Each week our industry expert Scott Redmond trawls the classified ads to find his pick of the ads. This week the big man has found a little bike with a big cult following. Did you know there was a Suzuki GSX-R50?

Back in the 1980s there was a big craze for small bikes in Japan. The big four Japanese manufacturers all took their turn in creating scaled down versions of both race replica and off road models from within their ranges. These models, known as Gag bikes, were all meant solely for the Japanese market, but over the years, many of those JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) machines have washed up on our shores thanks to grey import bike dealers. This is still the case to this day. This Suzuki RB50 is a fresh arrival to the UK. There’s no denying where the inspiration for the scaled down GSX-R came from, the blue and white paint job is a total rip off of the GSX-R750 and GSX-R1100 Slabside models from the late 80s. Unlike the Yamaha YSR-50 and Honda NSR50 that used two stroke engines Suzuki plonked a four stroke engine in their Gag bike, it might be in keeping with the GSX-R credentials, but it meant the bike was less tuneable than the stroker opposition. The one thing about these dinky motorcycles that isn’t small are the prices, with any example of the breed that’s in fine fettle kicking off at around the £2,000 mark, with this particular example up on eBay for a not insignificant £2,495, quite a sum for such a little bike!

What to look for when buying a Suzuki RB50

• Check that it’s UK registered, with the correct import papers and NOVA certificate it’s straightforward to register an import bike, without any supporting docs it can be a painful and expensive experience.
• Poor resprays will often mask misery. There were an array of funky factory liveries that included a pink version, so avoid anything with a one off
  paint job unless it’s really cheap!
• Parts can be an issue, many will be no longer available but thankfully the internet can often solve your headaches. There’s a healthy interest in these models and owners groups on social media are always a good place to begin any parts quest.

See this mini GSX-R up for sale at:

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F192741681398

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