N_Tart Posted August 21, 2004 Share Posted August 21, 2004 Now the keeper of the garage has said yes he's insisting that I get genned up before I buy. Do I remember rightly... RD500's where notorious for potential crank problems (something to do with oil seals??) Where RZ's european imports and did the RZV? have aluminum frames. Did the RG500 have gearbox problems? If you can answer these or add any other info I would be greatful. I tried Stan Stephens but he was his usual unhelpful self!! thanx. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liquidcooled Posted August 21, 2004 Share Posted August 21, 2004 hey N.. the best guys to talk to, that know about rd500's(and some own rg's) are here- http://www.yamaha-rd.com/forum/index.php?s...ddd15ea85cb0b5a tbh you're best asking them, sorry i can't help. 340's/400's are my bag 8) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator YamaHead Posted August 21, 2004 Moderator Share Posted August 21, 2004 N_...... I seem to recall hearing about Crank woes with the RD........New seals & a Welded & balanced Crank would probably cure that :wink: I Do believe the RZV's did in fact, have aluminum frames 8) ......seen some of them just Go Like Stink here @ a local racetrack 8) Suzuki's, for the most part, have always had decent gearboxes.......So, I'm not sure about the RG's BTW.....there's alot of good info to be had @ that site that LC posted a link to :wink: .....Some Knowledgable people there 8) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liquidcooled Posted August 21, 2004 Share Posted August 21, 2004 that guy z1100r(or something :? ) seems to know alot about them... think he owns a few too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator YamaHead Posted August 21, 2004 Moderator Share Posted August 21, 2004 Here's another place to have a look :wink: ...... http://www.rd500ypvs.co.uk Fred, the site owner, seems pretty knowledgable about RD's.......& He Owns an RD500 :tu ...... He was quite helpful in regards to hosting a pic of my RD, which is in his Gallery on that site 8) Email him!.....I'm sure he can steer ya in the right direction with some solid info :wink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N_Tart Posted August 21, 2004 Author Share Posted August 21, 2004 Cheers guy's! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JMW Posted September 29, 2004 Share Posted September 29, 2004 Whoops, missed this one. Sorry. (wait for the RD500 fans to sing) The RD500 is argueably one of the most unreliable 2 strokes around. Occasionally you get a good 'un but it's down the the crap engine design. You have 2 cylinders with reed valve induction and the other 2 cylinders with crank case feed. It's like 2 different engines stuck together rather badly with a reasonable gearbox in the middle of all that mechanical chaos. They don't go that well and don't respond to tuning that well either. However, they do look nice and for a bike that's only just a bit quicker than a good YPVS350 it's a bit of an inert disappointment. In full race tune you will be very lucky to see over 100rwhp out of one of these before it lunches itself. Upper offside cylinder is the usual suspect. My RZV has a heavily tuned RD500 motor in it and the tuner made additional coolant bleed points in the top head to help get that last bit of air out of the system. The engines let go at around 20K miles and once they go bang from a heat seizure then they seem to want to seize up on the same pot time and time again. Suspension, Maxton or Ohlins but the bendy frame sux bad so look for an RZV (Jap model) as you get the better alloy frame, FZR600 swinger and wheels plus front end so you get a bigger choice of tyres - viva Pirelli Dragon Super Corsas - fantastic boot but even those don't compensate fully. General tuning route for the home mechanic would be... pipes (must have), mild exhaust porting - say 1mm raise, work to the transfers and inlets and 3mm of ignition advance. Also, a visit to BDK engineering - 01508 481713 for a 3d remappable DCI and power valve computer can transform the lame ignition to somethinga bit more lively. Gives the bike a bit more aggression. The bike aslo benefits from bigger carbs and fibre reeds. Ditch the O ring chain if fitted as this gives you an extra 1 to 2 rwhp, worth it when you are up against the wall in the search for power. The RG500 is a faster bike all round, more torque and much more responsive to tuning. Just removing the factory cast in weld rings to the front pipe headders takes you to around 80rwhp - about 10rwhp more than the RD500 and 10Nm's more torque so it simply produces more grunt and top end power. At speeds over 135mph the frame gets a bit wobbly and you need a fork brace with a good steering damper or you just can't go over 140mph. My RG5 develops 104rwhp and even with the damper and brace it's wobbly at 150mph and above. Really scary ! The gear boxes suffered a dodgy 1st gear from the factory so if you buzzed it in 1st for a wheelie it would jump into neutral and paralell 4's don't like to be over revved so a lot died. Most bikes are fixed as the repair was dead easy. There's a 540cc kit available and the famed Mark Dent has a bike with around 147rwhp. He's said that the carbs are too restrictive and is developing a fuel injection kit to take the bike well over 150rwhp. R1 eater on the way. Simple mods are to advance the ignition a few degrees, decent pipes and maybe a top end tune. Advance the rotary valves by about 5deg and a little flowing to the inlet tract. The cranks have a designed mismatch that when sorted, gives you extra torque and a few extra bhp. Ditch the stock chain for a non O ring and go to a 15T front - makes 1st gear unmanageable but a wheelie in 2nd and 3rd is a real grin inducing feature plus you can smoke the rear boot easily on the apex of a tight bend if you feel so inclined (not that I condone or endorse such antics). Wheels and tyres, 16 inch front and 17 inch rear - makes for little choice of good rubber but Bridgestone's BT45s work well on stock wheels. I run a metmachex deep brace alloy swinger and GSXR750 wheels so Pirelli Dragon Corsa's grace mine and there's more grip to fry your mind. With over 100rwhp they are needed. Shockers, you need a good rear shox like a Kayaba or as in my case a Honda RS250 Ohlins 3 way adjustable. Great in the twisties and technical riding but unforgiving if you are on the road doing not much except posing... Great bike !! - My fave... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JMW Posted October 4, 2004 Share Posted October 4, 2004 Got it wrong, my mistake on the dodgy RG gearbox. It's 2nd gear that jumps back into N. Also, RGV250 barrels fit the 500 engine, there's a lot of work to be done to get it all set up properly and the benefits aren't that great. Fab bike though - the noise of the disc valves winding up when you gas it is something else. If anyone is down in the South West, get in touch and you are more than welcome to borrow the RZV500 or the RG500 for a test. I think you will agree the RZV (much improved to the RD) is a bit lame compared to the Suzi I hate to say :oops: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donald buist Posted October 14, 2004 Share Posted October 14, 2004 just stripped myRG5 gearbox and found a little bit of wear on 1,2,4,and6 .Not badly worn and not jumping out of gear and to be expected from a 29000 motor.Got the new gears from Suzi and pai £200 inc. vat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory Posted November 15, 2005 Share Posted November 15, 2005 since i am new to this type of site, iam very happy to see such great info about my son RD350 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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