Thanks, BLUEDOT37 and oink for the memories!!
In '72/'73 I was the Parts Manager for a Suzuki Dealership in the suburbs of St. Louis, Mo. when the Suzuki RE-5 rotary was released to much fanfare!
Surprising, mostly because Suzuki had just turned the motorcycle world on its collective ear the year before with the Suzuki GT750 (affectionately known as the "Water Buffalo"), the first liquid cooled motorcycle (2 or 4 cycle) to be released from any major manufacturer. (Bet you didn't know that the buff was the only liquid cooled m/c engine that DID NOT have a water pump.)
As I recall, Suzuki had leased the rotary technology from NSU.
Suzuki had spent millions on computer design and production equipment to build this "Space Age Wonder", but the public reception was tepid at best.
With its "Buck Roger's Clock Radio" instrumentation, its unusual exhaust note, and only so-so performance, the RE-5 didn't do anything better than what had so recently come before.
These were heady days in the motorcycle business, with Honda conquering the longstanding vibration problem of twins and singles with their 4 cylinder bikes, Kawasaki ruling the drag strips with their triples and newly released Z-1, and Suzuki (always thinking outside the box) giving us a line of 2 stroke triples that had well mannered, flat torque curves like a 4 stroke.
And, of course, the "Water Buffalo"!
I had one of the first 1972 GT750 "Le Mans" (Suzuki's name for the buff) in the St. Louis area.
Yamaha, at that time, was still dominating the "off road" market.
The Suzuki RE-5 rotary was destined for failure.
Not because it was a rotary, but because it didn't do anything better than what was already on the market.
It wasn't faster than the Kaws, it wasn't smoother than the Hondas, and when forced to provide a cylinder displacement number (in CCs), Suzuki's claimed approx. 600 cc, placed it at a disadvantage in the "numbers game" against 750cc and 900cc bikes.
Even then, folks were concerned about fuel mileage, and the rotary was as thirsty as a 2 stroke.
Add to that, 3 separate oiling systems.
Crankcase oil; a metering pump and tank for rotor tip seal oil; and another tank and metering pump for chain lubrication (chains were a "weak link"
in those days, much more so than now).
The relatively few adventurous souls who bought them were met with problems stemming from as yet to be resolved technical issues and just plain unfamiliarity.
Probably the final nail in the coffin was Suzuki's requirement that any engine problem was to be resolved by the dealership techs removing the entire engine, shipping it back to Suzuki for analysis, and installing a crated replacement engine (as soon as one became available).
To stop the bleeding, Suzuki restyled the rotary with dial type gauges and less angular lines but alas, the damage had already been done and the RE-5 was cancelled and consigned to history.
John
