The unrideables

[joebloggs]

If your a twostroke race fan fan take a look at these videos

Originally said couldn't find 1 but of course after saying that its right in front of my face. Doh

Links dont appear to be working so just type 'The unrideables' in Youtube, for me the best era of GP's full stop.

[anutz]

awesome videos, watched them a few times, never ridden a 2 stroke but they sound and appear vicious!

[joebloggs]

awesome videos, watched them a few times, never ridden a 2 stroke but they sound and appear vicious!

If you ever get the chance to ride a 350 lc or YPVS jump at it. They not that quick, think the YPVS was around 59 bhp but when you hit 5-6k in the lower gears with the throttle wide open they lift the front wheel and take off like something possessed.

[joebloggs]

Oh and take your credit card with you, bloody thirsty engines, I had a 250lc with a YPVS lump in it and it would pass everything other than petrol stations

[anutz]

Oh and take your credit card with you, bloody thirsty engines, I had a 250lc with a YPVS lump in it and it would pass everything other than petrol stations

Closest i have been to 2 strokes were some at Olivers Mount this year, the sound was something else, and they just looked like they were evil, im still getting used to the GSXR and that scares me a little, in a good way that make me smile.

[hotmetal]

Never owned a proper one (back in the day my 2-stroke was a Vespa! ) but a few mates had GT250, RD350, KR1-S (Kwak 250) and RG250. Ah just the thought of it brings back the smell - happy days!

Compared to the gen 1 Fazer they were down on power on paper, but in reality it was like strapping yourself to a firework. The only time I've experienced the same "wait-for-it......waaaaaa!" was when a mate let me try his R1. Tiny bike, big power but all at the top. It was like star trek where you see the stars gently floating by and then warp drive kicks in!

[coffee]

I used to race aT500 Suzuki twin back in the day,it was a rapid bike but you had to drain the box and put this trick synthetic oil in it between races or the clutch would slip it used to drive you mad I was glad to get shut of it.It never stopped a welsh flyer Kieth Hanford doing the business on it though.

[anutz]

I used to race aT500 Suzuki twin back in the day,it was a rapid bike but you had to drain the box and put this trick synthetic oil in it between races or the clutch would slip it used to drive you mad I was glad to get shut of it.It never stopped a welsh flyer Kieth Hanford doing the business on it though.

Closet i am going to get right now is playing MotoGP i have for the Ps4, has 2 stroke bikes, will try stick a video up of some tracks 

[joebloggs]

At 17 I had a GT185 with a 2-1 expansion chamber, probably did nothing for the power but felt bloody quick after my CB50j, and the noise, bloody amazing racket lol

[coffee]

rEMEMBER WHEN YOU'D PUT A DROP OF CASTROL "R" IN THE MIX FOR THAT FABULOUS SMELL?

[tommyardin]

Hey I often put 10ml of R in with a full tank of fuel on my fazer, love the smell and if you really want a R hit as you do work in the garden it goes in the mower fuel tank, hedge trimmer and I [size=78%]even put a couple of ml in my chainsaw. Many years ago I had an Ambasador 250 with a villiers 2T engine in it 2stroke twin it was good for about 80 mph but it was t.he acceleration that. I loved it was quick of the mark, but compared with modern bikes it was a slug. But the 2 plumes of blue smoke emitted by the exhausts was something to behold especially as they were adorned with the aroma of Castro R. But I have to admit my foxeye FZS is the best bike I have ever owned or ridden.[/size]

[Hedgetrimmer]

Hey I often put 10ml of R in with a full tank of fuel on my fazer, love the smell and if you really want a R hit as you do work in the garden it goes in the mower fuel tank, hedge trimmer and I [size=78%]even put a couple of ml in my chainsaw. Many years ago I had an Ambasador 250 with a villiers 2T engine in it 2stroke twin it was good for about 80 mph but it was t.he acceleration that. I loved it was quick of the mark, but compared with modern bikes it was a slug. But the 2 plumes of blue smoke emitted by the exhausts was something to behold especially as they were adorned with the aroma of Castro R. But I have to admit my foxeye FZS is the best bike I have ever owned or ridden.[/size]

I need to squash this rumour right now - I DO NOT DRINK CASTROL R! 


I used to love watching the 500 GPs, lost interest when it went to 4T, and didn't follow MotoGP for years, although I've caught up with a lot of it since. Got "The Unrideables" as a download and watch it quite often. A well made programme about great racing times.


Maddest 2T I ever had:





I take every opportunity to whore this one out 


Kawasaki 750H2C, full Denco porting job, 34mm Mikuni carbs, S&B pod filters and Denco spannies; the H2 had a reputation as a mad thing as standard, but this was a real animal. It'd shake the headlamp bulb out of it's socket on every ride, shredded the Pirelli Phantom tyre I put on the rear - you could peel little balls of rubber off after a ride - and the front tyre rarely touched tarmac despite the extra inch of length on the Dresda swing arm that was fitted. You could hear it coming from miles away, and the fuel consumption was abysmal - less than 2 miles on reserve one time. I had to sell it, cos it was only a matter of time before it would've killed me otherwise. Every ride was a daunting prospect!


