My father had the 2nd GT750 Suzuki in South Africa in 1972, also later fitted with expansion pipes & tuned accordingly. In 1977 he traded it for the 1st Suzuki PE250 in the country. I got plenty of pillion time on the GT750 in the day. The handling problem with almost all of these early bikes could be sorted easily today, with stronger box section swing arms, with bigger bearings & bigger triple clamps up front.
I owned a Kawasaki 500 triple in the mid1980s and I rode it hard. The electronic ignition went out and at that time nobody stocked a replacement. I was busy as an Army soldier so I sold it for parts. It was a hoot when it was running.
I used to have a 1979 Yamaha RD400 that had been heavily breathed on. A friend had a Ducati 916 and he could never shake me. That RD eas one of my favorite bikes and i never rode anything close to the kind of acceleration it had until i bought a BMW S1000rr in 2013.
I had the GT 500 Suzuki. A Great Bike. Good memories of it. I also had the Suzuki GT250 model B in 1978, my first motorbike. This video brought that era back in focus for me . Thank You.
2-strokes forever!!! When i was a kid, i only needed an exhaust tube and a big carburator, the rest of performance i did it by filling, porting and motorhead rework for higher compression ratio....done!!! We didn´t had the money but we wanted to be fast. This April 2023 my Puch 50cc from 1980 will resurrect from the ashes. Cool channel, greetings from Spain.
I remember a comment in cycle world magazine where they tested one of those bikes and because it did not have any valves they ran it up to 9300 RPM I forgot what speed that they were at when they hit that RPM but the bike held up.
My favorite is the Suzuki GT750 because l owned one l did know about the Scott and Silk water cooled two stroked but not the DKW you learn something new every day and l am 68 years old
Another great video. As I two stroke fanboy my whole life, this one was right up my alley. I owned a T350, GT500 (have to agree with your comments and it remains one of my favorite bikes to this day) and an RG500. Lots of bikes in the list I'd never heard of.
The green on green mach3 was my first street. It was the worst handling, but the most reliable, streetbike I had ever owned. It was fun, good looking and fast and I owned it for a long time. Going out on the triple was always an adventure! It was a 1974 model.
Hi, I had 4 kawasaki 500 Mach 3's in the 70's and 80's, I rode them like my motor cross bikes, can still remember the fun I had on them, addictive sound.
Yeah that Titan is lovely especially the longer wheelbase. I’ve always loved those Scott Squirrels too. Another appealing factor for two strokes is no expensive valve clearance issues to worry about at service time. Just new piston & rings along with big & small end bearings say every 20k and all was well. Micron/Allspeed pipes add extra magic too.
I remember in 2005, coming across a small disused Diary factory (I had run out of fuel and was looking for the farmer to bludge some) here in NZ, jam packed with Morri thous🤮😆and.....about 15 old 70s early 80s bikes. Most were GT380s and 550s, with about 3 GT500s, and 3, RZ350s, all 1983 models. I ended up going back and buying the RZs and the old guy gave me boxes and boxes of spares, engines, pipes, powervalve servos, forks, just loads of bits. Went back about 8 years later with a guy who was into GT Suzukis and the place had been turned into really flash home by a big city type, he said the old guy had died and he bought the property off the family and he had a scrap dealer remove all the "old junk" before he started the renovations.
...can't stand uneducated idiots! killing the golden goose! however, your fault for taking 8 years to get back...you just never know though, I sold my rz 350...I'm an educated idiot...
I had an RG 500 back in the 80’s. Awesome motorcycle… it’s my mental default bike that I compare every other bike to since. If you’ve never ridden big two strokes you don’t know what you’ve missed.
I had a GT750 and T-500. Both were really good bikes even though they were both beefed up. My favorite to this day is the early H-2's. Just because they're rare, mean and nasty. That's why I own a restored 73 H2-750
500 was called a Mach 3. I loved mine. Cruise at 70 mph all day long, vibration free, and excellent fuel consumption. Gave an E-type a hiding through the Blue Mountains on one trip. Moved on to Z1a, which was just no. 1. Also had a 550 ram air for a while. Another excellent highway bike, butnot sure how you could fall off it. Had z bars, which looked ridiculous but bloody great for highway riding. A very underated mc.
In 1975 I bought a Kawasaki 350 triple, until one morning on the way to work, a drunk pulled an unannounced corner turn in front of me producing a few bruises and a broken, crushed bike. So I took the insurance money and in ‘76 got myself the brand new cracker, the Giant Killer, Yamaha RD 400. God I miss that bike. 😢
excellent, glad you like them! I too had a RD 350, it was indeed a giant killer and a great bike. Right in the sweet spot of engine size for the best two stroke performance.
Now this is a great video! Fantastic work, and yes good point about leaving the H1 out of your super bike list! Yes well done! Fantastic history about the great early British two stroke bikes, I was not aware of any of them. I live in Alaska and have ridden two stroke snowmobiles all my life, started collecting two stroke street bikes lately. Look forward to seeing more videos from you!!
I think the Suzuki 500 twin was to my mind the first big bike you could just get on and go...all day every day and go at a decent top speed. So the first "super bike"
My first bike was the 350 triple, then 2 500s and 2 h2 750s blue. Loved them and we used to drag race them at the track. Pee wee Gleason always did the 1/4 mile tests and we could never match his times, very close but he was a freak. Wish I kept them. They were throw away back then and used to pound them daily.
An older friend had an h3 500. I had a great deal of dirt riding experience and my friend had little to none. So I went with him to ride it home for him. I don't even have a driver's license yet but I could ride a bike. So we went to pick it up and I fell in love with this killer! I remember it like it was literally yesterday! So much fun for an almost 15 year old!
