04-11-14, 01:27 AM
(This post was last modified: 04-11-14, 01:37 AM by nick crisp.)
So hard to describe to someone who's ridden nothing like it.
Think of the image that KTM have promoted with the 1290 SDR. Well, that's the kind of image the 350LC and perhaps to a slightly lesser degree, the YPVS 350 had. And well deserved! It may have been smaller, far less power than the big KTM, but those strokers just took off when they hit the power. That's what it was all about! And they were very simple bikes mechanically. Everyone did their own strip downs and rebuilds, replacing worn out pistons and rings and the like, and as Dazza says, loads of people took them to guys like Stan The Man for tuning, to get even more of that addictive buzz. They really were like a drug.
There was a kind of gang mentality to it all. In days of no speed cameras, when if the law wanted to bust you, they'd have to catch you first, there was a real hooligan element involved. Total bike anarchy! And everyone wore Doc Martens or trainers, bomber jackets and jeans - no one gave a foc about safety, Kevlar and CE armour were unheard of.
Compared to todays bikes, they were evil handling, with skinny, wobbly chassis and foc all brakes to mention, which doubled the thrill of launching them at the horizon. The old LC Pro Am racing is still, in my memory, some of the best racing there has ever been; all knees and elbows, fairing bashing and ungentlemanly fighting for position.
But we hadn't known much better. That was just how bikes were back then. The big improvements started to really come in the mid 80s, when frames got stronger and suspension got adjustable.
Today, bikes are all strangled by emissions requirements. All these snatchy throttles - they don't have to be that way, it's just the manufacturers are restricted in what they can do. Everything now is too refined, too slick and smooth. Back then, things were raw and uncompromised. And the Yam strokers were the epitome of it all. You could have a small bike and still have fun. And yeah, the great smell of Castrol Rrrrrrrrrrrrr!
The loss of the 2stroke is the worst thing that ever happened to bikes. Long may the memories live!
Think me colostomy bag has split :\
Think of the image that KTM have promoted with the 1290 SDR. Well, that's the kind of image the 350LC and perhaps to a slightly lesser degree, the YPVS 350 had. And well deserved! It may have been smaller, far less power than the big KTM, but those strokers just took off when they hit the power. That's what it was all about! And they were very simple bikes mechanically. Everyone did their own strip downs and rebuilds, replacing worn out pistons and rings and the like, and as Dazza says, loads of people took them to guys like Stan The Man for tuning, to get even more of that addictive buzz. They really were like a drug.
There was a kind of gang mentality to it all. In days of no speed cameras, when if the law wanted to bust you, they'd have to catch you first, there was a real hooligan element involved. Total bike anarchy! And everyone wore Doc Martens or trainers, bomber jackets and jeans - no one gave a foc about safety, Kevlar and CE armour were unheard of.
Compared to todays bikes, they were evil handling, with skinny, wobbly chassis and foc all brakes to mention, which doubled the thrill of launching them at the horizon. The old LC Pro Am racing is still, in my memory, some of the best racing there has ever been; all knees and elbows, fairing bashing and ungentlemanly fighting for position.
But we hadn't known much better. That was just how bikes were back then. The big improvements started to really come in the mid 80s, when frames got stronger and suspension got adjustable.
Today, bikes are all strangled by emissions requirements. All these snatchy throttles - they don't have to be that way, it's just the manufacturers are restricted in what they can do. Everything now is too refined, too slick and smooth. Back then, things were raw and uncompromised. And the Yam strokers were the epitome of it all. You could have a small bike and still have fun. And yeah, the great smell of Castrol Rrrrrrrrrrrrr!
The loss of the 2stroke is the worst thing that ever happened to bikes. Long may the memories live!
Think me colostomy bag has split :\