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Post by wayne on Mar 22, 2015 2:33:54 GMT -5
Just back from the Barry Sheene 3 day festival of speed at Sydney Motorsport park, Australia (Eastern Creek raceway).
I met up with Bob Young who's owned an RE5 for well over a decade and has a racing history that goes back much longer. He's combined the two and racing his RE5.
I've got some pictures that will be up later on.
Essentials are: stock frame and swingarm, upgraded rear shocks, front end and brakes from a GS1000. Front 18" wheel from an XL250 rear only because of better tyre choice available. Custom made 2" exhaust with slip on muffler. Stock carb setup modified only to accept a K+N style filter. Bob will be looking at two stage fuel injection or just going down the SU path in the future. No great hopes, this is just for fun and he feels that it's better than leaving it in the shed.
I must say that it struck a chord to be trackside and know that one of the bikes flying past was an RE5. You'll see when I get the pics that you'd never know. The Honda fairings hide just about everything and the sound is lost in the race cacophony.
His son, Ryan, clocked a 2:01 lap. He probably did better, I only timed one random lap. I'm told by people who know that a good street rider on an R1 or similar would be very happy with a 1:50 on this track so I reckon that's a damn good time for a 40 year old steamer like the RE.
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Post by SuzukiRE5 on Mar 22, 2015 12:16:33 GMT -5
Excellent, I look forward to seeing the pictures.
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Post by jm0406 on Mar 22, 2015 13:49:58 GMT -5
Do you think Barry ever rode an RE5?
Jeff
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Post by Jess on Mar 22, 2015 15:52:30 GMT -5
Great story Wayne...
Thanks for sharing.
Looking forward to the photos
Cheers Mate
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Post by wayne on Mar 22, 2015 17:01:17 GMT -5
Do you think Barry ever rode an RE5? Jeff You know what, Bob mentioned something about that............ I can't recall but will follow up. |
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Post by wayne on Mar 23, 2015 4:56:33 GMT -5
Yet again, apologies/excuses. Photos taken on a borrowed phone camera. Bob has done away with a lot of stuff to lighten the bike. Given that, I asked why he retained the fan considering that they tend to run cooler the faster you go. He's wired the fan to a switch on the left handlebar and uses it for delayed starts in the baking sun. Idling under those conditions will get the temperature right up there but once he's off the line, it's all good. He's severely limited the steering lock so that it's now a "100 point U turn" which helps to limit the possibility of a wild tank slapper. He's also got a steering damper on and as you can see, the pegs are now rear set. They're having trouble getting off the line fast and clean. A lot of jerking and wheel standing trying to keep the clutch release smooth. I noted that Sam once told me that he machined the clutch drums and used an extra two plates in his race bikes. The last picture is Bob himself. He races a screaming little 4 cylinder Honda which redlines way over 20 grand and leaves the RE to his son Ryan Young. I was so taken with his spirit and enthusiasm I whipped off my "Suzuki RE5 Owner's Club" hat and handed it over to someone who deserved it. And he was sincerely pleased to have it. Good on you Bob !      |
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Post by goandy on Mar 23, 2015 6:47:08 GMT -5
Nice! So what did it sound like with that exhaust? Has he done any work on the motor- rebuild, porting etc?
Oh, and love the mod on the clutch cover to enable easy clutch changes! What a stupid f*&$$ing design the original is!
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Post by jm0406 on Mar 23, 2015 10:09:34 GMT -5
That clutch whip off the line is something I would like to solve someday. I have to warn people who take the bike for a ride about it. Nice of you to whip off your hat, bet Bob is glad you didn't whip off anything else................
Jeff
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Post by timpa136 on Mar 23, 2015 11:42:24 GMT -5
All of that is most interesting! I agree the fan is a must.
Timpa136
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Post by charles on Mar 23, 2015 13:33:40 GMT -5
Forgive me for having a bad day of "Wandering Mind". My meds have been taken on time 'n everything.
The NSU Spyder, which gave us the NSU generic KKM-502 engine, licensed in many forms, was used in racing and, although I can't find the article, ended up giving somewhere up to around 120 HP. Porting, carb, the usual stuff. With old multiplier of 1.7, a 500 cc rotary would be considered 850 cc. So: 120 HP/850 cc.
Sounds about right, mebbe at the upper limit.
CW
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Post by wayne on Mar 23, 2015 16:11:40 GMT -5
Nice of you to whip off your hat, bet Bob is glad you didn't whip off anything else................ Jeff Bob and the rest of the paddock breathed a sigh of relief................ |
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Post by wayne on Mar 23, 2015 16:17:23 GMT -5
Nice! So what did it sound like with that exhaust? Has he done any work on the motor- rebuild, porting etc? Oh, and love the mod on the clutch cover to enable easy clutch changes! What a stupid f*&$$ing design the original is! Surprisingly, the exhaust wasn't particularly loud (but on day 3 in the pit garages, my hearing was suffering and I was smiling and nodding a lot without a clue what people were saying- it was probably deafening......sounded sweet to me). Bob felt that he'd got a horsepower improvement when he first rode it with the new pipe. I'd believe that. I've heard that Suzuki knew they were losing some HP when they went for the smaller "Spark arrestor" in the end pipe as per one of the early bulletins. Opening up the system had to help. As for mods, nothing at the moment. Bog standard engine. He was running mid field in his class but scored a 2nd in an earlier race against a field of mainly LC350's. The clutch "mod"............just a plate screwed on in the hope it may save grinding through the clutch cover during a big slide. One other thing to come of this is that Bob has met some rotary drag racers who have a shop. They quipped that if he had engine problems, "he could come over and they'd cut him up some new seals and fit them in an afternoon". I'd like to follow up on that. I have their details. One of the board members put an engine in for a rebuild over a year ago with a bloke we found up at Windsor. I know the engine got disassembled and cleaned but I've heard nothing since other than they were waiting on him to make some seals. |
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Post by wayne on Mar 23, 2015 16:57:42 GMT -5
Forgive me for having a bad day of "Wandering Mind". My meds have been taken on time 'n everything. The NSU Spyder, which gave us the NSU generic KKM-502 engine, licensed in many forms, was used in racing and, although I can't find the article, ended up giving somewhere up to around 120 HP. Porting, carb, the usual stuff. With old multiplier of 1.7, a 500 cc rotary would be considered 850 cc. So: 120 HP/850 cc. Sounds about right, mebbe at the upper limit. CW Sam told me that he felt they'd maxxed out his racing RE's at a genuine 125 mph (that'd be something like 140 mph indicated on an RE speedo). I don't know what that would translate to in HP. |
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Post by wayne on Mar 23, 2015 17:12:14 GMT -5
This is off topic but I know you blokes appreciate beautiful motorcycles. My friend is running a race team and asked if I could spare some time to help out at the meet. So I was working in this pit garage. For my level of expertise, that means I was making tea, handing out cupcakes and cleaning visors. If I'm good, they might let me wipe down the bike next time. For those of you who follow the Isle of Man, the rider is "Cam the Man" Cameron Donald riding MotoGallur's Egli Vincent with the single cylinder 500 cc Comet engine. Cam has held a number of significant TT accomplishments including lap records and Superbike and Superstock wins. The second picture is of the MotoGallur siblings. Aren't they pretty little pieces of sculpture. You could hang on them on your wall.   |
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Post by timpa136 on Mar 23, 2015 19:48:24 GMT -5
Wayne,
Were you able to see if they eliminated the stock exhaust manifold or is that a racing secret?
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