I rode my 1974 RD350A from New Jersey to California and back. Never a problem. I still have it and am restoring it after allowing mice and mother nature to take over. Great video gentlemen.
Oh my, I see electrical issues in your future grasshopper. Those mice love gnawing on wiring for whatever reason, I think maybe they want the insulation for their nests, apparently they don't understand it's a different kind of insulation. Yes, restore!!! Hopefully I'll get to see it on the road here in Pennsylvania as you pass through heading towards California on your mid life crisis trip (I keep having those on motorcycle's to visit old Army buddies), wherein I've never had an RD350 I almost bought one off my best friend back in high school and don't you know it was a 74 also!!! So I'd love to see one on the road as a tribute to my friend that we lost back in 07, his RD350 was long gone at that point but I did buy his CBR929RR Erion edition off his family after his passing, they wanted me to have it and got a hold of me about it after some uncouth people started hounding them about it before the dirt even dried over his grave. But yea, I'd love seeing that on the road.
Rodents have to nibble on stuff because their teeth grow all the time so its wears teeth down so they stay at proper length, wires happen to work good at that plus they can use it for a nest also
I turned wrenches in a Yamaha shop 1975-78 while I was in high school. We had a shop RD350 with chambers on it. We things were slow, we'd take it out to hunt down and blow the doors off of Harleys and CB750's. It was great to look back and see them in 2 stroke smoke.
I have a different side of that sword story...i grew up in rural central Florida on two wheels in the 60's and early 70's, mini bikes, mini cycles, DT enduro's, YZ motocross (earning an AMA Expert license in 125cc motocross), flat track on a modified YZ 125 and also competed in Trials. Then my Sr. year in H.S. I hung up the racing boots and was concentrating on my academics (prepping for Engineering College), but was also working full time at the new Walt Disney World, so had some money and bought a like new '72 Kawasaki H2 750. I had lowered bars, expansion chambers and 34mm Mikuni's installed before i picked it up. At that time I had never ridden a street bike but was obviously a very skilled rider. The day I picked it up the owner and my salesman were standing outside watching me pull away, and as i had to do a u turn to head back the direction to my town, about 40 miles away, I thought I'd put on a little show and do a small power wheelie. It was my first time on the bike (no test drive) and as i accelerated in 1st gear I just shifted into 2nd and popped the clutch, the power surprised me and my left hand slipped off the handle bar grip and I came pretty close to falling off the back and crashing the thing right there in front of God and everybody. I managed to stay on and bring the front wheel down and gain control with one hand but the H2 had my full attention and i decided i better figure out what I had under me before I started getting froggy. But it only took me a couple stop lights thru downtown Orlando to figure out I basically had a big YZ on pavement, I could twist the throttle out of stop lights and spin the rear tire and get squirrely just like my YZ in dirt. By the time I got home to Titusville Florida i was pulling power wheelies thru 1st, 2nd and 3rd gear and had quickly mind melded with the big H2. I was all over town showing her off to all my buds and the very first day I owned her a guy with a badass (headers. lowered bars) Z1 said he wanted to race that night. I was with my GF when he said he wanted to race me so I couldn't say no. I was confident in my skill set and in the H2 but i had seen this guy around and his bike sounded mean and he appeared to know what he was doing. So I show up at the designated time that nite on beach road (where the serious 1/4 mile drags were held) and I am surprised to see a big crowd and the guy on his Z1 is doing massive burnouts and the bike sounds Ferocious. I thought Rut Roh, what have I gotten myself into and then it dawns on me i haven't yet done a full go from a dead stop...I'm running thru my brain how I should launch and it hits me to just do my motocross launch, stand up on the bike, lean as far forward as you can, full throttle and drop the clutch. My launch was flawless, the big H2 screamed alive with the front wheel clawing for the sky and the rear tire spinning and I rode her perfectly, just like my always first to first turn starts in motocross. I never saw or heard the Z1. When we got back to the start area the Z1 rider was pissed...he kept saying "there is no way you should be able to beat me, there must be something wrong with my bike"...after about the third time I heard him say that I finally interjected with "look you certainly appear to be a good rider but I have an AMA Experts racing license and i left you at the line and you never got close to me, your bike sounded pretty damn ferocious to me but if you get home and find something wrong, get it fixed and we'll try it again". I never heard from him again and never saw him riding in town again, I think he sold the bike or moved or both. Regarding the RD-350's, there were several in town, with a good friend owning one modified like my H2 and he was a very good rider, but I was better and could keep up or pass him even in the corners and at the end of the corners I was gone. The H2 wasn't known for its handling but i found that while the frame definitely flexed when pushed hard thru the corners, if you weren't afraid of some loss of traction from the front and rear tire and just road the flex that it could easily keep up with an RD350 in the twisties.
