Suzuki RG250 Gamma Restoration

Hey all,

Have any of you dealt with larger jets? Any recommendations?

Im nearly done freshening up my old 85FG and was thinking of replacing out the air box for some pods(don't judge me!) 

Has anyone had any experience using pods before? does it cause issues with fueling or is keeping the standard air box the only way to go?

cheers

After a 2-year restoration of my RG250 Walter Wolf (mine was pretty "rough"), I now have something like 1,000 miles on her and one thing is that mine is showing is TERRIBLE gas mileage.

As a collector of SuzukiI 2-strokes (I have 33 bikes including my RG500, RG125, RG50, GT750, GT380, GT185,T500, X6, A100, TS250, TS250X, TS185, TS100, TS90, TS50, etc) I am prepared for less than stellar MPG, but my little RG250 gets something like 22-24 mpg even when riding as mellow as practical. Trying to sniff around... I'll be happy to break 30mpg, but so far not even close to that! This about the same as my Mercedes E-320, and much worse than ANY of my other bikes (RG500 , GT750 included!)...

Let me know if you have any ideas and I will also share any of my findings! Compression is 140psi on each side, so topp end seems in pretty good shape (not new). Lf plug looks good (brownish electrode), right side is black and wet, so will start investigating there. So far, jets are the same on both sides, so thats not it. When running, the temp is pretty normal. So far I have "leaned" the needles one position (moved clip "up" one groove)... seemed to clear the middle range a tiny bit (more to go, but one step at a time when is comes to carburettors!)... not much change to the MPG as expected... I will keep you posted... my next step wil be to replace the Jet Needles and Needle Jet as I understand these get "opened up" over time as the needles bang around the "holes" on higher mileage bikes! Cheers! Vm

Here is the section from the Manual dealing with the front forks

Fork Air Pressure is a MAX of 2.5Kg/cm², the Anto Dive Position (Standard) is 2, and Standard Pre Load is 5th line from the top.

A guide on how to set up the Carbs and Oil Pump, as taken from the Factory Manual.

I hope to acquire, very soon, a spare copy of the factory workshop manual, so that I can remove the pages from their binding and scan the pages. Whether I have enough storage space on this site remains to be seen, I may need to get hold of web space elsewhere and link to it, or perhaps put it to disc, and send them to those that want a copy for a nominal fee....I'll decide soon, and let you know when its ready.

Regards,

Gary

I took the Gamma out for a shakedown just before Christmas, the mild, clear weather at the time, was too good to miss, it really felt great to get out on it, because it blew away the 'winter blues', and made me feel alot happier than I had of late. It ran beautifully, and flowed through the bends of the local A roads, lifting the spirits like only a stroker can!

I'm pleased to say, this bike is scheduled to be featured in a forthcoming issue of Classic Motorcycle Mechanics, here in the U.K., the bike is to be ridden on Wednesday 1st February, along with a Walter Wolf version, owned by well known classic stroker hoarder, extraordinaire, Andy Bolas! I was told today, its to be in "the next issue", but whether that means the next issue they publish (March 2012), or the next issue they work on....I have no idea! Time will tell.

Happy biking,

Gaz

Its been a poor Summer, with few good days, whereby you can wake up with such weather conditions, that you can be sure its not going to rain on the way home from work! The bike was shown at Uttoxeter this year with the Diff'rent Strokers guys, that was a great weekend, weather wise, and I've managed to take it out just 3 or 4 times since. The finish on the engine is holding up really well, and still looks great, in fact the whole bike looks lovely still, and is running well.

Below is my bike at Uttoxeter 2011, with a Mkl and a Mkll for company, the Mkll getting a "Highly Commended", and the all Gamma display getting an award, with several other nice examples and a couple of specials for good measure!

Hello! It seems through emails and messages I receive, mainly due to this site, that the RG250 is gaining in popuarity, with 4 or 5 people in the U.K. alone, stating that they are restoring their own bikes. I hope that this site has been of use, and I'd love to think, inspiration, to those trying to take on the task. I recall well, when chasing bits on Ebay, that occasionally, I'd be outbid by the same person, but this was rare, suggestiong I was in a pretty small group interested in this bike, so to realise there are now more people, than at any other time, expressing an interest in these bikes, its sure to bump up the prices of spares as demand increases, and competition to own parts builds. There was recently a restored RG250 on Ebay, that I believe failed to reach its reserve, not even rising to £2000 if memory serves correct. This was early November, so not the best time to be selling, with the combined distractions of Winter  and Christmas looming.  Looking at the Ebay images, it was THIS bike. Quite a tidy job, I'm sure you'll agree. If you are restoring a bike, or have restored a bike, of any description, please feel free to add images on this site, and a description, I'd love to see them, and it would be great if you coild help this site to grow. I'm hoping that although my personal restoration is complete, I really would like this site to help others.

All the best!

Gaz

Just a little feature on the Power Valve Servo. These things, in my experience are prone to failure. The one featured here has three faults which I have encountered more than once, on several Servos. They are burnt out circuit boards, broken gears and springs missing from the carbon brushes. Here's a quick quide to dismantling.

Remove the magnet canister that covers the motor. This has 3 screws and may take a bit of effort to get off, there is a gasket sealing it on, and the force of the magnets is quite strong.

Remove the back cover to expose the circuit board, here you can see it is burnt. Seperate the plug connector, and undo the two screws.

With the board removed, the gears are now visible. Again, you can see a couple of teeth missing from the large gear next to the motor drive gear, the one on the left. Lift out the large gear, and its spacer.

Push the black plastic fitting into the casing to get the motor winding out. Its a snug fit, so take care not to damage the motor.

With the motor winding out of the way, more damage can be seen.

The motor winding looks like this, note that this one is in poor condition.

All that remains is to use an adjustable spanner and allen key, and the pulley can be removed from the casing, which can now be cleaned up and rebuilt/tested or binned if its as bad as this one!

Practical Sportsbikes Magazine has just hit the shops (Issue 4 -Dated 3rd Nov to 25th Jan). A NINE page feature on this bike! Really happy!