2009 Iron Butt Rally... on a 33 year old rotary Suzuki

[Slonishku]

The 2009 Iron Butt Rally will be held on the 25th anniversary of the first IBR, held in 1984. Among the more colorful of the entries that year was a black 1976 Suzuki RE5 rotary that managed a four-way tie for first place. Quite a feat!



I'd been keeping it quiet until recently, but I was lucky enough to be picked to ride the 2009 Iron Butt Rally. I'm ecstatic about being chosen, as I was only one of a rumored 5,000 applicants. As soon as the news came in, all my previous plans for the rest of this year through August of next year changed drastically. This is a monster event. For those who aren't familiar with it, the IBR is an 11 day rally. Those who manage to complete the rally will normally end up logging 11,000 miles or more in that time.

Being that this is the 25th anniversary, something special is called for. So call me crazy, but I opted to do it on a 1976 Suzuki RE5. FYI, the RE5 is a rotary engine motorcycle. Other than initial appearance, it's a very unconventional motorbike. It was only made for two years 1975-1976), then abandoned by Suzuki. Even the chain and spark plug are unique to this machine, so parts and nuggets of wisdom about the RE5 are few and far between.

My RE5 was just delivered to my home in Bakersfield from its previous home in Mississippi. I bought it from the original owner, who I found through an internet RE5 group. It's not the prettiest in the world, but I think it'll do. Here it is:



And here it is at my home... it looks a lot better with my wife on it.  



A great thing about this buy is that the owner still had virtually all of the specialized dealers' tools unique to this bike, as he owned a Suzuki dealership in the 70's. He also threw in all the technical bulletins, manuals, et cetera. I get to meet my new bike when I go home for leave in just a week or two.

Before I bought the bike, Mac was awesome enough to volunteer to take a look at it for me, as he lived in the general area. After a test ride, he gave it the thumbs-up and offered to keep it running for me for the next several months while I'm in Afghanistan!   I declined his offer with thanks and had it shipped to my home in California.

I know I have a long road ahead of me with this bike- a lot of work, and a lot of learning. The bike has points and inner-tube tires. I know nothing about either. There's a lot about this bike that very few people know much about in fact. This is going to be a great adventure!

Of course, I'm very open to any advice or knowledge anyone would care to offer! It looks like my first Iron Butt Rally is gonna be a doozy!

I know I'll be replacing hoses, rigging up a 5 gallon aux tank, rebuilding the forks, possibly replacing the rear shocks, et cetera. The generator only kicks out about 280 watts, so I can't go too crazy with the lights and other electro-farkles. Maybe a Zumo, some small HIDs, and a heated vest.

I'm truly excited to get home and get rolling on this great adventure!

Alex

[helodoc]

On your application did you indicate that you'd be riding an RE5, or was this an after thought?

Do you think you'll finish the IBR on only one set of tires? Those older bikes are pretty easy on the rubber.

I can't wait to see the finished product. Any chance you'll have it at the national meet in Tulsa?

We wish you well. That old rig is prolly more reliable that my beemer gt!  

[Slonishku]

I told the IBA folks from go that I'd ride an RE5. It turns out they were hoping to find someone to do just that. Apparently there are two other riders doing the same thing- and here I thought I'd be unique!

I truly wish I could be in Tulsa, but I'm stuck in Afghanistan until November. That, plus missing the entire 2008 rally season, is going to be a huge handicap.

My goal in this IBR is to keep the bike and me both running long enough and accumulate enough points to qualify as a finisher by a comfortable margin. I have no delusions of grandeur for this one!

I'm not sure at all about the rubber yet- I was thinking about getting some alloy rims off a GT750 or something to use for the rally. That way I could go tubeless and have a whole lot more tire options. Plus, in the event of a puncture, plugging a tubeless tire would probably be a lot less of an ordeal.

I have a back up RE5. I'll probably put new tires on both, and swap wheels at or around the halfway point for good measure.

Orson has also recommended replacing the points with an electronic ignition from Accel, but I'm not sure if that would work on a rotary... actually, I have no idea.

[Black Ice]

Here's one on a rotary.  Not from Accel, though.  



Dude's webpage has a complete restoration of his RE5...he ate a lot of spark plugs.  Perhaps you could try and contact him for advice?

[greench440]

3 RE5s in the 09 IBR?  Sounds like a world wide search for RE5 spares is about to begin.  

Good luck and please post frequent updates.  

[CLAY]

Wow.  Most excellent!  Jay Leno's website has a link to his RE5 with footage of it running etc.  Very interesting bike!  I'll be watching ad wating for your progress!

Here's the link to Leno's RE5 for the curious:
http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/video/video_player.shtml?vid=234331

[Davo]

Alex re your question regarding aux fuel tank elsewhere.

