The Two Stroke Bug - Help Needed With a Cure

[mark vb]

Hey.... 70's 2-strokes, I love them and had quite a few (Japanese and MZ) back in the day and would love to get another when there's a bit of space again in the garage. My choice now would probably be a Kawasaki 750 triple.... great motor but appalling handling, it was not nicknamed 'the widowmaker' for nothing! I'd get it for, if nothing else, the big oily haze of burnt 2T oil and the exhaust note, both of which would certainly evoke numerous pleasant memories.
A great but often overlooked bike is the Suzuki T500/GT500 twin.... I had 2 at various times, and if it was good enough for Barry Sheene to race (ok, tuned and using a race frame etc.) it has to have something going for it!

[daveuprite]

Or, the last blaze of 2-stroke glory....


https://www.motorcyclenews.com/bikes-fo ... lia/rs250/

The nearest most of us could ever get to a full-on GP bike. It's actually got a Suzuki engine, and dates from when Aprilia made very high-quality bikes without the 'help' of Piagio accountants.

Yeah, if the brief can extend into the 90s, definitely look for a good Aprilia RS250. I've ridden a few, and tracked one. They really are lovely sports bikes. So light and agile, and about the closest you'll get with a road-registered bike to the feel of a genuine TZ250 - or Honda RS250 - race bike. For the ultimate thrill, see if you can find a Banshee-engined RS250. Stan Stephens did a few and other home-mechanics have built them too. If they're set up and built properly you can end up with 90bhp in a 130kg bike.

That's assuming you don't want to run to a Bimota V-Due, which is another story altogether....

[frenchy3]

Thanks guys.
I think I'm more inclined toward the Suzi GT750 or similar type is what I'm likely to go for, fully restored and working, as my budget is up to £10k. Happy to look at everything at this stage however - it's all new to me and I need that again in biking.

The Suzuki GT550 was in my opinion a better bike and you should be able to pick one up a bit cheaper than the GT750.

[Richard Simpson Mark II]

Oh, and meant to say, great to see you back on the forum again, and I hope the hounds are all well.

Bryn the lurcher says "hi"

[Richard Simpson Mark II]

Thanks guys.
I think I'm more inclined toward the Suzi GT750 or similar type is what I'm likely to go for, fully restored and working, as my budget is up to £10k. Happy to look at everything at this stage however - it's all new to me and I need that again in biking.

The Suzuki GT550 was in my opinion a better bike and you should be able to pick one up a bit cheaper than the GT750.

Also, don't forget the GT380 of the same parish. Looked quite classy in black and gold (more garish colour schemes also available). A while back, when the Kawasaki triples were already fetching silly money, these were still in the cheap as chips category.

[chunky butt]

Loved my Gt550, black and chrome, upgraded from a Gt380, which was my first big bike after a yds7. Them's were the days, no mortgage, wife or kids, or money.......just Castrol R

[macvisual]

Hmmmmm Castrol R

[Snaf MKII]

So what is it that you like about a 2T? An EXC300 is very different to a GT750, I'm not overly familiar with large capacity multi cylinder 2Ts' but the riding experience between pre reed and power valve equipped motors is very different.

[Snaf MKII]

Hmmmmm Castrol R

Why is it that you only have to mention it and you can almost smell it

[daveuprite]

Personally I don't really see the point of the GT750.

The advantages of 2 strokes are: higher power per cubic capacity, so lighter engines - leading to better packaging and a smaller, lighter bike - leading to better handling.

But the GT750 was a large, fat, lardy, ill-handling bike and basically squandered most of the advantages you should get with a 2T.

Sure they look lovely when they're all restored and shiny, they sound and smell good, and what a nice thing to have gleaming in your garage, but they kind of fly in the face of the point of having a 2 stroke engine. A GS750 from the same era does the same thing and gets much better mpg.

Which is why I'd say look at 1980s and later bikes, because they generally took better advantage of the best features of 2 stroke tech over 4-stroke.