At $9,000, Is This 1975 Suzuki RE5 A Wankel Worth Breaking Out The Wallet?
Today’s Nice Price or No Dice Suzuki is one of only a handful of rotary-powered motorcycles ever produced. It’s also one of the best looking. Let’s see if the price of this unique bike makes it worth a second glance.
The Suzuki X-90 Is Either Awfully Brilliant or Simply Awful
In our current era of political strife and extreme polarization that is fueling some states to threaten secession and others to tell them not to let the door hit them on the ass on the way out, the one thing that I think we can all agree upon is that we don’t really need two Dakotas—North and South. That’s a quandary for the ages, but there wasn’t much question about yesterday’s 1990 Dodge Dakota convertible. Cool and iconic as it is, a $13,900 asking price just wasn’t in the cards. At least not, according to the 85 percent of you who shot the Dakota down in a No Dice loss.
Hey, speaking of questions, have you ever wanted to own a Wankel-powered motorcycle? If so, the pickings, as they say, are somewhat slim. If you have a lot of money burning a hole in your racing leathers, you could see if you could get Brian Crighton to build you one of his balls-to-the-wall CR700W racers. With 220 horsepower on tap to push the 285-pound bike down the track, the Crighton should be the quickest way to get your rotary fix.
If that’s all far too over the top on every level for you, then maybe this classic 1975 Suzuki RE5 might be more your cup of Castrol.
You can count the number of Wankel-powered motorcycles introduced over the years without even having to take off your shoes. The Suzuki, however, is the most common of this elite bunch. It’s also one of the coolest, at least in its initial 1975 model year form, as it has the amazing Giugiaro-designed sculpted tank and side panels and the “tin can” instrument cluster and matching rear lamp. It also has two exhaust pipes balancing the design on each side, although those T into one inlet at the engine serving the single rotor Wankel. That one rotor displaces 497 cc and was rated by Suzuki to make 62 horsepower.
Suzuki began work on a rotary motorcycle in the 1960s, signing an agreement with license holder NSU in 1970 for the right to use the Dorito-piston design. The result, the RE5, debuted in late 1974 and managed a two-year production run before poor sales forced its demise.
This one, in arresting orange and black stripes, appears to be in excellent shape for its age.Additionally, the seller notes in the ad a recent carburetor rebuild and fluid change, with the latter bring up the somewhat precarious position of the oil filter on the side of the engine just below the starter. The ad also notes that the title is clean and that the bike “runs great.”
That’s all we get in the description, and we don’t even get a close-up view of the wild Pringles can instrument housing so we can check the bike’s mileage. Neither do we learn the age of the tires nor how well the front disc/rear drum brakes are holding up.
That’s all somewhat disappointing, but the bike overall doesn’t seem to raise any serious red flags, and the short video in the ad does show it running at idle without smoking or exhibiting any other sort of drama. The asking price for this incredibly rare duck is $9,000.
What’s your take on this classic and iconic bike and that $9,000 price tag? Does that seem like a good deal to put a Wankel between your knees? Or is that just too much for something that wasn’t all that popular when it was new?
You decide!
Facebook Marketplace, out of Omaha, Nebraska, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to Glemon for the hookup!
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