RD500 1GE Restoration

Got a customizing or restoration project? Post your progress pictures and updates here

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rd84
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Re: RD500 1GE Restoration

#16 Post by rd84 » Mon Jun 18, 2018 6:13 am

Richie rich wrote:Hi there, lovely RD500! Saw the pics in June issue of CMM and then came across this thread when searching for info on the Pretech calipers.

Do those calipers bolt up directly to the std fork mounts (its looks as though they do)? How did you figure they would work with the 300mm discs and different wheels?

Keen to know a little more if you’re happy to share?

Cheers, Richard
Hi Richard,

I gave Pretech the whole front end of the bike - they then made a custom set of calipers to fit.

Pretech used to do the engineering work for the old Arrows F1 team - their standards are superb - they are also very nice to deal with.

Cheers
Paul

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pstamper
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Re: RD500 1GE Restoration

#17 Post by pstamper » Tue Jun 19, 2018 7:40 pm

The bike turned out beautiful. looks like everyone did a great job. How did the Dymag wheels fit and which ones did you use?

Motolli
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Re: RD500 1GE Restoration

#18 Post by Motolli » Wed Jun 20, 2018 3:04 pm

Perfect ! Thats how I love these bikes, like original but improved in detail! Maybe there is an option for your rear caliper. Mine looked the same, but for the smaller disc ( 210 mm ?) the original one is not perfect. The pads don’t bite the full surface, and in case of more wear, you will get a blockage when the overlap comes close together. See what I did, this an ISR one. Works much better, and fits the disk.
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=15379y" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

rd84
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Re: RD500 1GE Restoration

#19 Post by rd84 » Thu Jun 21, 2018 7:48 pm

pstamper wrote:The bike turned out beautiful. looks like everyone did a great job. How did the Dymag wheels fit and which ones did you use?
Hi,

Pleased you like it - all the parts and service providers did a great job - I’m really happy the way it turned out - I’ve just got to have a programmable CDI / YPVS Controller fitted to help get back some of the midrange lost due to the pipes.

I used Dymag Forged Alloy UP7X in 3.5 x 17 and 5.5 x 17 sizes which were specific to the RD500 - the front wheel kept the speedo drive - strangely the disc spacing was wrong so if you order these wheels from Dymag double check that they have the correct disc spacing dimensions and correct Fork and wheel spacer dimensions - the non standard discs and calipers meant the only correction I had to have done was the external front wheel spacers.

Cheers
Paul

rd84
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Re: RD500 1GE Restoration

#20 Post by rd84 » Thu Jun 21, 2018 7:52 pm

Motolli wrote:Perfect ! Thats how I love these bikes, like original but improved in detail! Maybe there is an option for your rear caliper. Mine looked the same, but for the smaller disc ( 210 mm ?) the original one is not perfect. The pads don’t bite the full surface, and in case of more wear, you will get a blockage when the overlap comes close together. See what I did, this an ISR one. Works much better, and fits the disk.
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=15379y" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thanks for the advice on the rear brake - I’ll get it checked out - I know the disc is the same diameter as the original but not sure about the pad/disc swept area - I’ll take a look and report back.

Cheers
Paul

rd84
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Re: RD500 1GE Restoration

#21 Post by rd84 » Sat Jul 21, 2018 4:53 pm

Latest dyno chart from James at Krazy-Katt , Rear Jets 210, front jets 190 - TSA pipes, standard, CDI, YPVS controllers and standard airbox. I'll take the bike back in the Autumn and get an Ignitech programmable CDI and YPVS controller fitted - see if there are any gains to be made in the mid-range or at the top-end, also have a play with the airbix baffles to see if they are restricting power - it looks like it wants to make a bit more power at the top-end ? - I'm more interested in mid-range power though to make it nice to use on the road.....

Image

Cheers
Paul
Last edited by rd84 on Sat Jul 21, 2018 9:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.

lost1750GTV
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Re: RD500 1GE Restoration

#22 Post by lost1750GTV » Sat Jul 21, 2018 7:32 pm

really. nice. bike.
thanks for providing the details on the dymags, did you compare the weight with stock?

rd84
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Re: RD500 1GE Restoration

#23 Post by rd84 » Sat Jul 21, 2018 9:06 pm

lost1750GTV wrote:really. nice. bike.
thanks for providing the details on the dymags, did you compare the weight with stock?
I didn't weigh them - but the difference is massive - it makes a big difference to the handling.

Cheers
Paul

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Re: RD500 1GE Restoration

#24 Post by lost1750GTV » Sun Jul 22, 2018 10:09 am

thanks again.
as much as I appreciate the full on yzr replicas and everything in between, I think mine will be much closer in concept (not in detail or attention to!) yours. pipes, wheels, suspension upgrades.

rd84
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Re: RD500 1GE Restoration

#25 Post by rd84 » Sun Jul 22, 2018 10:23 am

lost1750GTV wrote:thanks again.
as much as I appreciate the full on yzr replicas and everything in between, I think mine will be much closer in concept (not in detail or attention to!) yours. pipes, wheels, suspension upgrades.
My aim was to make it look original at first glance - so only study by an RD/RZ expert would reveal detail changes - I’m really pleased with the result - it was a lot of hard work but definitely worth it

Cheers
Paul

rd84
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Re: RD500 1GE Restoration

#26 Post by rd84 » Sun Jul 22, 2018 10:29 am


lost1750GTV
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Re: RD500 1GE Restoration

#27 Post by lost1750GTV » Sun Jul 22, 2018 11:29 am

yes, had seen CF on Dymags site - there just isn't a lot of feedback out there on durability for road use.
but a few "special" items like that go a long way in getting the weight down. knock off pounds instead of ounces!

begbie
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Re: RD500 1GE Restoration

#28 Post by begbie » Sun Jul 22, 2018 2:10 pm

I would be trying an original set of pipes to see if you can get some stomp back below 8k.

MK
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Re: RD500 1GE Restoration

#29 Post by MK » Sun Jul 22, 2018 2:21 pm

I'll take a bet on around 10HP hiding in PV and ignition setting.
The original ignition starts to back off strongly between 9 and 10 k. Using higher advance here will raise power between 9 and 11.5 k.
The original PV setting is complete crap as it's fully open much too early. Tuned setups with pipes usually react positive on starting rpm of 7 - 7.5k and fully open rpm around 10.5. Don't know exactly how Kennys pipes will react, but that should be in the ballpark.

Just one word on the Ignitech on the RD500: I had 2 bikes in my own hands that had trouble and I know of a few others with the same issues. It seems to be EMV related as the tach and spark go bunkers in the midrange.
In one case it was solved by relocating the lower HT coil from the left to the right engine side.

All Zeeltronics worked fine on the RD500.
Bye
Martin

rd84
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Re: RD500 1GE Restoration

#30 Post by rd84 » Mon Jul 23, 2018 9:46 pm

begbie wrote:I would be trying an original set of pipes to see if you can get some stomp back below 8k.
I'll try the Ignitech then see how far off standard I am - I'm sure the pipes light weight add to the better handling of the bike - The standard pipes should recover the mid-range power because everything else is standard - I think it probably just needs riding in a lower gear in the mid-range - I'll persevere later in the year and see what can be achieved though.

Cheers
Paul

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