Does anyone else miss 2 stroke sports bikes?
Discussion
Stan Stephens tuned RD125LC .... so loud you could hear it 2 counties away. My mate fell off his twice and got a brain injury, so they must have been good. Those were the days....
RD250 or RD350 , preferably with Stan tuning them, were what the gods rode.
We then got old and fat and fapped off to a Suzuki 600 bandit before senility finally took over and a Honda VFR750 bored us to death....
Never mistake cc for fun.
RD250 or RD350 , preferably with Stan tuning them, were what the gods rode.
We then got old and fat and fapped off to a Suzuki 600 bandit before senility finally took over and a Honda VFR750 bored us to death....
Never mistake cc for fun.
Gandahar said:
Stan Stephens tuned RD125LC .... so loud you could hear it 2 counties away. My mate fell off his twice and got a brain injury, so they must have been good. Those were the days....
RD250 or RD350 , preferably with Stan tuning them, were what the gods rode.
We then got old and fat and fapped off to a Suzuki 600 bandit before senility finally took over and a Honda VFR750 bored us to death....
Never mistake cc for fun.
I must have been a God then RD250 or RD350 , preferably with Stan tuning them, were what the gods rode.
We then got old and fat and fapped off to a Suzuki 600 bandit before senility finally took over and a Honda VFR750 bored us to death....
Never mistake cc for fun.
Although I think Stan Stephen's had my YPVS more I did I certainly miss them. 
I was stuck with a moped when I was 16, so I got a KTM "Vomit" Cross! (well everyone had a FS1E).
Then I had a fling with a girl from school who just happened to work for Mitsui Machinery Sales, so I got a great deal on an RD250D.
Which I replaced briefly with an RD400C, followed by an RD350A for a couple of years.
Then I lost the plot and bought a lardy, bendy Z650C3.
A bit later I got an RD250LC, which was fantastic, and took a Suzuki X5 as a P/Ex when I sold the LC.
Some years later I bought an RG250, but it never ran right so I was glad to do a deal to replace it with another RD400 (D this time).
Then I got a KH500 that was just fantastic - Allspeed spannies, box section Ally swinging arm, twin front discs, Marzocchi piggy-back rear shocks, etc.
But then I met the OH and my KH500 went as part-payment for a new kitchen.
At least the OH has gone now though!
I was stuck with a moped when I was 16, so I got a KTM "Vomit" Cross! (well everyone had a FS1E).
Then I had a fling with a girl from school who just happened to work for Mitsui Machinery Sales, so I got a great deal on an RD250D.
Which I replaced briefly with an RD400C, followed by an RD350A for a couple of years.
Then I lost the plot and bought a lardy, bendy Z650C3.
A bit later I got an RD250LC, which was fantastic, and took a Suzuki X5 as a P/Ex when I sold the LC.
Some years later I bought an RG250, but it never ran right so I was glad to do a deal to replace it with another RD400 (D this time).
Then I got a KH500 that was just fantastic - Allspeed spannies, box section Ally swinging arm, twin front discs, Marzocchi piggy-back rear shocks, etc.
But then I met the OH and my KH500 went as part-payment for a new kitchen.
At least the OH has gone now though!
Biker's Nemesis said:
You forgot about me touring on my 350 ypvs back in 1989. Northumberland to Dover. Dover to Antibes then into and around Italy, back to watch the Bol, then back to Antibes (South of France) then back home.
120 miles between fuel stops isn't bad either. Only problem was a puncture outside of Paris on the return journey.
You're right, I forgot your run to the Med. 120 miles between fuel stops isn't bad either. Only problem was a puncture outside of Paris on the return journey.
podman said:
Nobody even tried?
Your memory is a little different to mine ...have a look at any old clips of big bike meets home and abroad from back in the day and there where plenty of folks over at Assen or the Bol on their RDs , KHs and what have you...
We only tended to own one bike back then and that had to do everything...
If you know the scene a little , you’d know plenty of folk are out there touring on their 2 strokes every Summer , my friend just sent me this , he’s on his way back from Germany at the mo on his GT750...
One of my other friends is riding his 350LC to Portugal at the moment from Bedfordshire...the 2 T tour is still very much a thing...
I'm glad to hear people are still using them and touring on them. My memory (from about '79 on) was that there were very few 2 strokes touring. An occasional RD350LC with tent and luggage somehow bungee'd to the back but they were rare and never looked particularly far from home. I certainly never saw any of the bigger 500cc+ 2 strokes obviously off on holiday where I did see lots of 4 stroke 500cc+ sports bikes with luggage and pillion on French roads. Your memory is a little different to mine ...have a look at any old clips of big bike meets home and abroad from back in the day and there where plenty of folks over at Assen or the Bol on their RDs , KHs and what have you...
