The magazine for classic Japanese motorcycles

RGV Z50 Suzuki - Spotter's Guide

At various times since the mid-1960s the Japanese factories have variously competed at outdoing each other in the quarter-litre capacity bracket. Honda’s benchmark CB72 was supplanted by Suzuki’s T20, which in turn was eclipsed by Kawasaki’s A1 before that was overshadowed by Yamaha’s RD250. The cycle was perpetuated through the following decades with X7s, LCs, Powervalves etc. but ultimately someone had to end up as top dog and this is where this month’s machine comes in.

As the two-stroke competition ramped up at the start of the 1980s each Japanese factory endeavoured to outdo its rivals. Yamaha’s RZ250 pushed Honda into building the MVX250 and Suzuki responded with the RG250 Gamma, but by 1986 the RG was old hat. With everyone, except Kawasaki, eventually opting for the V-twin configuration, as per the race track, Suzuki produced a bike that many consider the pinnacle of road going Japanese stinkwheels; the RGV250.

The RGV was based around a water-cooled, V-twin motor mounted low in a twin-spar aluminium chassis. With a claimed weight of less than 130kg and a power output that rose from 45bhp at the model’s introduction to a frankly giddy 57bhp a decade later for the final incarnation of the RGV250. This development effectively maps the last days of commercially viable two-stroke motorcycles. If Suzuki dropped the RGV in 1997 it didn’t stop it milking a cash cow for a little longer.

When Aprilia wanted to capitalise on its 250GP success it elected not to use a road going version of its own engines but bought in Suzuki’s RGV motor wholesale. This in itself speaks volumes; Aprilia obviously had choices to make in terms of performance and cost but whatever the politics it was Suzuki’s engine that finally hung between the twin spars of Aprilia’s chassis and remained there until 2004.

If proof and evidence were ever needed that the RGV250 was the real deal and not some cosmetic sham – a first-off model made its way to Crooks Suzuki in Barrow-in Furness. Boss Martin Crooks had sufficient faith to run the bike in two Manx GPs (1988 and 89) with an absolute minimum of tweaking. By way of rewarding the rider’s unswerving brand loyalty the RGV250 turned in two places towards the top 20 finishers; not enough to earn Martin a replica but more than enough to show what could be done with what amounted to a fairly standard production bike.

The power to weight ratio along with that alloy frame and super crisp motor all combine to deliver thrills out of all proportion to their worth or value. The RGV250 clearly demonstrates that ultimate horsepower isn’t the only factor that governs a machine’s desirability or potential kudos; in bikes such as this there’s an indefinable something that means you don’t need hairy chested, testosterone fuelled, machismo to enjoy a bike to its full potential. A properly set up and ridden RGV250 has giant-killing potential and can be used to devastating effect while keeping a grip on reality in terms of both financial outlay and outright speed.

Words: Steve Cooper
Photos: Mortons Archive, Joe Dick