2 Strokes Down Under

I love long weekends - finally get to all the various projects that have been on hold.

So last weekend took the RZ500 for its first ride. Ran like a pig. No idle no low down power. Had to rev it and slip the clutch a lot to get it going - do they run like a pig until warmed up? I suspect it probably needs a clean out and tune. When the power came on it was fun to feel the front wheel trying to get off the ground so no issues with oomph when up and going which is great. But power delivery did not seem right.

Has anyone got any tips and traps for tuning an RZ500. I'll sit down and read all the material but was keen to know if there are any traps for young players.

Do the PV's cycle when you turn it on?
You might want to verify they move when it's revved.

First gear is quite tall, so they do require some clutch slip to get moving. It shouldn't "run like a pig" when cold. Mine has more power when it's cold. One day I will put a bigger radiator on it (R6 at the moment) to try and keep it under 70C.
I would do the basics... give the carbs a once over and put some plugs in it.

Consider a Zeeltronic ignition and PV controller too

Yep get the PV noise on power up. Yep I suspect it will be plugs and crappy jets. I also remember back in the day some 2 strokes with clogged baffles behaving like that as well. But they were singles.....

The 500 is just 4 125's really.
How many KMs has it done?

Wouldn't hurt to take a pipe off and have a look over it anyway.

About 50K on the clock from memory. Of ocurse who knows how long it's been sitting around. Seems fine when you start it just a pig to ride. At least it's got good power though....

There are carb kits available to crisp them up a bit apparently.
I never bothered playing much with mine before I couldn't put up with the stock handling any more and ripped it apart.

Not the pile of bits on eBay at the moment is it?

You should really be investing in a strip down if its done 50K unless you know how many ks on the pistons etc and are willing to believe the person telling you that information. If I am not mistaken then 30k is all the main bearings are good for before they start to self destruct.
The 500 is actually not too bad down low considering its a 2 stroke so something is up there and they overall run well but handle badly.
As Hybrid said carb strip to start and beware that's a pain in the ass to do.
Ebay.com has a seller in Singapore that lists NOS parts like pistons etc as a rebuilt kit and the price is good too but with the exchange rate now it might be crap.

pkay wrote:Not the pile of bits on eBay at the moment is it?

Nah, it must be getting close to 10 years ago that I did the YZR thing to mine.

+1 on the carbs, also check the carb sync, if this is out even slightly it can cause your symptom from my experience.

If your buying from Singapore ensure the items are listed on EBay not privately arranged sale for your own protection


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depends on who you deal with GMU, ive bought plenty of things off ebay from ebay sellers and had no issues... 'buy the seller, not just the product' as the old adage says.

Thanks John, what I meant is that the transaction should be done under the eBay system, not a gentlemanly agreement via email, for your protection


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Im not really sure how much true protection there is with the ebay system really (and yes I buy and sell quite a bit on the platform and have been ripped off both ways by buyers and sellers). Bear in mind that if you force the seller to do it 'on ebay' (s)he will have to cough up almost 15% more in fees (even on the postage price) just so the buyer can feel safe, I guess if you are willing to pay 15% more on the total then thats fine, but many are not, me included when I can get a bargain I do so (buying the seller firts of course). On my sales off-ebay, I always suggest people come and pickup and pay cash, like we used to in the old days, but not possible with Singapore of course. Anyway, Ive dealt with a couple of the Malaysian sellers and had no issues, both on and off ebay.

Paypals buyer protection has saved me once before...... International transactions I'm pretty happy to use their system and pay the fees. It's basically an insurance.

I wanted some RD stuff out of India recently but the seller wanted to do it off eBay. When I weighed up the crap quality and risk of a dodgy seller, I figured I'm better off spending the extra on genuine and/or used bits and avoiding the drama.