80 rm400

General discussion about Offroad two-stroke Suzuki motorcycles.

Moderators: oldjapanesebikes, H2RICK, diamondj, Suzsmokeyallan

Post Reply
Thebrandonbeezy
On the street
Posts: 20
Joined: Tue Nov 01, 2016 11:33 am
Country: United States
Suzuki 2-Strokes: Gs1000g gs850g ds80 tc185

80 rm400

Post by Thebrandonbeezy »

Sunday morning im trading my gs1000 for an rm400, the guy states the engine is fresh top to bottom ( new bearings, sleave, piston, and gaskets.) And from the video he sent me it is very nice running bike. It has the wrong fenders and missing the left number plate. What im wondering is, what are things to look for.. its clean enough that it'll just need some tlc and correct plastics.. from pics. Are there weak spots in the frames? Will i die? How reliable is it? What mixture should i use. I use caster oil and 93 pump.
And finally a couple pictures.. ignore the forward swept handlebars lol
Image
Image
User avatar
Jimroid
To the on ramp
Posts: 309
Joined: Sun Feb 21, 2016 8:32 pm
Country: USA
Suzuki 2-Strokes: GT500 T500 GT750
Location: Pisgah Forest, N.C. USA

Re: 80 rm400

Post by Jimroid »

I'd ask to see receipts. And if I'm not mistaken the 400 pistons are getting very rare/pricey. All the PE's and RM's from that era have a good reputation.
rngdng
AMA Superbike
Posts: 1769
Joined: Tue Oct 14, 2008 6:47 pm
Location: Blythewood, SC, USA

Re: 80 rm400

Post by rngdng »

I find it curious that it has a taillight. RMs would not have a taillight, RMXs would have a tillight, but would be four-stroke!


Lane
If you stroke it more than twice; you're playing with it.

Too many bikes, too much time, ENOUGH SPACE, FINALLY! Never enough money.........
User avatar
Alan H
Moto GP
Posts: 3155
Joined: Thu Feb 16, 2012 11:50 am
Country: England
Suzuki 2-Strokes: 4 x GT550s - J, M, A, B.
Location: The Republic of South Yorkshire

Re: 80 rm400

Post by Alan H »

http://www.suzukicycles.org/RM-RMX-seri ... l~isoraami" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Personally, I would never use castor based oils in premix as it will turn to snot in the bearings and will need cleaning very regularly.
Remember, it's a racing oil and would be used on engines that would be stripped after every race.
If you intend racing it, use a synthetic oil, if using it 'normally' use a less expensive semi synthetic oil.
Think of how stupid the average person is, then realise that half of them are more stupid than that.
Zunspec4
Expert racer
Posts: 1087
Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2008 11:37 am
Country: UK
Suzuki 2-Strokes: T500R, SV1000S, TS125, Seeley T500
Location: Trowbridge UK

Re: 80 rm400

Post by Zunspec4 »

Alan H wrote:http://www.suzukicycles.org/RM-RMX-seri ... l~isoraami" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Personally, I would never use castor based oils in premix as it will turn to snot in the bearings and will need cleaning very regularly.
Remember, it's a racing oil and would be used on engines that would be stripped after every race.
If you intend racing it, use a synthetic oil, if using it 'normally' use a less expensive semi synthetic oil.
Hi Alan,

I used Castrol R30 via the std. oil pump on my Seeley T500 back in the day and did not have any "snot in bearings" issues. The engine was certainly not stripped after every race (it wasn't a TZ350 lol :D ). I currently use Castrol A747 @ 20-25:1 pre-mix in the replica Seeley with no issues.

I agree though, a modern semi or full synthetic oil is probably a good way to go. Just don't believe that you can go to 100:1 type ratios and mix at the recommended Suzuki ratios (25:1 should be a safe start).

Cheers Geoff
User avatar
Alan H
Moto GP
Posts: 3155
Joined: Thu Feb 16, 2012 11:50 am
Country: England
Suzuki 2-Strokes: 4 x GT550s - J, M, A, B.
Location: The Republic of South Yorkshire

Re: 80 rm400

Post by Alan H »

Fairy nuff Geoff.
I just posted that comment after a good friend of mine used a castor based oil in a GT750 and when he stripped it at the end of that year, the bottom end was toast and everything was bunged up with castor gunge. The snot comment was his description!
We used to use a small amount in petrol back in the day so we had the 'Castrol R' smell, but anyone who used it as engine oil had issues when it was used as a daily rider. Perhaps if an engine isn't used at max for long periods and not hitting the top end of temperature cycles for long periods as it would with a race engine? Plus regular oil changes of course with 4 strokes.
Personally, I keep well away from castor based stuff and use semi 'sympathetic' in my Suzuki triple CCI systems and 20w40 or similar in the gearboxes and it works fine for 'normal' running and an occasional thrash.
No CCI on the RM's I know, so it will depend on what use it gets as to what it needs.
Nice looking bikes but maybe a bit mental for my tastes nowadays - another mate has a TS400 and that's just great.
Think of how stupid the average person is, then realise that half of them are more stupid than that.
Zunspec4
Expert racer
Posts: 1087
Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2008 11:37 am
Country: UK
Suzuki 2-Strokes: T500R, SV1000S, TS125, Seeley T500
Location: Trowbridge UK

Re: 80 rm400

Post by Zunspec4 »

Hi Alan,

I think the racing comment is fair play. A race engine is not usually trickled around town with resultant build up of un-burnt castor etc. I can see how it could be an issue on a road GT750. I do know that on a 4-st if you have been using R40 and want to change to a mineral or modern synthetic the WHOLE engine usually needs stripping and cleaning to get rid of the castor.

Cheers Geoff
Post Reply