Expensive, hard and perfectly done work of restoration! Every single detail! Only those who have done such a thing can evaluate how tough this is... Greetings from Brazil.
Traded my FZ750 for an 85 RZ500 in Canada…in 87! Didn’t miss the bigger engine whatsoever…just the comfort! People thought it was a real race bike at the time!
I'm familiar with the RZ 500, I had three of them, one for road racing and two on the street. They were very consistant in quality and performance and I loved the bikes. The only problem with them is their weight, they are heavy, and after about 10,000 km they require a cylinder hoan and fresh rings which is a real pain in so far as it's a complicated, labour intensive job, not to mention the cost. Was it worth it? Damn right it was! They are totally awesome and super cool! With a larger rear sprocket, jetting and a Barnett clutch my road race bike, when I was testing it at the drag strip, did an 11.7 quarter mile time at 120 mph.
I had the little 350 and was a Blast! I don't know how some people say that they didn't care for a RZ500 and all the tricks you can do to it. It's insane not to keep. Mine was stolen and I was pissed off at the guy where I left it at. I know he sold it. We are definitely not friends anymore don't you know.
All y'all be Safe and watch out for the idiots. I don't even like to ride in the city during traffic no more. Strictly in the Hill Country are my favorite Rides. Don't Sell them RZs !!🇨🇱💣🧨🍺🌮💥💥
Having ridden one in 1985 when they came out I was never really impressed with the bike. It was a great idea but kind of awful to ride. Your restoration is impeccable and you did a great job.
I had one of these power valve chewing yamahas, with the 18 inch front wheel tank slapper, it was a fun little bike, till I bought a R1, i still have 2 of these myself, still good fun
Great Restoration Job ! I do really love the RZ500 but in real life it was a bitch dog with bite . I raced one back in the day being a Yamaha & 2 Stroke Fan Boi at the time. It was underpowered compared to a Suzuki RG500 and they handled way better. The biggest problem I found with the RZ500 on the racetrack was the 16" wheel front end would tuck in cornering because you were trying harder because you were slower , It made it very easy to crash one. In the end I gave up and bought a 1985 GSXR750F 1st model ! King of the Kids back then😀
In general these 2 strokes are simpler to work on. The biggest problem is availability of OE parts because so few survived. It can take several years just to locate parts, and you need to search globally for them. Having a complete original bike in the first place makes all the difference.
It's funny how much better the 500 performs on 17" You got to get rid of that 18-in in the back and that's 16 in the front, and let the fun begin. When this bike came out radio tires hadn't hit the streets yet. Well kind of, the GSXR 750 of 85 came with 18-in wheels front and rear, and Dunlop radials. Never rode a stock one. The ported, and piped, twin crank came to life. It had a killer popcorn melody in a tin can from hell. And when it came on the pipe, the front wheel left the ground in the first four gears. Now I don't know what that other guy rode, they were many variations of the engine output, from 88-110. Depending if you got a European spec, a Canadian spec, or Japanese only spec. Which also came with the real aluminum frame. Just saying.........
Having restored one of these myself, over the last 8 years, I know how much work it is. Top job!
Much appreciated, thanks!
Expensive, hard and perfectly done work of restoration!
Every single detail!
Only those who have done such a thing can evaluate how tough this is...
Greetings from Brazil.
Yes, maybe a 1000hrs in this project!! And two years searching for very rare parts!
Traded my FZ750 for an 85 RZ500 in Canada…in 87!
Didn’t miss the bigger engine whatsoever…just the comfort!
People thought it was a real race bike at the time!
I'm familiar with the RZ 500, I had three of them, one for road racing and two on the street. They were very consistant in quality and performance and I loved the bikes. The only problem with them is their weight, they are heavy, and after about 10,000 km they require a cylinder hoan and fresh rings which is a real pain in so far as it's a complicated, labour intensive job, not to mention the cost. Was it worth it? Damn right it was! They are totally awesome and super cool! With a larger rear sprocket, jetting and a Barnett clutch my road race bike, when I was testing it at the drag strip, did an 11.7 quarter mile time at 120 mph.
I have an RZ500 I purchased new in 1985. It's in excellent condition. It's a screamer.
I sold this one, wish I had kept it now. But just purchased an RZV project bike to create a YZR500 replica.
I had the little 350 and was a Blast! I don't know how some people say that they didn't care for a RZ500 and all the tricks you can do to it. It's insane not to keep. Mine was stolen and I was pissed off at the guy where I left it at. I know he sold it. We are definitely not friends anymore don't you know.
@@RZKID2 I still have my RZ500. It's in great shape.
All y'all be Safe and watch out for the idiots. I don't even like to ride in the city during traffic no more. Strictly in the Hill Country are my favorite Rides. Don't Sell them RZs !!🇨🇱💣🧨🍺🌮💥💥
@@RZKID2 You're right. There are too many idiots on the road.
Having ridden one in 1985 when they came out I was never really impressed with the bike. It was a great idea but kind of awful to ride. Your restoration is impeccable and you did a great job.
Mítica moto. Buen trabajo 💪🏼.
Awesome work. Just started the same build, probably about the same starting point.
2 hard years ahead🤑
Superb work, a stunning looking bike.
Fantastic restoration.
Wow...😲 Amazing work!
I had one of these power valve chewing yamahas, with the 18 inch front wheel tank slapper, it was a fun little bike, till I bought a R1, i still have 2 of these myself, still good fun
Great Restoration Job !
I do really love the RZ500 but in real life it was a bitch dog with bite .
I raced one back in the day being a Yamaha & 2 Stroke Fan Boi at the time.
It was underpowered compared to a Suzuki RG500 and they handled way better.
The biggest problem I found with the RZ500 on the racetrack was the 16" wheel front end would tuck in cornering because you were trying harder because you were slower , It made it very easy to crash one.
In the end I gave up and bought a 1985 GSXR750F 1st model !
King of the Kids back then😀
this is stunning.
Loved my Marlboro RD 500 Mk 1, bog awful location of the rear shock tho 😳
Grand job looks great original is def best.
I wish my rz looked like that
compared to other bikes, was she complicated to work on?
In general these 2 strokes are simpler to work on. The biggest problem is availability of OE parts because so few survived. It can take several years just to locate parts, and you need to search globally for them. Having a complete original bike in the first place makes all the difference.
It's funny how much better the 500 performs on 17"
You got to get rid of that 18-in in the back and that's 16 in the front, and let the fun begin. When this bike came out radio tires hadn't hit the streets yet. Well kind of, the GSXR 750 of 85 came with 18-in wheels front and rear, and Dunlop radials.
Never rode a stock one.
The ported, and piped, twin crank came to life. It had a killer popcorn melody in a tin can from hell. And when it came on the pipe, the front wheel left the ground in the first four gears.
Now I don't know what that other guy rode, they were many variations of the engine output, from 88-110.
Depending if you got a European spec, a Canadian spec, or Japanese only spec. Which also came with the real aluminum frame.
Just saying.........
did you rebuild the cranks?
In this case the cranks had very low miles on them and were within spec, so we decided not to pull them apart