My RG250WD

[steezin_and_wheezin]

Greetings, glad to get back over here with a new Suzuki 2 stroker I just added to the collection. Picked up this beauty recently;






(only good photos I have right now, will be pulling her back out of the shop and snapping some freshies today)

1983 RG250, still doing my research on it, but I believe she's a RG250 WD MK-1. Japanese import E-00(km/h clock and dual front disc). It has the optional lower fairing and appears to be complete as she sits. Came with a nice clean FL title

Needs a little tlc, has some history showing, but that's the way I like em! Interior of the tank is nearly spotless and overall bike is in good shape. Previous owner has had it for ~6 years, although it hasn't been stored in a climate controlled environment as I would prefer. It has been kept neatly tucked in the back corner if a covered shelter out of the direct weather/sun light. Previous owner bought it off ebay, but hasn't ridden it in some time(~2 years). Had it freshened up when he first bought it, but then saw some oil in the coolant so he took it off the road and she's been sitting since.. Hoping it's just a water pump seal, but I'm not taking any chances. I'll be giving her new fluids and inspecting everything I can before a fresh gas test start.

I'm absolutely in love with her style, history of this specifc bike, and the legendary path suzuki laid out with the technology in the RG! I had been working with the PO for a few months trying to hammer out a deal. I about gave up on it, but after searching for another candidate, I realized this was going to scratch my itch in a way many other bikes can not. To find such a rare(for over here) Suzuki street 2 stroke was dream come true. Too bad I'm not a yama guy, PO also has a couple rd's and a gorgeous rv5 he's willing to let go out of his collection.

This RG will be kept in my collection for many years to come. I will keep this thread updated with any new changes or just regular ramblings about the bike.

[tz375]

That's a pretty clean and unmolested RG250. Looks like the one my son had except the color is different. His was Blue and white and frequently came back with broken parts and scratches.

Great little bikes. Much faster than my mildly ported RD400 mainly because it handled so much better. They are light and fun. Ours did get a little bit of porting just to wake it up a bit and it flew.

[Craig380]

Very sweet, it's rare to see the original plastics and paint in such good condition. Hope she is easily sorted.

In the UK, many RG250s had a Yam 350 YPVS motor transplant to make a 'Yamagamma' - the motor slots pretty much straight in with just two simple adaptor plates for the upper rear engine mount and a couple of spacers.

Here's how: http://www.cultofelsie.co.uk/?page_id=22" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://classic-motorbikes.net/wp/127/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[old racer]

I built a yammagamma around 1998-9 used it daily,Also used it in 1/4 mile sprints.
And i still have it.

[steezin_and_wheezin]

'Preciate the replies! Absolutely have fallen in love with this bike and she hasn't even been out on the road yet!! Pulled her and the nice cam out for a quick photo



I have a feeling this one will be kept in my Suzuki Stable for a long time to come. So I've made a spot for her in the shop and will enjoy every minute I get

So far I've:
-Dropped the battery(PO bought it new a couple years back) on my trickle charger to find it has a dead cell.
-Drained the coolant to find only a bit of residue in the top of the rad. Not much at all though so that's a good sign.
-Drained the oil, which was clean(looked brand new) and free of any coolant! Good news for me

Next step is to get a new waterpump seal kit on order, pull the cover and replace the mech and oil seals. While I'm waiting for the seals I'll probably pull the carbs for a spit shine and give the bike a general clean/tlc.

I did pick up this little unit. Actually found the right model and dress so I had to jump on it!

[steezin_and_wheezin]

Was excited to see both the packages arrived pretty quickly from across the pond. Going to hold off on the model until the real deal is road worthy.





Pulled the cover, broke the waterpump down and pulled the seals. Saw something suspect when pulling the the mechanical seal, confirmed when I set it side by side with the new one.. Mechanical and oil seal are too large of a diameter. Was listed for an '83, but I was lazy and didn't pull the part number to confirm..









Clutch gasket and new seals on order. Also noticed the clutch was sticking, so I'll pull that, hopefully only needs a good cleaning. I don't mind paying for shipping to get parts for her, but damn the waiting game is killing me!

[steezin_and_wheezin]

Sorry for the cellie photos, hands were too filthy to pull out the nice cam..

After missing my clutch side gasket delivery Saturday I was miffed I had to wait until Monday to move forward. USPS mang showed up Monday with no redelivery! So I hopped on my other moto and went to scoop the gasket. Got home and had a couple mintues to spare before heading out on the river for some floating/fishing. Managed to get the waterpump rebuilt and the covers/engine mating surfaces cleaned up. I did have 1 concern - After assembling the water pump gears, I noticed they weren't spinning as freely as I would have assumed. Not sure how freely they are suppose to spin though.. Anyone have any first hand experience? They gear's aren't binding and there's no bearing noise, but just feels there's a little bit of drag when turning the impeller.





That was a good stopping point so we grabbed our tubes and fishing poles and headed to the river. Not much sun, but it was nice and hot and the small mouth bass were biting!

