early 500 identification

advant63 · Post by **advant63** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 8:25 pm

i have picked up matching #'s 500's.
v.i.n. 12494 & 14571.
the later frame has already been molested to a hardtail.

he had advertised fork and crank seals as well as 1st over piston and rings.
in talking talking to him i found he had two basket cases that he'd been picking parts off for chopper/bobber projects.
no fenders no seats no headlights no sidecovers one intact gauge set,fuel and oil tank.
this one is going to sting a bit. $$
there is the box of nos bits, including complete top end set, tank badges, lever rubbers, tank mounts...
does anyone know the v.i.n. split from the 500/5 to the cobra?
muzza's site starts at 12514 for the cobra.

Post by **Suzsmokeyallan** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 8:54 pm

I'm not 100% sure about a statement you made but literature shows the Cobra and the 500/5 were the same model just named differently for certain markets.
The first major change came in 69 with the T500II

advant63 · Post by **advant63** » Thu Aug 06, 2009 5:40 am

suzukicycles.org makes this statement.

The 500/FIVE itself was a short-lived model, seemingly only seen in any number in the United States, and was quickly replaced by the Cobra. The most significant change to the original model was given little publicity at the time despite its dramatic effect. The swingarm of the 500 Suzuki was changed from 52.7 inches on the 500/FIVE to 57.3 inches on the Cobra. This is a very radical change on any bike but on the Suzuki 500 the longer wheelbase contributed to the bikes reputation for sure-footed and stable handling. For many riders it was also useful as the extra length of the machine made for a comfortable tourer with plenty of room for mounting carriers, saddlebags or panniers.

muzza's site, as mentioned before, shows the cobra line starting at 12514, (with a disclaimer that it may not be accurate).

diamondj · Post by **diamondj** » Thu Aug 06, 2009 7:29 am

I think to the USA the 500/5 and the Cobra were pretty much the same. The very early bikes (the first 200 to 250) had a shorter swing-arm but otherwise appeared to be identical to your "garden variety" Cobra. Paul Miller had a short swing-arm bike someone traded him one year at Ohio and I believe the serial number was something like T500-102XX. T500 production would have started at T500-10001. I suspect Cobra, Charger, and Titan were all names attached to the T500 by various countries marketing departments.

Check the wheelbases on your T500s - the early short wheelbase bikes will have a 52.7 inch wheelbase and the later bikes are 57.3 inches.

How badly is the frame on the later bike mangled? Maybe you could post some pictures? Sounds like you have one good restoration candidate and one good base for a cafe racer?

Jughead has very nice fiberglass replicas of the Cobra side cover for sale. There's a guy in Australia that sells perfect replicas of the suede looking seat cover. Others here have argued the seat pan is different on the Cobra versus the later T500s but I can tell you the tanks are the same size and the mounting points are identical so you might be able to adapt the later seat pan. Fenders will be a bitch to find. The rear fender turns up on ebay every so often and usually sells for between $150 up to $400 or so. The front is nuts and on the rare occasion they turn up, they get anywhere from $500 to $1000! The headlight bucket and brackets are just painted versions of the chromed pieces on the later T500s so you can buy some rusty chrome bits cheap, strip them, and paint them.

Jim

Frank T · Post by **Frank T** » Thu Aug 06, 2009 12:18 pm

I can second what diamondj has posted. I have four early T500 bikes, one vin as low as 106xx and three in the 12xxx range and all of them are exactly the same except for color.

advant63 · Post by **advant63** » Thu Aug 06, 2009 9:26 pm

thanks gents. it's the first time i've put my hands on a cobra. i didn't realize there were so few short swingarms. still an excellent score

diamondj · Post by **diamondj** » Thu Aug 06, 2009 10:41 pm

As I think on it more, the short swing-arm Cobra Paul had (has?) may have had a number more like T500-100XX.

I bought my Cobra from a friend in Canada. It had sat outside for a few winters and was pretty rough. Once I had it I started noticing the serial numbers on other Cobras. There was a blue one at the first or second Mid-Ohio meet I went to that was a first place winner in the bike show. I later found out it was one of Paul's and it was number 10692. Paul has also had a red Cobra at Mid-O (12808) and a gold one (12485) as well.

My later Cobra is #14751 so it was probably built around the same time as yours Advant63. Heck it could have been sent here in the same container ship!

I also bought a bare frame and matching engine cases for Cobra #12666. I figure I can build a cafe or race bike out of it and if anybody gives me a hard time about butchering a Cobra, I can tell them the devil made me do it!

It's interesting but I have seen far more Cobras and even '70 T500 III's than the '69 T500-2. I've heard the production run was shortest on the '69 model versus all the other years of production.

Jim

cyclebuster · Post by **cyclebuster** » Sun Aug 09, 2009 9:07 pm

I own 1967 built T500/5 ser number 10203. It is and always was long wheel base. The frame is not capable of having a shorter swingarm due to a brace in the rear tubes. This is the 203rd bike made. no idea about any existing short models, i say show me.
if those bikes are missing that many of those solid gold peices, I wish you luck. This means anytime a seat, tank or other misc peices show on ebay i will be bidding against you. I need a tank seat, carbs, and left cover, i will buy from Jug.

The newer tanks are NOT the same, they do not fit at all. the seat pan is longer.

advant63 · Post by **advant63** » Mon Aug 10, 2009 5:02 pm

anytime a seat, tank or other misc peices show on ebay i will be bidding against you

bid with confidence, cb. i won't be tackling this pile any time soon. even then it will be a cafe seated mongrel.

I bought my Cobra from a friend in Canada. It had sat outside for a few winters and was pretty rough

that seems to be the destiny of half the bikes in canada. the other half go in barns for pigeon poo target practice and mouse nests.
i won't have to blame the devil for my hardtail. the p.o will have to answer to that.
in all honesty, he did a really nice job on the frame.

cyclebuster · Post by **cyclebuster** » Mon Aug 10, 2009 6:06 pm

WELL>>>
IF your going cafe, there is a ton of better carbs you can use, and cheaper. Any chance of selling me them? I have a nice cafe seat to swap.

advant63 · Post by **advant63** » Mon Aug 10, 2009 8:19 pm

sorry cb. i have two sets and there staying with their motors.