Greetings, a Gamma Story and Help Needed

[2strklvr]

My point was if back in the day you had a bone-stock out of the box JDM RG500 you would be giving up around 15 hp at the crank (obviously also at the wheel) to the same bone stock CDN market bike. Neutered via different pipes and jetting apparently, but neutered nonetheless.

[RZtuner]

Yup, the stinger on the JDM bike exhausts are smaller. As I recall the pipe is the same dimensions, they just choked it down with a smaller end pipe.

The 95 horse test bikes supplied by Suzuki for all the magazine road tests back in the day were er .... massaged by a well known tuner in order to achieve 146.9 mph. My sponsor has dyno'd a lot of box stock Gamma's and they all dyno'd at 72 to 75 r.w.h.p. That is simply not enough to go the claimed146 mph top speed!

I'd take the 148 mph as tested from the Yam 500 with a pinch of salt too. The RG500 is far superior technically to the Yam with those funky manifolds for the carbs and the Gamma has a much lighter chassis.

That said, an RZ500 Yamaha set the Bonneville World Land Speed record in 1985 at 145.377 mph. That record held solid for 13 years until 1998 when my Suzuki RG500 Gamma production bike raised the record to 148.242 mph. A record that still stands today. I had a best one way speed of 161.559 mph but the bike fouled a plug on the return run...... otherwise the record should have been well over 150. But that's Bonneville.....Not an easy place to go fast.

So there you have it, the RG500 Gamma is the official World's Fastest 500cc production motorcycle.

You can see pics of my RG500 Bonneville bike here...


https://flic.kr/s/aHsmT5wLpT

[lost1750GTV]

"Choked it down"
Yamaha did that on the yzinger by putting a large flatwasher in the exhaust port. Pretty simple.
Maybe the WW paint would have kept you from fouling - although thats about as good as a failure gets, especially at those speeds.

[tacky1]

Yup, the stinger on the JDM bike exhausts are smaller. As I recall the pipe is the same dimensions, they just choked it down with a smaller end pipe.

The 95 horse test bikes supplied by Suzuki for all the magazine road tests back in the day were er .... massaged by a well known tuner in order to achieve 146.9 mph. My sponsor has dyno'd a lot of box stock Gamma's and they all dyno'd at 72 to 75 r.w.h.p. That is simply not enough to go the claimed146 mph top speed!

I'd take the 148 mph as tested from the Yam 500 with a pinch of salt too. The RG500 is far superior technically to the Yam with those funky manifolds for the carbs and the Gamma has a much lighter chassis.

That said, an RZ500 Yamaha set the Bonneville World Land Speed record in 1985 at 145.377 mph. That record held solid for 13 years until 1998 when my Suzuki RG500 Gamma production bike raised the record to 148.242 mph. A record that still stands today. I had a best one way speed of 161.559 mph but the bike fouled a plug on the return run...... otherwise the record should have been well over 150. But that's Bonneville.....Not an easy place to go fast.

So there you have it, the RG500 Gamma is the official World's Fastest 500cc production motorcycle.

You can see pics of my RG500 Bonneville bike here...


https://flic.kr/s/aHsmT5wLpT

Some great pics in there, Thanks for that
And a great achievement that still stands, Thats impressive. Hats off to you...

[ns86]

RZtuner. That's very impressive. Enjoyed the Link: Are you in BC? near Merritt by chance? Great story!

[ns86]

2strklvr. Lance Gamma Bike that Speedwerks sold. Seems not only strictly stock bikes are way up.

This Bike From Rick's Estate Fetched $25,000 USD

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipN ... FaN2JRLUhR

[giron]

Rick’s bike that sold in the auction stock?
Wheels not stock

[ns86]

https://www.facebook.com/22311948775791 ... 338014466/

[2strklvr]

2strklvr. Lance Gamma Bike that Speedwerks sold. Seems not only strictly stock bikes are way up.

This Bike From Rick's Estate Fetched $25,000 USD

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipN ... FaN2JRLUhR

Nice bike. Looks like a lot of the same mods mine has. Rick obviously had a specific method to his RG upgrades that he refined over the years.

Seems they had more than a few interested parties and that possibly a member here on this forum purchased it?

It also appears that someone still needs to slow down and read before replying - lol

[giron]

Rick liked the upgrade of the 17" wheels. A front bracket for the calipers to lined up with the front 17" wheel. He also did some of them with the VJ22 swingarms. The rear wheel a 4.5X17 and in the front 3X17. The same size as the VJ22.

[ns86]

2strklvr, Hard to tell. Is your's running Nissin front callipers?

[2strklvr]

2strklvr, Hard to tell. Is your's running Nissin front callipers?

It does indeed have Nissin front calipers.

[ns86]

2strklvr, Rotors look larger too?

[motosapien]

Yup, the stinger on the JDM bike exhausts are smaller. As I recall the pipe is the same dimensions, they just choked it down with a smaller end pipe.

The 95 horse test bikes supplied by Suzuki for all the magazine road tests back in the day were er .... massaged by a well known tuner in order to achieve 146.9 mph. My sponsor has dyno'd a lot of box stock Gamma's and they all dyno'd at 72 to 75 r.w.h.p. That is simply not enough to go the claimed146 mph top speed!

I'd take the 148 mph as tested from the Yam 500 with a pinch of salt too. The RG500 is far superior technically to the Yam with those funky manifolds for the carbs and the Gamma has a much lighter chassis.

That said, an RZ500 Yamaha set the Bonneville World Land Speed record in 1985 at 145.377 mph. That record held solid for 13 years until 1998 when my Suzuki RG500 Gamma production bike raised the record to 148.242 mph. A record that still stands today. I had a best one way speed of 161.559 mph but the bike fouled a plug on the return run...... otherwise the record should have been well over 150. But that's Bonneville.....Not an easy place to go fast.

So there you have it, the RG500 Gamma is the official World's Fastest 500cc production motorcycle.

You can see pics of my RG500 Bonneville bike here...


https://flic.kr/s/aHsmT5wLpT

Thanks for sharing!
I own the frame Jason McVicar set the record on and am currently building a really special bike out of it.

Sharath

[motosapien]

2strklvr. Lance Gamma Bike that Speedwerks sold. Seems not only strictly stock bikes are way up.

This Bike From Rick's Estate Fetched $25,000 USD

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipN ... FaN2JRLUhR

Nice bike. Looks like a lot of the same mods mine has. Rick obviously had a specific method to his RG upgrades that he refined over the years.

Seems they had more than a few interested parties and that possibly a member here on this forum purchased it?

It also appears that someone still needs to slow down and read before replying - lol

That's my first bike! bought it from Rick in 2017, traded it for Pepsi and bought back again from a friend through @speedwerks.
Its a cool bike, needed some upgrades including Brembo calipers.

The nissin brake mod that Rick is flimsy in my opinion and unsafe.