1975 Suzuki T500 IT IS ALIVE! First start video 5/7/11
- Thread starter Wingspan
- Start date
Re: 1975 Suzuki T500 Engine rebuild underway
The plan is stainless spokes from http://www.buchananspokes.net/
If I decide not to lace them myself, I'll likely ship the wheels to http://www.woodyswheelworks.com/. Last I knew, Woody uses Buchanan's spokes as well.
Ethanol said:
The plan is stainless spokes from http://www.buchananspokes.net/
If I decide not to lace them myself, I'll likely ship the wheels to http://www.woodyswheelworks.com/. Last I knew, Woody uses Buchanan's spokes as well.
Re: 1975 Suzuki T500 Engine rebuild underway
A set of '72 GT750 fork legs just arrived. They need a rebuild and new inner tubes, but most of these do since Suzuki only chromed the actual travel area of the tubes. The top section under the headlight ears were left bare and rusted like mad. The later model GT fork internals were better and allowed for easier mods, but these will be fine for my purposes. The GT legs are longer than that stock T500 legs, but that's not a big issue.
A set of '72 GT750 fork legs just arrived. They need a rebuild and new inner tubes, but most of these do since Suzuki only chromed the actual travel area of the tubes. The top section under the headlight ears were left bare and rusted like mad. The later model GT fork internals were better and allowed for easier mods, but these will be fine for my purposes. The GT legs are longer than that stock T500 legs, but that's not a big issue.
Re: 1975 Suzuki T500 Engine rebuild underway
No much to report of late. The seals and other engine parts I was waiting for have arrived so I can start reassembling the engine but the garage needs a good clean and organizing before I jump into that. The spokes have been ordered from Buchanan's Spoke and Rim.
No much to report of late. The seals and other engine parts I was waiting for have arrived so I can start reassembling the engine but the garage needs a good clean and organizing before I jump into that. The spokes have been ordered from Buchanan's Spoke and Rim.
Titan performance
Titan cafe racer builders.
Re: 1975 Suzuki T500 Engine rebuild underway
Hi wingspan......as you say, the area under the headlamp "ear", is allways rusty. We have been getting the forks re-hard chromed, but this is an expensive process in the UK, it costs about $110 per leg.
We have found that on the T500, the part of the fork which is used, ie. below the lower yoke, is often still perfect, as it has been protected by the rubber gaiter, so on bikes that we are not fitting clip-ons, but are using ace bars, we slide a piece of polished stainless tube over the top of the fork leg, between the yokes, which is undetectable and hides the untidy and rusty section of the leg. This is a much cheaper fix than the rechroming process.
Hi wingspan......as you say, the area under the headlamp "ear", is allways rusty. We have been getting the forks re-hard chromed, but this is an expensive process in the UK, it costs about $110 per leg.
We have found that on the T500, the part of the fork which is used, ie. below the lower yoke, is often still perfect, as it has been protected by the rubber gaiter, so on bikes that we are not fitting clip-ons, but are using ace bars, we slide a piece of polished stainless tube over the top of the fork leg, between the yokes, which is undetectable and hides the untidy and rusty section of the leg. This is a much cheaper fix than the rechroming process.
Re: 1975 Suzuki T500 Engine rebuild underway
That is a good trick. I've seen it done with inexpensive chromed sink drain hardware from the plumbing section of the hardware store. My stock fork legs are in very good shape, but the GT750 legs I've got aren't and have rust both above and below the triples. A combination of the stock fork boots and some tubing could hide it all, but some of the rust is a bit deeper than mere surface rust.
Titan performance said:
That is a good trick. I've seen it done with inexpensive chromed sink drain hardware from the plumbing section of the hardware store. My stock fork legs are in very good shape, but the GT750 legs I've got aren't and have rust both above and below the triples. A combination of the stock fork boots and some tubing could hide it all, but some of the rust is a bit deeper than mere surface rust.
sparkymoto
New Member
Re: 1975 Suzuki T500 Engine rebuild underway
Heckuva toy you're building with all the right parts and proper research. can't wait to see the assembly process. Gettin' closer to Christmas...maybe Santa will bring that shiny CR tank!
That was a pretty quick turn-around from them. This is promising. I'd really like to compare notes if yer willin. I have a polished 19" XS shouldered rim heading my way and will need to custom order SS spokes as well. So, I'll be ordering the 18" rear soon and would love to give them exact spoke-specs...assuming they fit ;DWingspan said:
Heckuva toy you're building with all the right parts and proper research. can't wait to see the assembly process. Gettin' closer to Christmas...maybe Santa will bring that shiny CR tank!
Re: 1975 Suzuki T500 Engine rebuild underway
I love those GT brakes and every time I buy one I have it machined to lighten it and it still weighs a tons, so I sell it. I did that twice already. One of these days I'll win the lottery if I remember to buy a ticket and then I can but a Fontana or Ceriani replica. They are still not light but a huge improvement. Just a little spendy though :-\
For a sporty street ride, the GT750 brake is perfect.