@@stevefowler2112I was twisting wrenches at a Honda shop at that time. Was about to buy a CB750 but my boss wouldn’t give me a discount so I went down the street to the Kawasaki dealer and bought a 73 Z1. My boss made me park it across the street!
@tomquinn607 could absolutely happen. Jetted with pipes they make 50hp and weigh significantly less than a 67hp cb750. It could go both ways though obviously.
Please keep doing the 2 stroke podcasts. It’s great to hear KC still talk about them so passionately. This was a fantastic episode, thanks Mark and Kevin!!
My brother still rides his RD350C. My first street bike was a '77 RD400, cost me less than $1,000!. I thought you should ride street bikes like dirt bikes. Wheelie away from every light, jump the railroad tracks, square off those turns. I drug those solid mounted foot pegs too. Next bike was an '81 RD350L/C I drove to Canada to buy. What an improvement! Great lead in to my '83 VF750F Interceptor.
FYI, I used to blow away CB750-4's stop light to stop light and then came to VF750F to humble me. My buddy had a Canadian model 350LC(Blue/White) and that bike was so smooth and quiet.
The C model is the 1976 RD400. The 73 is the RD 350, the 74 model is the RD 350A, and the 75 is the RD350B. 76 is C, 77 is D, 78 is E, 79 is F except for the U.S. where they sold the Daytona Special. The RD400 continued to be sold outside the U.S. including a G model in Brazil while the Daytona was the last 400 sold in USA.
@@ballockybill2277 Nice. When I bought my '76 about 10 years ago it was bone stock but, I was worrying about trying to replace stock pipes if I ever laid it down so one of the first things I did was put some chambers on. Even at $800 I feel it was worth it.
In the winter we would drive to St. Paul Minnesota and race indoor short track on the concrete floor of the armory. My clothes would smell like Blendzall! You can buy Blendzall scented candles today.
My first motorcycle was a hot-rodded 1975 RD350 that I bought in 1985. I had no idea what I was getting into! After decades of bigger, more powerful machines, I'm back to a lightweight sports bike, having more fun than I've had in years!
Those were great times. The stockers were wheelie monsters. Roll it on in first and the front wheel comes up, hit second on the fork bounce and it comes up again. Crossed-up wheelies out of intersections? No problemo. Too much fun!
My Friend and her Husband rode a maybe 1966 Vintage Yamaha 250 Twin from Florida to CA with luggage and double then from CA to Michigan .. The Reed valve in 1973 was a huge improvment .
Wow that's a long ways on one of them, I hope some gave them an iron ass award because they certainly deserve it after putting on those kind of miles on what's essentially a bicycle with an engine. My rear end hurts just thinking about that 🛵
@@dukecraig2402 Yes a very small motorcycle with two tall people plus clothes sleeping bags packed on the bike. She went me a couple of photos of them. She also sent me some photos of her Fathers cars all Studebakers and his Studebaker Dump Truck. When her Brother was 16 years old, he rode a Harley Sportster from Michigan to Washington to work on a Ranch for the Summer. Then he was drafted into Viet Nam and was killed in Viet Nam. Very Tragic. This gal is 5'10" or so and her Husband was taller .
