Post by texranger on Mar 29, 2022 8:35:42 GMT -5
Howdy!
New member from Texas and new to RE5 ownership - RE5 "A" 1976 - Frame number 15791 - 9.5k miles. I purchased my first RE5 a few days ago from a local rotary enthusiast dude (Mazda's all the way). Previous owner purchased the bike a 3 years ago and started a restoration. Frame was stripped and powdercoated since this was originally a Florida bike and some surface rust was already showing.
Project stalled a year or so ago and the bike sat in a corner, unattended. He posted it up for sale a little more than 2 months ago and while it took some time to get everything aligned, I finally brought it home Saturday and it's now sharing the garage with many other of my bikes (CBX, GS1000S, GS750E, GT750, GT550, Vespas, etc.).
The bike needs mechanical and cosmetic attention. First thing I did was to pull the carb to try to clean it to see if she would run better and oh boy....I quickly realized that I needed to tackle it way differently than other carbs I'm use to. I sprayed some carb cleaner, compressed air and called it a day. Amazingly, the simple carb cleaner trick and dialing the mixture screw helped a good bit. I'll need to do a proper service pretty soon. I'm suspecting the accelerator diaphragm may be on its way out.
And by the way, the "Jet needle" is not there. I read about those usually being butchered and or missing. She's also leaking some coolant from what I think may be the hose connecting the water inlet neck and radiator (pretty similar to my GT750).
But, she runs soo smooth (even with the carb hesitation)! I took it for a couple of short laps around the neighborhood and I can't wait to get it on nice road trip. I like to ride all my bikes...the more the better!
I also need to replace the tires as I believe they may be original...if not original, they are pretty old and weathered (Bridgestone Grand Speeds??) - I'll do that when tackling the front suspension and brakes.
I have been reading and learning plenty from this site already about this machine and I wanted to thank you all for keeping this place alive. I hope that I can add something to it.
Cheers,
Nic
New member from Texas and new to RE5 ownership - RE5 "A" 1976 - Frame number 15791 - 9.5k miles. I purchased my first RE5 a few days ago from a local rotary enthusiast dude (Mazda's all the way). Previous owner purchased the bike a 3 years ago and started a restoration. Frame was stripped and powdercoated since this was originally a Florida bike and some surface rust was already showing.
Project stalled a year or so ago and the bike sat in a corner, unattended. He posted it up for sale a little more than 2 months ago and while it took some time to get everything aligned, I finally brought it home Saturday and it's now sharing the garage with many other of my bikes (CBX, GS1000S, GS750E, GT750, GT550, Vespas, etc.).
The bike needs mechanical and cosmetic attention. First thing I did was to pull the carb to try to clean it to see if she would run better and oh boy....I quickly realized that I needed to tackle it way differently than other carbs I'm use to. I sprayed some carb cleaner, compressed air and called it a day. Amazingly, the simple carb cleaner trick and dialing the mixture screw helped a good bit. I'll need to do a proper service pretty soon. I'm suspecting the accelerator diaphragm may be on its way out.
And by the way, the "Jet needle" is not there. I read about those usually being butchered and or missing. She's also leaking some coolant from what I think may be the hose connecting the water inlet neck and radiator (pretty similar to my GT750).
But, she runs soo smooth (even with the carb hesitation)! I took it for a couple of short laps around the neighborhood and I can't wait to get it on nice road trip. I like to ride all my bikes...the more the better!
I also need to replace the tires as I believe they may be original...if not original, they are pretty old and weathered (Bridgestone Grand Speeds??) - I'll do that when tackling the front suspension and brakes.
I have been reading and learning plenty from this site already about this machine and I wanted to thank you all for keeping this place alive. I hope that I can add something to it.
Cheers,
Nic
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