Topic: Terry's Boneyard Barn find Budget Suzuki T500 Reanimation.

[Zunspec]

Hi Terry,

The bridge in the inlet port is often removed when porting barrels.  I leave them in place on my race barrels for better ring support.  Taking them out will make very little difference on a T500 engine. 

It might be worth checking some of your port dimensions to see if anyone has been messing about.  Here's a table of basic port dimensions garnered from the ozebook site.  As you can see the Ex port can be raised by 6mm, but that is considered rather risqué.

Cheers  Geoff 

[grcamna2]

Geoff,The chart shows "1969 Factory" Inlet width to be 48 compared to "STD." Inlet width 44.
Does the designation "1969 Factory" measurements denote these are Suzuki Factory race bike specs?

[Zunspec]

Geoff,The chart shows "1969 Factory" Inlet width to be 48 compared to "STD." Inlet width 44.
Does the designation "1969 Factory" measurements denote these are Suzuki Factory race bike specs?

AFAIK, Yes.  The dimensions on the table are the basic X & Y figures. There is a bunch more to it, such as port shapes etc. 

Seeing the inlet bridge removed on Terry's barrels it would be handy to know if a PO had changed the porting from std. at the same time.  That knowledge may be what you need when sorting the jetting.

Cheers  Geoff

[grcamna2]

I hope Terry's exhaust expansion chambers are 'up to the job' of flowing the max if his ports are flowing maximum      I also hope the inside edges of those intake ports are chamfered to avoid catching a ring on a sharp edge.

[Zunspec]

I hope Terry's exhaust expansion chambers are 'up to the job' of flowing the max if his ports are flowing maximum      I also hope the inside edges of those intake ports are chamfered to avoid catching a ring on a sharp edge.

The Titan Performance pipes are not a race pipe.  They do flow better because Paul Corbett advises a modest main jet increase, and they are designed for std. air box/filter.  You'll see my tune in the zunspec column is almost std, with only the exhaust port raised (1mm).  That engine made 54 RWHP and 44 lb/ft torque @ 7600 rpm.  Of course it also has a bunch of work done to the crankcases/centre plug squish heads/34mm Mikunis/race ignition/straight cut primary gears/race pipes.  Jeeze, my wallet is having anxious flash backs remembering it all 

Cheers  Geoff

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks guys, Andy the PO knew nothing about any mods, he bought everything from a wrecking yard in 1992 and didn't do anything do anything with it, so he won't be of any help. I had a closer look into the inlet ports and there is still the "bridge" in the cast iron sleeve, maybe to avoid the "blowing up" issues of the early cylinders?

I read the blurb about why the early bikes with 10 fin barrels blew up, apparently they had "Window" pistons, and in extreme circumstances (extended periods of revs well above 7000 RPM) the bottoms of the skirts could break away. Suzuki also decided that the window pistons were more expensive to produce, so they changed the design of the cylinders so they could use cheaper to manufacture cutaway pistons.

Yep, looks like somebody's been in mine, but it looks like they did good work, I wouldn't have realised at all that someone had been playing in there unless I was looking at pictures of other cylinders and noticed that the others all had alloy bridges, and what looks like slightly smaller ports. I'll be interested to see what it goes like.

[Terry in Australia]

Here's another couple of pics, in the first one you can see the "bridge" (vertical piece about 4mm wide) right of centre.

T500 Friday 24 Sep 2021 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I took a pic up the exhaust port of the left cylinder, I think there's been some work in there too, but not sure?

T500 Friday 24 Sep 2021 1 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Anyway, the weather was crappy for most of the day, very windy, which was annoying. I watched a God-awful movie with Dennis Hopper called "Witch Hunt" from the 90's, man that was a stinker! Anyhoo, I wandered outside afterwards and pulled out the oil pump and lines, and installed them.

T500 Friday 24 Sep 2021 2 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

It took quite awhile because I had to scrub the OEM fittings and mounting hardware and find some new bolts, so as the sun slowly set I packed it up and I think I'll install the engine tomorrow, if the rain isn't coming in sideways, we'll see.