In my day we used to have a saying there were two kinds of Kawasaki riders the quick and the dead. Either you mastered the beast or The beastmaster you. All of the Kawasaki triples had more engine power than the frame could handle. Suzuki two-stroke triples of the same kind were much more usable watch horsepower but better reliability and better ride quality. I rode someone's Kawasaki H2 750 on the highway and I gave it gas and nothing happened I gave it more and suddenly the front wheel was off the ground and I was trying to hold on to the bike one ride was enough for me.
Oh man, you got me! The whole way through I was reminiscing, including the Kwaka 750 triple a mate bought, let me ride then came back with it a few months later for me to ride again after boring, porting and expansion chambers fitted to road race it. Both times I was blown away by the crazy power and how it delivered it, the second time, with limited suburban roads I never could quite get to full throttle, AT ALL! Those things were brutal but just the feeling of it had me taking it really easy on the bends, it felt horrible. Where you really got me was that I did own a GT 550 too, quite a few years later I wound up with a T 500 too, the longer wheel base one. I was going to try and compare them but, totally different type areas where I was living plus, probably 10 or 15 years apart but, I've always had a real feeling for that T500, even though it did try to kill me by locking up the rear when fifth gear pooped itself and the gear flew apart locking the rear wheel up, just as I was pulling back in front of a truck I'd just overtaken at around 140 kph on the inside of a bend! That forced me to spear straight off into the scrub to get out of the way of the semi, though, even then, if it really wanted to kill me, it would have locked the rear wheel while I was beside him and that would have been it. As it was, I skidded to a stop, somehow still upright but, that was the end of the T 500. I know I could probably find parts NOW but, this all happened some years ago, before the internet opened the world up the way it has. I always had an impression the T500 a little quicker but, no real way of directly comparing, just old impressions. I remember the 550 GT as fun, fairly quick, mine did have the disc brake front, a digital gear indicator, which I really did like. I'm one who'll keep checking every few miles to make sure I definitely am in top gear, derp lol. It also had reasonable handling but, a bit of a bloated show pony. It had racy looking stripes, their fancy ram air system (mine used to start seizing up if I flogged it too long) a lovely big wasteful set of FOUR mufflers! For 3 cylinders!!! It tried to look too pretty at the expense of adding useless waste and gimmicks. The old T500 was a kind of honest but agricultural looking bike by comparison and it never disappointed, well, except for that one time lol. I loved that it looked so basic by comparison yet went pretty good. I loved that several times I had it drifting pretty hard around bends, probably would have lost it on almost any other bike, not the T 500 though, I never came off that once, not even when it blew it's gearbox! I more recently owned a BMW S 1,000 R and oh man, have modern bikes gone k ray zeee now lol.
@@motorcyclecafe - loved the H2 750. You know something strange ? - I couldn't drag race it as couldn't keep the front wheel on the ground especially when it had expansion chambers. Maybe mine was ported? - I don't know - it was terrifying to ride sometimes. It would power wheelie at 150km/hr (93 mph) in 3rd gear. Even today it is not a bike for beginners and even some experienced riders would need to show respect for it.
I had a Suzuki GT380J for a short while & I loved it. However, one of my bucket list bikes would be the 599 Titan, second choice would be the similar aged 250 which had an exhaust sounding like you were dragging tin cans behind it.
scott first used disc valve before 1910, was among rhe first to use positive stop footchange, had an aircooled 300cc single in the mid 1930s? in mid /late1960s barry scully campaigned 350 and 500 racing aircooled twins in england. i had a 1949 squirrell 600 in late 60s 3speed watercooled,oleomatic front forks (air sprung,oil damped), coil ignition, triangulated frame , twin drum front brake. had to take care if kickstarted because sometimes engine ran backwards.
Thanks for your reviews, I bought a GT500 in bits and once built, I really enjoyed riding it for a couple of years. I found the engine to be very flexible and not the least bit peaky and it had a lovely light gearbox. The brakes were a bit iffy though.....
Another great video. Love 2 strokes , the sound and that smell…….. Would love to own another but they are silly money even for tiddlers. Will have to do with my ‘89 GSX750E for the time being.
In 1975 I traded in my 1973 Kawasaki S2 350 against an H2 and regretted it for the best part of a year as the S2 was lighter and handled much better and from A to B was usually faster as long as there were curves in the road, it's hard to believe we used to buy bikes back then without a demo ride, after becoming disillusioned with the H2 a friends brother was selling of his racing gear after retiring from racing and I bought his Magnum rolling chassis and dropped the H2 engine in (after a Stan Stephens stage two tune) suddenly I had the fastest, best handling bike in N.Ireland and fell in love with the H2, which was my favourite two stroke till Yamaha brought out the great RD 350LC, what a bike, it used to embarrass bikes with 3 times the capacity.
Nowhere near as long as the docos on Burt Munro. They literally took years, there was so much incorrect info out there about him. I was so happy when I could finally prove that his original frame & streamliner are in the USA. NZ only has his motor and the test frame.
I have had a few bikes in this list over the years, Titan, Kawi 500, Gt380, Gt750 and a RZ500. All of them were reliable and fun but the RZ500 was my all time favorite. I bought it used and it had a bad crank seal which lead to a burnt piston at 25000kms, I changed the seals, piston and re ringed it and it never gave me problems again. I sold it with 75000kms on the click and it still ran like new. In my 53 years on this planet that is the only thing I have owned that I truly regret selling.
RZ500s RG500s and NS400s are going for truly stupid money here in NZ, Ive recently seen, complete piles of crap, that need a complete rebuild, both cosmetic and mechanical go for 20,000 plus. High 30s seems common. 😳.