@@mikeskidmore6754 Three brothers that I know are from a family that's had a building supply company for 3 or 4 generations now, parked in a warehouse behind the offices is their prize 1930's Studebaker cement mixer truck that was part of their fleet years back, it was bought new by them and judging by it's looks didn't see much service for whatever reason, that's probably why they kept it and put it away, sometimes they'll put it in a local parade or on display at the county fair, if for no other reason because it still has the business lettering and logo painted on the doors, you know, the kind of lettering done by hand that you'd get a local sign painter to do and maybe lay down a couple nice looking pinstripes while he was at it, the kind of thing you can't hardly find someone that'll do that anymore, not like years back where just about evey town had a sign painter, now they have machines that print magnetic signs with lettering and graphics that's in computer software they buy.
Oh wow! How good was this? I enjoyed Kevin's enthusiasm. OK, maybe a slightly biased opinion because I had a 1973 RD350 when I was 18. In the 1980s I went production racing on the later water-cooled LC and YPVS models. So much fun. A few years back, I bought a non-running 1973 RD350 and restored it to original running condition. Still fun to ride, but a reminder of how times have changed.
Outstanding stories, thanks for sharing. I worked at a Honda/Yamaha dealer 78 - 83, started in my teens. Whenever we worked on an RD, we couldn't wait for the test ride. It was always fun to report back that it pulled the front wheel up in the first 2 gears. Yes, we beat on (respectfully haha) the customers bikes and man was it fun (young and didn't seem to worry). Two strokes were king !
I've owned close to 50 different bikes in my life. The RD is a genuinely fun, cool and pleasant machine to ride. I picked up another one just this year to bring back from the dead and it is currently my daily rider. It's a 75 350 chassis with a 77 400 motor in it using a 72 R5 transmission. I enjoy riding this bike as much as anything else.
Yamaha offered the RD-400 in 1976 thru 1978. The 1979 RD-400 was very similar, called the Daytona Special, and included butterfly valves at the exhaust ports. The RD-400 was a much improved RD-350 and had the low RPM torque, and good acceleration, to make it fun and easy to ride on the street. It was a very reliable motorcycle which needed little maintenance. As mentioned, a tune-up (park plugs, points, and condenser) could be performed in an hour on a cool engine. You only needed a dial indicator, screwdriver, feeler gauge, and spark plug wrench. As mentioned, the RD-400 wasn't very much faster than the RD-350, but it was easier to ride and a bit more refined. I lived in Atlanta in the late 1970's and ran my stock RD-400 up GA 400 which had very little traffic at that time. After passing the Roswell Road exit I held the throttle wide open and got into a tucked position. Possibly just holding on with my right arm to reduce wind resistance. I think that I got the most out of it in 5th gear at 105 MPH. I ran at 105 for about 20 minutes. I slowed down at the end or GA-400 at Hwy-306. Looking back in my mirrors for the first time in 20 minutes I saw flashing blue lights in the distance. I stopped on the exit and waited a minute or two for the Cumming Police to arrive. The policeman wanted to know if I knew he was back there. I said no. He laughed. I followed him back to the Police Station and spent the next 3 hours there. They let me go and I rode home at a more responsible speed. Going 55 MPH seemed very slow after that. I mostly quit riding the RD-400 in 1982 when I bought a car. I have over 60k miles on the RD-400 and it's in my basement today. I hope to take it down to the frame next year, install new bearings, gusset the frame and paint, and make a few modifications like electronic ignition, tapered triple clamp bearings, engine overhaul, and LED headlight. I'm wondering if anyone makes a replica aluminum fuel tank and seat cover ? Anyone ?
My first motorcycle was an R5 and raced it once. Then a Ducati 850GT which I raced once and then for $800 I bought a fully race prepped RD350 and I was hooked. Grid sizes at Summit Point in ‘78 were 65 bike. The competition intense. We formed a team (Team Maryland) and went endurance racing running 4, 6, 8, 12, 24 and 30 hour events. The RD’s were incredibly reliable. I put on 250 cylinders and raced 250 prod and modified. In time the water cooled RZ350 came along and the RD350 and 400’s met their match. The water cooled RZ had electronic ignition, an exhaust power valve, the mono shock, a 1/4 fairing and were as reliable as the RD. I only raced an RZ once in the 24 hours of Nelson Ledges and it ran better at the end of the race than at the start. Absolutely amazing machines and a true giant killer. It also lived up to its reputation as being the motorcycle where one’s driver’s license could be challenged. When properly set up rarely did they suffer a mechanical DNF. I also had the privilege of a young Freddie Spencer come flying past me at Mid-Ohio.