T500 Friday 24 Sep 2021 3 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

[RAFster122s]

Vapor blasted head and fins but side covers didn't see the love, you are a study in contrast Terry.
Not even a scotch brite pad scrub or sandpaper to even the finish and knock off the oxidation and mottled finish.

[Terry in Australia]

Vapor blasted head and fins but side covers didn't see the love, you are a study in contrast Terry.
Not even a scotch brite pad scrub or sandpaper to even the finish and knock off the oxidation and mottled finish.

Ha ha, stop skipping over posts and go back aways David, I had another sprocket cover vapor blasted and bought a shiny new magneto cover, but (if you'd read my post yesterday) you'd see that I said I put the old covers on to avoid scratching them on the frame when I install the engine. Pay attention mate!

[simon#42]

I hope Terry's exhaust expansion chambers are 'up to the job' of flowing the max if his ports are flowing maximum      I also hope the inside edges of those intake ports are chamfered to avoid catching a ring on a sharp edge.

The Titan Performance pipes are not a race pipe.  They do flow better because Paul Corbett advises a modest main jet increase, and they are designed for std. air box/filter.  You'll see my tune in the zunspec column is almost std, with only the exhaust port raised (1mm).  That engine made 54 RWHP and 44 lb/ft torque @ 7600 rpm.  Of course it also has a bunch of work done to the crankcases/centre plug squish heads/34mm Mikunis/race ignition/straight cut primary gears/race pipes.  Jeeze, my wallet is having anxious flash backs remembering it all 

Cheers  Geoff

Is there a reason you have gone for such a mild tune on a racing bike ? 

[RAFster122s]

Vapor blasted head and fins but side covers didn't see the love, you are a study in contrast Terry.
Not even a scotch brite pad scrub or sandpaper to even the finish and knock off the oxidation and mottled finish.

Ha ha, stop skipping over posts and go back aways David, I had another sprocket cover vapor blasted and bought a shiny new magneto cover, but (if you'd read my post yesterday) you'd see that I said I put the old covers on to avoid scratching them on the frame when I install the engine. Pay attention mate!

Speed reading doesn't pay

My short term memory is for s____ when I am dealing with depression too

[RAFster122s]

 

[Terry in Australia]

Vapor blasted head and fins but side covers didn't see the love, you are a study in contrast Terry.
Not even a scotch brite pad scrub or sandpaper to even the finish and knock off the oxidation and mottled finish.

Ha ha, stop skipping over posts and go back aways David, I had another sprocket cover vapor blasted and bought a shiny new magneto cover, but (if you'd read my post yesterday) you'd see that I said I put the old covers on to avoid scratching them on the frame when I install the engine. Pay attention mate!

Speed reading doesn't pay

Ha ha, yep, stop skipping to the pics, and read the words!

[Zunspec]

Is there a reason you have gone for such a mild tune on a racing bike ?
[/quote]

Hello Simon,

There was. The 34mm engine was prepared by Graham File and the brief was to produce a mild engine that would run reliably for 1 or 2 seasons.  In this tune it won 3 out of 4 races at the first meeting (of course it helps to have an ex-250cc GP Wildcard rider, Gary May, on board  ).  At the next race at Cadwell the "safe, cooking engine" totally melted the LH big end.  Yep, never got to the bottom of that one, plenty of theories though  . 

My 2nd engine is the full race version.  Much more adventurous porting and 38mm Mikuni's, This tune makes +65 RWHP and the 45 lb/ft torque.



Alas no longer the Castle Combe lap record holder.  Taken by Dominic Herbertson on the Davis Motorsports Yam TX500 in August this year 

Cheers  Geoff

[Terry in Australia]

That must be one hell of a TX500 Geoff, don't get me wrong, I had a TX500 in 1977 and loved it, but they weren't known for their power, or light weight, handling, braking, or even for holding themselves together?