If I'd gotten into bikes just a few years earlier, I'd almost certainly have had a Suzuki T-350 Rebel. Liquid cooling and frame development was what brought 2 stroke motorcycles into their zenith. Unfortunately it coincided with the pollution program to aboliish two strokes just as they were getting so much cleaner.
I had a big bike Kawasaki 500 Triple in high school 1970 I had a lot of work done to it bigger carburetors expansion chamber's and when I tell you it was fast you can believe me!
My favourite bike was a GT500 that I purchased new in the 70's. Loved it and always regretted selling it. The bike would have outlasted the girlfriend that I had at the time and the reason for selling. What a fool I was.
Love the videos! In the day, I rode both the H1 and H2 Kwackers: The H1 was truly deadly, with frightening frame flex in fast bends. The H2 was better but still awful in anything but a straight line. Much nicer engine, though. The Suzy 3s were really good bikes, and I know as my dealership sold both Honda and Suzuki. The Water Buffalo would run forever with little attention, but it was rather cumbersom. Interestingly, the only big 2-stroke I ever owned was an unusual Suzy Titan; "unusual" in that it had started life as a TL500 racer that got street-ified. The frame differed a bit from the production Titans, and mine had been gusseted in strategic spots. I kept it until the late-1980s, and it was still quick and did well on then-current "DOT" racing tires. However, it was loud beacuse of the chambers and comfort was not a consideraton...but, on a curvy road it was hard to beat or fault. I had the chance to ask a Suzuki factory rider (who shall remain nameless) what he thought about the RG500: his response was that he rode the GP bike because they paid him a bunch of money to do so, but he could not understand why anybody would pay THEM to ride anything like it! Reminded me of Kenny Roberts famous statement after having won the only race he rode on the TZ750 flat-tracker (1975 Indy mile), "they don't pay me enough to ride that mother f*cker again!".
the problem with the kawi and suzuk triples was the center cylinder liked to seize up at high speed causing the rear wheel to lock up also the joke with the titans was they were named that because you had to constantly tighten all the bolts on them . awsome video keep them coming
Appreciate the feedback buddy. I never had an engine issue with any of the japanese 2-strokes I owned. I loved them all, the RD400 was the pick of them all for me.
I so remember the chook chasers rz vs rg vs zxr LOL, those things were dangerous, then the 12000RPM 4 strokes hit. H1 we called the rocket powered corkscrew ;) H2 much better and the Suzuki 750 we called the Water Bucket 👍✌😎
Back in the 1970s you had a good variety of different motorcycles to pick from not like today. A Kawasaki triple and a Suzuki triple we're both two strokes but the difference between the two of them was like night and day. Then you had to triumph BSA triples and the Honda 750 four cylinder as well as to Norton commando and the triumph Bonneville we're still hanging on. Some bikes would have the same displacements but vastly different character and temperament.
I rode the 69 H1 Kawasaki triple. While it was quick, it did not handle well & the drum brakes would fade after the first few applications. A few year later I rode the RD400 Yamaha. Not quite as fast, but handling & brakes were far superior.
Having grown up with Kawasaki triples, a 71 H1 being my first vehicle, I have never found the moniker “widow maker” being applied to the H1. It wasn’t until the 72 H2 came out that this term came out. I haven’t found anything in print of the day to support the H1 as the widow maker either?
I am not surprised you couldn't find anything in print from that era mentioning the term 'Widowmaker' It was a nickname which was given later on. You have to earn a nickname.
Widowmaker was first applied to XS1. Brilliant motor but strong torque down low and appalling frame caused a lot of accidents. No 1 killer in Australia in its time.
RZ 500 ??? Although a Very powerful bike for it's capacity. Riding it was only for those who could Love a Bike that would try it's best to throw you off ??? They were definitely more popular than the better handling RG500. Yamaha have always had a very good following when it came to 2 Smokes. This was easily transferred over from those who grow up riding the ever famous YZ range of Dirt Bikes. I hardly know anyone that didn't at some point either own or ride a Yamaha YZ something. Some time ago I helped a guy put a RG500 motor into an RGV250 Frame. He even went to the trouble of having the bike Engineered so it could be Road Registered. Back in these days the Great Ocean Road was our well known race track. Of course that has all changed now, and has become a fairly civil road to ride on. Mostly reserved for the Cafe Racers and tourist who think the Great Ocean Road ends at Lorne, LOL. You definitely put together a great video. Looking forward to watching the video about my all time favorite bike . The Kawasaki GPZ 900R.
