what have you done to your "bike" today

[StormyRob]

Haha thanks mate.
It's hammerite smooth black, hence the smooth finish. Straight out of a can.
The bike is going to be blue with gold wheels so I'm hoping that will also be a good contrast.

[sirch345]

Good work Rob and Fabio

Chris.

[podman]

Fitted a recently purchased belly pan to the LC this afternoon.



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[fabiostar]

now that is lovely..

[KermitLeFrog]

I never liked LCs. My abiding memory is only ever seeing their butt end as they disappeared into the distance. I was racing an air cooled RD at the time. However...... People are now making FI two strokes! Only dirt bikes so far but a new 2T road bike is sure to come as they can meet all the environmental shite. Now, that I'm looking forward to.

[podman]

I never liked LCs. My abiding memory is only ever seeing their butt end as they disappeared into the distance. I was racing an air cooled RD at the time. However...... People are now making FI two strokes! Only dirt bikes so far but a new 2T road bike is sure to come as they can meet all the environmental shite. Now, that I'm looking forward to.

lol...The RD400 was fast enough in a straightline but as I remember it, suffered quite badly on track mainly because of ground clearance?

There is a great piece on racing the early RDs in Stan Stephens autobiography, well worth a read.

Id love to see it happen and its been debated a lot but I think the nearest you may get to a new 2T roadbike may well be the handful IDP Moto are building...supposedly all happening this year..

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[8541Hawk]

Spent the last 2 days getting the jetting right for the new to me engine.... and it only took pulling the carbs 3 times

So after a pilot jet change and needle height change and some fine tuning she now is a happy girl

[lloydie]

Spent the last 2 days getting the jetting right for the new to me engine.... and it only took pulling the carbs 3 times

So after a pilot jet change and needle height change and some fine tuning she now is a happy girl

Good for another 100k

[sirch345]

Spent the last 2 days getting the jetting right for the new to me engine.... and it only took pulling the carbs 3 times

So after a pilot jet change and needle height change and some fine tuning she now is a happy girl

Good for another 100k

I like that

Chris.

[fabiostar]

I never liked LCs. My abiding memory is only ever seeing their butt end as they disappeared into the distance. I was racing an air cooled RD at the time. However...... People are now making FI two strokes! Only dirt bikes so far but a new 2T road bike is sure to come as they can meet all the environmental shite. Now, that I'm looking forward to.

on the subject iv a mate whos a tad clever with these things has built his own injected 350 ypvs engined mito

[KermitLeFrog]

[quote="podman lol...The RD400 was fast enough in a straightline but as I remember it, suffered quite badly on track mainly because of ground clearance?[/quote]

Too bloody right. The peg hangers were a bitch. I once had a lovely gold Tissot Seastar who's face was ground away in the process of saving my wrist on an ocean road in Sydney.

It was an orange coffin tank 250. Best thing I ever did was take it off the track and put a 400 motor in it. Impossible to tell it was not a 250. Had fun with that.

[TheGingerBeardMan]

Rumblings from the bottom of the biscuit tin. (apologies to Frank Westworth for the start of the title)

Ok, I'm probably going to upset and divide the ranks here. I have an admittance to make. My name is Dave. I'm a long term motorcyclist, and I don't like 2 strokes.

I've only had 3 in me lifetime (a little TZR125 thing, a Kwack KR1S and an MZ ETZ 251). Everything else has been IL4s, V-twins or big singles). Mind you, out of the 3, that MZ used to be a hoot in the corners, and I even did a bit of despatch riding on it.

But, they were just too bloody noisy and that put me off. Plus the starting...sheesh. Even worse when it was hot. Or cold. Or not run for a while. Or run everyday, used to get to the shops, step back outside, and it refused to start again. - Results in sitting on the street, plugs out, lighter in hand and starting the whole process again.

Kick, kick, kick, kick...got it started!! - Proceed to annoy the hell out of the neighbours ringing it till the smoke clears. Imagine firing up a chainsaw at 4am outside yer house? This Rrrring-ding-ding-ding-ding-a-ding-a-ding, with clouds of blue smoke everywhere, a balls hair throttle (twist the throttle 2 inches and nothing?....twist another 1mm and PHOOOM - it's off like a scalded cat).

The 2 strokes I rode were never fun in the snow or really wet roads. You'd be forever nursing the throttle to keep her ticking over....and then...again...PHOOM....the powerband would try to let you know it's still there, the back end would all go to sh1t.......and so would the bikes. I almost filled my shorts a good few times when that happened.

So, with all that above taken into consideration, it was time to stick to in line fours. Smooth power delivery, luggage carrying, comfy seat, no farting about with pre-mix, and no-one could hear you coming from 6 streets away (erm...ok, that's all changed again with the VTR and the chosen cans! ). They looked like ''proper bikes'' and you were more respected in the neighbourhood, as you were no longer a ''hooligan'' making noise and smoking up the street at 95,000 revs (in first gear, trying to get it to move without lifting the front end every-time). ''Honestly Officer: They're all like that y'know....It's the way the Japanese made them, and it's how they're meant to be ridden. It even states the fact in the handbook.''

I'm not even a fan of the ''Classic'' 2 strokes. The Kawasakis H 2 n' triples. I know it's snobbish, but if there's a few Yamaha RDs (LCs or coffin tankers) lined up at a show, then I just keep walking. The folk that usually stand with drooling mouth and misty eyes, are riders in their late 40's/early 50s, who still retain the pony tail at the back (even tho the top and sides are almost gone).

I guess it's the same for really old duffers...when they come up when yer on the BSA, and start drooling and spouting ''I remember the time I had one of them'' and then half yer day is gone listening to him. There will always be bikes that one fondly remembers, with riders wanting to re-live that experience. But the reality is, if a lot of those original riders climbed back onto an old bike, I don't think the experience would be the same. Rose tinted glasses can affect one's vision y'know!

Horses for Courses. Each to their own etc etc....

[fabiostar]

BAN this man right now lol ... if ever you get the chance to ride a TZ350 take it, its gives you a whole new outlook on death lol

[MacV2]

BAN this man right now lol ... if ever you get the chance to ride a TZ350 take it, its gives you a whole new outlook on death lol

Given his recent medical issues I don't think ''Dave'' needs much of ' a whole new outlook on death' Rob...

[TheGingerBeardMan]

BAN this man right now

Maybe I can redeem myself?....just a tiny bit? In a tiny way with a tiny bike? With a 2 stroke?

Polini 911 Dreambike. 1200 quids worth (when new) of premix air cooled 6.2hp hooliganism. A track bike only (not one of them arses that runs up the street in a t-shirt). Race prepped and good for 60mph.

So, could I perhaps be spared a few lashes from the Cat o' nine tails then? But, if not, then I'll happily don my gimp mask and take all the lashings thrown my way

Yeah - I know I hate seeing sponsorship / brand stickers that aren't relevant to what's fitted on the bike, but it were like that when I bought it from the guy.

I like the sticker along the back seat though: ''Crashing is proof that you're trying''