At other times, I also had an RG500, and a YPVS350 with a Stan Stephens stage 3 with Stephens/Lomas spannies, but neither was even half so scary as the H2.


/nostalgia trip

[tommyardin]

What a great bike I love the look of it, the chambers do look great on it and I just bet they crackled. 

[joebloggs]

Hey I often put 10ml of R in with a full tank of fuel on my fazer, love the smell and if you really want a R hit as you do work in the garden it goes in the mower fuel tank, hedge trimmer and I [size=78%]even put a couple of ml in my chainsaw. Many years ago I had an Ambasador 250 with a villiers 2T engine in it 2stroke twin it was good for about 80 mph but it was t.he acceleration that. I loved it was quick of the mark, but compared with modern bikes it was a slug. But the 2 plumes of blue smoke emitted by the exhausts was something to behold especially as they were adorned with the aroma of Castro R. But I have to admit my foxeye FZS is the best bike I have ever owned or ridden.[/size]

I need to squash this rumour right now - I DO NOT DRINK CASTROL R! 


I used to love watching the 500 GPs, lost interest when it went to 4T, and didn't follow MotoGP for years, although I've caught up with a lot of it since. Got "The Unrideables" as a download and watch it quite often. A well made programme about great racing times.


Maddest 2T I ever had:





I take every opportunity to whore this one out 


Kawasaki 750H2C, full Denco porting job, 34mm Mikuni carbs, S&B pod filters and Denco spannies; the H2 had a reputation as a mad thing as standard, but this was a real animal. It'd shake the headlamp bulb out of it's socket on every ride, shredded the Pirelli Phantom tyre I put on the rear - you could peel little balls of rubber off after a ride - and the front tyre rarely touched tarmac despite the extra inch of length on the Dresda swing arm that was fitted. You could hear it coming from miles away, and the fuel consumption was abysmal - less than 2 miles on reserve one time. I had to sell it, cos it was only a matter of time before it would've killed me otherwise. Every ride was a daunting prospect!


At other times, I also had an RG500, and a YPVS350 with a Stan Stephens stage 3 with Stephens/Lomas spannies, but neither was even half so scary as the H2.


/nostalgia trip

Was it the KH that had the nickname 'widowmaker'

[dazza]

Two of Hedgetrimmers favourites rolled into one......http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/131701140719?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[Hedgetrimmer]

Two of Hedgetrimmers favourites rolled into one......http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/131701140719?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Hmmm, that one doesn't seem to make sense somehow. Was it a "because I can" thing d'you think?

[dazza]

Two of Hedgetrimmers favourites rolled into one......http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/131701140719?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Hmmm, that one doesn't seem to make sense somehow. Was it a "because I can" thing d'you think?

 
Totally agree, makes no sense to me. Surely you could squeeze more performance from a well fettled 350 lump. Not sure of the power stats for both engines but definitely going backwards in the technology department.

[Gnasher]

Hey I often put 10ml of R in with a full tank of fuel on my fazer, love the smell and if you really want a R hit as you do work in the garden it goes in the mower fuel tank, hedge trimmer and I [size=78%]even put a couple of ml in my chainsaw. Many years ago I had an Ambasador 250 with a villiers 2T engine in it 2stroke twin it was good for about 80 mph but it was t.he acceleration that. I loved it was quick of the mark, but compared with modern bikes it was a slug. But the 2 plumes of blue smoke emitted by the exhausts was something to behold especially as they were adorned with the aroma of Castro R. But I have to admit my foxeye FZS is the best bike I have ever owned or ridden.[/size]

I need to squash this rumour right now - I DO NOT DRINK CASTROL R! 


I used to love watching the 500 GPs, lost interest when it went to 4T, and didn't follow MotoGP for years, although I've caught up with a lot of it since. Got "The Unrideables" as a download and watch it quite often. A well made programme about great racing times.


Maddest 2T I ever had:





I take every opportunity to whore this one out 


Kawasaki 750H2C, full Denco porting job, 34mm Mikuni carbs, S&B pod filters and Denco spannies; the H2 had a reputation as a mad thing as standard, but this was a real animal. It'd shake the headlamp bulb out of it's socket on every ride, shredded the Pirelli Phantom tyre I put on the rear - you could peel little balls of rubber off after a ride - and the front tyre rarely touched tarmac despite the extra inch of length on the Dresda swing arm that was fitted. You could hear it coming from miles away, and the fuel consumption was abysmal - less than 2 miles on reserve one time. I had to sell it, cos it was only a matter of time before it would've killed me otherwise. Every ride was a daunting prospect!


At other times, I also had an RG500, and a YPVS350 with a Stan Stephens stage 3 with Stephens/Lomas spannies, but neither was even half so scary as the H2.