We only tended to own one bike back then and that had to do everything...
If you know the scene a little , you’d know plenty of folk are out there touring on their 2 strokes every Summer , my friend just sent me this , he’s on his way back from Germany at the mo on his GT750...
One of my other friends is riding his 350LC to Portugal at the moment from Bedfordshire...the 2 T tour is still very much a thing...
As you say, most people could only afford 1 bike back then and it was often a form of transport first and a toy second. increased practicality of the 4 stroke bikes along with lots of other circumstances were all nails in the 2 stroke sports bike coffin.
I missed the 2 stroke boat. I started riding about 1994 and went straight onto 4 strokes.
Recently started riding green lanes and went 4 stroke but almost regret it. 2 stroke motors seem to suit light weight off road bikes, they really look like they have loads of bottom end grunt and no engine inertia so they rev up really quickly. Next off roader will be one but not sure about road bikes - I need to try one.
Recently started riding green lanes and went 4 stroke but almost regret it. 2 stroke motors seem to suit light weight off road bikes, they really look like they have loads of bottom end grunt and no engine inertia so they rev up really quickly. Next off roader will be one but not sure about road bikes - I need to try one.
A 2 stroke 250 is a nice fun weekend toy. I didnt have much luck with 2 strokes in the 80s, I had I managed to sieze up most of them and then have to re-run in again, they spent more time off the road than on. The best 2 stroke I did have was a used KMX125 that had been derestricted, thrashed it daily on a 12 miles round trip to work for a year and passed my test on it in 89.
Would be nice to have one as a nostalgic novelty perhaps....had a go on a mates KR1-S a couple of years back, it was actually smoother than I remember and good fun for 30 mins down a B road, didn't feel 30 years old at all.
Would be nice to have one as a nostalgic novelty perhaps....had a go on a mates KR1-S a couple of years back, it was actually smoother than I remember and good fun for 30 mins down a B road, didn't feel 30 years old at all.
The problem is that they seriously buggered up half the things that I wanted to do - loads of mates had 2Ts and they were forever blowing up, which meant your carefully planned camping trip was stuffed.
Or take my mate at uni - blew up his RD350LC. Spunked his entire terms grant getting it all rebuilt. Forgot something or other (forget now) and three days later it blew up as a result. So no money left, and no bike to ride. He had to live on beans.
Or take my mate at uni - blew up his RD350LC. Spunked his entire terms grant getting it all rebuilt. Forgot something or other (forget now) and three days later it blew up as a result. So no money left, and no bike to ride. He had to live on beans.
mygoldfishbowl said:
Nice boots.
LOL ...I think the bright red power ranger boots are quite new in that photo, they didn't stay looking clean like that for very long 
I distinctly remember the late 80s to mid 90s as a fun, carefree period in my life, living at home with mum and plenty of spare cash for toys.....needed it with the interest rates of the time.....15-20% was normal and never ending HP deals were order of the day. You nearly paid for the bike twice over by the time you finished, but it was the only way most could afford a new £4-5K bike. Youngsters today dont know how lucky they are with their sub 5% PCP lease deals
Seems a lot of you miss the strokers then.
I'm looking at a Kawasaki KR1S (if anyone remembers them) on Sunday. A bike that always had reliability troubles but nothing that can't be very much reduced with modern thinking. The late Bill White of Beeline Racing rebuilt my late brother's KR1S to be not just more powerful but it didn't break anywhere near as often.
IIRC the KR1S was the only standard road 250cc bike to break into the 12s for a standing quarter and the only one i know of to top a genuine 140 mph through the speed traps. 53 bhp was stunning for a 250 as standard but Bill had a fairly inexpensive tune that made the bike fly with 65 bhp. Admittedly that figure needed also a set of expansion chambers and good ones at that.
The later Aprilia RS 250 was the more reliable bike, but for me the KR1S will always be the wild child 250, the wayward son of the first H1 500 Widow Maker.
I'm looking at a Kawasaki KR1S (if anyone remembers them) on Sunday. A bike that always had reliability troubles but nothing that can't be very much reduced with modern thinking. The late Bill White of Beeline Racing rebuilt my late brother's KR1S to be not just more powerful but it didn't break anywhere near as often.
IIRC the KR1S was the only standard road 250cc bike to break into the 12s for a standing quarter and the only one i know of to top a genuine 140 mph through the speed traps. 53 bhp was stunning for a 250 as standard but Bill had a fairly inexpensive tune that made the bike fly with 65 bhp. Admittedly that figure needed also a set of expansion chambers and good ones at that.
The later Aprilia RS 250 was the more reliable bike, but for me the KR1S will always be the wild child 250, the wayward son of the first H1 500 Widow Maker.
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