The Grin Factor

What happens when you squeeze an RG500 motor into an RGV250 frame? Tony Heyes put one together to find out…

Tony Heyes has always been a two-stroke fanatic. Since starting his biking career, at the age of eight, on an ageing and unloved Triumph Tina scooter he's worked his way through ‘around 60’ bikes, ending up with his current stable of a Yamaha 350YPVS, an RGV250, a TL1000 (bought new), and this very tidy RG500 special.

Along the way he has fond memories of an early Suzuki 80, a Honda SS50, a couple of KH250s and two Kawasaki H2s. So why the TL? "I've also got a bit of a soft spot for four-stroke muscle bikes, and I've owned three GSX1100 Suzukis. The TL1000 is a natural successor to those, but compared to the RG it’s a bit of a tank," he says. Which brings us neatly back to the plot, and this lean 500 special.
Tony bought this bike around eight years ago, as a more or less standard RG500. The bike carried a ‘Q’ plate and had seen some track action. But despite the engine’s undoubted performance, Tony was less than satisfied with the whole package. "The bike was horrible with the original frame, it would try to tie itself in knots. I couldn't squeeze in any decent-sized tyres, the absolute maximum on the back was a 120, and that would touch the exhaust." Inspired by a bike he'd once seen at Heron Suzuki, Tony decided he could improve on the basic RG500, and four years ago the bike was dismantled for a full rebuild.

Tony had two basic goals for the rebuilt bike: it had to be small, light, and tauter to handle than the RG500, and it had to have wheels big enough to accommodate thoroughly modern rubber. An RGV250K frame satisfied the first part of the brief. Having owned and worked on a couple of RGVs in the past, Tony found the engine swap presented few difficulties. For the wheels he chose a pair of Honda CBR600 items. This gave rim widths of 3.5in on the front, and 4.5in at the back, enough to fit 120/60x17 and 160/60x17 tyres. The forks were from an RGV250M topped with Harris bars.
Not so obvious is the amount of work Tony put into creating the seat unit, which is made from bits of an RGV250L and a Peugeot Speedfight scooter. The whole effect gels together like peaches and cream, giving the bike a raw, aggressive stance and maintaining the lean profile of the RGV250. The bike is well known around Tony’s stamping ground of Thameside, where it delights everyone who rides it. "I call it the Grin Factor; it's light, it's fast, and it goes - this one will wear out the sides of your boots!"

Riding the RGV Special
We asked racer Chris Dutton to put the bike through its paces. This is what he made of it:
I was really looking forward to riding a bike powered by a Suzuki RG500 motor, with an RGV chassis. Especially as my two-stroke experience is low, being just too young to have been hit by the early 80s RD/LC/TZ mania.
I wasn’t really sure what to expect, riding-wise. Looks-wise, I certainly wasn’t expecting this. I expected a two-stroke racer, à la Kevin Schwantz or Barry Sheene, a crotch-rocket, an out and out racer. I expected to be riding a race-rep, ridden by my heroes from childhood, coloured in black and gold, or white and blue. Instead I get a black street bike. Kind of.
It’s beautifully crafted. There’s lots of carbon fibre highlighting the shiny metallic RG500 underseat pipes and KR1 side exhausts. Combined with the RGV250K polished frame and RGV250M polished wheels, it looks simply stunning. Neither does it look ‘odd’. It looks like a bike that’s had lots of thought given to its crafting, from the polished wheels to the chequered flag effect on the tank.

As I’m stood admiring the bike at the Cat and Fiddle pub in sunny, but very cold, Cheshire, it also draws a great deal of interest from the shy, and not so shy. Some folk are just interested to look (they want to talk, but aren’t quite sure where to begin!), and some want to know its every detail. I’d love to talk, but I’ve taken the (stoopid!) decision to ride it in one-piece leathers, so I’m freezing!
Sitting on it, it’s immediately very, very small, even for me at 5ft 8in. Riding position is fairly racey, but not overly extreme. It requires the kick-start too... I really am out of date! Or is that too up-to-date? Thankfully it’s first kick every time.

Classic Motorcycle Mechanics May 2005 edition

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