Big pistons are fine, but how did you increase crankcase displacement? A larger bore displacement requires a larger crankcase displacement.. how are you Increasing the ability to fill the larger cylinders through tiny limited transfer port area?They can only pass so much per stroke.. any detonation problems? How much did you have to lower the RPM limit? How much heavier than stock is each piston/rings? I owned a Factory Kawasaki road racer. An H1 R..Sandcast cases, cassette close ratio five speed, the Bores of the cylinders were chrome, it was a piston port intake system, and it needed the crankshaft replaced regularly. I bought a crankshaft from that guy that still writes for cycle world or cycle Kevin Cameron who was supposed to be some kind of a guru. He would not ship a rebuilt crankshaft to us from Boston to Pittsburgh. He insisted it had to be picked up in person because it was such a precision made perfectly balanced crankshaft that he had rebuilt.. so a friend of mine and I jumped into his Vega, and drove 22 hours up and back to pick up this perfect crankshaft. When we got home, that crankshaft was so out of true, it would not even sit in the cases.. on the Yamaha TZ 250 D that I had, the crankshaft needed to be replaced every 1200 miles, new pistons and rings every 600 miles. That was a 54 mm stroke 54 mm bore engine, I think. What is the bore and stroke of this engine and how long do the Pistons even last? I know that a 10 ounce piston and rings in a 54 x 54 mm engine two-stroke at 10,000 RPMs, that 10 ounce piston and rings weighs over 2400 pounds to the wrist pin.. lots of development problems to overcome just to get it to run let alone get it to survive more than one heat cycle without it self distructing.. Quite a feat
@@maxxpretzy2557 most of my learning experience in those days was learning what to never do again. and accept the fact that the factory knows more than I do. I had to first realize that it was not the machine that was slow, it was me…. Once I got that sorted, my machines finished races, I actually learned how to ride, how to use the brakes.. I went on to win, six road racing championships, two time national champion, once I learned to leave the machine stock…
you have the right idea jody fresnack...the only bike I modified was an rz350 racing against fz400s, went up on piston size and porting...first race of the year and it seized, was hoping to better my 7th place overall of the prior year...other than that, I just rejetted, tires, suspension and gearing, no touch the motor please!
...excellent research! Personally, I always thought I preferred the 500's from Yamaha and Suzuki but had to settle for the Yamaha rz 350...which turned out to be my favorite of all my sport bikes even over my 1997 gsxr 750 chassis with an 1128cc gsxr engine, on track and public road...most crotch rockets are overkill for public roads, even the 400cc machines, as were the 500's 2stroke back then...rubber side down please!!!
What is not to love simple powerful and light. Everything a 4 stroke is not. 500cc four makes 200hp. 4 stroke needs 1000cc, 500 smaller lighter thinner. 4 Is okay but even 20yr old 2 stroke at half cc's makes as much power, and revs much quicker
I’ve got a Scott DPY I’ve got the engine running I’ve just got to do the rest of it yet. I know it’s a long-term project it’s got the nickname fuzall a friends, little girl overheard me, her grandfather talking as she said to her mum she was only 4 Why is mikes bike called Fazall so my mother heard this they said I don’t care what that is its name so there we go. I know they were singles but Ajs stormers. I’ve got a big part of my life. I spent lots of time at the factory working and building them so that’s good. I have a part of my life my leg doesn’t allow me to ride the competition bikes anymore, but I still love playing with them and one day. I will get faster on the road. Enjoy your program Michael
Thanks for you nice feedback buddy. Enjoy your Scott it doesn't matter how long it takes to get it to where you want it as long as you have it. What a classic brand!
@motorcyclecafe yes my two stroke triple cherry needs to be popped, I'm thinking gt380/550, a wartburg or a kawi 400 s3 or kh, whatever they are called
Your mistaken on your h1 spec info. You he early H1’s top speed was 125mph (not 120mph) & 1/4 was in high 12.90’s (not low 13’s) & could beat the Honda 750 in 1/4 runs stock vs stock bikes with experienced riders. I also experienced that 1st hand wrenching & owning mult H1’s & racing many stock & lightly modded Honda 750’s with my stock h1’s and beating them every time in 1/4 mile runs,just never bothered to race top end to top end so not sure of that outcome.
My father had the 2nd GT750 Suzuki in South Africa in 1972, also later fitted with expansion pipes & tuned accordingly. In 1977 he traded it for the 1st Suzuki PE250 in the country. I got plenty of pillion time on the GT750 in the day. The handling problem with almost all of these early bikes could be sorted easily today, with stronger box section swing arms, with bigger bearings & bigger triple clamps up front.
I owned a Kawasaki 500 triple in the mid1980s and I rode it hard. The electronic ignition went out and at that time nobody stocked a replacement. I was busy as an Army soldier so I sold it for parts. It was a hoot when it was running.
I used to have a 1979 Yamaha RD400 that had been heavily breathed on. A friend had a Ducati 916 and he could never shake me. That RD eas one of my favorite bikes and i never rode anything close to the kind of acceleration it had until i bought a BMW S1000rr in 2013.
I owned a RD400 myself but I gotta say if your mate couldn't leave you in the dust riding a 916 he cant ride for nuts 😉
I had the GT 500 Suzuki. A Great Bike. Good memories of it. I also had the Suzuki GT250 model B in 1978, my first motorbike. This video brought that era back in focus for me . Thank You.
You are welcome mate, I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Brings back lots of great memories
owned a 750 water cooled suzuki it sat on 140 ks all day loved it
2-strokes forever!!! When i was a kid, i only needed an exhaust tube and a big carburator, the rest of performance i did it by filling, porting and motorhead rework for higher compression ratio....done!!! We didn´t had the money but we wanted to be fast. This April 2023 my Puch 50cc from 1980 will resurrect from the ashes. Cool channel, greetings from Spain.
Yep 2-strokes are pretty dam cool, no doubt about it.
I remember a comment in cycle world magazine where they tested one of those bikes and because it did not have any valves they ran it up to 9300 RPM I forgot what speed that they were at when they hit that RPM but the bike held up.
My favorite is the Suzuki GT750 because l owned one l did know about the Scott and Silk water cooled two stroked but not the DKW you learn something new every day and l am 68 years old
Another great video. As I two stroke fanboy my whole life, this one was right up my alley. I owned a T350, GT500 (have to agree with your comments and it remains one of my favorite bikes to this day) and an RG500. Lots of bikes in the list I'd never heard of.
Thanks buddy appreciate the nice comment. Watch the channels video on 350s from the 1960s if you havent already, you'll enjoy that too!
