Smokey Two Stroke Goodness
Discussion
Brads67 said:
It`s a lot tamer than you imagine. It uses a gearbox built for touring so will sit at 70 2 up.
I have a tuned Vespa as well, they get a bit addictive if I`m honest, and as for lots of work, ! well certainly lots of cash that's for sure. Not a cheap exercise.
Lambrettas can be bottomless money pits !
Getting a 1958 Series 1 done just now, Ford Alpine White. To match the bedroom it`s going in !
I seem to get stuck into a few too many of those 'bottomless pit' projects! Nice to hear you're keeping them inside as well, I've always thoughts bikes and such should be kept inside a house rather than in the garage. My missus has just sort of accepted it...I have a tuned Vespa as well, they get a bit addictive if I`m honest, and as for lots of work, ! well certainly lots of cash that's for sure. Not a cheap exercise.
Lambrettas can be bottomless money pits !
Getting a 1958 Series 1 done just now, Ford Alpine White. To match the bedroom it`s going in !
Sounds like you have a good collection though!
Steve Bass said:
bob1179 said:
Steve Bass said:
Fleegle said:
srob said:
and loads of them!
Aaaargh !!My worst nightmare
Are there many two strokes still in use there or are they all Chinese and Thai made stuff now?
Looks lovely and warm though. Unlike here in the far north...
It's all Honda Cubs, Waves or such or Yamaha scoots of every type.
Plenty of Vespas though, but predominately newer stuff. Apparently, there's a bit of a Vespa classic scene here with the bikes costing 4 to 5k USD
As for weather, 30 to 35 every day but humid and huge downpours at 4pm.
The weather sounds quite pleasant - well better than here anyway...
tezzer said:
It sounds really good and crisp..there is a lovely crackle on a part or trailing throttle, and it has transformed the power, still got a lot of torque (for a stinkwheel), but pulls a lot harder now than it did, and will rev to the redline in top easily, whereas before anything over 7,000 took time.
Will get it on the dyno as soon as there is a space, to check the jetting, and see where we are from 41 rwhp on the standard pipes, to what it is now.
The standard pipes are filled inside, and coated externally with ACF50, and wrapped in plastic an bubble wrap, all boxed up in the cardboard box the higgspeeds came in. Already had an offer of £800 for them.
I thought the 550 was more than 41 bhp? Really pleased to hear you like the new pipes, they've transformed the look of the bike.Will get it on the dyno as soon as there is a space, to check the jetting, and see where we are from 41 rwhp on the standard pipes, to what it is now.
The standard pipes are filled inside, and coated externally with ACF50, and wrapped in plastic an bubble wrap, all boxed up in the cardboard box the higgspeeds came in. Already had an offer of £800 for them.
I'd definitely hold onto the old pipes if you can, but an offer for £800 isn't bad at all.
It's supposed to be dry this evening so I might see if I can get my old smoker out for a bit of a run.
Biker's Nemesis said:
Missed this, looks good that does Bob. (bring back Chilli too)
I thought you just been ignoring me BN...Would love to get Chilli back, I haven't spoken to him in ages!
I was hoping to post up some inspired updates and pictures of me mooching smokily through the local countryside in the summer sun. However all it has done is rain here the last couple of weeks with a highlight of 6C yesterday.
It's basically just really s
t.
The weather turned out nice up here this weekend so I thought I'd get out early and go for a bit of a run down the coast. The little 380 was as willing as ever and I even managed a couple of flat out full bore over takes which didn't even take me over the speed limit.
As usual the bike required a couple of kicks to get her to start, this was followed by a lovely smelly smokey idle to get the old lady warmed up.
I took the coast road through Stonehaven and ended up in Inverbervie where I stopped off to take some piccies. I even had some locals come up and comment on how shiny it was. Which was nice.
I then tore out of the car park, full of vim and vinegar and gave the little beast the beans back up along the road and enjoyed the noise the little smoker makes when you open the throttle. I've said this previously, but it is ace.