/nostalgia trip

Was it the KH that had the nickname 'widowmaker'

I think that was the H1 later the KH500.


I had the 250 and 750 same colour as this mine had twin discs loved it, also had an RD250F "white heat" red and white, White & blue RD350LC 4LO the first ones that needed carbs drilling, had All Speed expantions in it, loved that too.   Always wanted a RD500LC never got one though not as quick as the RG500 but looked better I thought.       

[hotmetal]

Knowing what RD350s were like, I always thought that the RD and Gamma 500 riders must be demigods. I used to look at those in bike mags and dream. They must have been a bit of a handful even compared to an R1?

[joebloggs]

Knowing what RD350s were like, I always thought that the RD and Gamma 500 riders must be demigods. I used to look at those in bike mags and dream. They must have been a bit of a handful even compared to an R1?

They weren't that quick, everybody wanted the factories to build mental twostrokes but it didn't happen, sure they felt quick when they hit the powerband but the CBR600 etc were just as quick and didn't drink fuel like it was going out of fashion

[Gnasher]

Knowing what RD350s were like, I always thought that the RD and Gamma 500 riders must be demigods. I used to look at those in bike mags and dream. They must have been a bit of a handful even compared to an R1?

Many were in standard from quite docile except the H1 - H2 my H2 I could wheelie just by accelerating    the H1 was much more all or nothing and closer to a racing 2 stoke with all the power in a very narrow band.  Early strokes weren't very reliable unless revved hard, but as storker owners know this means wear, they eat piston rings/piston crowns partly down to wrong premix mixture or cheap even wrong oil, leaning the mixture too much and causing over heating. Factories in an attempt to make them more user friendly began to spread the power and widen the power bands to make them more rideable, then pumps appeared but these tended to over oil at all revs, again leaning the mixture causing loads of smoke, loss of power,anyone remember oiled plugs!!!

My KH250 was a real bugger while running in just because you couldn't rev it hard enough to burn all the oil.  RD air cooled were slightly better and had a more advanced engine design e.g. reed blocks to control high speed induction, all had points remember them.  All 70's - 80's strokers could be fairly easily tuned with not much more than a bit of knowledge, a TDC gauge, scriber, half round file (dremels weren't available back then) emery cloth, jet kit, K&N's and a set of good expantions.  Getting 10 or even 20hp was achievable in your shed but at the cost of rideability, reliability, the introduction semi synth oil really improved things in the reliability stakes anyone remember Castrol R......lovely stuff........not. 

Where they a handful.....by today's standards yes mainly due to bendy frames, poor suspension, brakes (except the later YR5's and early RD's up to D which had twin opposed pistons calipers) and crap tyres, hence companies like Spondon, Bimoto to name a couple. Were they fast......, out of the crate some were compared to what else was available at the time.  The H1 blow away everything, H2 was not really much faster but had more torque hence it's ability to wheelie, GT500, 550 and water-cooled 750 the later 2 more touring orientated and quite refined.  Learner 250's (KH, RD, GT etc) a really good one would hit mid 90's out of the crate, then came the X7 first to hit the ton. 

Lets not forget the 350's soon replaced by 400's the big three all had them S2 (350) Kawa, GT 380, YR5 and then RD400, KH400 all good for between 105 - 115.  Then it all went wild and water cooling, RD250LC 107mph no messing the 350LC 115 in better all round packages, both very easily tuned to reach 120 - 130 respectively quite easily, with water cooling giving reduced noise, much improved reliability, better fuelling/oiling, frame/suspension. Then the YVPS add another 5 - 10 mph and even better frame & suspension. 

Then the really scary stuff started KRS-1,TZR250, RG250/RGV250, all blistering faster than had come before 120 - 140mph plus out of the crate, RD500LC didn't really deliver until tuned, but the RG400/500's did, oh my god even out of the crate, tune them and at last we had an 160plus unrideable on the road.

And then it all stopped just like that!

They were noisy, smelly, labour intensive but above all fun, in an age where the was very little big brother, as you can tell I loved them  

[hotmetal]

Yeah, happy days! Mates had GT250 and RD350 ypvs, KR1S and RG250. I was about to put a deposit on a late model RD350 but someone sensible told me to get a GPZ500S instead. I've regretted that ever since, as it was crap and now I can't say I used to have a RD350. Mind you I probably would've fallen off the back with a bit too much enthusiastic throttle. I remember following one of the guys from work on his 350LC, getting suffocated by 2 big plumes of 2-smoke!

[Gnasher]

I can't say I used to have a RD350. Mind you I probably would've fallen off the back with a bit too much enthusiastic throttle.

One of all the bikes I've owned but never crashed, dropped or got knocked off was my RD350LC and I rode it every day rain/snow or shine for 3 yrs!!!!   

I remember following one of the guys from work on his 350LC, getting suffocated by 2 big plumes of 2-smoke!

Must have been using crap oil or the pump wasn't shimmed/set right.