The green on green mach3 was my first street. It was the worst handling, but the most reliable, streetbike I had ever owned. It was fun, good looking and fast and I owned it for a long time. Going out on the triple was always an adventure! It was a 1974 model.
They were a lot of fun and that's what it's all about ay?
Hi, I had 4 kawasaki 500 Mach 3's in the 70's and 80's,
I rode them like my motor cross bikes, can still remember the fun I had on them, addictive sound.
yes a lot of bikes are just to complex these days. the old days were a lot of fun!
Yeah that Titan is lovely especially the longer wheelbase. I’ve always loved those Scott Squirrels too. Another appealing factor for two strokes is no expensive valve clearance issues to worry about at service time. Just new piston & rings along with big & small end bearings say every 20k and all was well. Micron/Allspeed pipes add extra magic too.
I love the looks of the Suzuki Titan 500. They're up in price but I still would love to get one in any condition.
me too buddy, me too!
I remember in 2005, coming across a small disused Diary factory (I had run out of fuel and was looking for the farmer to bludge some) here in NZ, jam packed with Morri thous🤮😆and.....about 15 old 70s early 80s bikes. Most were GT380s and 550s, with about 3 GT500s, and 3, RZ350s, all 1983 models. I ended up going back and buying the RZs and the old guy gave me boxes and boxes of spares, engines, pipes, powervalve servos, forks, just loads of bits. Went back about 8 years later with a guy who was into GT Suzukis and the place had been turned into really flash home by a big city type, he said the old guy had died and he bought the property off the family and he had a scrap dealer remove all the "old junk" before he started the renovations.
...can't stand uneducated idiots! killing the golden goose! however, your fault for taking 8 years to get back...you just never know though, I sold my rz 350...I'm an educated idiot...
Favorite road 2 stroke? Yamaha RD 350 LC. Second favorite? Bultaco Metralla.
I had an RG 500 back in the 80’s. Awesome motorcycle… it’s my mental default bike that I compare every other bike to since. If you’ve never ridden big two strokes you don’t know what you’ve missed.
Me and my brother used to race sidecarcross on a 1000cc EML Jumbo 2 stroke aircooled parallel twin, the thing was a beast.
Never heard of them are they a custom thingy? but I reckon it would have been a bit of a handful for sure.
@@motorcyclecafe It was a hand built dutch racing bike and yes they were a handful to race.
Drumbrakes equal Widow Maker!
I had a GT750 and T-500. Both were really good bikes even though they were both beefed up. My favorite to this day is the early H-2's. Just because they're rare, mean and nasty. That's why I own a restored 73 H2-750
had a GT 550 till i blew bottom end and ground to to a halt. bought a Gt 750 after that rode it for years preferred the water bottle myself!
500 was called a Mach 3. I loved mine. Cruise at 70 mph all day long, vibration free, and excellent fuel consumption. Gave an E-type a hiding through the Blue Mountains on one trip. Moved on to Z1a, which was just no. 1. Also had a 550 ram air for a while. Another excellent highway bike, butnot sure how you could fall off it. Had z bars, which looked ridiculous but bloody great for highway riding. A very underated mc.
If my memory serves me correctly the triple kawasaki's were all pretty thirsty on fuel. I didn't fall off my 550 (well I did) but I hit a large dog.
I had a kh 500 and h2 750 but loved the 500 more. Suzuki GT 550 triple and the twin 500cc is what I want now but think 550 will be the one. ❤
In 1975 I bought a Kawasaki 350 triple, until one morning on the way to work, a drunk pulled an unannounced corner turn in front of me producing a few bruises and a broken, crushed bike. So I took the insurance money and in ‘76 got myself the brand new cracker, the Giant Killer, Yamaha RD 400. God I miss that bike. 😢
Great vids,thankyou,i've had a few 2 strokes,my fav,rd350 aircooled,a giant killer back in the mid 70s.
excellent, glad you like them! I too had a RD 350, it was indeed a giant killer and a great bike. Right in the sweet spot of engine size for the best two stroke performance.
Now this is a great video! Fantastic work, and yes good point about leaving the H1 out of your super bike list! Yes well done! Fantastic history about the great early British two stroke bikes, I was not aware of any of them. I live in Alaska and have ridden two stroke snowmobiles all my life, started collecting two stroke street bikes lately. Look forward to seeing more videos from you!!
thank you for taking the time to leave me some nice feedback buddy. I'm glad you enjoyed the video.
I think the Suzuki 500 twin was to my mind the first big bike you could just get on and go...all day every day and go at a decent top speed. So the first "super bike"
My first bike was the 350 triple, then 2 500s and 2 h2 750s blue. Loved them and we used to drag race them at the track. Pee wee Gleason always did the 1/4 mile tests and we could never match his times, very close but he was a freak. Wish I kept them. They were throw away back then and used to pound them daily.
An older friend had an h3 500. I had a great deal of dirt riding experience and my friend had little to none. So I went with him to ride it home for him. I don't even have a driver's license yet but I could ride a bike. So we went to pick it up and I fell in love with this killer! I remember it like it was literally yesterday! So much fun for an almost 15 year old!
In my day we used to have a saying there were two kinds of Kawasaki riders the quick and the dead. Either you mastered the beast or The beastmaster you. All of the Kawasaki triples had more engine power than the frame could handle. Suzuki two-stroke triples of the same kind were much more usable watch horsepower but better reliability and better ride quality. I rode someone's Kawasaki H2 750 on the highway and I gave it gas and nothing happened I gave it more and suddenly the front wheel was off the ground and I was trying to hold on to the bike one ride was enough for me.
Great stuff and a lot of great memories for someone like myself…Thanks 👍
You're welcome!