I then headed back to our village and took the bike down to the bottom of our road to take some more pictures and see the scenery.
Mmmmmm. Pretty.
It was quite a successful morning really. I got home, had a fry up and then contemplated wiping the flies off the bike but decided to take the kids out instead.
The weather is supposed to be lovely here this week, which is typical because I'm away with work until Friday.
Here's hoping next weekend is just as pleasant.
Which it won't be...
As usual the bike required a couple of kicks to get her to start, this was followed by a lovely smelly smokey idle to get the old lady warmed up.
I took the coast road through Stonehaven and ended up in Inverbervie where I stopped off to take some piccies. I even had some locals come up and comment on how shiny it was. Which was nice.
I then tore out of the car park, full of vim and vinegar and gave the little beast the beans back up along the road and enjoyed the noise the little smoker makes when you open the throttle. I've said this previously, but it is ace.
I then headed back to our village and took the bike down to the bottom of our road to take some more pictures and see the scenery.
Mmmmmm. Pretty.
It was quite a successful morning really. I got home, had a fry up and then contemplated wiping the flies off the bike but decided to take the kids out instead.
The weather is supposed to be lovely here this week, which is typical because I'm away with work until Friday.
Here's hoping next weekend is just as pleasant.
Which it won't be...
It sounds like a very cool bike. What sort of goodies has it got fitted? Has he done anything to tighten up the handling?
I'm glad I'm not the only one who gets ropey fuel economy. Though I suppose it doesn't help when you make the most of the limited performance available pretty much all of the time!
It'll be interesting to see what my 750 is like when I get that back.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who gets ropey fuel economy. Though I suppose it doesn't help when you make the most of the limited performance available pretty much all of the time!
It'll be interesting to see what my 750 is like when I get that back.
Morning all. It appears there was a Bank Holiday in the civilised world yesterday. In Scotland it was just another work day...
However, the weather was surprisingly pleasant on Saturday so I took the little bike for a run out. I got as far as Stonehaven before the old girl disgraced herself and died just off the A90. I managed to get her running again and she promptly died in the centre of Stonehaven.
In an attempt at getting it started again I also made a small child cry, not due to any foul language but because when it did run it was very noisy and the poor mite was obviously not used to seeing such a marvellous old beast running for a very short time, coughing, then dying in front of him. Maybe it made him sad?
Anyway, I was getting a good spark, air to the carbs was good and there really isn't much electrical to worry about so it clearly wasn't getting a decent flow of fuel to the carbs. After much head scratching, pulling off fuel pipes it appears that the pet cock (I bet that word is censored) was gummed up with rust and crap from the tank.
It looks like my little 380 is suffering from a decade of not being used. The tank has a layer of rubbish in the bottom of it which has made it's way into the fuel system.
I managed to nurse the bike home, emptied the tank and removed the fuel tap (not censored) and now I'm just waiting for a spare set of 'O' rings and filters so I can put it all back together again. I'll also give the fuel lines and carbs a good clean out just in case the jets are fouled.
You can see some of the crud on the paper underneath the tap.
I need the bike up and running again for this weekend as it is the Grampian Motorcycle Convention at Alford and I'm taking it there to do the parade and show it off a bit.
Anyway, the old lady is looking a bit forlorn at the moment.
Joys of old bikes eh?
However, the weather was surprisingly pleasant on Saturday so I took the little bike for a run out. I got as far as Stonehaven before the old girl disgraced herself and died just off the A90. I managed to get her running again and she promptly died in the centre of Stonehaven.
In an attempt at getting it started again I also made a small child cry, not due to any foul language but because when it did run it was very noisy and the poor mite was obviously not used to seeing such a marvellous old beast running for a very short time, coughing, then dying in front of him. Maybe it made him sad?
Anyway, I was getting a good spark, air to the carbs was good and there really isn't much electrical to worry about so it clearly wasn't getting a decent flow of fuel to the carbs. After much head scratching, pulling off fuel pipes it appears that the pet cock (I bet that word is censored) was gummed up with rust and crap from the tank.