I love those GT brakes and every time I buy one I have it machined to lighten it and it still weighs a tons, so I sell it. I did that twice already. One of these days I'll win the lottery if I remember to buy a ticket and then I can but a Fontana or Ceriani replica. They are still not light but a huge improvement. Just a little spendy though :-\
For a sporty street ride, the GT750 brake is perfect.
Re: 1975 Suzuki T500 Engine rebuild underway
Here's what I did. First I placed an order through their web site. List what hubs and rims you're using. Be as detailed as you can. Here's my order:
"The front hub is a 1972 Suzuki GT750 drum brake. The front rim is a WM3 style shouldered alloy rear rim for a 1975 Yamaha XS650.
The rear hub is a 1975 Suzuki T500 drum. The rear rim is a WM3 style shouldered alloy rear rim for a 1975 Yamaha XS650.
The rims I'm using were made by XS Performance. "
The day after I placed my order a nice lady from Buchanan's called. She just needed to know the nipple diameter I required. For my spoke size, she said there were two options .250 and .281. The .281 nipples wouldn't have fit through the holes in my rims, so I chose the .250.
Let's Santa is good to me! We should be getting close on the tank based on the original 9 week estimate Roc City gave me. This is the 8th week. I haven't heard from him since putting down the deposit though. I did PM him the link to this thread, so I hope he'll chime in. It'd be great to see some in-progress pics of the tank.
There probably won't be any real progress on the bike for at least a few weeks. My wife is recovering from surgery yesterday, has another on the 27th (nothing serious), and my next few weekends are taken up with family holiday stuff. I have some time off between Christmas and New Years. Hopefully I'll have the tank and can make good progress then. Fingers crossed! I've got everything I need to reassemble the engine but I'm going to wait until after the tank gets here. It'll be easier to mock up the engine in the frame for tank, fork, and steering damper fitting with just the empty cases and heads.
sparkymoto said:
Here's what I did. First I placed an order through their web site. List what hubs and rims you're using. Be as detailed as you can. Here's my order:
"The front hub is a 1972 Suzuki GT750 drum brake. The front rim is a WM3 style shouldered alloy rear rim for a 1975 Yamaha XS650.
The rear hub is a 1975 Suzuki T500 drum. The rear rim is a WM3 style shouldered alloy rear rim for a 1975 Yamaha XS650.
The rims I'm using were made by XS Performance. "
The day after I placed my order a nice lady from Buchanan's called. She just needed to know the nipple diameter I required. For my spoke size, she said there were two options .250 and .281. The .281 nipples wouldn't have fit through the holes in my rims, so I chose the .250.
Let's Santa is good to me! We should be getting close on the tank based on the original 9 week estimate Roc City gave me. This is the 8th week. I haven't heard from him since putting down the deposit though. I did PM him the link to this thread, so I hope he'll chime in. It'd be great to see some in-progress pics of the tank.
There probably won't be any real progress on the bike for at least a few weeks. My wife is recovering from surgery yesterday, has another on the 27th (nothing serious), and my next few weekends are taken up with family holiday stuff. I have some time off between Christmas and New Years. Hopefully I'll have the tank and can make good progress then. Fingers crossed! I've got everything I need to reassemble the engine but I'm going to wait until after the tank gets here. It'll be easier to mock up the engine in the frame for tank, fork, and steering damper fitting with just the empty cases and heads.
Re: 1975 Suzuki T500 Engine rebuild underway
Great work! I'm really liking all these proper 2 stroke builds. It really will be worth the patience and attention to detail you are exhibiting. That bearing on the center of your crank looks sturdy and expensive. I have been eyeballing those alloy rims over at mikexs for my RD. He doesn't carry the stock sizes in the same rim profile, but I'm sure it wouldn't be too noticeable once mounted on the bike. I was just worried about the spoke holes not being drilled the correct angle for the hub being used? Did Buchanan's mention anything about that? Maybe it doesn't matter so much when using dimpled rims. Keep it up, can't wait to see it all come together.
Great work! I'm really liking all these proper 2 stroke builds. It really will be worth the patience and attention to detail you are exhibiting. That bearing on the center of your crank looks sturdy and expensive. I have been eyeballing those alloy rims over at mikexs for my RD. He doesn't carry the stock sizes in the same rim profile, but I'm sure it wouldn't be too noticeable once mounted on the bike. I was just worried about the spoke holes not being drilled the correct angle for the hub being used? Did Buchanan's mention anything about that? Maybe it doesn't matter so much when using dimpled rims. Keep it up, can't wait to see it all come together.
