1975 Suzuki RE-5 Rotary Motorcycle

By Greg Williams
Published on April 22, 2011
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The Suzuki RE-5 rotary motorcycle.
The Suzuki RE-5 rotary motorcycle.
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The RE-5’s rotary looks like no other motorcycle engine, with oddly shaped castings and plumbing.
The RE-5’s rotary looks like no other motorcycle engine, with oddly shaped castings and plumbing.
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First year RE-5s featured a futuristic instrument panel with a tinted cover. Suzuki thought it was cool, but buyers thought it was just plain weird.
First year RE-5s featured a futuristic instrument panel with a tinted cover. Suzuki thought it was cool, but buyers thought it was just plain weird.
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Unfortunately for Suzuki, the RE-5 was the wrong bike for its time.
Unfortunately for Suzuki, the RE-5 was the wrong bike for its time.
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The RE-5’s rotary looks like no other motorcycle engine, with oddly shaped castings and plumbing.
The RE-5’s rotary looks like no other motorcycle engine, with oddly shaped castings and plumbing.
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Front of exhaust pipes have intake slots for cooling air.
Front of exhaust pipes have intake slots for cooling air.
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Today, a new generation of riders like Mike Crane appreciate its uniqueness.
Today, a new generation of riders like Mike Crane appreciate its uniqueness.

1975 Suzuki RE-5
Claimed power:
62hp @ 6.500rpm
Top speed: 105mph
Engine: 497cc liquid-cooled single rotor Wankel rotary engine
Weight (dry): 507lb (230kg)
Fuel capacity/MPG: 4.5gal (17ltr)/25-35mpg
Price then/now: $2,475 / $4,000-$7,000

When the Beatles penned their now famous song “Revolution,” you can bet they weren’t thinking about the revolution a Japanese company was hoping to spark in the motorcycle industry.

That company was Suzuki, and by the early 1970s Suzuki was betting millions that rotary-power was the way of the future. Unfortunately, time would prove that the Suzuki RE-5 rotary motorcycle — certainly revolutionary and in fact a very capable motorcycle — was ultimately a failure. Intended as the spark to ignite the flames of change, the RE-5 almost took Suzuki down.

Rotary roots

In the early 1970s, motorcycle technology was advancing rapidly. Machines such as the Honda CB750 and the Kawasaki’s Z1 900 were changing the perspective of the average motorcyclist. Unlike the reigning Brit twins of the past, here were smooth, technologically proficient four-cylinder motorcycles engineered not to leak and to start with the push of a button. “Superbike,” a term coined to describe these high-revving, well-screwed together Japanese bikes that buried the outdated engineering of the past, suddenly became part of the motorcycling vernacular. It was into this market that Suzuki introduced RE-5 rotary motorcycle.

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