UPDATE 6/10/2019 – This awesome Suzuki has been relisted here on eBay, this time with a BIN of $4,500. Is it a fair deal or overpriced?

FROM 5/30/2019 – For the lover of unusual and somewhat, or at least sometimes, scary rides, comes this 1975 Suzuki RE5 rotary. These things are absolutely crazy cool when they’re in perfect condition – one of the most unique designs out there, in my opinion. This project rotary can be found here on eBay in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin and the current bid price is not quite $1,700 but of course, the reserve isn’t met yet.

For any of you Mazda rotary folks, you have to follow up your collection with a rotary motorcycle. The Hercules W2000 comes to mind but if you’re somewhat on a budget, check out the Suzuki RE5. I have to admit that I have never owned a rotary-powered vehicle so I can’t personally attest to the reliability of them, but from what I hear they aren’t exactly the Honda 90 of the motorcycle world. But then again, life is too short to drive or ride a vehicle just because it’s 100% reliable.

The seller of this RE5 says that it’s a barn find and it’s believed to be a one-owner bike, which means that they don’t actually know for sure. Every piece is here which is nice and with 9,290 miles, it should have much more life left in it once the next owner gets it running again. Yes, it hasn’t been started in about a decade. But, this thing is cool!

Details like the cylinder-shaped gauge cluster with the flip-up cover and the round turn signals are fantastic. A few manufacturers jumped on the rotary bandwagon in the 1970s and there were several motorcycle makers who have made rotary bikes over the years, including Norton, Hercules, and Van Veen. Suzuki dabbled with the RE5 from 1974 to 1976.

Here’s the heart of the beast, a 497 cc rotary engine with 62 hp and cooling was very important on these engines so they came with that big radiator to help out. There aren’t many of them out there and finding a skilled mechanic who knows how to work on them may be harder than normal. This one turns over manually but they haven’t started it. Hagerty is at about $5,000 for a #4 fair condition RE5 so this one has a long way to go to meet the reserve I’m guessing. Have any of you owned a rotary-powered motorcycle?