Seems to be a debate on use of clutch when stopped

SteveA said:
Don't leave a Suzuki T500/GT500 two stroke in gear with the clutch in. Pull the clutch lever in and three things happen, clutch disengages, (I hope you were expecting that!), your tacho drops to 0, and the oil pump stops running!

Slightly silly design, but be sensible and it's not a problem.

Personally I don't know another bike this happens on.
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Well can't see myself ever owning a Suzuki T500/GT500 two stroke lol, I have only owned one Suzuki a RM125S first of the mono shock motocross back in my youth, it was a weapon for it's size.
 
H
ashman said:
Well can't see myself ever owning a Suzuki T500/GT500 two stroke lol, I have only owned one Suzuki a RM125S first of the mono shock motocross back in my youth, it was a weapon for it's size.
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Here's mine from way back
Trying my hardest to look like a 'crooks' Suzuki
 

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Funny story with my RM125S at the time my Norton had the dreaded blown layshaft bearing and the RM was the only way to get from my grannies place where I was living to my dads place where he lived around the corner from our local burger shop hangout which was a 3 mile ride on the bike, so around 6pm I jump on the RM and take a few back streets to get to my dad's place, Dune Street the main short cut I did that trip from Sunday night till Thursday night around the same time 6pm but the Friday night I decider to go the longer way round and which brought me up past the top of Dune street, as I was going past Dune street I looked down the street and 1/2 way down was 2 cop cars waiting for me, I must have upset the neighbour hood the following nights lol, well they seen me, well more heard me and I was off, my dad's place had no front fence and able to get around the corner and straight up the back yard.
All hell broke loose as cop cars everywhere looking for that loud bright yellow dirt bike, by this time I was walking around the corner heading to the top shop where we always meet up with the mates and a cop car pulled up beside me while walking and asked me if I seen a loud, yellow bike go past, hehe, I said he went that away pointing to the direction I didn't go lol, there was only one mate at the shop at the time and he knew what was happening lol, he said to me your a lucky bastard lol, didn't ride that bike again on the streets, the cops wasted a hour looking for me lol, never gave them another chance lol.

Ashley
 
baz said:
Some of this depends on where you ride
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True, I said I never put in neutral - never thought to. That's 99.99% correct. However, heading west in US Rt 50 (6/7/8 lanes) from DC there is a light at Patrick Henry (6 lanes) that has a full 5-minute cycle time. If approaching that light and it turns red, I will put it in neutral and almost consider shutting it off - I hate these old bikes idling!

I won't even ride through 7-Corners on Rt 50 - never timed that monster but I'm guessing 8 minutes.
 
marshg246 said:
True, I said I never put in neutral - never thought to. That's 99.99% correct. However, heading west in US Rt 50 (6/7/8 lanes) from DC there is a light at Patrick Henry (6 lanes) that has a full 5-minute cycle time. If approaching that light and it turns red, I will put it in neutral and almost consider shutting it off - I hate these old bikes idling!

I won't even ride through 7-Corners on Rt 50 - never timed that monster but I'm guessing 8 minutes.
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I have to go through 4 traffic light junctions on my way to work and 3 of them are within 200yds of each other one is a crossroads and the other 2 are side roads!!
There never used to be traffic lights there and it's constantly grid locked
But when the lights break down the traffic flows freely
Go figure that one 😂😂
 
Triton Thrasher said:
Are you the only person who ever put a BSA/Triumph conical brake on a Jap bike?
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I reckon so
And what a superb brake it was once I'd extended the actuating arms 1/2"
I did try 3/4" but adjusting it there was too much movement with the lever touching the hand grip
It's a far better brake than the Suzuki TLS that are prone too cracking on the webbs inside the hub
 
marshg246 said:
True, I said I never put in neutral - never thought to. That's 99.99% correct. However, heading west in US Rt 50 (6/7/8 lanes) from DC there is a light at Patrick Henry (6 lanes) that has a full 5-minute cycle time. If approaching that light and it turns red, I will put it in neutral and almost consider shutting it off - I hate these old bikes idling!

I won't even ride through 7-Corners on Rt 50 - never timed that monster but I'm guessing 8 minutes.
Click to expand...

When I lived in Vienna, I had to commute to Tyson's Corner to work, only a few miles away. I had 4 bikes at the time, my Norton was still in a basket though. It just became too dangerous to ride a bike in that area, a real motivator to move to a big Farm in rural NC. Back in the day, riding my Norton in NYC was safe and I could even park the bike on the street, with a chain, and not worry about having it stolen........
 
74 Cafe' said:
When I lived in Vienna, I had to commute to Tyson's Corner to work, only a few miles away. I had 4 bikes at the time, my Norton was still in a basket though. It just became too dangerous to ride a bike in that area, a real motivator to move to a big Farm in rural NC. Back in the day, riding my Norton in NYC was safe and I could even park the bike on the street, with a chain, and not worry about having it stolen........
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Good move - riding here is not fun!
 
In the interest of not seizing my clutch (which has happened when trying to thread through stop and go freeway traffic, lanesplitting not looking safe or possible) I tend to go into neutral at stop lights, then shift into first just before I think the light is going to change. I have not had problems shifting in and out of neutral. I agree that holding up traffic is NOT a good idea, but neither is jumping out just as the light changes - American drivers often try to beat the light.
 
baz said:
H

Here's mine from way back
Trying my hardest to look like a 'crooks' Suzuki
Click to expand...
I won a race with my mate's Suzuki Cobra. It had no brakes and I had to sit on the back of the tank to get around. The spectators could smell the brake linings burning. When I put decent brake linings into it, my mate was afraid to ride it. I don't like racing two-strokes -it is too easy to win with them and they don't feel good. A good four-stroke makes me much happier. I tend to ride better with a four-stroke. My T250 racer was really rapid. I sold it immediately after it won it's first race. Racing is about having fun. It costs money to get there and having fun is important. I know a guy who has a Seeley Norton like mine - he races a 650SS.
 
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I think people in Europe might be more aware of motorcycles than those in America or Australia. The mindset is different. Only an idiot would ride a motorcycle in Bali.
 
acotrel said:
I think people in Europe might be more aware of motorcycles than those in America or Australia. The mindset is different. Only an idiot would ride a motorcycle in Bali.
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Disagree. There is enough of idiots on every continent to get you killed.
Less than one kilometre from where I live, two motorcyclists was killed by a drunken driver a couple of years ago.
 
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