Oh man, you got me! The whole way through I was reminiscing, including the Kwaka 750 triple a mate bought, let me ride then came back with it a few months later for me to ride again after boring, porting and expansion chambers fitted to road race it. Both times I was blown away by the crazy power and how it delivered it, the second time, with limited suburban roads I never could quite get to full throttle, AT ALL! Those things were brutal but just the feeling of it had me taking it really easy on the bends, it felt horrible.
Where you really got me was that I did own a GT 550 too, quite a few years later I wound up with a T 500 too, the longer wheel base one. I was going to try and compare them but, totally different type areas where I was living plus, probably 10 or 15 years apart but, I've always had a real feeling for that T500, even though it did try to kill me by locking up the rear when fifth gear pooped itself and the gear flew apart locking the rear wheel up, just as I was pulling back in front of a truck I'd just overtaken at around 140 kph on the inside of a bend! That forced me to spear straight off into the scrub to get out of the way of the semi, though, even then, if it really wanted to kill me, it would have locked the rear wheel while I was beside him and that would have been it. As it was, I skidded to a stop, somehow still upright but, that was the end of the T 500. I know I could probably find parts NOW but, this all happened some years ago, before the internet opened the world up the way it has.
I always had an impression the T500 a little quicker but, no real way of directly comparing, just old impressions. I remember the 550 GT as fun, fairly quick, mine did have the disc brake front, a digital gear indicator, which I really did like. I'm one who'll keep checking every few miles to make sure I definitely am in top gear, derp lol. It also had reasonable handling but, a bit of a bloated show pony. It had racy looking stripes, their fancy ram air system (mine used to start seizing up if I flogged it too long) a lovely big wasteful set of FOUR mufflers! For 3 cylinders!!! It tried to look too pretty at the expense of adding useless waste and gimmicks. The old T500 was a kind of honest but agricultural looking bike by comparison and it never disappointed, well, except for that one time lol. I loved that it looked so basic by comparison yet went pretty good. I loved that several times I had it drifting pretty hard around bends, probably would have lost it on almost any other bike, not the T 500 though, I never came off that once, not even when it blew it's gearbox!
I more recently owned a BMW S 1,000 R and oh man, have modern bikes gone k ray zeee now lol.
I owned 2 H1 500 s and 1 H2 750.
The H2 was the most exciting bike to ride but I loved them all.
I wish I still had my H2.
I bet you do buddy. They are a real classic now.
@@motorcyclecafe - loved the H2 750.
You know something strange ? -
I couldn't drag race it as couldn't keep the front wheel on the ground
especially when it had expansion chambers.
Maybe mine was ported? - I don't know -
it was terrifying to ride sometimes.
It would power wheelie at 150km/hr (93 mph) in 3rd gear.
Even today it is not a bike for beginners and
even some experienced riders would need to show respect for it.
I had a Suzuki GT380J for a short while & I loved it. However, one of my bucket list bikes would be the 599 Titan, second choice would be the similar aged 250 which had an exhaust sounding like you were dragging tin cans behind it.
All the 2 strokes were pretty cool back then ay?
scott first used disc valve before 1910, was among rhe first to use positive stop footchange, had an aircooled 300cc single
in the mid 1930s? in mid /late1960s barry scully campaigned 350 and 500 racing aircooled twins in england.
i had a 1949 squirrell 600 in late 60s 3speed watercooled,oleomatic front forks (air sprung,oil damped), coil ignition,
triangulated frame , twin drum front brake. had to take care if kickstarted because sometimes engine ran backwards.
Yes, in the early days Scott motorcycles were very advanced indeed. Led the world in fact.
Thanks for your reviews, I bought a GT500 in bits and once built, I really enjoyed riding it for a couple of years. I found the engine to be very flexible and not the least bit peaky and it had a lovely light gearbox. The brakes were a bit iffy though.....
Yer they were probably the best 2-stroke for normal riding along with the GT550. The brakes were just typical of that era. Thanks for watching
Another great video. Love 2 strokes , the sound and that smell…….. Would love to own another but they are silly money even for tiddlers. Will have to do with my ‘89 GSX750E for the time being.
Thanks mate, nothing wrong with an old gsx those old suzuki engines are bullet proof.
In 1975 I traded in my 1973 Kawasaki S2 350 against an H2 and regretted it for the best part of a year as the S2 was lighter and handled much better and from A to B was usually faster as long as there were curves in the road, it's hard to believe we used to buy bikes back then without a demo ride, after becoming disillusioned with the H2 a friends brother was selling of his racing gear after retiring from racing and I bought his Magnum rolling chassis and dropped the H2 engine in (after a Stan Stephens stage two tune) suddenly I had the fastest, best handling bike in N.Ireland and fell in love with the H2, which was my favourite two stroke till Yamaha brought out the great RD 350LC, what a bike, it used to embarrass bikes with 3 times the capacity.
...bigger is not always better...
@@maxxpretzy2557You're 100% right.
yeah yonniboy1, you know what I'm talking about!
That must have taken months of research. Brilliant video thank you
Nowhere near as long as the docos on Burt Munro. They literally took years, there was so much incorrect info out there about him. I was so happy when I could finally prove that his original frame & streamliner are in the USA. NZ only has his motor and the test frame.
I have had a few bikes in this list over the years, Titan, Kawi 500, Gt380, Gt750 and a RZ500. All of them were reliable and fun but the RZ500 was my all time favorite. I bought it used and it had a bad crank seal which lead to a burnt piston at 25000kms, I changed the seals, piston and re ringed it and it never gave me problems again. I sold it with 75000kms on the click and it still ran like new.
In my 53 years on this planet that is the only thing I have owned that I truly regret selling.
