RE5M near Tampa

[gerryggg]

Craig's List in Tampa has a listing for an RE5M in Pinelllas Park for $650.

tampa.craigslist.org/pnl/mcy/2447724447.html

I sent the lister an inquiry, but haven't heard back yet. This could be the project bike I've been debating about getting for about a year now. It had to be either a Suzuki or a Norton and if it's a Suzuki I can't think of anything better than an RE5.

[SuzukiRE5]

I hope you end up getting it. You sure can't beat the price, even if it needs lots of work. Good luck.

[gerryggg]

So far I haven't heard back, but it's still listed.

[gerryggg]

Goiing to look at it in the morning. Wish me luck.

[RE5Gary]

For $650, you can't go wrong. I have a feeling you are going to come back with the bike.

[ziggystardust]

$650, pocket money for an RE5.

Some pieces missing but what caught my eye was the carb, wonder how well that worked or if at all?

Z

[gerryggg]

I noticed that as well, It looks like some sort of VM Mikuni. The other missing pieces shouldn't be much of a problem. The front master cylinder was just a standard issue dual disc . The gauges can probably be fixed or updated. I know a guy who does great seat work and can have that hideous aftermarket seat re-done. I've even got the wife on board as long as I don't "spend thousands of $$ right away." The guy bought it off e-bay about 7 years ago. I'm not sure he's ever had it running. There is no title but he has a bill of sale and it has an old Florida inspection sticker on the fork so it was registered in the state at one time. Should be interesting but I'm taking cash, a van and a friend. ;D

[gerryggg]

Well I did the deed! I got the bike for $600. It included a factory shop manual in very good shape. It is frame # 10569 and engine #10270 so it's a fairly early unit. It will need a lot of work but it seems to have compression. I haven't checked it with a gauge yet, but I kicked it over and after replacing the main fuse and playing with some marginal wire by the fuse holder, I actually got it to turn over with the starter. The carb is a flat slide Mikuni and the slide is stuck shut. It was full of water. The good news is the engine generated enough intake vacuum in the short time I cranked it over to actually pull some of the water into the intake tract. The unit is rough as would be expected for the price. I'm going to try to get an actual compression reading and then strip it to the frame and start restoring piece by piece. I have the actual factory parts micro-fiche and service manual and I believe we may actual have some of the special tools at work. It will be a long term project, but I'm looking forward to it. I have a tentative goal of May 2012 for a finish date. That would be in time to enter it into the Ride Into History show at St. Augustine, Fl. The would be the anniversary of the day I saw the bike that got me back interested in the RE5. Wish me luck, it's mine!

[Jess]

Before you spend a great deal of time and money, I suggest a proper compression test.

If the proper is no good to start, that may make a difference in how you view the project.

Just my 2 cents,

Best

[gerryggg]

That was my next planned step. I don't have an RE5 compression tester, but I've read here that it was possible to get a ball park figure with a regular compression tester. It's been sitting for almost 7 years. I squirted a little WD40 into the intake port to displace any water it might have ingested when I cranked it over, then taped a bag over the port until I can get a gauge to test it properly. What I understand from reading here is that the compression should be in the 115-125psi range.

[Jess]

I would squirt castrol gtx 20-50 in the spark plug hole and rotate the engine slowly with the kick starter, unitil you are sure it is good and lubricated.

You can get a "down and dirty" compression reading with a standard compression gauge. 125psi is what a new engine should be.

What you cannot determine is if one face or the rotor is bad with a standard tester. The Suzuki tester gives readings for all three sides of the rotor.

When you are certain the engine is well lubricated, crank on a fully charged battery, for a maximum of 3 seconds and record your reading.

That will give you a general idea of what condition the proper is in.

Let us know what you find.

Best

[gerryggg]

Thanks. I'll probably use Rotella instead of Castrol as I I have some of the former and none of the latter. I'm trying to see if I can dig up one of the Suzuki testers to use. I used to have one when I was a service rep at Suzuki so I've contacted one of my former fellow employees to see if there are any still floating around. We also used to have one where I work now (MMI) but I haven't seen it for a couple of years. Since the school has a tendency to get rid of stuff they aren't using I don't have high hopes I can dig it up, but I'm going to look around. I know we hung on to the rotor proper cut-away when they were going to dump it so maybe I'll get lucky. It'll be at least a few days before I can get to it. Living in Florida this time of year the 1.1 acres of yard I have require I stay on top of the grass cutting or it gets so high I can't even find my car port.