Saw a Suzuki RE5 out "in the wild" the other day, and even got to go talk to the owner very briefly.
Am I nuts for wanting one now?
EDIT: Or rather, am I nuts for actually considering looking for one. Wanting one doesn't seem that nuts.
They didn't exactly make them for very long. I'm assuming this means that parts (particularly engine bits) aren't readily available. Is this correct?
I don't know about the engine stuff, a lot of the other parts are standard Suzuki fare of the day so they should be findable.
BoxheadTim wrote:I don't know about the engine stuff, a lot of the other parts are standard Suzuki fare of the day so they should be findable.
Yeah. I figured (but didn't actaully confirm) that most of the rest should be easy enough.
I want one...(two years in production...you are probably right...)
Well other than the fact there neat they sucked... Same basic engine was used in Attic Cat sleds too. There a expensive novelty. Not saying i would not own one just there are other bike to collect 1st...
Wikipedia said:The RE5 was quite advanced in its steering and overall handling and numerous motorcycle test riders of the day remarked on this, some claiming it the best handling bike out of Japan and close to European marks.[21] It also had excellent ground clearance.[22] The complex B point system (explained below) gave smoother running on overrun[23] and gives some engine braking. Suzuki stopped fitting the B points to the 1976 "A" model[24] and allegedly had dealers disconnect the system on remaining "M" models. It was also noted that the bikes sometimes exhibited a dead spot or hesitation during acceleration as the carburetor transitioned from primary to secondary throat.[25] This is due to poor synchronization between the positions of the primary, port and the secondary carburetor throat valves. There is also some evidence linking this to jetting,[25] possibly an excessively lean primary mixture. The bike is less powerful than Suzuki’s 750 of the day[26] but its greatest attribute is tremendous torque.[27] The bike is smooth compared to many reciprocating engines of the day but has a grinding vibration around 4,000 rpm which was often remarked upon in road tests.[28] Despite speculation about worn or misadjusted components, it is more likely a feature of the engine harmonics. Average fuel consumption is around 37 mpg-imp (7.6 L/100 km; 31 mpg-US),[29]) but road tests sometimes achieved results as low as 28.6 mpg-imp (9.88 L/100 km; 23.8 mpg-US) and as high as 43.3 mpg-imp (6.52 L/100 km; 36.1 mpg-US).[30] In the end and once over its novelty, test riders found that other than its handling, it wasn’t superior to more conventional bikes.
Kinda a cool bike in my opinion.
The only one I've ever seen was in a junkyard. That said, I still want one.
Basically I don't mind paying a reasonable premium for something neat.
But I don't want to pay a premium for something neat that I won't be able to keep going (again paying a reasonable premium).
Their buy in prices aren't cheap, but they're not that bad either. The distance to those I found for sale is more of a hurdle than the purchase price at this point.
Depending on the year, some of the other parts were the same as other Suzukis. The early models had futuristic gauge clusters and taillights that were exclusive to the RE-5 and they're pretty much impossible to find. I know a guy who bought one a few years ago; it was in mint condition until he tipped it over in his driveway and smashed the taillight. 
I lived a block away from the local Suzuki dealer back then, they didn't sell very many RE5s. If people were going to spend that much money they'd get a GT750 triple instead.