[Zunspec]

That must be one hell of a TX500 Geoff, don't get me wrong, I had a TX500 in 1977 and loved it, but they weren't known for their power, or light weight, handling, braking, or even for holding themselves together?

Hi Terry,

On the grape vine I hear it makes +70 RWHP, gives the TZ350s that share the grid a damn hard time.  The rider, Dom Herbertson, is a top roads rider as well as short circuits.  The Davis Motorsports mob are also cutting edge, it took a bit of doing but their TX500 is well sorted now.



Cheers  Geoff

[grcamna2]

I had a 74' blue Yam. TX500,an enjoyable touring bike with lots of torque that handled good.

Terry,I look forward to your engine install and many ride reports  as you sort-out the jetting on your ported street machine here  Will you be setting it up with a fairing ??   

Edit: if your motor continues pulling hard past 8K rpms(I think the oil pump system can handle 8K rpms as max,imo),you might consider adding just a small tad of premx oil to the fuel tank together with running the oil pump if your on long,hard high rpm runs;or just shift at 8K.

[grcamna2]

That must be one hell of a TX500 Geoff, don't get me wrong, I had a TX500 in 1977 and loved it, but they weren't known for their power, or light weight, handling, braking, or even for holding themselves together?

Hi Terry,

On the grape vine I hear it makes +70 RWHP, gives the TZ350s that share the grid a damn hard time.  The rider, Dom Herbertson, is a top roads rider as well as short circuits.  The Davis Motorsports mob are also cutting edge, it took a bit of doing but their TX500 is well sorted now.



Cheers  Geoff

I'm curious what rpm's this TX500 race bike will pull to ?

[simon#42]

well 65 plus does sound better !  . i think you still have quite a bit more to go though . having said that you will have to work a bit harder with the maintenance when you do . who do you race with ? 
i have seen many forms of madness in racing paddocks but anyone stupid enough to race a tx takes the prize . the fact that it wins is impressive though !

[Zunspec]

well 65 plus does sound better !  . i think you still have quite a bit more to go though . having said that you will have to work a bit harder with the maintenance when you do . who do you race with ? 
i have seen many forms of madness in racing paddocks but anyone stupid enough to race a tx takes the prize . the fact that it wins is impressive though !

Hi Simon,

The mid 60's is a decent output, balanced against reliability/longevity, for club racing.  The bike weighs in at 120-122 Kg ready to race so it's quite lively.  We race with the Classic Racing Motorcycle Club (CRMC) in a class for 500cc Air Cooled engined machines, with a pre 31 Dec 1981 cut-off date.  Yes, the TX has surprised more than a few people this year, an unlikely choice of bike to develop.  There is probably a good slice of bloody mindedness behind the Davis Motor Sports outfit, but then they also construct and sell Classic TT winning machines so are very knowledgeable.  They're offering replica TX500's now too, if you have the cash  .

Cheers  Geoff 

[simon#42]

that class always looked like a good one , back in the days of forgotten era i won that class on a laverda . the rd400s gave me a hard time though !   ah so its  john davies behind the tx , the fat old bugger always was a bit odd ( its ok we are friends of old )

[Zunspec]

Hi Simon,

I've not met Mr Davies in person, but have chatted to him on the phone a couple of times.  Nice bloke and very helpful. 

Cheers Geoff

[Terry in Australia]

Well that's the best looking TX500 I've ever seen Geoff, I love some of the effort you classic race guys put into your bikes, they really are mechanical art.

Bill, definitely no fairing on this bike, I broke my back parachuting out of perfectly good airplanes back in the 90's, and nowadays I prefer the upright riding position. Having said that, my plans to build a T500 based dirt bike might morph into something like the T500 race bike pics like Geoff and Ken have posted, as now that I've assembled my T500's rolling chassis I reckon it's got a lot more ground clearance than I'd expected, and with the wide OEM handlebars and block tread Dunlop K70 tyres, it should be fine for riding on dirt roads. A race replica bike might be fun.

