Re5 new owner

[kettlerider]

Hi everyone
I have been reading through this excellent forum to learn more about the re5.
I would greatly appreciate any advice on what to check my machine for upon delivery, i noticed info about the check valves mod etc.
My first kettle was a j model and i did not know about the starter clutch bearing mod before it was too late and wrecked the end of the crank.
So any info you can give me on essential mods and things to look out for etc would be greatly appreciated.

Keep up the good work
Regards
Mark

[maleric]

Good question - where to start...

In general, treat it like any other internal combustion engine and start with a thorough exam to see if anything obvious is missing, broken or corroded. Get your hands on the owner's manual and the service manual and the technical bulletins. The suzuki service manual is very well written and they are easy to find.

Specifically, I would start like this:
I would drain all fluids and replace with fresh fluids. Examine the engine oil and make sure it has no water it it, examine the coolant and make sure it has no oil in it, look for obvious problems like sediment or metal chips, flakes, etc.
Next, start with a known good battery and make sure that the electrical system is intact - no sparks flying or fuses blowing, etc. The CDI box should produce a high pitched whining noise.
Check the throttle cables to see that everything is moving more or less according to plan - there is an adjustment procedure, but I would not mess with any adjustments until later (I am assuming you just want to try it to see if it runs, initially) some cables should have 'slack' in them!
I would remove the top of the carb to inspect the inside - but you could just remove the drain bolts and see if they are all gummed up based on what comes out. Clean the gas tank, add an inline filter, and make sure gas is flowing 'downhill' to the carb.
Inspect (and probably replace) the air filter - the old ones break apart and you don't want to suck that foam debris into the carb.
The check valve is important, but I have never paid attention to any of mine, so I assume I have been lucky..
Check the spark plug, then the spark by turning it over.
If it starts, run it only long enough to see that the throttle seems to be working OK. then recheck for leaks. Start it again and warm it up enough to remove the choke, see if it idles OK. If all looks good, twist the throttle but I never run at high RPM with the engine unloaded (ie bike on the center stand). When it warms up, the thermostat opens and you can look down into the filler and see the coolant flow - BE CAREFUL - like any water cooled engine, the coolant can spray out and burn you in an instant. If it is running too hot (check the gauge and use common sense) shut it off quick and figure out the problem. The exhaust pipes get very hot, despite their double wall construction.
Wait for others to post to this thread in case I missed something. Take your time, and if your mechanical skills are lacking in any area, find someone who knows engines and work with him - most of the RE engine is different than a conventional MC engine - but common sense still applies! A decent mechanic can name most of the carb components just by looking at one - a float is a float and a float valve is a float valve. If you see anything that looks wrong, stop and check into it before proceeding. The RE5 will belch some smoke, and it will sound louder than a 'normal bike', but these are OK.
9 times out of 10, if there is something wrong, the previous owner did something to it. Anything that looks suspicious should be double checked. One great thing on this forum is folks can post pics and ask others for their opinions. Jess can answer any question under the sun, and there are many of us out there that have restored a few and can answer most questions. I have 10 running RE5 bikes, but I have NEVER touched ignition timing because I never had the need (and if it works don't mess with it!) so I won't answer any question about ignition timing.
Good Luck!!

[kettlerider]

Thanks Maleric i really appreciate your time to reply to me.
When the bike arrives i'll let you know how i got on.
Regards
Mark

[wayne]

I would, and this is just a personal opinion, put a little GTX in the fuel for a very first start of an "unknown" history bike. The tip seal lubrication is supplied by the line that runs up from the metering oil pump to where it runs through the banjo check valve fitting that screws into the front of the carby. You only need a tiny amount Fuel:GTX at around 100:1 and just a couple of litres if fuel in the tank for a first start. It'll cover your apex seals for any "lag" in the time it takes to pump oil up into the float bowl or any other problems like air bubbles or failed check valve.

Once the bike is running on the stand, do the metering oil pump check ASAP to make sure all is good there (it's pretty simple check but very important).