It looks like my little 380 is suffering from a decade of not being used. The tank has a layer of rubbish in the bottom of it which has made it's way into the fuel system.
I managed to nurse the bike home, emptied the tank and removed the fuel tap (not censored) and now I'm just waiting for a spare set of 'O' rings and filters so I can put it all back together again. I'll also give the fuel lines and carbs a good clean out just in case the jets are fouled.
You can see some of the crud on the paper underneath the tap.
I need the bike up and running again for this weekend as it is the Grampian Motorcycle Convention at Alford and I'm taking it there to do the parade and show it off a bit.
Anyway, the old lady is looking a bit forlorn at the moment.
Joys of old bikes eh?
Dibble said:
Eyup Bobski!
Give me a shout next time you're down at your Mum and Dad's gaff. Nice to see you've actually got wheels, but I remain unsurprised that the Kettle STILL isn't finished...
Aye up mate!Give me a shout next time you're down at your Mum and Dad's gaff. Nice to see you've actually got wheels, but I remain unsurprised that the Kettle STILL isn't finished...
I will do, I'm due down in the next couple of weeks.
The Kettle is MOT'd now, I just have to go and collect it...
It's been a busy week with the little 380.
The parts I ordered to rebuild the fuel tap prior to last weekends show never appeared... So I ended up rooting through my box of bits and found some brand new spares, I then looked at the fuel tap that was on my GT750 and this appeared to be exactly the same. So I pulled it off, took it to bits and built one good fuel tap out of two old ones (I haven't rebuilt the one on the Kettle yet as it is the very last thing I need to do.
Upside down picture of both taps side by side:
To be fair, they both came apart really easily, there was a lot of ste in the one from the 380.
The bowl and filters were full of fine rust. I didn't have any spare seals so had to be careful not to damage my (at least) three decade old ones!
A lot of much came out, so I took everything to bits and blew everything down. This all occurred on the dining room table so the wife was clearly pleased with the smell of stale petrol and grease.
I had a good root through my box of bits and found some spare filters. I also found a load of parts I didn't knew I had (which was a bit of a bonus)...
Then I just put it all together again and fitted the good tap to the bike, filled the old girl up and got her running again. Luckily no leaks. And ready to ride to Alford the next day (which is about 35 miles)...
The ride to Alford on Sunday morning was really grim. Thick fog for the entire trip, plus a diversion and I literally couldn't see a bloody thing. However as soon as I got there the fog cleared and the sun came out. It was glorious!
Lots and lots of lovely classic bikes, racing bikes, the Purple Helmets were there, Steve Parrish, Steve Colley, Moped Racing, Supermoto racing, Pursuit racing and they did various parades around the little circuit. A fantastic day out and it was fun to get the 380 out in front of everybody on the parade. Plus the smell behind all the other two strokes was awesome.
This was for sale (If only I had the spare cash!):
My next bike on the Triumph stand...
The Purple Helmets were brilliant. I had a great chat with Derry Kissack who is their fearless commentator. Turns out he is all about the TT and knew a lot of the heroes from days gone. Lovely bloke all round.
I had my bike on the VJMC stand, everybody was really very welcoming and friendly. Plus I got loads of nice comments about the bike.
It was a really nice day out and the ride home was really enjoyable down the now visible and dry country lanes.
That is until I got about three miles from home on the A90 and the gearbox started making a delightful shrieking noise... I pulled off the dual carriageway and the bike would not go into any gear and just made a delightful grinding noise. I eventually found a gear and gently rode the bike home and into the garage.
Gear selection has been a problem since I got the bike, especially when it was hot so I assumed that it would need to be sorted sooner or later. That and I kept picking up false neutrals on the way home. I have a feeling that the dogs are bent or damaged so the only solution is to pull the engine and split the casing. I shall be doing that this weekend hopefully!
It was fun for the three hundred miles I had it working for!