Got home and unloaded the river rat gear. After some dinner I was right back down in the shop. Got the sticky clutch pulled and cleaned up. Not much meat left on it, but it's now free and functioning. I'll replace the plates and get some new springs after I give her a clean bill of health. Buttoned the cover back up and moved to the carbs.





True to normal Suzuki, they started with an airbox and built the damn bike around it!! Tank, covers, and batt box removed and I still couldn't find a hole big enough to squeeze it through. So I did a little wiggling and cussing and ended up with 2 free carbs! And man they are beauts!



Will pull and clean the carbs next chance I get. Then new fluids all around, fresh battery, and the first true kick!! I'm ecstatic to bring her back to life, and hear her first breath in too many years of hibernation!

Tamiya paints and cement came in over the weekend for the scaled model. Should start building it's engine here in the next few weeks.

[steezin_and_wheezin]

Got a little momentum going after getting a dirt bike I picked up running again. Decided I needed to dig back into the RG to help that sinking feeling I had in my guts about leaving here..

No photos on this, just a bunch of ramblings - sorry, not sorry

Sat down and pulled the cover back off. Filled the wet side of the pump to see where my leak was coming from. Not a single drip out from the pump area.. So I took a glance around to see where I could be leaking. Noticed I left a nasty bit of OG gasket material on the mating surface(cover and engine case side) around the waterpump area. Pulled out my trusty blade, cleaned it up, and felt that had to be the issue.

After looking at the cheapo athena gasket I noticed maybe she needed a bit of gasket sealer to help fill the gap. Didn't have any black rtv, so against my better judgment I used some grey I had laying around.. I know from past failures the grey doesn't hold to the heat, but shops were closed and I wanted to see if my gasket was the leaky culprit. So I lathered up the bottom edge and pump area on gasket, replaced cover and re-tightened. Went and ate some dinner to let the rtv set as much as possible.

Came back down and fill the rad with fresh coolant. 15 mins and she was still holding solid. Took the drain plug out to insure nothing new was being introduced into the crank case. All was well in the shop!! So I knocked down the other bits on my check list(ks lever, battery, fresh oil, capped rad and topped off the coolant ressy, fresh lucas semi synth in the oil res, fresh gas in tank, and aired up tires) and backed her outside for the first time in months. Turned the fuel on and of course she started pissing on the concrete.. Looked and I had tweaked the main fuel line to carb nearly off its spout on petcock. Snugged it down and no more dripping. Let it sit with fuel for a while before trying to kick, and sure enough my right carb's drain line was leaking. Snugged the drain screws down and still was dribbling. Not sure why, will need to dig back into the carbs to sort it out.. Pulled the drain line out and aimed her up to keep the carb bowl full.

- Moment of truth -
Fuel on and key on. 3 kicks in she sputtered and let me know she's ready. Next kick started right up but was struggling to idle. Oh yeah let me try choke..... Choke on and she leveled right out. Warmed up nicely and sounded absolutely fantastic!!!! First time hearing her breath, and first breath she took in ~3 years. Choke off and she idle like she should. Fuel off and shut her down and went to grab a helmet. Got back and kicked her up first step. Got half way around my neighborhood before she fell flat on her face.. Ding ding, turn fuel back on dummy. Was so damn excited to hear her and finally ride I forgot everything else I needed haha. Fuel on and I made it a full lap around the block, sounded great(unbelievably great, I mean the best sounding bike I've heard in too long), temps were nice and level in the mids, power felt face melting fast compared to the small two smokers I've been riding. Handling was top notch, brakes were all fully functional, and felt good to have disc brake back in my grips. Everything about the ride just makes me smile, even though;

Pulled down to my back porch and eyed a bit of drippage. Noticed some of the grey RTV was looking soft from the heat. Then I spotted some coolant on the side of the pipe. Yup RTV grey let go and I had some coolant in the bottom end again... Coolant reservoir had only lost a dip so not much made it in the crankcase. Still a definite win determining and temporarily fixing the leak, and finding out my waterpump rebuild wasn't the root of the problem! Drained the bottom end and will be flushing it thoroughly before moving forward again.

Going to hunt for a OEM spec gasket, but if no luck - I'll use another athena with the correct gasket maker next time. Wish I would've snapped a photo or nabbed a quick vid, but I was over the moon and didn't want to look at or touch anything but Gamma named Anna.

[pronto41]

Nice little RG, they are a blast to ride, so light, flickable & just playing tunes on the gearbox is the best. My RG is the blue & white model (85 FG Mk3) also from Japan, many were imported here (Aust) by Suzuki from 1984 - 1092. My model is different in the speedo pod area as the temp gauge roundel is shared by a fuel gauge, also mine has Japanese characters on the dash light area & I get a red light that lights up if I exceed 80 klm/h & stays on until I slow down under 80, annoying at first but it is also handy. it is also the powervalve model which helps low & midrange torque.
I usually get to ride mine once a week on a 50 k return fang up the nearby mountains. I put a dribble (teaspoon) of R30 in the fuel tank which gives off that beautiful two stroke racing oil aroma, the guys I sometimes ride with want to ride behind & get a fix . Good luck with the final update, you will get many years of fun out of it & as you say, at the return of a ride it takes about an hour to wipe the smile off my face.