This is a titled & registered RG500 in California!
Bike: 1986 Suzuki RG500 Gamma Walter Wolf Edition
Price: $15,500USD
Location: Solvang, California
Mileage: 20,000km
Located in Solvang, California is a 1986 Suzuki RG500 Gamma in Walter Wolf colors. This bike is available from the collection of the Slovang Vintage Motorcycle Museum. They state that the bike is entirely original and has 20,000km (12,427mi) on it. They state that the bike has been titled & registered in California for many years. No service or damage history is provided. Now, all my information says that the Walter Wolf Edition bikes were MY ’87 only but, I’ll trust the Solvang Museum and assume that they were also produced at the end of the 1986MY.
The RG500 is what many consider to be the ultimate, large displacement, road-going two stroke ever produced. The RG500 was based on the RG500’s that won world championship’s during the late ’70’s and early ’80’s. The street going RG’s featured a 498cc, square-four, two-stroke with rotary valve and exhaust port valves and 4x28mm Mikuni flatside carburetors working together to produce 95HP at 9000rpm (83RWHP). The GP replica also featured 38mm conventional forks with anti-dive, adjustable pre-load and an adjustable mono-shock out back. The magic was in the aluminum frame however, the RG produced 95HP while only weighing in at 175kg (385lbs) wet!
Some side history about Walter Wolf Racing: Walter Wolf Racing was a UK Formula 1 race team that competed from 1976 to 1980 and is one of the reasons Williams F1 is where it is today. The cars were finished in a distinctive Black/Red/Gold scheme which is referenced on the replica RG. Walter Wolf also had an attraction to Lamborghini’s and has some very distinctive specials produced during the early ’80’s.
If this is a real Walter Wolf replica, and I don’t doubt that it is, it is the rarest RG500 produced–that I’m aware of. This bike looks to be in fantastic condition from the sole picture present as you would expect for a museum bike. The asking price is $15,500 which is right where we see standard RG500’s so, I would call this a good price for what you’re getting if it can be verified to be 100% original. See the bike on Solvang Vintage Motorcycle Museum’s website here.
AG
seems a little steep for this bike. it’s not mileage free and there was a beaut for sale about three years ago with lower mils and no damage for 10.5. i think that if one were to find the right buyer, 12k might work. amazing bike, definitely a collector, but about 3-4k too much in my assessment. who knows… good luck to the seller.
[…] up by Ian last May when it went on sale from the Solvang Motorcycle Museum near Santa Barbara, CA. Click here to read Ian’s post. It looks like the bike sold in the final months of 2011; the price was never published, but the […]