Looking at the pics it looks reasonably easy to fabricate a bracket to run over the pillion seat as I posted there similar to what I did on that bike I gave a link to. Looks like either that top frame or at worst the shock mount bolt could be used. In this case I would try and rest the weight ON the seat rather than hold it above the seat as I do.

See you next August.

[Slonishku]

Davo-

That was my original thought, then someone pointed out to me the dangers of mounting over the pillion. The biggest issue is that there's an oil resevoir over there that needs to be topped off pretty regularly, as it meters oil into the combustion chamber to lubricate the apex seals and the chamber walls. Again, another RE5 quirk.

I know the luggage rack isn't quite up to the task of bearing +/- 35 pounds of fuel and tank under torture test conditions as is. At this point I'm looking towards fabbing a good solid fuel cell rack to sit there. If I get really crazy, I might take style and design queues from Dean Taji's super-cool aluminum FJR1300 tanks.

[Davo]

Ok why not run it over the pillion seat but hinge the bracket so you can flip it backwards?

Just an idea, fuel lines for most of the aux tanks come out the rear so it wouldn't affect the lines.

[Uwe]

Wow!   I remember my Suzuki dealer smirking when people were looking for RE5 parts in the early 1980s.  

-Uwe-

[spinalator]

Good luck with the challenge, and by that I mean getting the bike ready for the rally and the rally itself!  

[helodoc]

Wow.  Most excellent!  Jay Leno's website has a link to his RE5 with footage of it running etc.  Very interesting bike!  I'll be watching ad wating for your progress!

Here's the link to Leno's RE5 for the curious:
http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/video/video_player.shtml?vid=234331

Now here's an idea....

Jay's a huge car/motorcycle guy. Maybe he's heard of the IBA? Think it's worth a shot to propose such a far fetched idea as to prove the road-worthiness of Mr. Leno's RE5 by riding IT in the '09 IBR?

"US veteran of Afghanistan war finishes world's toughest motorcycle competition on Jay Leno's vintage suzuki!"

Of course I made a few assumptions (military status) which may not be 100% accurate.

You never know...the world is a crazy & unpredictable place.  

[Slonishku]

Now here's an idea....

Jay's a huge car/motorcycle guy. Maybe he's heard of the IBA? Think it's worth a shot to propose such a far fetched idea as to prove the road-worthiness of Mr. Leno's RE5 by riding IT in the '09 IBR?

"US veteran of Afghanistan war finishes world's toughest motorcycle competition on Jay Leno's vintage suzuki!"

Of course I made a few assumptions (military status) which may not be 100% accurate.

You never know...the world is a crazy & unpredictable place.  

That idea is the best I've heard in quite some time!    Now, I just have to find Mr. Leno's contact info... I'm pretty sure I don't have it saved in outlook...

[greench440]

Have your people call his people.  

[Justin]

Congrats man! Enjoy the ride on that piece of history... just get the seat redone, I bet that things got a real ass-killer on it lol

[BMW-K]

Slon,

I'm 100% behind ya on this one!  My offer still stands:  if you want my Zumo for the Rally, it's yours.  I'll ride up and we'll get it installed a couple weeks before the rally.  Ken's got an Escort detector - I'm pretty sure he'll loan that to the cause.  And, if truly needed, I've got these killer HID's that I'll also donate to the cause.

Just say the word and I'll be more than happy to help out.

[BMW-K]

Oh, and highway pegs.  I'm pretty sure we can mount up some forward highway pegs for you on that roll cage...

[BMW-K]

And that Gas tank needs an STN sticker on the left side!  

(Ok, I'll go 'Ho in another thread!)

[photomd]

Not that you asked f'er my opinion, but I'm always willing to give it.  

Most of what I've read about those motors has been about Mazada's. They seem to do great as long as the rotor tips are sealing well and lubricated. In an engine that old, I'd suggest someone taking a look at them. If they stop sealing, the engine will run hot which I've read the RE5 is prone to in traffic and then the rotor and/or the cases warp.

Good luck with it. I'd love to see more classics in the IBR. That's just cool going after the IBR on an old bike, especially as unique as that Suzuki.  

[Slonishku]

Robert: Post-ho away! I like the direction your posts are headed!  

photomud: I'm asking for all opinions, and yours is certainly welcome.  

One thing I really need to do is to shoot for a few SS1Ks and BBGs when I get home from Afghanistan. I'll have about a month off before I go back to work, so that's the best time for me to knock a few out. The problem is that my routes are somewhat limited, as I get home in November. Something tells me the Flagstaff part of a 50cc would be a bee-otch in the winter.