Finally, and once again, my opinion, call Jess and order a new Check valve. Toss the old one, they are not very reliable at this age and can cost you an engine.

Cheers,
Wayne

[ziggystardust]

Hi Mark and welcome.

You may find these two pages from my website useful in returning your RE5 to it's former glory.

www.angelfire.com/retro/roadster/index-9.html

www.angelfire.com/retro/roadster/index-12.html

Lee

[maleric]

A couple more thoughts:

With regard to lubricating the seals at first power up: the method described above (adding oil to the fuel tank) is a good idea, I've never done that, however. I have sprayed penetrating oil (WD40) into the spark plug hole and turned it over several times, but I usually did this as soon as I made my purchase (because I did not know how long it would sit before I could start my restoration).

The photo-journal posted above is pretty much the same plan that I had for each RE that I restored, however, when it was time to disassemble the bike, I sometimes realized that I did not have to tear the bike apart to clean, polish, and refurbish each component. (this was true for the 'better' ones that I purchased, some of my 'rust buckets' really do require stripping to the frame for repaint or powdercoat). But the one part of the engine that I would not remove unless I absolutely had to is the Clutch cover on the right hand side. Its removal exposes you to several areas that require a great deal of care: water seals, oil seals, and the distributor. The problems occur during re-assembly: if you are not careful, you could get fluid leaks and/or disturb the timing. And (in my opinion) you do not need to remove this part to clean and polish it. So I would not remove that case unless you had a problem with the clutch or primary chain. On the one RE5 where I removed the clutch cover, I got my friend (a Suzuki mechanic with the best set of 'wrench skills' that I know, and he helped me (actually, I watched as he worked his magic)). The other cases are much easier to remove and re-install, but again, I have never found it necessary to remove them to clean and polish them.

Protect the radiator if you remove it, or when you service the carb - it is easily punctured by by sloppy wrench work...

Good luck and keep us posted with your progress or any questions that pop up along the way. Enjoy it, too - I do not consider myself to be a good mechanic (I can't fix my lawnmower or Pontiac Fiero, but I have found the RE to be fun and easy to work on...) At the Suzuki dearler where I worked, I was a parts manager and NEVER allowed to touch a customer's bike in the service department.

[billquack]

Do you still have all 10 RE5s, And if so are all of them restored?

[maleric]

I have 13 RE5's:

4 are fully restored: 9.8 or 9.9 out of a possible 10 score.

3 more are running, all parts present, but not perfect (yet): average score is 8.5 / 10.

3 more are running, but need more work: problems like seats need to be recovered, some corrosion or pitting on the metal parts, some dents in the fenders, some parts not truly original to RE5, etc: average score is 6.5/10.

3 have seized engines and will not be restored. Most 'rarer' parts were removed to allow the restoration of the other bikes. CDI boxes, gauges, exhaust pipes, radiators, brakes, seats, handlebar controls, fuel tank, headlamps, wheels, etc were all removed, refurbished, repainted or cleaned for use on the others.

I had a 14th RE5 for a brief period - it turned out that the bike was a stolen bike, and I had to surrender it to law enforcement that day in order to avoid prosecution. (That bike had the Lester Mag wheels on it - the only reason I bought it - and it had a title, but the signature was a forgery).

Of all these bikes, only 3 were M models and 2 of those were seized, so I only have 1 M model - and it is orange and I hate the orange and wish I had a blue one. I only have one touring kit (with the fairing, the bags, and the luggage rack) but it is not installed. 1 of the runners has no title. 5 of the bikes have less than 6000 miles on the odometer. I spent 29 years buying and restoring RE5's. My first 8 bikes are in the online registry that Sam started.

My first RE5 had 19000 miles on the odometer when I got it, and I put 23000 miles on it over a 5 year period. It never missed a beat and all 23000 miles were on one spark plug!! Most other bikes I did not ride for more than 300 or 400 miles each, enough to convince myself that the engines were reliable.

I have 4 GT380's but only one is fully restored. The others are not worth the time and money to restore (well, maybe one more is restorable...)

My daily rider is a ZX11. But I don't ride daily anymore.