Re: 1975 Suzuki T500 Engine rebuild underway
Thi is my first try at building wheels, so I'm far from an expert at this. However, Tim here at DTT is running this exact same combo (GT750 hub/MikesXS rim) on the front of his XS650 so I know it can work. After giving them my hub and rim info, the only question Buchanan's had was the nipple diameter.
perattzi said:Great work! I'm really liking all these proper 2 stroke builds. It really will be worth the patience and attention to detail you are exhibiting. That bearing on the center of your crank looks sturdy and expensive. I have been eyeballing those alloy rims over at mikexs for my RD. He doesn't carry the stock sizes in the same rim profile, but I'm sure it wouldn't be too noticeable once mounted on the bike. I was just worried about the spoke holes not being drilled the correct angle for the hub being used? Did Buchanan's mention anything about that? Maybe it doesn't matter so much when using dimpled rims. Keep it up, can't wait to see it all come together.
Thi is my first try at building wheels, so I'm far from an expert at this. However, Tim here at DTT is running this exact same combo (GT750 hub/MikesXS rim) on the front of his XS650 so I know it can work. After giving them my hub and rim info, the only question Buchanan's had was the nipple diameter.
Re: 1975 Suzuki T500 Engine rebuild underway
Well, it looks like Santa won't be bringing me a tank for Christmas. It's been 11 weeks since I put my money down (Oct. 6) and I've had no contact from Roc City since Oct. 13. I've sent a few messages (PM here and email) but have gotten no response. Sean's web site says he's now closed for the holidays and won't reopen until January 3.
Sigh...good things take time. :-\
Well, it looks like Santa won't be bringing me a tank for Christmas. It's been 11 weeks since I put my money down (Oct. 6) and I've had no contact from Roc City since Oct. 13. I've sent a few messages (PM here and email) but have gotten no response. Sean's web site says he's now closed for the holidays and won't reopen until January 3.
Sigh...good things take time. :-\
CobraRad
Active Member
Re: 1975 Suzuki T500 Engine rebuild underway
Greetings from another T500 Hoosier! First let me say, that this is a great thread and your attention to detail is superb!! I have only recently been introduced to cafe racers, and have become very intrigued. Historically, I'm more of a car guy, having recently completed a Factory Five roadster ("Cobra" replica). I've been itchin' for a new project and thought it might be fun to work on a motorcycle, for something different, besides it takes up less room in the garage! I started looking around, seeing what was available, and when I found a bike that was also known as a "cobra" I had to have one. I picked up a 1968 T500 "Cobra" with 12,000 miles from another Hoosier. He had it on ebay, and the auction ended without bids. I was able to purchase it for less than his opening price. I really didn't know what I was getting into when I bought the bike in October, but after reading through your thread, this is going to be a very fun project! The bike came to me in running condition, but the engine needs to be gone through. It also came with a box of parts, including the airbox parts, guages, and extra carbs. The last time this thing was registered and driven was 1994. I have reached a cross-roads, where I have to decide just how far to take this. Anyway, great thread! I will definitely be following some of your ideas and using some of the vendors you list. Thanks for all the great pics and updates! Merry Christmas!!
Here's a pic of mine at the time of purchase:
Greetings from another T500 Hoosier! First let me say, that this is a great thread and your attention to detail is superb!! I have only recently been introduced to cafe racers, and have become very intrigued. Historically, I'm more of a car guy, having recently completed a Factory Five roadster ("Cobra" replica). I've been itchin' for a new project and thought it might be fun to work on a motorcycle, for something different, besides it takes up less room in the garage! I started looking around, seeing what was available, and when I found a bike that was also known as a "cobra" I had to have one. I picked up a 1968 T500 "Cobra" with 12,000 miles from another Hoosier. He had it on ebay, and the auction ended without bids. I was able to purchase it for less than his opening price. I really didn't know what I was getting into when I bought the bike in October, but after reading through your thread, this is going to be a very fun project! The bike came to me in running condition, but the engine needs to be gone through. It also came with a box of parts, including the airbox parts, guages, and extra carbs. The last time this thing was registered and driven was 1994. I have reached a cross-roads, where I have to decide just how far to take this. Anyway, great thread! I will definitely be following some of your ideas and using some of the vendors you list. Thanks for all the great pics and updates! Merry Christmas!!
Here's a pic of mine at the time of purchase:
Re: 1975 Suzuki T500 Engine rebuild underway
Welcome! Nice Cobra. They're a bit rarer than the Titan so you'll probably get even more guff than I have from the purists if you cut her up. Glad you like the thread. Sorry it's been slow lately but I haven't had a lot of time for the bike in a few weeks.
Welcome! Nice Cobra. They're a bit rarer than the Titan so you'll probably get even more guff than I have from the purists if you cut her up. Glad you like the thread. Sorry it's been slow lately but I haven't had a lot of time for the bike in a few weeks.