It wasn't that hard to plate an enduro bike where I lived in the 1980's. The can-am 370 Qualifier came with a speedo/odometer and a fender light that could accomodate a plate. It had the same exhaust technology as their snowmobiles and was a strange sound in summer. It was supposed to put out 40 hp, but I never heard it wound out. These days I keep plastic verniers handy. Very good for determining wear and fitment. I see replacement one piece two stroke crankshafts complete with rods and two piece roller bearings for certain snowmobiles.
I started riding at 16 on a bone stock 72 RD250(Blue/White) which was a fun entry level for me. My 2nd bike was a whole different story. A friend who was a Yamaha dealer mechanic sold me his '75 RD350 that was basically a race bike with a head light and taillight. It had clip-on bars, rear sets, solo seat that had thin foam padding(with a cutout storage area for my pre-mix oil), only a tach and primer in color. It was ported and had Wiseco pistons and really long Bassani pipes that once in a while touched the ground during a wheelie. I rode that bike for about 3 years beating every CB750-4 stop light to stop light and then the VFR-750 was created and humbled me, lol. I had a hard time keeping the front wheel down in the first 3 gears when it came onto "The Pipe". I've had more bike in my life including the super clean '76 RD400 in my pic but, my RD350 is still my favorite.
I enjoyed the Dave Roper comment pertaining to his Bridgehampton RD ride. I’ve seen Dave ride at so many tracks and street events such as the Coatesville Invitational Grand Prix. He has raced the Isle of Man and has raced so many incredible machines. He is fast, smooth and incredibly talented. He also participates in long street rides despite inclement weather. There are few as passionate about motorcycling as Dave. How about a Cycle World article on his career?
Love every one of these. Love 2 strokes. I keep my ‘99 Kawasaki 1200cc 3cyl 2 stroke jet ski around cuz it’s a modified animal. Some of Kevin’s words are so perfect a description of the emotion it evokes when I ride it. 😎 As always looking forward to the next one. Keep up the great work Gents.
Mr. Cameron continues to amaze, absolutely enjoyed and as always learned something new. Thanks Mark and Kevin!! Always great analogies, the Saturn rocket bit was super cool. Look forward to favorite tools. Believe I read a short article from Kevin before about a snap on wrench 🔧 was beautiful
As of a couple of months ago, Dale Herbrandson was still living, as I have been in touch with his son. It's been a few years since I've seen Dale himself but I am keeping in touch with his family.
I ran a RD400 in WERA from 1979-1985. Its best performance was with lightly ported cylinders, 34mm mikunis, Femsa ign. and a set of early Erv Kanemoto’s incredible expansion chambers. I eventually upgraded to Brembo brakes, DG radial heads and Campagnolo electron (magnesium) wheels. Power band was 6-9,000 rpms and I just kept reducing the teeth on the rear sprocket until it wouldn’t pull any more. In the end I acquired a set of Fahron watercooled cylinders and TZ 700 pistons, big Kawasaki reeds blocks and a complete TZ350 dry clutch, CR trans and primary gears. But it never did perform like the original setup. It still sits in my garage waiting to be fully developed… Are you listening Kevin?
Great episode. I rode an RD400D on the street for decades. Had a smaller Vetter Silver Streak fairing, stock motor, S&W rear shocks, R compound front tire, Sport rear, and bronze bushings in the swing arm. Commuted that bike for years. Loved it. Wish I still had it today. Not good for dating with real sized people. But solo - yeah baby 😁Second only to the previous 73 Triumph Bonnie (last of the right side shifters). Tohatsu got 2-stroke direct injection to work well enough that they were the last 2-stroke outboard certified for Tahoe. Run great, but hard to find in the US ...😅
I went from a Yamaha 175 to a 650 BSA, I hopped on my friends RD350 and twisted the throttle like the BSA the power band hit faster than I anticipated, after I landed the front wheel and a lighter touch that power band was a blast. My local shop had one they had put clip ons and rear sets, I think it was $1300 which I didn’t have and was probably a good thing.
