|
|
Post by h2e Al In Aus on Feb 22, 2021 18:05:04 GMT -5
I remember when they came out I was an apprentice at a Suzuki bike shop in Sydney Aus , and remember how many lookers came in to check out our RE5 , lots of interest , BUT no sales ? , I have a few reasons why I wouldnt have bought one in the day , with the roads and tyres of the time it wasnt uncommon to drop a bike due to gravel on the road , on oil or fuel spills !!, So as soon as you see an oil filter sitting out in the breeze along with the ignition unit that were going to hit the road first !!!, you were walking home !!!, carby inlet much the same on the other side !!!, have any of you had the same ideas  , someone that rode bikes would not design it like that was my first thought ?, look forward to your input |
|
|
|
Post by Framitron on Feb 22, 2021 18:48:21 GMT -5
The crash guard works quite well actually. Well, I can only speak for the left side as that is the only side that I have tested in the asphalt "laboratory" about 26 years ago. Luckily it was a lowside at less than 10mph on an extreme hairpin turn. Minor scuff on handlebar grip, centerstand foot knob thingy wore down about 5mm and crash guard got some decent rash along its entire left side flank. Not a scratch on anything else. I was surprised how far that bike slowly slid across the pavement considering that I landed on my feet and kind of watched it sliiiiide about 15 feet like a chunk of ice across a frozen pond. Jogged over, picked it up (with the usual non-trivial effort), restarted and rode home. I was surprised that the mirror didn't break. Its still on the bike, I'll have to look at it closely and see if there is even a scuff on it.
Yeah, Suzuki probably could have packaged all of the engine components in a more compact configuration but the current arrangement is nice to work on for us. I assume that since Suzuki was under extreme time constraints they probably just came up a packaging scheme that worked and didn't try to optimize it. That could be for the future models. (And the dual rotor of course!)
|
|
|
|
Post by wayne on Feb 22, 2021 20:39:41 GMT -5
I looked at an M, maybe early '76 when I was thinking about a new bike. It was a great price. Reduced to $1399, 12 month warranty on the bike, lifetime on the engine. Unheard of. But all I could think was "how do I work on this?" Back then, even with a new bike, after the first service I did all my own work. Not uncommon.
Mid 1977 I looked again and the dealership had a black A model. But I bought the GT750B. Two reasons this time, still worried about working on it and price was high. GT750A was $2,099, B $2,199, GS750B $2,299 and I think the RE5A was also around that higher price. Couldn't go that extra hundred bucks.
|
|
|
|
Post by goandy on Feb 26, 2021 23:24:19 GMT -5
I was 4 when they came out.  |
|
|
|
Post by don07tncav on Feb 27, 2021 6:07:15 GMT -5
Got a used touring model in 77 or 78, couldn't afford a new one in 75.
|
|
|
|
Post by timpa136 on Feb 27, 2021 10:26:21 GMT -5
I remember when they came out I was an apprentice at a Suzuki bike shop in Sydney Aus , and remember how many lookers came in to check out our RE5 , lots of interest , BUT no sales ? , I have a few reasons why I wouldnt have bought one in the day , with the roads and tyres of the time it wasnt uncommon to drop a bike due to gravel on the road , on oil or fuel spills !!, So as soon as you see an oil filter sitting out in the breeze along with the ignition unit that were going to hit the road first !!!, you were walking home !!!, carby inlet much the same on the other side !!!, have any of you had the same ideas , someone that rode bikes would not design it like that was my first thought ?, look forward to your input Good observations and they likely had a large part to do with sales. I think most people rode within the confines of the tires of the day, we didn't have the much improved tires of today. The bike was aimed as a gentlemans touring bike so dumping the bike was less of a concern. I did dump the bike quite a bit from civilization and punctured my oil filter, too. With my tow strap and the help of Rotorious, he pulled me to a mom and pop shop and we soldered the split filter and I was able to get home, hundreds of miles home. I always wondered of the BMW's cylinders but they seem to survive a get off. I was an apprentice , too having just started a few weeks earlier for Rotary introduction service school. After becoming familiar with the bike , that diminished any fears of newness or apprehension in my mind. I am pretty sure the engineers that designed the bike also rode them. I waited nearly 3 months to purchase. Tim |
|
, someone that rode bikes would not design it like that was my first thought ?, look forward to your input 
]
