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Two Smokes


CBR46

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All the talk on here lately about smokers has got me thinking about the ones I've had...

Started off on a Yammy 80 bought for £50 on Independence Day 1977. Crashed it a million times, blew head gaskets, resprayed it and it sounded like a bee in a bottle. 

Next was a DT125 that I got as a trade in against a CB550F. Great fun in the fields and on the beach...passed it on to my brother. 

Then there was a KH400 that often ran on two cylinders in the wet, the third cylinder kicking in usually when cranked over in a corner. 

I bought a 350LC that spent most of its life on the back wheel. Rebored and crank rebuilt loads of times. Brilliant fun at the time but got rid of it sharpish after a nasty tank slapper. It had really loud expansion pipes that woke everyone on my way to work in the post office for 6am starts.

A couple of years later I got a YPVS350 which was a much more civilised thing. 

The last one I had was an RG400 in Lucky Strike colours. Totally bogged down below 8,500 rpm but then hit the fun zone. Four smoking expansion pipes and the smell of CastrolR....heaven. My kids called it the clown bike because it was so small. 

 

 

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Those were the days eh, I bought a new RD350 air cooled in 1973 got rid of the front number plate but had to start wearing a crash helmet as the helmet law had just come in. I moved back to four strokes with a 750 four a couple of years later but always liked two strokes and over the years had a YB100, DT100, 125, 250 and 400, then it was Cz's with a 175 and 250.

 

Apart from the kids bikes I think my last two stroke was a Water Bottle which would have been around 92 or 93 so it was getting on but by then.  I well remember picking Josh up from primary school on the Suzuki when he was about seven.  I used to ride to the playground with a spare stars and stripes open face helmet, park up and chat with other kids parents before they all came out. 

 

Nobody ever said anything to me but of course they all thought I was totally irresponsible and I played up to it by after telling Josh to hang on leaving the scene in a cloud of two stroke exhaust and a fair bit of noise. I still know a couple of the Mums and we occasionally have a laugh about it.😂

 

There are still a few bikes left in me but the only reasonably priced two stroke I fancy trying is the 350 Jawa, A friend of mine has bought a newish one and it's like going back in time looking at it.

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fj_stuart

I started biking in 1974 on two strokes. Back then I considered four strokes as boring (Honda), old man's machines (BMW) or antiquated heaps of junk (anything British) Hooligan outlaws rode strokers! I had a Yamaha CS5 200cc twin, an RD350 and a GT500 (which proved that you could tour on a two stroke) Later on I had an RD350 YPVS - every ride an experience. My last strokers were MZs mostly for cheap commuting although I did go to rallies on them.

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Rocker66
44 minutes ago, fj_stuart said:

I started biking in 1974 on two strokes. Back then I considered four strokes as boring (Honda), old man's machines (BMW) or antiquated heaps of junk (anything British) Hooligan outlaws rode strokers! I had a Yamaha CS5 200cc twin, an RD350 and a GT500 (which proved that you could tour on a two stroke) Later on I had an RD350 YPVS - every ride an experience. My last strokers were MZs mostly for cheap commuting although I did go to rallies on them.

I’m sure many had that view of BMWs back then I mean I had attained the ripe old age of 26 when I bought my first BMW in 1973.😀😀

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Lots of my friends did production class racing starting off on RDs and LCs before progressing to TZs and road racing. 

One lad emigrated to Australia and rode for both Honda and Suzuki works teams.

Great memories of weekends camping at road race meetings and brilliant racing. 

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VinnyB

I never really got into 2 strokes. I've had a few but mainly as winter hacks when you could pick them up for next to nothing. Ironically they would probably be worth more now than the bikes I was trying to protect from the salt and crap and lack of cleaning.😄

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Ooh nice topic, sooooo many, probs too many to remember them all. 

Suzuki TS100 field bike

Suzuki AP50 at sixteen

Fantic Caballero 50 

Suzuki X7 (five of them over the years inc first proddie racer and the one I have now)

A hideous but fun Jawa 250 single

Yamaha YSD7 250

Yamaha RD350 air cooled

Yamaha DT175mx

Several LCs, both 250 & 350 inc proddie racing (high on effort, low on talent)

Kawasaki KE175 

Suzuki TS185er

Kawasaki KMX200

Kawasaki KDX200sr (still have that one 30 years later)

Suzuki GT550m triple

Suzuki RM250 (2 of these, one 'road legal' )

Suzuki PE400x 

 

Think that's it, for now, who knows, there's still time for more 😉

 

 

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fj_stuart
31 minutes ago, Trev said:

Ooh nice topic, sooooo many, probs too many to remember them all. 

Suzuki TS100 field bike

Suzuki AP50 at sixteen

Fantic Caballero 50 

Suzuki X7 (five of them over the years inc first proddie racer and the one I have now)

A hideous but fun Jawa 250 single

Yamaha YSD7 250

Yamaha RD350 air cooled

Yamaha DT175mx

Several LCs, both 250 & 350 inc proddie racing (high on effort, low on talent)

Kawasaki KE175 

Suzuki TS185er

Kawasaki KMX200

Kawasaki KDX200sr (still have that one 30 years later)

Suzuki GT550m triple

Suzuki RM250 (2 of these, one 'road legal' )

Suzuki PE400x 

 

Think that's it, for now, who knows, there's still time for more 😉

 

 

Wow! that's an impressive list. Just think what your carbon footprint is.

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2 hours ago, fj_stuart said:

Wow! that's an impressive list. Just think what your carbon footprint is

A combination of breakdowns, a few 'offs' and limited riding time kept the miles down 😁

Probably clocked the most miles on the various LCs as one was my only form of transport for just over year and I also commuted and 'toured' (not much luggage carried in those days) on a couple.

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Tegraman

Only non-50cc stroker I had was a 1967 Yamaha YDS250. I loved it. I wish to hell I still had it. The only downside was the split engine with the two halves of the crankshaft woodruff-keyed together. :no: When (not if) the key sheared it would gouge the mating surfaces of the crankshafts and they would need the total pita of lapping back together.

No prizes, Yamaha San 

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12 hours ago, fj_stuart said:

Hooligan outlaws rode strokers!

I started out on a BSA Bantam - never thought of myself as a "hooligan outlaw". I was more often a saddo pushing my bike home after yet another breakdown!

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baldric
13 hours ago, fj_stuart said:

Wow! that's an impressive list. Just think what your carbon footprint is.

Ask him if he cares. Go on, I dare you.

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Rev Ken

My first bike was a FB 250cc Cruiser. I also had a few more BF smokers I renovated and sold on. In Hong Kong I had a reed valve Suzuki smoker. I had been riding it for some time thinking it was gutless when I had to rev it hard to get out of a tricky situation and it took off!":D

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