I love the elegantly abbreviated English that non-English speakers so often come up with, like (Japanese Kawasaki technician) Mr. Yoshida saying: "Necessary, _many_ testing." Yep, got it. Just three words, but it says everything.
Just remembered my first bike was a Suzuki X6, 250 two stroke. Think 6 gears wonderful. Followed by number Yamaha two stroke trail, and road bike. Those were the days. Incidently when a school kid worked during holidays in Triumph dealership in Auckland NZ. One of the mechanics had a Bonneville and had a mate that did gold plating. Gold was cheap then, so he started gold plating parts. Soon gold rose in value and he nearly had a nervous breakdown when he realised the added value to his Bonny.
I owned 3 or 4 of them back in the day, and half a dozen Kawasaki triples. I even had a 1974 RD350 with a radiator and TZ350 cylinders and heads. That one was a hoot to ride. I miss the days of the cheap, dependable and fast 2-strokes.
My friend decided to buy every race part for his RD. I remember the day we unpacked the factory full fairing. It came in a huge box of styrofoam peanuts. It was as thin as an eggshell.
My 76 RD-400 had nothing on the exhaust port. Parents would not let me take dates on my RD-400-C so I ordered a new 1979 Z-28 Camaro for $7,190.00 I paid $7,400.00 for a 2016 Yamaha FZ-07, that's a lot of inflation when a 413# Motorycle costs more than a 3,500 pound car does. I should have kept the RD-400 and put Expansion chambers on it. I knew plenty about porting as I had made my 1974 YZ-80-A with a GYT Kit Cylnder and 24 mm carb that replaced the 16 mm carb.. I made my 1976- 125-MX-C a lot faster and made my 1978-YZ100-E a lot faster than stock. I pulled the whole short out of 33 bikes in my first motocross race at age 16 on the Yamaha MX-125-C .. I thought that was easy and I would win the race. Turns out I never had any coaching and most everyone passed me before the race was over /Granted I was 5'3" 115 pounds..
That RD 350 engine eventually went into the Banshee in 1987 and lasted until 2006, making it the longest lasting production quad in history. I picked up one about a year ago. The engine is definitely the star of the show. It is a bit weak on the bottom, but by the midrange it has a surging power that revs to the moon. There is still a huge aftermarket for it too. I've just done a few minor mods so far, but I understand you can get 60 to 70 hp out of them without a big bore.
the 1980s water cooled 350 engine series that was luckily used in the Banshee actually came along after the 1979 rd400f. The Rd350lc and later RZ350 engine was a very different animal from the 70s air cooled twins. The power valve equipped 1985 RZ350s HP potential was nearly doubled over the old the 1975 RD350.
@@RedBud315 Aren't the police real cool for doing that? They're all the time wanting to clock motorcycles around here, you don't even have to ask and they'll do it for you. One strange thing though, they always wanna meet down at the courthouse to give you the official results.
Talking about RDs and the smaller Kawasaki triples and CB350s and mentioning the demise of the British motorcycle industry reminded me of the DOHC 350 that the Brits spent a lot of money on. Nothing shows the disconnect that existed in the thinking of the non-motorcycling industrialists that were put in charge of the motorcycle conglomerates.
I remember my asshole brother buying a 73 RD. He had it 4 a week and center punched a Volvo witch shot the forks and front wheel. And it became spare parts for me when two years later I bought a 74 RD350A. What fun I had in 1976 when I got my motorcycle license. I laid to waste many a Trump, BSA and HD from stoplight to stoplight.
1978 into '80: In European and Australatian markets our E/F models got improved engines, ignitions, footrests and thicker forks without the Daytonas emissions gubbins.