And yep, I'll definitely be running some premix as well as oil thru the oil pump until I'm comfortable that the oil pump is up to scratch. I might have to find another oil pump as the threads for the banjo bolt for the oil tank line are a bit stripped. I did manage to tighten the bolt OK, but I'm not comfortable with it, so if anyone here has a spare pump they'd like to sell me, let me know? OK, the sun is shining but it's really cold again today, 11 deg C, so I'll rug up and warm myself up by lumping the engine into the frame. More soon.

[Terry in Australia]

I love long weekends. I don't care if the football club that I like isn't playing in the Grand Final tonight, hell I'm not going to even watch the game, I just like going to bed late at night, slightly inebriated, and waking up late in the morning. It's the small things in life that I enjoy the most. In three or four years I'll be retired and doing that every day. I really hope that the joy of sleeping in, knowing that I don't have to be anywhere, to do anything that someone else wants me to do, doesn't wane....

But I digress. The weather continued to be awful today, almost October and only 11 deg C (51 deg F) but the sun was shining and the wind wasn't too fierce. I had a late breakfast, then eventually waddled outside with my thermal beanie on, to decide what to do. As I crossed the threshold into the patio I made the decision to install engine, so without thinking too much, I grabbed the engine and shoved it into the frame. Once it was in, I remembered that at 140 pounds the engine only weighs 70 pounds less than I do, so I was kind of surprised that it went in so easily, after struggling so many Honda CB750 engines (that admittedly weigh around another 20-30 pounds more than my T500 engine) in and out over the years.

T500 Saturday 25 Sep 2021 6 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I thought about quickly bolting on the exhausts, fitting the carbs and the wiring harness, but then I decided that there was no rush, I'd fill the gearbox with oil and leave it overnight to see if there's any oil leaks. I think the T350 might have a leak around the clutch pushrod seal, and while the seals on the T500 have all been replaced, I thought it best to just leave as is overnight, and if the concrete underneath it is still dry tomorrow, than I can start bolting everything else back on.

After I found the engine mounting bolts I searched for awhile for the special 30mm tube spacer that of course was missing. I eventually found a spacer (in one of the T350 tubs, that I couldn't find when installing the T350 engine, so I turned up a new one) and cleaned all the mounting bolts and installed them. Then I measured out 1400ml (probably closer to 1450) of my favourite cheapo dino oil, and tipped it in to the gearbox.

T500 Saturday 25 Sep 2021 3 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

T500 Saturday 25 Sep 2021 4 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I thought I'd kick it over a few times to get all the internal gubbins coated in oil, and the first thing I noticed was the compression, bloody hell, this bike has way more comp than the T350! I hope it's going to be any easy starter, or else it's gonna be a b1tch. Oh well, no point in worrying about it, all going well there'll be no oil puddles beneath it tomorrow, and I can start bolting everything back together.

T500 Saturday 25 Sep 2021 5 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

The wife was struggling past the CB750A with her shopping bags yesterday (yes, of course I was carrying the groceries too) and was mumbling under her breath about all the motorcycles taking up space in "her" patio, and I almost blurted out that she's taking up a lot of space, but then for the first time in my married life my inner voice croaked, "SHUT THE FCUK UP, YOU IDIOT!" so I did, and life is good. I don't think I've ever had 4 full size bikes in the patio before, and with 9 bikes in the garage and 9 more in the two carports I put up last Christmas holidays I'm not sure where I'm gonna put these bikes when I have to empty the patio for our annual family Christmas barbecue, but with only 3 bikes in my self storage place at the moment I can probably squeeze another 2 maybe 3 bikes in, or maybe I should sell some? Hmmnnnn. If I do sell any, it won't be either of the Suzy's...

T500 Saturday 25 Sep 2021 7 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr 

[Trevor from Warragul]

bloody hell, this bike has way more comp than the T350!

I'm a bit concerned about this, as 2 strokes usually have bugger all compression until they fire up.  When warm, my Kawasaki H1A can be started by hand using the kick starter, and it has 60 HP...