Friday, January 30, 2009

One Craaaazy custom Kawi Triple.

To build one of these...



Take a bunch of this stuff..
Assemble this..
And get this..



WOW!

Custom Suzuki GT750 Waterbuffalo. One hot "Kettle".

Just found this beauty in my archives. It's amazing what folks are doing with the bikes.


Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Sweet H2 Roadracer.

It's surprising how many Yamaha wheels you find on old Kawi's

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Nice RD400 pics sent in by a new reader.

Sweet Ride. Looks like it was a great show! Thanks much for the pics! Keep them coming in folks!

Hi Steve,

I just stumbled on to your 2 stroke blog, good stuff. I've been wanting to build a 2 stroke and hopefully this will be the year?
Here's a couple of photos of an nice RD400 from the El Camino Swap meet in in Torrance, Ca. I didn't get to meet the owner but other than the giant turn signals & mirror I thought it looked like a fun ride, I think the Storm Trooper paint scheme works well also .

Kim Boyle



Saturday, January 24, 2009

Some Great Flat Track pics from Don Miller.

Don picked up on the MX250 pics I've posted and chips in with a couple of really great shots.

Don Writes:

Steve;

Not only did the motors appear stock in Moto Crossers. A lot of flat track racers used them in the late 70's and early 80's. Here's a couple of my Harley MX 250 in a Boss frame. On is of Jay Springsteen on it and the other is me being chased by 2 very big 4 strokes.

Later,Don

Thanks Much Don. As always, very much appreciated!


Friday, January 23, 2009

Strange and unusual. Harley Davidson MX250!

I never realized that I didn't have any Harleys on here! LOL... So here's one of their rare 2 stroke motocrossers from 1978. I don't know if they went worth a damm but they certainly looked the part.

Update: I found some great info HERE if you're interested. Apparently Aermacchi built them a great engine.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Fantastic Streettracker From Italy!

Alex From Italy sends in his amazing Tracker build. Some of the best attention to detail I've seen. Those wheels are works of art! Thank You Very Much Alex!


He Writes:

Hi SteveI write from Italy and I'm an enthusiast of two stroke bike and my hobby is to restore and make a special on it. I have a forum where i an ohter friends write about making special.

I link you the address:http://www.2t-special.it/forum/index.php and I attach pic's of my tracker rd-aircooled based on.

Here you can find a reportage of construction
http://www.2t-special.it/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=111&start=0

regards Alex Arletti


Go check out that build thread. Great Stuff! Thanky You Alex!














Friday, January 16, 2009

Monday, January 12, 2009

Kawasaki G3SSD 90.

A really cool little Kawasaki from reader Ted Guthrie. I would have killed for one of these when I was a kid...

Ted Writes:

Next bike is a 1974 Kawasaki G3SSD, which I brought home just this last week. It is all original, starts first kick, runs perfectly, and came with title, toolkit, and owners manual. It's about 90%, cosmetically, with just a bit of pitting on some chrome, plus rusty spokes and a few bubbles on the beautiful, original paint job.
I always wanted one of these little bikes, ever since a neighbor girl had one when they were new. I used to watch with great envy as she putt-putted around the yard on it.
Back in the 70's, even little, tiny bikes such as this G3 were very well equipped. Note the sidestand AND center stand, spacious seat, buddy pegs, and big-bike lights. There is also oil-injection of course, and the choke lever is cable operated and conveniently mounted on the bars. They sure don't build 'em like they used to.
Ted Guthrie

Sunday, January 11, 2009

RZ500 Reader Ride!

Great Reader submission form Bill Thomas!

Bill Writes:

Found an old photo - start of WERA race, Grattan, Michigan May 5, 1985 - Paul Hurdy, No. 838 and myself No, 420. Look at those old leathers and boots.

Great Stuff! Thanks Bill!

Friday, January 9, 2009

Forgot I had this Pic...

I stumbled across this picture in my archives.I'm not even sure what it is but is bad-ass looking..


Wednesday, January 7, 2009

The Hodaka Wombat from Ted Guthrie.

