavily tuned RD350LC YPVS engine *inside* a Cagiva MITO, which resulted in the beloved MITO-RD. During early 90s it was possible to race (and kick in the arse) a LOT of powerful 4 stroke (CBRs FZRs and GSXRs) down stelvio pass feeling like Mr. Wayne Rainey. GLORIOUS times
I wish I could time travel back to 1987. My Yamaha FZ750 would annihilate your oil burner. I used to red-line the shit out of it. How I never came off it I'll never know. Happy days. My next bike is going to be the Suzuki Hayabusa.
My first 'big bike' in 1987, was a 1986 RG500 with 1500 miles! Cost me £2995 (and that included leathers, helmet, gloves and a £200 insurance contribution!). I was 18 years old, and Lincolnshire was my playground... (and it still is!) 😉
Nice vid Chris 👍 It reminded me of the times when I had my RG250 Gamma MK III, happy days indeed. BTW, tell James the 500 is a square four, and not an inline four 😉. Please keep making these video's on classic bikes 👍. Maybe RD500, RC30, RC45, OW01, VTR1000 SP, etc next 😁
My first bike was an imported NSR400. I miss the smell of two stroke and that ring-a-dingding engine note. This video brought back a LOT of great memories. Thanks Chris and team for making an old man smile!
Thanks for bringing back the memories Chris. Having owned and raced 2 Suzuki RGV-250’s in the 90’s in the Australian 250 production class, nothing comes close to the smell of two-strokes starting cold on race day. Luckily, I kept one and put all the road parts back on it. It hasn’t been started in over 20 years and is now worth more than 5 times what I paid for it brand new. Phillip Island was my home racetrack and it’s always interesting when I come across people who have had a couple of track days on say a brand new R1 and I mention that based on my times on stock road biased tyres only in the 90’s that in 5 laps I’d be overtaking them. One day I’ll get it going again and see what it’s like with today’s tyre technology. 👍😎🇦🇺
Can't stop 😀I had an RD 350 YPVS F2 but a friend of ours had an RG500 in Pepsi colours. We were all very jealous and was convinced it was going to kill him.
I actually was a teenager in the '80's, and a mate of mines older brother got one of those when I was 15. I told him it sounded like a hairdryer. He took me for a spin on the back. I then told him it was a bloody psychotic hairdryer on steroids and amphetamines. He pissed himself laughing, and whenever he saw me for about 5 years after that he'd mutter, " bloody hairdryer," and chuckle. Gods but that bike was effin' awesome!!
Great! Love the bump start at the end - I remember being at Silverstone back in the day when race starts were still bump starts. It went from dead silence to apocalyptic in about 1.5 seconds (usually with Ron Haslam getting the drop on everyone). Happy days! Can't wait for the D16 episode...
Loved this - you understood this beast - I owned one for 3 years back in the late 80's . Yes, somehow I survived! Hitting peak power, front wheel in the air on every shift, a precision bike with no tolerance for error. Hooligan bike 100%
I was lucky enough to ride my friend’s RG500 back in the day, and his was super-fit and had a 2nd power and from 9.5K to 11K, power wheelyed in 2nd………..and was possibly breathed upon. Thanks Chris…….the gorgeous noise of that takes me straight back 😁😁😁😁
Still have mine I picked up at the Toronto Airport in 85. Took her to the track, put it together and raced it that weekend! Mickey mouse ears and turn signals never installed to this day. Still my baby! With jollymoto pipes ans all the steel bits removed it was under 300lb dry. Steel braided lines and decent pads and gold valves made the front decent. Was actually quicker than the gsxr 750 that came out the same year, at least up to a hundred mph. Chris you need a bit more time and practice to get her through the gears on the back wheel ya hoon! 😉
I remember reading an article back in the day which said you could easily swap the exhaust for the GP bike' exhaust, giving the road legal RG500 an immediate 14 hp increase.....it apparently fits right on.
My brother had one back in the day and I rode it quite a few times. That power band was so addictive and so much fun to ride! This video made me smile the whole way through👍👍
The RG500 is a motorcycle that looks best with a rider on it. I love the 80s slab-sided looks of it. Guarantee you show up at a Bike Night on this and you'll get much admiration. The front disk looks like it had a crack.
Absolutely loved my ‘84 KR250 tandem twin - quirky 80s as it got - go for any decent blast and have to push it straight back in the shed and change the rings!😁👊
What I remember most about them from the 80s was that people, including myself, bought various incarnations of the 350LC. Cheap to buy. 500 Gammas were as pricey as many big four strokes so a lot of potential buyers went from a 350LC or X7 etc and straight onto something like a GSX-R or FZR after a year or so. Still, the RG500 was and remains extremely desirable and maybe even more so now.
Me and a friend both owned RG500's in '86, I was 20 years old, my younger brother owned the RZ500 (Australia), their were no speed cameras lol, the RG was by far the better bike. I own an MT09SP nowadays, much more civilized, and just as fast, but I still dream of my old RG.
I love Geeking out on Bikes with you Mate! Yeah, I feel like I’m having a conversation with you almost. Your content is top notch. Keep it up! BTW my Blank Check Bike is the 998 . Grew up just loving the hell out of it stunning looks that still hold true today. Would love a museum quality piece someday 😂
Hail Seizure. As a kid I lusted so badly after a Stan Stevens tuned RG500 in Skoal Bandits livery, split rim wheels and all the toys, which sat in the window of Armstrongs on Westgate Road Newcastle. Sweet memories.