RZ500s RG500s and NS400s are going for truly stupid money here in NZ, Ive recently seen, complete piles of crap, that need a complete rebuild, both cosmetic and mechanical go for 20,000 plus. High 30s seems common. 😳.
You are making some great content, cheers and subbed.
Thanks for the great feedback buddy!
If I'd gotten into bikes just a few years earlier, I'd almost certainly have had a Suzuki T-350 Rebel. Liquid cooling and frame development was what brought 2 stroke motorcycles into their zenith. Unfortunately it coincided with the pollution program to aboliish two strokes just as they were getting so much cleaner.
2 strokes these days barely smoke at all.
I had a big bike Kawasaki 500 Triple in high school 1970 I had a lot of work done to it bigger carburetors expansion chamber's and when I tell you it was fast you can believe me!
I reckon mate, they were quick enough std
My favourite bike was a GT500 that I purchased new in the 70's. Loved it and always regretted selling it. The bike would have outlasted the girlfriend that I had at the time and the reason for selling. What a fool I was.
A classic bike mate!
I had a Titan 500… great bike… wish I still had it!
I wish i had one too, what a great 2 stroke they were ay?
Love the videos! In the day, I rode both the H1 and H2 Kwackers: The H1 was truly deadly, with frightening frame flex in fast bends. The H2 was better but still awful in anything but a straight line. Much nicer engine, though.
The Suzy 3s were really good bikes, and I know as my dealership sold both Honda and Suzuki. The Water Buffalo would run forever with little attention, but it was rather cumbersom. Interestingly, the only big 2-stroke I ever owned was an unusual Suzy Titan; "unusual" in that it had started life as a TL500 racer that got street-ified. The frame differed a bit from the production Titans, and mine had been gusseted in strategic spots. I kept it until the late-1980s, and it was still quick and did well on then-current "DOT" racing tires. However, it was loud beacuse of the chambers and comfort was not a consideraton...but, on a curvy road it was hard to beat or fault.
I had the chance to ask a Suzuki factory rider (who shall remain nameless) what he thought about the RG500: his response was that he rode the GP bike because they paid him a bunch of money to do so, but he could not understand why anybody would pay THEM to ride anything like it! Reminded me of Kenny Roberts famous statement after having won the only race he rode on the TZ750 flat-tracker (1975 Indy mile), "they don't pay me enough to ride that mother f*cker again!".
Thanks mate, that was an interesting read. I dont think the tyres and suspension back then helped much either. My mate had a H2 and yep he stacked it.
My favorite is suzuki T500 j - 72
the problem with the kawi and suzuk triples was the center cylinder liked to seize up at high speed causing the rear wheel to lock up also the joke with the titans was they were named that because you had to constantly tighten all the bolts on them . awsome video keep them coming
Appreciate the feedback buddy. I never had an engine issue with any of the japanese 2-strokes I owned. I loved them all, the RD400 was the pick of them all for me.
@@motorcyclecafe agree on the RDs i had a couple 350s and a 400 and raced honda CR250s and 500s desert racing, i never did go to the modern 4stks
Guy doesn't know Jack s....
I so remember the chook chasers rz vs rg vs zxr LOL, those things were dangerous, then the 12000RPM 4 strokes hit.
H1 we called the rocket powered corkscrew ;) H2 much better and the Suzuki 750 we called the Water Bucket 👍✌😎
Back in the 1970s you had a good variety of different motorcycles to pick from not like today. A Kawasaki triple and a Suzuki triple we're both two strokes but the difference between the two of them was like night and day. Then you had to triumph BSA triples and the Honda 750 four cylinder as well as to Norton commando and the triumph Bonneville we're still hanging on. Some bikes would have the same displacements but vastly different character and temperament.
And as you ride the exhaust gets sucked along too. I love two strokes but they give me sinus.
I rode the 69 H1 Kawasaki triple. While it was quick, it did not handle well & the drum brakes would fade after the first few applications. A few year later I rode the RD400 Yamaha. Not quite as fast, but handling & brakes were far superior.
Having grown up with Kawasaki triples, a 71 H1 being my first vehicle, I have never found the moniker “widow maker” being applied to the H1. It wasn’t until the 72 H2 came out that this term came out. I haven’t found anything in print of the day to support the H1 as the widow maker either?
I am not surprised you couldn't find anything in print from that era mentioning the term 'Widowmaker' It was a nickname which was given later on. You have to earn a nickname.
Widowmaker was first applied to XS1. Brilliant motor but strong torque down low and appalling frame caused a lot of accidents. No 1 killer in Australia in its time.
RZ 500 ???
Although a Very powerful bike for it's capacity.
Riding it was only for those who could Love a Bike that would try it's best to
throw you off ???
They were definitely more popular than the better handling RG500.
Yamaha have always had a very good following when it came to 2 Smokes.
This was easily transferred over from those who grow up riding the ever famous YZ range of Dirt Bikes.
I hardly know anyone that didn't at some point either own or ride a Yamaha YZ something.
Some time ago I helped a guy put a RG500 motor into an RGV250 Frame.
He even went to the trouble of having the bike Engineered so it could be Road Registered.
Back in these days the Great Ocean Road was our well known race track.
Of course that has all changed now, and has become a fairly civil road to ride on.
Mostly reserved for the Cafe Racers and tourist who think the Great Ocean Road ends at Lorne, LOL.
You definitely put together a great video.
Looking forward to watching the video about my all time favorite bike .
The Kawasaki GPZ 900R.
Thanks! The GPZ features in the channels video 'Motorcycles that made a Marque'
Kawasaki H2 750 engine if used at top speed with drink fuel at 19 mi to the gallon.
