T-500

[RichKat]

Watched a YouTube video, guy bought a 71 T-500 Suzuki for $600 (I can never find those), but it had something I've never seen. The rear brake AND the shifter are on the right side of the bike. Kick start on left, but shifter and brake on same side???

 

[Larry Fine]

I can't imagine.

 

[bdalameda]

Older Suzuki T500's had double ended shift shafts on both sides of the engine and the shifter and rear brakes could be installed depending on what country the bikes were sent to. Somebody put a shifter on the RH side shaft end and left the brake pedal there. Some of Suzuki T250, T305, T350 and T200 bikes were like this as well.

I have owned several T500's and T250/T20 bikes over the years. I used to race a T500 in AFM races back in the early/ mid 70's. I used to call my T500 the "Noodle" as it had a really long swing arm with plastic swingarm bushings and it flexed like crazy when pushed very hard. It wiggled a lot but handled reasonably well even when wiggling. Eventually I reinforced the swingarm and machined bronze bushings and it was a Noodle no longer.

 

[RichKat]

Thanks, I did not know this

 

[RichKat]

Went back and looked, I now see the shift shaft on the left side, I'm wondering why he didn't swap it to the left ‍‍

 

[core-aggie]

That's nothing.

Ever experience a bike with a dual range tranny? Basically it's a 10 speed tranny.

I had one, the Kawasaki Trail Boss (a dual sport). It has a two step selection lever on the handlebar to switch from low range to regular range (5 speeds for each range)

1973 Kawasaki G4TR Trail Boss - National Motorcycle Museum

nationalmcmuseum.org

 

[Jethro]

Didn’t the Honda in-line six 1000cc have a dual range trans? CBX?

 

[Larry Fine]

Didn’t the Honda in-line six 1000cc have a dual range trans? CBX?

I believe the CB900/CB1000 Customs had dual-range 5-speeds.

 

[bdalameda]

A lot of bikes have had dual range transmissions. The Honda CT90, CT110 and CB900/1000, Suzuki TC90, TC120, TC125, RV125 and TC185, Kawasaki 100cc Trailboss and TR120 Roadrunner. Probably some others I missed. The weirder old bikes like some older Kawasakis had rotary shifting where when you shifted into high gear the transmission could then be shifted back into neutral or low gear directly without downshifting back through the gears.

 

[Larry Fine]

The weirder old bikes like some older Kawasakis had rotary shifting where when you shifted into high gear the transmission could then be shifted back into neutral or low gear directly without downshifting back through the gears.

There's a type of bike that really needs a gear indicator.

 

[STRider]

That's nothing.

Ever experience a bike with a dual range tranny? Basically it's a 10 speed tranny.

I had one, the Kawasaki Trail Boss (a dual sport). It has a two step selection lever on the handlebar to switch from low range to regular range (5 speeds for each range)

1973 Kawasaki G4TR Trail Boss - National Motorcycle Museum

nationalmcmuseum.org

My first bike was a Suzuki TC-125 Prospector, 4 speed with a dual range box. The ranges were selected with a tommy-handle in the top rear of the cases that if you were limber enough you could switch with your foot while on the saddle.

This is why it got the moniker 'kick-down gearbox'.

 

[Hondafarian]

This is what the dual range pedal looks like on the CB900C. Loved the heel-toe shifting. It was great for steep climbing.

 

[Igofar]

This thread brings back memories…
I had a teal T500 Titan back in the day.
While the GT550’s were quicker, the Titan was much smoother, and ran cooler.
I had clubman bars, and some nice expansion chambers on mine.
The only thing I could fault it with were the oil lines for the premix.
We used to hunt every salvage yard hoarding those brittle, crack if you look at them lines.
I had mine set up to shift on the right side as well, because at the time my triumph, Norton, and even my 72 xlch sportster shifted on the right.