Topic: Are you crazy about twostrokes ?

[retrorocket]

Well, are you ? 

Sam

My RD400 is about the most fun I've had on a bike.  I don't ride it much these days since I know its life-span is short and best left to short, fun, trips.

I have fond recollections of my R5 and RD350 as well.
They were some of the most flickable canyon carvers back in the day.
And their powerband was very well suited for tight technical curvy areas in the mountains.
I would like to own another, maybe a later water pumper variant?
But the prices that these are commanding these days is hard to justify.

Why dont you try to stockpile motor parts for it on ebay?
There are still some out there, not cheap tho....
(and some used bits of questionable quality)

[heffay]

i've become much more "green" minded than i once was.  so, crazy? no. 
do i remember them fondly.  hell yeah!

my first bike and first 2 stroker was a 72 suzi tc125 w/ the stump puller dual range tranny
the second was a 74 rd 400... we called it the pickle for its "aftermarket" paintjob... handled and wheelied nearly as well as my cbr600f2
at MMI in phoenix i got the bug to do some desert and motocross and a ktm exc 125 did the trick

i used to curse california for being a front runner and banning the machines.  but, now that i've learned much of the science and consequences of their usage... i tend to agree that they should be viewed more as novelties of an era past. 

[Rocking-M]

Only in a Stihl chainsaw

[Jughead]

Okey Dokey here we Go.Siter81 Probably Already Knows what I'm doing.
Here's the Donor


Here's Something Simlar to what I'm looking to get.


Only These


Are Going Into These


And those (After a Whole lot more Work) are going onto this


Everything will line up after I cut the Rear and Bottom Motor Mounts off and weld some new ones on.Then I have to modify the frame in front of the Cylinders so I'll have enough room for the Head Pipes.After that I have to build Expansion Chambers.

[bill440cars]

       Jughead,

                       I'm sure I'm not the only one but, I definitely want to hear and see more   
         about this build.   Sounds like you've got some pretty good talents yourself.

                                                       Later on, Bill

[Dave K]

You are right! This is a very neat build. Post up more or keep us posted as it goes together.

[Jughead]

Will do Guys. There is a Fellow on the Sundial Board that is Building a GT750 in a GSXR Frame with a Reed Setup from a Snowmobile.I think his Goal is Around 200HP.

Mine is going to be Running 2mm Oversize Wiseco's to take it from 492cc to 521cc.Since I'm Usng a GS500 Frame I should lose around 50Lb on total Weight taking the Power to weight Ratio from Around 8lb per HP on the Stock T500 to Around 4.5-5Lb Per HP if I can Squeeze 65-70HP out of it.

[8 Track]

I am absolutely riveted!   

[siter81]

Hey Jughead.

Nice to see you on this board again.I have been on this board alot more than the two stroke one.
Been working on my k5 ,My 380 is pretty much done.I am trying to talk a guy into selling me his 74 H1for my next project.Your 500 project looks intresting.Keep us posted on your progress.

Later



Siter81 Aka 73GT380   

[Jughead]

Hey Jughead.

Nice to see you on this board again.I have been on this board alot more than the two stroke one.
Been working on my k5 ,My 380 is pretty much done.I am trying to talk a guy into selling me his 74 H1for my next project.Your 500 project looks intresting.Keep us posted on your progress.

Later



Siter81 Aka 73GT380   

Hey Ed I saw where you stopped by the other day.Good luck on the H1.Hopefully one of these days I'll be Able to Afford one Along with an H2.I just about bought an A1 Avenger back in the Summer but figured I would Leave it since I'e Already Got a barn and a Shop Full.

[nickjtc]

The only 2 stroke I ever owned/rode was a '74 TS125 dual-purpose. Great fun bike. Ate a hole in the top of the pistion when I went over the recommended service interval by a couple of hundred miles.

Oh yes, I also owned an AJS Stormer 250 scrambler for a while. I had visions of actually going out and taking part in races. My mechanical knowledge at that point in time was no better than when I had the TS, so I never even started it!! Then the move over the sea to Canada happened, so that was the end of that. Pity, because they are worth $$ now.

[GroovieGhoulie]

I'm kinda getting the itch for an old two-stroke road bike.  Not a dirtbike.

Any advice on a good one to start on?  I hear good things about the old RD350 and the Kwacker triples.

Any better or cheaper options?

[bill440cars]

            Hey Jughead, got any pictures of that Avenger? When I was in the Air Force in the 60's (in Japan) I bought a wrecked one (bent frame) and a rolling frame of an old Yamaha twin scrambler, with the intentions of building a bike to take on an X6 Hustler that kept blowing the wheels off of my 66' CB72 250 Honda. Got shipped back to the states before I could do anything with it and had to sell it off.
Pity, I was going after that Suzuki.

            Nick, I had a 71 TS125 that was a real blast and now have a couple of project jobs (TS125 & TS185) that I hope to do something with someday, after I get at least one Honda back on the road.                                              

           Hey GG, Also have a 73' RD350 that needs some work to get it back in shape. Pretty good little screamer too.

                                                       Later on, Bill

[nickjtc]

Any advice on a good one to start on?  I hear good things about the old RD350 and the Kwacker triples.
Any better or cheaper options?

You cannot go wrong with the RD's. Lots of (rabid) owner support and a ton of parts availability, to make a very fast bike. Trouble is that as they get more popular, so the $$$ goes up. Where have we heard that before?

The Suzuki (aircooled) triples are under rated, still, but make for a nice ride, apparently.

Just as with our four strokes you can look forward to a lot of fettling if you come across a 'gem' that has not been ridden in a while. Look forward to having to do a teardown to replace the crankcase seals since they will usually have dried out. As well as the usual carburation woes, of course.