..I'm hooked...

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malJohann

Race Dog
Joined
Feb 1, 2006
Messages
657
Reaction score
0
Location
Benoni
Bike
Singer (all models)
So, my first experience of 2-stroke bikes was about 6 months ago when I got to take a 2007 Yamaha YZ85 with big wheels and performance kit for a quick 200 meter sprint up and down a potholed dirt road. It was great fun and due to the performance mods it had a power band like a light switch, which was exactly what I expected from a 2-stroke. Although I didn't expect it to lift it's front wheel in 1st, 2nd and 3rd on throttle alone. Still don't know how they can give these little monsters to kids!

This weekend during a visit to the same guy who gave me a spin on the YZ, another guy who also stays on their plot had his 2005 Honda CR250R out to fit new plastics, as he bails badly just about every time he gets on a bike. This guy just can't (or doesn't want to) understand why he should close the throttle, he has been woken-up by several people in the field where he passed out from falling and knows the nurses at the local hospital by name. Anyways, he turns out to be a very friendly el-loco type of guy as well.

After a longish chat and two other guys going out on the CR and a 1984 Kawasaki KDX200 (as they never go out alone) I end up sitting on the bike with boots, gloves and a helmet, ready to go for a spin (this after I told him I have only ever been on one other 2-stroke, which was a YZ85). I didn't really know what to expect apart from thinking HKGK all the time. Of course my wife (who was sitting at the braai, chatting to her friends) didn't know that I was about to ride the bike, as it's easier to apologise than to get permission.

The guy on the KDX leads the way down the road to a veldjie, as he knows the single-tracks out there very well. I stay about 50 meters back so that I can play with the CR and get a feel for it without being up his arse all the time. Of course it's immense fun as the CR weighs about the same as my Suzuki Raider 150, yet had more that 4 times the power and shorter gearing. I was amazed at the wide spread of power and how controllable the acceleration was, which I never expected from a 2-stroke bike (and especially not a 250 2-stroke).

In the field I had the most enjoyable adventure I've had in a long time! Going 80km/h at times on rough single-tracks and over speedbump plus-sized mounds, slowly through erosion water-holes and generally just messing about on a bike with that amount of power just feels so amazing! I quickly forgot about the fact that I was on my tip-toes when standing still, as everything was just so composed and easy when we were moving. I must say that I never expected that a 2-stroke could be so controllable, yet so powerful through the whole rev-range at the same time.

I must say that I'm hooked thoroughly! I now want a street legal 250 2-stoke competition offroad bike so badly that I'm seriously considering getting an enduro fitted with all the extra bells and whistles to put it through a roadworthy test.
 
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