Had a 1972 R5, a 1974 RD350, and a 1977 RD400. In between the RD 350 and the RD400 I bought a 74 Z1 Kawasaki. It had great power, but was big and didn't handle as well as and wasn't as much fun as the Yamahas. So I sold it and bought the RD400.😉
Forgot, you weld the crankshaft to keep the crankshaft from splitting under high RPM, which keeps it from destroying the bearing and cases. Note: It splits due to gyroscopic force operating at 90 degrees to the crankshaft rotation. Same (as) P-Effect (on) (a) prop driven aircraft.
Ring a ding...putt putt...ring a ding ring a ding...putt putt...ring a ding ring a ding ring a ding ring a ding...putt putt putt putt Right about then my neighbors would be threatening to call the police. God I miss 2 strokes, the smell, the smoke, the angry neighbors, those were the days.
the parts themselves add interest to the presentation, also the period publications....when i went from a used Jawa 9hp 250 to a new Yzmaha 250 5 speed, i didn't know how, but i was in, until i saw a picture of the kawasaki 250 in cycle world, yamaha was discarded! very sorry for not having a broad appreciation of the various efforts(cz mx included) . the dial indicator supplied by yamaha in the early days was SPAGE AGE compared to what was available for low price rider (me) . will watch for more pod(?) casts, very much fun, thanks.
I have the 4 stroke equivalent - a 1974 Moto Morini 3 1/2 - which has to be rowed along on its 6 speed box just like a two stroke. No torque, all revs, and a lovely chassis. I loved my brother’s red RD350 back in the day. A lovely bike to ride and capable of very good point-to-point times. Didn’t like the 400 so much. It wasn’t an improvement riding-wise. The RZ350 (or RD350LC as it’s called in Australia) is a lovely culmination of that era.
I still Marvel at Cameron full engine strips on test bikes back in the day. All I can think of is the manufacturers thinking "We just gave you a brand new bike to test, why are you taking it apart ??? FFS !!" Lol.
The 1979 RD400F had the exhaust valve and the one piece ram air head. The 76 ~78 400s were not much different than the RD350s. Longer stroke and rubber motor mounts and footrests that didn't mount under the exhaust, finely. I had a lot of fun hopping them up too. But 10,k rpm was too much for the crank with the heavy generator rotor. As Kevin noted and we all learned, experience.
The RD 350 was quicker than my 94 GS 500 because it's lighter but it guzzles gas so you're better off with a 4 stroke unless you're racing. Both can do over 100 MPH in stock form.
Love my two strokes got a couple of old villiers James a kawa a7 avenger Suzuki gp100 both rotary valve my favorite and a rare rg150 Suzuki which is a fully faired bike 38hp outa 150cc amazing little bike.great video thanks i had a rd400 trike with fat minicar wheels on the back and a tt500. Front on it great fun down the local river back then i could just go to the local bike wreckers and get a barrel piston and rings for $25bucks.hi from New Zealand 🇳🇿
My buddy had an A7r, super tall first gear and very close spaced gears. With a big carb hanging off each side and an even bigger green air filters out board if the carbs. I don't know what he ever did with that bike. I know he doesn't have it any more.
Very good...and very informative. Thanks. But the YR1 350. was from 1967 - not from 1969 as you said. The 1969 350 being called YR3 (and had the 5 port cylinders..not the 3 port ones like the YR1) Also the YR5 came in 1970 - not 1971. The RD 350 dated from 1973 to 1975 , and was being replaced with the RD 400 for the 1976 season.
You have got to tell us why the Japanese Moto GP teams are failing so badly and how Ducati is able to move forward every year . And how is it that Ducati have very few high side crashes, an unusually low number that too. And similarly why is it that their pit limiter cut off is butter smooth. It's like they have nearly an electric motor level of rotational control.