Ted keeps the great bikes coming in with this lates submission and story! He Writes:

Here's a nice, original bike. It's a 1974 Hodaka 125 Wombat. I picked the bike up a few years ago, complete with title and toolkit. Note also the original, unmolested turn signals. I got the original key, too. Only thing missing was the owners manual, which the former owner had unfortunately thrown away - just because it was a little moldy. Rats. Oh, well. The bike fires right up and runs perfectly.

The first picture (with the cows) was taken the day I brought the bike home. That's exactly as I bought it. Since then, I've cleaned it up a bit more, shot some correct-paint on the engine's sidecovers, and did same for the pegs and rear brake pedal. I also resprayed the air cleaner cover and installed a repop "Wombat" sticker on it, plus blasted the pipe and shot it with high-temp, correct-satin paint. Also installed new petcocks and repop grips. Plenty of parts of available for these little Hodads, and the rider following is cult-level.


The second picture shows none other than racing great, David Aldana, taking a spin on the bike at Vintage Days 2008. I was hanging out with some friends who were doing the vintage roadracing thing. Thier garage space was right next to David's, and at one point I saw him checking out the Wombat, which I had parked right outside.

I struck up a conversation with Aldana, whom I had interviewed the year before. He began telling stories about the old days, and the fun of riding bikes like Hodakas. I offered for David to ride the bike, which he initially declined. However, after a bit more prodding, and with a great big grin on his face, he soon gave in and off he went.

Aldana returned (quite) a bit later, having had a great time. He was all pumped up, and kept saying how much fun the bike was. He also reported having received a lot of attention during his ride. I said, why of course - you're David Aldana! He said no, that everyone was
interested only in the Hodaka. Haha.

All in all, the little Wombat is GREAT fun. It runs like a champ, is great for putting around at events like Vintage Days, or for putzing on the trails, or even for running errands around town. In fact, despite just 123cc of displacement, the Hodaka really buzzes on the street. There is no doubt as to why these bikes were so popular. What a cryin' shame Hodaka is no more.

Ted Guthrie


A damm shame indeed.. Thanks again Ted!

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

All original 1975 Can-Am!

When I was a kid growing up in Canada I used to drool over this exact model. I didn't know much about bikes at the time but I knew what I liked. The look, the lines and those awsome colors. not to mention the performance for the time. It might have been a real handful for a 12 year old :)

Thanks to this fantastic find by Ted Guthrie (owner of the earlier posted Penton 6-day) I can see that my lust was not misplaced! What a great ride! And I think it's great that you use it for it's intended purpose instead of locking it away!

Thanks again Ted for sharing another great ride! If yo have more don't hesitate to keep them coming!!

Ted Writes:

Thank you for running the pics of my Penton Six-Day. I very much appreciate your generous comments regarding the bike. Good thing the pictures aren't any better or you would see all the flaws. Haha.
Thought you might also enjoy this '75 Can-Am 175 TNT. I picked it up a couple of years ago. The bike came from an estate sale, sold by the family of the original owner.


It is all-original, runs perfectly, and came with title, toolkit, owners manual, and even some cans of original Can-Am branded two-stroke oil.
The weekend after I bought the bike, I rode it in a 75-mile, vintage enduro. The old "Canned-Ham" ran great, but the combination of totally blown-out shocks and too-stiff forks made it nearly impossible to keep it pointed straight down the trail.
Since then, I've cleaned the bike up some, and installed new stickers on the tank (to replace the original, screened-on graphics). Still to be installed are new sidepanel/numberplate stickers, along with repros of the "175 TNT" graphics on the sidepanels.
But, it looks and runs great, for a 34-year-old trailbike. Truly a survivor. I like to think the orginal owner would be pleased with where the bike ended up and how it is being cared for.
Ted Guthrie




Thursday, January 1, 2009

More Don Miller Bikes!

Here's a few more from Don Miller. Great Stuff Don. Thanks and keep em coming! Don Writes:
My 250 Yamaha DT1 250 in a sonic Weld chassis. And our original un restored '68DT1 250.