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oil dam??

Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 9:56 am
by johnakay
on the T500 when was the oil dam raised by Suzuki.
not the rubber but cast in.
my understanding it was from the k model? 1973
others are saying from l models 1974

Re: oil dam??

Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 11:24 am
by jabcb
See Service Bulletin T-3: http://www.ozebook.com/compendium/techb ... %201-5.pdf
It says they started using the rubber flashboard at the beginning of the 1974 T500L production, which would have been in late 1973.

But that being said, I would not be surprised if 1973 T500K made near the end of the K-model production have the rubber flashboard.
Suzuki wasn’t 100% rigorous with production model differences.

Re: oil dam??

Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 12:13 pm
by geck0
Im sure that when the factory changed the lower casting to accept more oil that they would also change to casting print on the outside from 1200cc to 1400 too

Re: oil dam??

Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 12:40 pm
by johnakay
thanks for the reply.

found this earlier after I made the above post.


The new models T500K & L were designed to accommodate 1400cc of gearbox oil, some 200cc more than the earlier models. This modification ensured that high speed running would not lead to oil starvation of the 5th, 4th and 3rd speed gear clusters. The bane of T500's until now, the inadequate gearbox oil supply could, over time, lead to pitting of the gears and their eventual destruction as the case hardening deteriorated. It is easy to tell if the gearbox on an early model is on the way out, when riding the bike the gearbox will make as much noise as a steam driven freight train pulling up hill. Perusal of any T500 enthusiast's garage will unearth a comprehensive supply of stuffed 4th and 5th gear clusters!

http://www.suzukicycles.org/T-series/T500_models.shtml" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Re: oil dam??

Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 3:14 pm
by alfiemorris
No clearer now is it John? :shock:

Re: oil dam??

Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2018 2:39 pm
by johnakay
the only way to know for sure is to strip the engine.
it will probably need doing anyway as the bike has been stood for awhile new seals!

Re: oil dam??

Posted: Sat Apr 14, 2018 1:50 pm
by dorT500
johnakay wrote:the only way to know for sure is to strip the engine.............
I believe it was on this message board that I read you could see that area with one of those 'snake' inspection cameras via the crankcase vent hole...hopefully a member can confirm that. Now if you could beg, borrow, or steal one. :wink: and hope you can get it back out!

hhmmmm.......https://www.amazon.com/Endoscope-UBRU-I ... B075V3BQRT" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;"

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Waterproof-H ... 3=&veh=sem" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;