I know RD's fairly well, and don't think the RD400 ever had a exhaust valve...maybe a miss-speak meaning the RZ350 YPVS in the US and RD350 YPVS in the UK. My first bike was a 77 RD400 in 86/87 used my tuition money to buy it, $400.00 with only 2000 miles on it. It wasn't cool like the modern bikes the rich kids had, but it would keep up no prob, which pissed off the cool boys to no end. I raced a RZ350 in the early 90's, which I still have, that had a full stage 3 build from Gary at Spec II. It's still a wicked fast bike and loads of fun to smoke people with and worth triple what I paid for it. I run Blendzall so it smells delicious! :) I would get another RD if I could find one at a reasonable price, like all smokers they have become unobtanium.
I didn’t hear you guys mention that the TZ parts will fit on the RD engine. They have the same cases you can put that same RD excuse me Tz transmission crank cylinders water pump. You put all that stuff on the Yardie I had a DS7 that I raised in two the AFM six hour endurance races, so much fun.
The RD guys would try and try to beat my 1972 Kawasaki 500 triple. Never came close. Even the RDs that were ported with high compression heads and every other trick. My 500 just had a set of pipes. No replacement for displacement!
@@corndog6700 Corners were no problem. The ground off foot pegs told that story. They had two angles ground on the bottom. One when the peg was in full down position and another when it was forced up and I moved to the rear pegs. Besides, I was already so far ahead the RDs couldn't see me after a couple corners and a straightaway.
My 800 CC Twin Skidoo Twin Direct Injection two stroke with 150 HP gets better mpg than my 998 CC Yamaha 4 stroke that weights 170 pounds more . The Yamaha engine may last 3 times longer but the Skidoo is light fun to ride and accelerates harder.. the Yamaha may be faster on top end. Actually the Yamaha has been 116 MPH on GPs the skiddoo hits a rev limiter at 108 MPH IT started popping and running like crap .. After I got prescription glasses with bi-focals I was able to read Overspeed on my instrument panel .
@@stewart8127 I will keep my 2006 Yamaha Attack for a long time as it is very tough .. I have a broken skid however and have a Team Fast Air suspension to install in it. I also need to convert it to external drive sprockets and a fully windowed track That is I am going to cut the windows out and install clips
In California I hear only racers can buy a new 2-stroke but, I was at a dealer buying some jets for my bike and they sales guy says anyone can buy a snowmobile with a 2stroke because of the weight savings over the 4-stroke and the fact that snowmobiles do a lot of frozen lake crossings.
@@stewart8127 All engines love the colder air. I love riding my motorcycle in the winter when its not raining. Did enough rain riding when I was a kid and that was my only transportation.
I have found on internet Yamaha releasing NEW RD 350 for 2025. Also Suzuki releasing new Gamma 250, but 2 stroke mentioned but story confusing. Is this true and the reintroduction of two stokes ?? I respect Kevin's vast knowledge. Perhaps if he has some spare time he could invent a time machine and transport me back to those wonderful two stroke times. I would buy a couple, Yamaha 750 two stroke road bike as well as RD 400. Also like the opportunity to catch up with ladyboy I met in Singapore in 1976. Listening to you in Asia.
At least ktm keeps 2 strokes advancing, yamaha keeps building same thing, the outboard companys gave up on 2 strokes , the fourstroke outboards are great on gas but they are a little heavy and cost a lot
Dyno talk, air flow talk,combustion talk, only thing better is hearing an engine scream on dyno, i watched a harley xr750 dirt track bike on a dyno and never knew a harley could rev that high, even pit bikes sound great on dynos
Looking at my rz 350 tz replica parked next to my rc51. The airtech bodywork makes it look nasty. My dream bikes are real. Time to ride. Complements of the iconoclastic bastards club
I almost pissed myself I was laughing so hard when I read that, I've been riding Harley's for almost 40 years and I've always ragged on guys for doing that to them, I mean I actually get mad when I see that done to one of those, but that image actually made me bust out laughing, all that and a trail of blue smoke coming out behind it with the Ring a Ding sound. I have definitely heard it all now.
As I recall, speaking of RD350s and their combustion chambers, didn't Yamaha have a technical bulletin to reshape your combustion chambers on YZ465s and YZ490s that made them ping a bit less? Using the spark plug hole to put a spud in, and some used a broken off spark plug to turn it?