The parts I ordered to rebuild the fuel tap prior to last weekends show never appeared... So I ended up rooting through my box of bits and found some brand new spares, I then looked at the fuel tap that was on my GT750 and this appeared to be exactly the same. So I pulled it off, took it to bits and built one good fuel tap out of two old ones (I haven't rebuilt the one on the Kettle yet as it is the very last thing I need to do.
Upside down picture of both taps side by side:
To be fair, they both came apart really easily, there was a lot of s
te in the one from the 380.
The bowl and filters were full of fine rust. I didn't have any spare seals so had to be careful not to damage my (at least) three decade old ones!
A lot of much came out, so I took everything to bits and blew everything down. This all occurred on the dining room table so the wife was clearly pleased with the smell of stale petrol and grease.
I had a good root through my box of bits and found some spare filters. I also found a load of parts I didn't knew I had (which was a bit of a bonus)...
Then I just put it all together again and fitted the good tap to the bike, filled the old girl up and got her running again. Luckily no leaks. And ready to ride to Alford the next day (which is about 35 miles)...
The ride to Alford on Sunday morning was really grim. Thick fog for the entire trip, plus a diversion and I literally couldn't see a bloody thing. However as soon as I got there the fog cleared and the sun came out. It was glorious!
Lots and lots of lovely classic bikes, racing bikes, the Purple Helmets were there, Steve Parrish, Steve Colley, Moped Racing, Supermoto racing, Pursuit racing and they did various parades around the little circuit. A fantastic day out and it was fun to get the 380 out in front of everybody on the parade. Plus the smell behind all the other two strokes was awesome.
This was for sale (If only I had the spare cash!):
My next bike on the Triumph stand...
The Purple Helmets were brilliant. I had a great chat with Derry Kissack who is their fearless commentator. Turns out he is all about the TT and knew a lot of the heroes from days gone. Lovely bloke all round.
I had my bike on the VJMC stand, everybody was really very welcoming and friendly. Plus I got loads of nice comments about the bike.
It was a really nice day out and the ride home was really enjoyable down the now visible and dry country lanes.
That is until I got about three miles from home on the A90 and the gearbox started making a delightful shrieking noise... I pulled off the dual carriageway and the bike would not go into any gear and just made a delightful grinding noise. I eventually found a gear and gently rode the bike home and into the garage.
Gear selection has been a problem since I got the bike, especially when it was hot so I assumed that it would need to be sorted sooner or later. That and I kept picking up false neutrals on the way home. I have a feeling that the dogs are bent or damaged so the only solution is to pull the engine and split the casing. I shall be doing that this weekend hopefully!
It was fun for the three hundred miles I had it working for!
podman said:
Great write up and pics, I have to refurb my LC fuel tap as that is leaking constantly now, so your pics are a timely reminder!
The bash looked like a great event and your bike looks fantastic, shame about the box playing up on the way home but she'll be sweeter than ever once done and hopefully, you wont have to touch the engine for years after the rebuild!
Cheers podman.The bash looked like a great event and your bike looks fantastic, shame about the box playing up on the way home but she'll be sweeter than ever once done and hopefully, you wont have to touch the engine for years after the rebuild!
It was a really enjoyable day out, it's just a shame we are almost at the end of the year now so there isn't going to be as much on until the Spring.
The gearbox is a real pain as I hadn't really budgeted for it. I wanted to get some work done on the 500 but I suppose that isn't going to go anywhere so it's no big loss.
Think I may have a few beers this evening and start stripping the bike down ready to pull the engine out of the frame.
It's been an eventful couple of weeks since I last did an update on here.
First of all I suppose I should mention the venerable little 380. Following the noisy gearbox on the way home from Alford the other week I decided to do a bit of investigation and dropped the oil out of it.
Unfortunately this wasn't very good, it was a horrible murky colour and there was lovely metallic sheen to it due to all the fine suspended metal floating about in it.
Off the back of this I decided to take the engine out so it could be stripped and the gearbox rebuilt. In fact, while it is out it is going to get a full rebuild.
