Beat it, then rebuild it: what's your story?

[garyahouse]

I love seeing somebody take an old worn out bike and rebuild it: especially if the finished product is faster/better than the original. WHAT'S YOUR STORY?

The original pictures of this bike were all lost as far as I know, but here's one that looks very much like it when I bought it... notice the left side kickstarter? Took a little getting used to.

I was just a kid. I was so excited the day I bought my 1971 Suzuki T500 twin. It was a two stroke twin with drum brakes, slightly behind the times when compared with the likes of the first CB750 we've been talking about elsewhere on this forum. But it was cheap, and it was mine. What a machine!! (or so I thought). It was a huge step up from my 1970 125cc Harley Rapido. But it didn't take long and things started breaking. Over the course of 3 years, it got very, very tired. I had little or no money in those days for repairs. Let's see if I can remember:
--the tires were bald, of course.
--Spokes were missing from the back rim.
--All the shiny bits were rusty and corroded.
--Clutch and brake levers were busted thanks to too many spills.
--Footpegs bent and turn signals: ground up.
--Headlight didn't work
--Shift lever was badly stripped where it attached to the shaft coming out of the tranny.
--Trannie popped out of second constantly and often gave false neutrals when trying to shift.
--Both brakes were so bad, I had to squeeze the front brake with BOTH hands (I'm not lying) to get it to stop. Forget the back brake, you could stand on the thing... it was worthless.
--The clutch slipped so bad I had to nurse the throttle. But oddly enough, it did start and run fairly well. Then came the day the side cover fell off and the battery fell out and shattered. Having no money for a motorcycle battery, I strapped a used car battery on top of the gages - just temporarily - so I could get to work. Well, temporary turned into months... that I drove it like that. You should have seen what the wind-sprayed battery acid did to my favorite army jacket. Remember when we all wore those things in the early 70's? I'm not joking when I say that old Zuki was beat.

So finally I made the decision. I decided to rebuild it from the ground up. Every nut and bolt. I didn't particularly know what I was doing, but I began. I disassembled everything down to the bare frame, which I painted silver. I tore the engine apart and rebuilt the trannie and the clutch. I put in Wiseco pistons (I think I had it bored to +30, but I forget). I put in larger carbs, and a rather expensive port and polish along with custom made expansion chambers. New spokes, new brakes, new battery (thank God) and replaced all the little items as needed. On the porting: did you know that the porting was identical to the 750 3 cyl. watercooled engine? The fella who did my porting was known for his work on 750 triple race engines.

Then came the big day that I took it to the dragstrip. Oh my soul did that thing run. I lost a lot of my low end grunt, but it was really exciting when it came on the pipe. Won myself a nice trophy that day.

But I have often said that there's no thrill like the thrill of running something that you rebuilt with your own two hands. It was a huge project for a very young and inexperienced back yard mechanic, but it turned out really well. How do I describe the rush I felt when that little engine came on the pipe and the front end shot up in the air? It felt like I'd added another cylinder. What a thrill it was

So whats YOUR story?

Gary
darksider #44

 

[lonerider]

Back in the late 60s, I had a Suzuki X6 that was my only transportation. I ran the hell out of it and was always having to fix something on it. February, 1970, a kid in a hurry ran a stop sign in front of me and I slid into his Chevy wagon sideways at 25-30 mph; got a pretty well trashed knee and a concussion out of it. Bike and me shortly before the wreck:

Took a while and an operation before I could ride again, so I spent the time while I was in a cast buying another X6 with a trashed motor and building one good bike out of the two. It looked like this when I finished it:

Unfortunately, that one only lasted less than a year; summer of 1971 I lost it in a thunderstorm, bike went down and under an oncoming Ford Galaxy. Luckily for me, I went in a different direction than the bike and walked away from that one. Only time I ever saw a bike do so much damage to a car, the car had to be towed. Shortly after that, I stopped riding; didn't have the funds to get the frames straightened on the two wrecked bikes. A car guy I knew asked me if I'd give him the bikes and spares so he could build a bike from all of it. I gave him all of it, saw him a couple years later and asked him how it went. He said he'd built a bike from the parts and wrecks; I assumed he'd sold the bike when he completed it. I lost track of him after that. Fast forward to 2004, I saw his obituary in the paper. Shortly after, I saw an ad for his estate sale, with a 1968 Suzuki X6 listed. I took the day off work, went and bought the bike back. Funny part is, he never completed the bike or titled it; when I paid the auctioneer and got the title, it was still in my name, after 35 years. It's sitting in my basement now. I've been accumulating parts to do a rebuild, hopefully as a retirement project.

 

[garyahouse]

Hey Lone,

Wow, what a story. That is so cool. It was dead and forgotten and now it's back home with daddy. Keep us posted on your progress?

Gary

 

[Full House]

I was 2nd owner of a T500 Titan early 70's. It had been repainted to green metal flake, think it was a 1968. I remember reading in a motorcycle mag that a 500 twin was the largest 2 stroke that was feasible. Guess they missed that.

Thanks for the pics, etc. it brings back memories!