Suzuki T500 Racer?

Hey fellas,

I have a real stupid idea of turning a few laps with my 1974 Suzuki T500. She needs allot of work. I need engine builder references and well suspension guys. Drums are staying though.


Crazy idea but I should not be racing at all so here goes with another adventure.

 

Go for it man!.....Can-Am on here, Ron Raven, the promoter for the "Concour" has a T500 that he is bringing back to factory specs as a "Ron Grant Replica"....Ron Grant was an AMA privateer of the era.

I dont think you need to go to the lengths that Ron Raven has to get it on track.....his agenda is alittle different than just getting on track.

Raven has done everything to his T500......Tracked down elusive parts that were custom made at the time.

Contact Ron. He is not shy or hording of information one bit!.....I think he has a parts pile too.

Good luck!

PS....I still think the T500 front drum is the best brake for racing a cb350.....just need to keep an eye on the cracking near those webs / gussets.

 

I raced one a few years ago with USCRA plus a couple of races w. ahrma. luckily the seals where good so I just replaced pistons and rings. other things included : 34mm carbs, power dynamo ig. titan chambers, center plug heads, titan rearsets, fork brace, air caps, 18" alloy rims, t-350 swingarm and rear shocks, scitsu tach, tr 500 tank and fuel tank and I think the rear tail was yam tz (500/750) etc. . it was a very easy bike to race. lots of midrange for a 2 stroke and not a high rev'r . I wish I hadn't have sold it. ive been trying to buy it back w/ no luck

 

sundial Suzuki is a good forum for info too

 

I just go the new engine fired this weekend. It still needs a lot of tuning to be track ready. Hopefully it will run in the Concours de Competition on July 4 at Barber. Bring your T500 out. I still have a lot of parts. Ed Toomey rebuilt my crank and has two cores for rebuilds. What do you need to get it going?

 

Does anyone know where I can get my hands on a set of race expansion chambers for a T 500 thanks to all in advance

 

Titan , they also do nice rearsets

 

How Do I find them on the Internet.

 

Man they sure are proud of those pipes. I can’t afford them. Maybe some used ones or maybe some technical drawings and I can build my own thanks to all in advance

 

Damn!...is Eric Kalamaja still around??? I havnt heard sundial referenced in years.. crazy.

 

Who is he.

 

he ran the sundial list for years. t500 guy. i think he goes by @t500racer here?

 

No. I'm not Eric. Blew wads of cash trying to make a T500 competitive, though.

 

Jim Henshaw at fast from the past should be able to help you out with exhausts for the t500.

https://www.fastfromthepast.com/lcr156ss

I'd caution you about trying to build a set of these youself. Unless you are a very skilled welder and fabricator and have a lot of time on your hands you might be better served leaving this to someone that can and has done this already.

Gary Braun at retrodyne also is another place to check out. He made a set of pipes for my Bridgestone race bike that are second to none. Keep in mind the best people are busy and it may take some time to get what you're looking for. There's not a huge call for t500 exhaust chambers in the world so it's unlikely that someone will have these sitting on the shelf.

 

Jemco also makes pipes for the T500. I have only used their 4 stroke pipes, but it made good power on my 500 single.

 

found/bought a set off ebay once, believe they where ocelot ?

 

you behave yourself . dont start no trouble

 

We all know that 2 strokes are the implement of the Devil and will lead one down the garden path to doom and destruction. That has not and will not prevent me from owning and racing them, it is just a warning to others to not get sucked into the abyss which is populated with seized pistons, leaking crank seals and the horrors of pre-mix.

 

One more time, for the record, I AM NOT ERIC!! Every time one of these threads comes up I get contacted by people wanting to make their T500s race bikes. Not to discourage anyone, but I will leave you with the advice that Kevin Fletcher (owner of arguably the fastest Seeley framed t500 in North America) gave me 20 years ago when I asked him the same question:

"You want to make a t500 into a racebike? Here's what you do, strip it down completely. Throw away the frame, the wheels and the forks. Split the cases. Now bury that bloody boat anchor of a crank in your garden along with the clutch, heads, barrels and transmission, because they are all shite. Take your empty engine cases and your retirement savings and find specialists to build you everything else you need for the motorcycle. That's how you build a t500 race bike."

I originally thought he was kidding, but he wasn't. I learned the hard way.

Good luck with the project and have fun, because it's too fucking expensive and too goddamn dangerous if you aren't having the most fun of your life.