A great bloke I know has a set of spare gears for me for now't too which is nice.
The strip down also revealed the bike is a bit of a pup. Lots of missing fastners, things not put together properly and the seat base is completely rotten. So I need to sort all of that too. I also found that the tank is complete full of rust, a lot more than I thought... So that will have to be sorted. I'd like to give the old girl a repaint too. Same colour but a better finish!
Good news is that my pet cock parts arrived!
I don't need them at the moment so I've just put them in my big box of parts...
I drained the fuel tank and a lot of rust came out with the fuel, I just threw it all in the tank of a scrap car I have sat on the drive.
Then I wheeled the old lady into the garage so I could get the engine out. The bloke I know with teh gears can whip the engine out of one of these in about half an hour. It took me about two, but then I haven't done hundreds of them!
To be fair, it all came out without any effort. I drained the carbs and left them connected to their respective cables and just tied them up against the frame.
The only real issue was that one of the engine bolts had been put in the wrong way round and wouldn't clear the casing. The choice was to either strip the side of the engine down or Dremmel the the end of the bolt off. I chose the latter.
The carbs will need a proper cleaning at some point, I found some really nice crap in the bowls. The tank definitely needs sorting!
And voila! The engine was simply lifted out from the frame, once the cables, electrics and chain had been disconnected. I even managed to lift it out on my own as for some reason the wife couldn't hear me calling for help...
So the engine is out and ready to be rebuilt... More on that as it progresses.
Anyway, onto more exciting things (to me anyway).
Last weekend I went and hired a van to go and collect my GT750. Almost four years since I first bought it and it is now, taxed, tested and insured!
I took my little lady down with me for the road trip. She loved coming down with me and sitting next to dad in the front of the van!
Before the MOT I had the bike was set up properly, the carbs and all the cables were done and the bike passed with no advisories. Which was really quite satisfying.
The pit stop on the way down involved ice creams.
I collected the bike Friday morning, it was tested on a spare tank as we didn't want to cart it up and down with its nicely painted tank and side panels. It also fit nicely into the back of a Transporter van.
At this point I was extremely keen to get the bike home so Saturday morning we got on the road so I could get the Kettle home and put back together again.
It was nice to see what it looked like next to the partially stripped own 380.
It'll be nice when I manage to get two complete bikes next to each other!
I had to buy some fuel hose but it took about thirty minutes to put the Kettle back together again and stick some fuel in it. Then I got to start it up.
It runs like a dream.
I took her out for a forty mile shakedown run down the coast to see what she was like. I wasn't sure what to expect as it is actually the first time I've ever ridden a Kettle. The engine note is very muted and it doesn't really sound like a two stroke due to the water cooling. It needs running in but it pulled lovely and hard and has loads of torque. I am really pleased with it!
Just a shame that it's almost the end of September now...
There are a few issues to sort out. The most obvious is a lack of badges, I need to get some nice restored ones onto it. I also want to re-trim the seat as I made a bit of a pigs ear of it and I'm going to change out a few of the bolts that saw a bit of moisture. These are the ones I polished up and they have a very fine layer of surface rust on them. There aren't many but they annoy me.
I also have to sort out the oiling as at load on an open throttle it is very smokey. The first time it did it I left a really impressive smoke screen behind me! It should calm down once the miles increase a bit.
So that's it for the time being. Apologies for the waffle!
First of all I suppose I should mention the venerable little 380. Following the noisy gearbox on the way home from Alford the other week I decided to do a bit of investigation and dropped the oil out of it.
Unfortunately this wasn't very good, it was a horrible murky colour and there was lovely metallic sheen to it due to all the fine suspended metal floating about in it.
Off the back of this I decided to take the engine out so it could be stripped and the gearbox rebuilt. In fact, while it is out it is going to get a full rebuild.
A great bloke I know has a set of spare gears for me for now't too which is nice.
