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Post by pmcburney on Jan 30, 2012 19:28:56 GMT -5
Of course, it might be a dumb idea.
I went to the Island Classic race meeting at Phillip Island over the weekend.
Wow, what a fantastic range of classic road-race bikes, and awesome racing.
I reckon I could get into it.
I'd need a bike of course.
An RE5 should do.
What could possibly go wrong?
The million dollar question is though, how do RE's stand up to the rigours of road-racing?
Fun or folly?
I would hear your thoughts, fellow RE nutters owners...
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Post by wayne on Jan 30, 2012 21:09:32 GMT -5
Jess would have a pretty good idea. Sam raced RE5's for quite some time I believe. He tried flat slide carbs and even blowers of some kind (he told me). But he also told me that about a genuine 125 mph was all that they could get as there was only "so much" you could do with a single rotor.
He also said that they beefed the clutches with 2 (?) extra plates and added an extra side seal like the Mazdas.
Wayne
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Post by bdalameda on Jan 30, 2012 22:39:16 GMT -5
When the Re5 was introduced, Suzuki lent two bikes to a couple of racers for an 8 hour production race at Willow Springs here in California. One of the racers was also a well known writer for "Cycle" magazine, Cook Neilsen. They ran the bikes in the 500cc production class and literally ran the bikes flat out for eight hours. They came in first and second. Afterward the rules were changed and rotary engines were no longer allowed in the class. I do remember looking at the bikes as I owned an RE5 at the time and I was part of the pit crew for a friend of mine who was running a bike in the 250 class. The only thing I noticed about the bikes different from the production bikes were the fuel petcocks had been replaced to allow more fuel flow without the vacuum shutoff and the exhausts must have been modified internally because they were a lot louder than a stock bike.
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Post by wayne on Feb 1, 2012 7:50:10 GMT -5
A small success clearly forgotten by the press...................thanks for the reminder.
The early bikes had larger diameter exhaust "spark arrestors" (the tube in the end pipe held in by 4 screws)- the blue one that just left my shed was a relatively rare example fitted with them. It can take a second look to even notice the change.
They are certainly louder because Suzuki reduced the diameter in an early bulletin for noise reasons. But I also believe that some power was lost with the later stingers.
Perhaps this was the difference if the rest of the exhaust looked stock ?
Also an interesting note you mention on the petcock. We had a fuel flow problem on an A model last year which was vastly improved by running on prime. Test riding my own A recently, I notice that the large fuel filter I'm temporarily using is full of fuel at low speeds and looks dry at highway speeds combined with an occasional symptom similar to running out of fuel.
I'm doing the petcock mod suggested recently by another member as it not only fixes leaks but improves fuel flow.
Wayne
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Post by bdalameda on Feb 1, 2012 12:04:33 GMT -5
The exhausts were definitely modified as my RE5 had the larger exhaust outlets and these bikes were a lot louder than mine. In those days the exhausts in AFM racing had to be stock appearing from the outside but that did not mean one could not do some interesting things to the insides of the exhaust. My first RE5 would run out of fuel if I tried to run it flat out - I would have to run it on prime or it would start detonating severely as it ran low on fuel.
Dan
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Post by pmcburney on Feb 1, 2012 16:54:40 GMT -5
Great info guys, thanks.
I'll study the rules when I get a chance, but I'm fairly certain I won't have to retain the original exhausts.
The rules are such that as long as the major parts look externally the same as what was available at the time, I'm free to modify the rest to my wallet's content.
This means I can fit either a single or dual muffler system of my own design which will do away with the pesky collector box on the engine and I won't have to worry about modifying (or the possibility of damaging) hard-to-get original mufflers.
An RE would fit into Period 5 (forgotten era, 1973-1982) Senior (368-500cc) class here in Australia.
I'd be racing against some formidable machinery, but I'm not hoping to win as much as have some fun.
Pared right down to race trim with a light, tucked-up exhaust and decent suspension and brakes, even a fairly stock RE should be reasonably quick.
I'll shoot off an email to Christian in Switzerland and pick his brains about flat-slide jetting (I have a carb and manifold waiting to be put on).
Watch this space.
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Post by mike500 on Feb 1, 2012 17:14:51 GMT -5
what sort of bikes would you be racing against over in the uk it would be the likes of the gt500 twin, yam rd400's kawa hi 500's and 400/4 and 500/4 hondas etc ?
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Post by pmcburney on Feb 1, 2012 17:19:07 GMT -5
what sort of bikes would you be racing against over in the uk it would be the likes of the gt500 twin, yam rd400's kawa hi 500's and 400/4 and 500/4 hondas etc ? Same here. H1 triples could be a bit hard to catch, but a 400/4 should be doable. |
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