If you’re looking for a truly collectable Suzuki RG500Γ, your unicorn has been spotted, so move quickly. No seriously: this thing has zero, nil, null, 0, nada miles on it. Absolutely none.
Race replicas from the 1980’s obviously needed appropriate powerplants to complete the illusion, and featured two-stroke engines like the machines racing in Moto GP. Suzuki’s 500cc four-cylinder featured an unusual, water-cooled square four that was basically two parallel twins geared to a common crank. At under 400lbs dry with 100bhp and a race-ready chassis, it was a serious machine.
When the listing mentions ” rare chance to find another” he may be underselling it a bit, although his $39,000 asking price certainly doesn’t… That’s a lotta dough, but this may be the lowest-mile Gamma available anywhere, and has a valid California title to boot!
From the original Craigslist post: 1986 Suzuki RG500 Gamma for Sale with Zero Miles
Suzuki RG500 . I am original owner. Purchased brand new. kept well preserved. No acid in orig battery . no gas in tank. The bike is brand new and no leaks. Cylinder maintained with constantly Not a single scratch . CA titled in non-op status with blue plate the same year purchased and imported into USA. Has the orig clear screen. Rare chance to find another.
But what goes through the mind of someone willing to buy a state of the art sporting machine, then pack it away, never to turn a wheel in anger, or spew fragrant two-stroke smoke in the face of riders on slower bikes?
For anyone who wants a basically brand new motorcycle to place in a hermetically-sealed display case, this does represent a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. For the rest of us, it represents an absolute tragedy: a machine built for speed, in suspended animation.
-tad
I sure hope that isn’t the original brake fluid in the master cylinders, lines, and calipers…but it looks like it may well be. Listing has already been deleted.
They’re never as nice as they say, it seams. The bike looks lovely and is in very desirable condition. However, some of his story and details in the photos don’t jive. He is the original owner from supposedly 1986 when he titled and registered the bike in California. He mentions a blue CA plate indicating the correct pre-1990 color for CA. The picture showing the profile view of the plate sure looks white to me. Is he using another plate while riding the zero mile bike? The carb to tank hoses have inline valves added with red handles. The stock black carb drain hoses are replaced with clear ones and routed in a different fashion. Odd concerns for a dry since birth Gamma. I can never understand people who brag about low or no mileage machines and then neglect to include a photo of the odometer. On a more technical note, whenever an out of state vehicle is registered / titled in CA, there must be an in person VIN verification performed at which time the bike must have several thousand miles on the clock to be considered used and exempt from federal prohibitions on new bike imports that don’t meet EPA standards. It is not possible to title and highway register one legally with zero miles.
Rick Lance – Impressive overall observations sir. I’m particularly familiar with the titling aspects you mention. Dead on accurate – at least for my state. GOLF CLAP for you sir. Spot on, Spot on.
Just a couple of comments/questions about the California registration comments. I am aware of the law in Ca. that if a vehicle has less than 7500 miles, it is considered new and must meet applicable Ca. smog requirements, etc. However, the seller states this bike is already titled and registered on non-op in California, so I do not believe there would be any issue with a straight title transfer in Ca. Now a question: How does the rule that after ten years, a vehicle is considered mileage exempt apply to motorcycles over ten years old. If this bike was coming from another state and is over ten years old, wouldn’t it be considered mileage exempt and the 7500 mile rule not apply? Couldn’t one also just state that the mileage is not correct on the speedo and get an older bike into Ca that had less than 7500 miles on the speedo? The reason the 7500 mile rule was written was so Californians would not go to Oregon or other states and buy a new vehicle that did not meet Ca. smog and bring it into Ca. Comments on this subject would be greatly appreciated.
That’s one of my favorite things about writing for this site: the observations of people with specific knowledge that they’re able to share.
Jon- I can’t speak for the rest of the country but in my state (NM) this bike would be a nightmare. You/ they have a choice on the title AM- actual miles. NM- not actual miles or EM- exceeds mechanical limits. When you brought this particular bike down for a in person inspection as listed in the above comments they would not accept an OD with zero miles and allow you to have a AM status on the title (unless you brought a dealer purchase title/ not a state title.) You would have the problem listed above by Rick. What you would probably get is an EM due to the age. I have over a dozen older sport bikes titled in my name, some with as few as 1,000 miles and I have had to sometimes show a full chain of titles to keep them AM status, and I live in a small town where I know the people at the DMV very well and have done this many times before. The only reason I get an AM status on my bikes is because they know I am a collector and do my research and I ALWAYS bring so much documentation to back up the mileage that they grant the bike/title AM status. This bike would be a problem in my state (getting a clean AM status tile).
Jon- Just to clarify my position. I would never drop 39K on a bike for my collection without having or being able to acquire a pristine Actual Mileage status title for resale in the future. That was my whole point.
Not a problem in Oklahoma. If the Vin on the title is the same as on the bike, your good to go. DMV just wants the money, they don’t ask any questions that would hurt there pocket book relating to stated mileage.
You should speak with larry hallahan from axxis motors in Anaheim CA. He knows this bike and says it’s not original miles. I emailed him a link and he said the opener is the 3rd owner of the bike.
First i have to say that I’m not a two stroke expert. My first bike was a 1999 KX 250 MX bike. I purchased the bike from a fellow co-worker at Ampm and nearly killed myself! Anyway, there is no way in hell that.this is.a zero mile bike. I spoke to Suzuki’s corporate office and they pointed out several inconsistencies in the description and photos. Kudos to Jon and others for their keen observations.
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