The strip down also revealed the bike is a bit of a pup. Lots of missing fastners, things not put together properly and the seat base is completely rotten. So I need to sort all of that too. I also found that the tank is complete full of rust, a lot more than I thought... So that will have to be sorted. I'd like to give the old girl a repaint too. Same colour but a better finish!
Good news is that my pet cock parts arrived!
I don't need them at the moment so I've just put them in my big box of parts...
I drained the fuel tank and a lot of rust came out with the fuel, I just threw it all in the tank of a scrap car I have sat on the drive.
Then I wheeled the old lady into the garage so I could get the engine out. The bloke I know with teh gears can whip the engine out of one of these in about half an hour. It took me about two, but then I haven't done hundreds of them!
To be fair, it all came out without any effort. I drained the carbs and left them connected to their respective cables and just tied them up against the frame.
The only real issue was that one of the engine bolts had been put in the wrong way round and wouldn't clear the casing. The choice was to either strip the side of the engine down or Dremmel the the end of the bolt off. I chose the latter.
The carbs will need a proper cleaning at some point, I found some really nice crap in the bowls. The tank definitely needs sorting!
And voila! The engine was simply lifted out from the frame, once the cables, electrics and chain had been disconnected. I even managed to lift it out on my own as for some reason the wife couldn't hear me calling for help...
So the engine is out and ready to be rebuilt... More on that as it progresses.
Anyway, onto more exciting things (to me anyway).
Last weekend I went and hired a van to go and collect my GT750. Almost four years since I first bought it and it is now, taxed, tested and insured!
I took my little lady down with me for the road trip. She loved coming down with me and sitting next to dad in the front of the van!
Before the MOT I had the bike was set up properly, the carbs and all the cables were done and the bike passed with no advisories. Which was really quite satisfying.
The pit stop on the way down involved ice creams.
I collected the bike Friday morning, it was tested on a spare tank as we didn't want to cart it up and down with its nicely painted tank and side panels. It also fit nicely into the back of a Transporter van.
At this point I was extremely keen to get the bike home so Saturday morning we got on the road so I could get the Kettle home and put back together again.
It was nice to see what it looked like next to the partially stripped own 380.
It'll be nice when I manage to get two complete bikes next to each other!
I had to buy some fuel hose but it took about thirty minutes to put the Kettle back together again and stick some fuel in it. Then I got to start it up.
It runs like a dream.
I took her out for a forty mile shakedown run down the coast to see what she was like. I wasn't sure what to expect as it is actually the first time I've ever ridden a Kettle. The engine note is very muted and it doesn't really sound like a two stroke due to the water cooling. It needs running in but it pulled lovely and hard and has loads of torque. I am really pleased with it!
Just a shame that it's almost the end of September now...
There are a few issues to sort out. The most obvious is a lack of badges, I need to get some nice restored ones onto it. I also want to re-trim the seat as I made a bit of a pigs ear of it and I'm going to change out a few of the bolts that saw a bit of moisture. These are the ones I polished up and they have a very fine layer of surface rust on them. There aren't many but they annoy me.
I also have to sort out the oiling as at load on an open throttle it is very smokey. The first time it did it I left a really impressive smoke screen behind me! It should calm down once the miles increase a bit.
So that's it for the time being. Apologies for the waffle!
Fleegle said:
Bob, having followed my mate on his (I was on his Z1)I would say this is the norm
Cheers Fleegle. I hope that's the case, I haven't had a chance to talk to any other owners yet. It was an impressive smoke screen. I need to change my two stroke oil too as I'm using some Castrol stuff that doesn't smell very nice.The 380 uses Silkolene Semi Synthetic and it smells glorious!
tezzer said:
I use Motul Synthetic, and witht he oil pump set up as per the manual, it barely smokes, except when cold, and seems to burn much cleaner than the 2 stroke oils of old i.e. Castrol TT.
Seems to create much less carbon build up too !
The Silkolene is pretty smoke free too. How does the Motul smell? The new fangled Castrol stuff just smells foul. Seems to create much less carbon build up too !
Whatever goes in it has to make the garage smell nice!
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