And two stroke oil. Making them expensive to ride.
A good t500 would beat the 750 water bucket, I miss the 2strokes
Big pistons are fine, but how did you increase crankcase displacement? A larger bore displacement requires a larger crankcase displacement..
how are you Increasing the ability to fill the larger cylinders through tiny limited transfer port area?They can only pass so much per stroke..
any detonation problems? How much did you have to lower the RPM limit? How much heavier than stock is each piston/rings?
I owned a Factory Kawasaki road racer. An H1 R..Sandcast cases, cassette close ratio five speed, the Bores of the cylinders were chrome, it was a piston port intake system, and it needed the crankshaft replaced regularly.
I bought a crankshaft from that guy that still writes for cycle world or cycle Kevin Cameron who was supposed to be some kind of a guru. He would not ship a rebuilt crankshaft to us from Boston to Pittsburgh. He insisted it had to be picked up in person because it was such a precision made perfectly balanced crankshaft that he had rebuilt.. so a friend of mine and I jumped into his Vega, and drove 22 hours up and back to pick up this perfect crankshaft. When we got home, that crankshaft was so out of true, it would not even sit in the cases..
on the Yamaha TZ 250 D that I had, the crankshaft needed to be replaced every 1200 miles, new pistons and rings every 600 miles. That was a 54 mm stroke 54 mm bore engine, I think. What is the bore and stroke of this engine and how long do the Pistons even last? I know that a 10 ounce piston and rings in a 54 x 54 mm engine two-stroke at 10,000 RPMs, that 10 ounce piston and rings weighs over 2400 pounds to the wrist pin..
lots of development problems to overcome just to get it to run let alone get it to survive more than one heat cycle without it self distructing..
Quite a feat
impressive!
@@maxxpretzy2557 most of my learning experience in those days was learning what to never do again. and accept the fact that the factory knows more than I do. I had to first realize that it was not the machine that was slow, it was me….
Once I got that sorted, my machines finished races, I actually learned how to ride, how to use the brakes.. I went on to win, six road racing championships, two time national champion, once I learned to leave the machine stock…
you have the right idea jody fresnack...the only bike I modified was an rz350 racing against fz400s, went up on piston size and porting...first race of the year and it seized, was hoping to better my 7th place overall of the prior year...other than that, I just rejetted, tires, suspension and gearing, no touch the motor please!
...excellent research! Personally, I always thought I preferred the 500's from Yamaha and Suzuki but had to settle for the Yamaha rz 350...which turned out to be my favorite of all my sport bikes even over my 1997 gsxr 750 chassis with an 1128cc gsxr engine, on track and public road...most crotch rockets are overkill for public roads, even the 400cc machines, as were the 500's 2stroke back then...rubber side down please!!!
Thanks buddy!
no, thank you... lost my internet access, gonna be wifi from hotspots for a while...
How can you consider a mere 500 as a superbike when there were 750 around british german Italian american and japanesse bikes
Triumph bonnie was supposed to do 120, it probably would downhill (1960s one).
I had Suzuki GT750 Waterbottle and could only get 180kph out of it
Yes, they're not fast. Pretty slow really. I always liked the Titan. Lighter and narrower.
@@redtobertshateshandles not slow back in the early 70s
Misconception. Two strokes rule!
What is not to love simple powerful and light. Everything a 4 stroke is not. 500cc four makes 200hp. 4 stroke needs 1000cc, 500 smaller lighter thinner. 4 Is okay but even 20yr old 2 stroke at half cc's makes as much power, and revs much quicker
What about Bridgestone?
I'm fairly sure they never made anything bigger than a 350cc.
I’ve got a Scott DPY I’ve got the engine running I’ve just got to do the rest of it yet. I know it’s a long-term project it’s got the nickname fuzall a friends, little girl overheard me, her grandfather talking as she said to her mum she was only 4 Why is mikes bike called Fazall so my mother heard this they said I don’t care what that is its name so there we go.
I know they were singles but Ajs stormers. I’ve got a big part of my life. I spent lots of time at the factory working and building them so that’s good. I have a part of my life my leg doesn’t allow me to ride the competition bikes anymore, but I still love playing with them and one day. I will get faster on the road. Enjoy your program Michael
Thanks for you nice feedback buddy. Enjoy your Scott it doesn't matter how long it takes to get it to where you want it as long as you have it. What a classic brand!
I understand that there's no audio for the scott but the audio you used was from a wartburg 353, at least mention that 😂
That is spot on, well picked up. I did my best to give people an idea of its sound.
@@motorcyclecafe yeah it wouldn't be too far off,
@@dietznutz1 you are an absolute legend for picking that up. 😉
@motorcyclecafe yes my two stroke triple cherry needs to be popped, I'm thinking gt380/550, a wartburg or a kawi 400 s3 or kh, whatever they are called
Original H2 would go 11.89
Yamaha RD350 & H2 750
Both excellent motorcycles for sure!!!
Oh mate! The black KH400 from "Gumball Rally"! czcams.com/video/XTT1_JZp2Sg/video.html
What a crack up! Thanks for sharing, it brought a smile to my dial.
Your mistaken on your h1 spec info.
You he early H1’s top speed was 125mph (not 120mph) & 1/4 was in high 12.90’s (not low 13’s) & could beat the Honda 750 in 1/4 runs stock vs stock bikes with experienced riders.
I also experienced that 1st hand wrenching & owning mult H1’s & racing many stock & lightly modded Honda 750’s with my stock h1’s and beating them every time in 1/4 mile runs,just never bothered to race top end to top end so not sure of that outcome.