I had a blue and white one when i was 22, amazing bikes, like many who had one, wish i never sold it. My brother had one of the official Skoal Bandit versions imported by Heron Suzuki with document to prove. I have memories of being on the back of that as a teenager, great days.
I still sorrow over the demise of the road going two strokes... I loved them dearly.... I so wish they still made them...although there are rumours that perhaps they might...
Brilliant stuff as always! Was lucky enough to have a RZ350 before prices went crazy on them. Very run bike. You fellas are so lucky that you have access to all the 250,350,400 and 500 road smokers in the Uk. We were very limited in comparison here in the US unfortunately.
Yeah, takes me back to [insert year in the 1980s] when I was [17,18,19] and rode a two-stroke! Fantastic machine. Ah, the smell, the sound, Sam Fox, [insert another cultural icon] and the existential threat of nuclear war hanging over our heads!
They say you shouldn't meet your heroes, and this clip reinforces that statement. You can tell that he was only mildly impressed by the bike. Which is what I have been trying to tell people today, as I bought one brand new in 1985. They weren't that fast when they were new, a GSXR-750 Slabbie would absolutely hose my RG500 back then. So, for those that haven't ridden an RG500, I can tell you that if you do, you will feel deflated. They are not fast, and they do not feel 'special' to ride, nowadays. It you want to see his reaction to a motorcycle that REALLY impressed him, go to his ride impression of the Honda RC30. He just gushes about that bike!!
Before getting my full licence I always dreamed of getting a RGV250. (Ended up getting a CBR400 from Boxhill) I could only imagine how savage the bike that inspired it was.
U lucky Son of a Daddy! Ive enjoyed a heavily modified Kawasaki 150RR (200cc Block, Head & piston kit) it was amazing... ive had a Ducati Monster M900, Yamaha Thundercat 600 carb etc... But 2 Strokes Are Awesome!!!
I ordered a RZ500 back in 84 but never took delivery as it was damaged in the shop. I have never enjoyed a test ride so much though. The RG was apparently better again. I get my 2 stroke fix on a MX modified IT465 now and when that is run on mineral oil people come to have a chat. Bring back the 2 strokes.
Back in 1987 I had YPVS 350 brand new and even chose the reg E35YTO. Loved it & you riding them roads in the peak District brings back fond memories. Good work your channel is killing it 👍
Not only did Yamaha with their RD and Suzuki with their RG have a riotous time competing, but with engine designs too, Yam with a V4, Suzuki with a Square 4 (last, or, sorry, first big development for a square 4, was 1931 and British manufacturer Ariel). I had a RD350 F2 (YPVS) when I was 18 (am 51 now), and thought "HECK! If this lets rip at 5500 RPM!!! What do the 500s do! Blimey!!" hahaha 😉👍 😎🇬🇧
Yip had a NS250r back when I was 17, rode it like I stole it everywhere thinking I was Mick Doohan. Good Times and I'm still alive. Chris you should ride gen1 vmax they came out in 1985 with 140hp and even worse brakes now that scares the crap out of ya that's why I I've got one now.
Oh man what a beauty. My first bike at 16 in 1984 was an ‘82 RD350LC, then the RZ350, but the RG was the dream bike for me. You’re a lucky man to ride this bike Chris.
Nice one once again! 👌 As an idea for a feature vid, what about making a comparison between the same tire manufacturer's different categories and being thoroughly professional about it? Like, temperature measurements, track lap times in dry and wet and then after you are done, burnouts, jumps and slides.. What tire last longer in a rolling burnout done by a turbo busa?
Brilliant stuff real world experience counts for alot different brake pads etc but even my k6gsxr brakes are great for me ,, any thing old can be improved by, modern stuff,, longer time with the bike you have to adjust your riding ,,, making sure I get the lottery tickets to visit the shop ☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️
Great video! I started my riding on two strokes and everything you said is true, they are wonderful engines. I was lucky enough to ride a friends RG500 back in the late 90's, brakes and handling were a bit iffy(I didn't like the 'tucky' nature of the 16 inch front wheel) but boy oh boy, that engine!
3 of us lost our licences on one of these... Stan Stephens tuned lunatic of a thing that took on the constabulary every time it started. Sierra Cosworths aren't all that quick 😇
I had one of the first ones released in the UK and still have the Heron Suzuki jacket and still have the Manual that came with it but the bike has long gone.
I had a KR1S, only a 250 I know but damn it was fun. I knew that one of us was going to die and fortunately it was the bike after my bottle went entering a tight left hander and yet I'd do it all again.
Absolutely WOW.I to had a Pepsi coloured one for 2 days cus the gearbox blew up and nearly spat me off! The dealer did me a deal on a Gsxr 750H slab sider and as they say is a whole new chapter. My "condom" sponsered paddock jacket had the oil splats on it for years from the top 2 pipes exhausts ( well thats what i told my Mom when she tried washing it and the stains wouldn't come out) Lol
You guys really have to reshoot this and do it on a dry day, I'm rewatching this for a second time and it's painful to watch and listen to that bike be puttered around due to riding in the snow
Chris, you must try a Kawasaki 750 triple H2. The brakes on them were virtually non existent. It was nick named the widow maker. Would love one in my garage today.
