Wish I could get my hands on the throat of the guy who invented it.

I love two-strokes. Braaaap!

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'Merica!

You wish you could fondle a corpse?

That's waaaay creepy!

John

I like 'em too, not so much the loud expansion-chambered high-output ones, but the more mildly tuned ones you find on enduro bikes and East European utility bikes. Small carburetors, big flywheels and even bigger mufflers.

One good thing about 2-strokes is that they don't weigh a lot for the power they make. They are not as expensive as 4-strokes, which made them more easily affordable in the socialist and third-world economies where they were especially popular, while in the more muscular capitalist economies they left more money available for the development of brakes and suspension

I don't like 2-strokes on weed-whackers, though. Can't keep 'em running.

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Not in jail.

Some of the most fun times I've ever had in my life are thanks to the two-stroke engine! Kawasaki 750cc Mach IV, Honda Elsinores, Suzuki TMs, Yamaha YZs, Kawasaki KX ....Braaaap!

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'Merica!

Hey, don't be trashing two strokes.

Some of my best memories from teenage years is owning a Kawasaki three cylinder two stroke. ($600 new) Pull up to a light next to a $20,000 Corvette. Green light!!!! Blue smoke everywhere. I'm at the next light seconds later and the Corvette eventually pulls up.

The bike and I together didn't even weigh 500# To match that power to weight ratio, the Corvette would have to have over 700HP and that sure wasn't happening in the early 70's.

Insufficient spark voltage at low speeds.

John

I love it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBHBgg3mSeU

More screamers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NHOD4Kd9jI

I love the simplicity of a 2 stroke engine. Feed them gasoline and not a corn derivative, and you'll find them much more reliable.

Yeah, gotta love them...

http://youtu.be/3HXqZh5oTK0

Go #34

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Jorge

I never knew there were two cycle car engines. Those would be great fun to drive.

I'm referring to the chainsaw/weed trimmer varieties. Seems like I get more revolutions from the engine by cranking it rather than combustion. I have a pc of **** Walmart lawn mower with a B&S that starts on the first or second pull after sitting in the shop all winter where I can expect 30 minutes or an hour of cranking cussing throwing and fixing before that chainsaw comes to life. Every 2 stroke I ever had was like that. Hate em!

You need to get your self a real chainsaw

Here are the chainsaw guys

Any chainsaw guys in here?

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Jorge

I kinda like 'em. What else can make your clothes smell worse than cigarette smoke?

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Why duck?? It's a 9mm!

I winterize all of my 2 strokes religiously which include two outboard motors, one Echo weed whacker, one Stihl chain saw, one Stihl blower. I never have a problem starting any of them. My chain saw is 25 years old and my one outboard is 30 years old.

Fill with ethanol Stabil treated gas, start engine, remove air filter, open tank and drain the gas while running or disconnect gas line from outboard. When engine starts to speed up due to starvation spray fogging oil into carbuerator to stall it. Remove spark plug, clean and gap. Spray fogging oil into cylinder and gently pull starter to coat cylinder walls. Replace spark plug, air cleaner. It's ready for winter (or summer depending on the tool).

I much prefer 2 stroke power equipment. I've got some 10 year old plus equip that runs like new. Non ethanol gas is a big help but if that isn't available all you need to do is use Star brite Star Tron in your gas. No more fuel problems and no need to winterize.

Amazon.com: Star brite Star Tron Enzyme Fuel Treatment Formula for Small Engines: Sports & Outdoors@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Mj7SHYZbL.@@AMEPARAM@@51Mj7SHYZbL

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God spelled backwards is dog.

The two outboards I use are British Seagulls from the 1960's. Well, one is from the 1960s and the other is a compilation of 4-5 motors when I cleaned out my spare parts. 2 cycle chain saws and outboards I can live with but I'm of the store them dry gas school. Our weed eater is electric. I'd rather pull 100 ft of cord around the yard that try and keep a 2 cycle weedeater going.

yeah, what an era. Four Americans in the top six. They all came up through flat-track after Kenny Roberts showed the world how to make a bike go fast by sliding it like a flattracker.

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Not in jail.

A two-cycle engine is probably better than the 3.25-stroke in my car. People laugh when I drive by.

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Oh well, what the hell.

A few things that I have found over the years.

1. Don't mix too much oil with the gas, follow manufacturer's directions, more is not better here.

2. Do not let mixed gas sit for more than a month.

3. Be generous with new spark plugs and gap them properly.

4. In small engines avoid extended idle speeds, keep the RPM's up.

5. If all else fails wear a pointed hat and wave rubber chicken over it whilst chanting, oom-amha-zoom.

And one last thing, Yamaha RD-350's "The Pocket Rocket" rule!

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Stay safe people!

When I was a kid I had a lawn mower with a two stroke motor and it would cut anything that I could run over with it. It had no height adjustment and was not very wide but it was great for cutting those overgrown lawns for 3 bucks a shot. You never had to worry about it choking down although it always sounded like it was a few seconds from blowing up.

WOW! Rather than go to all that trouble. I just go down to the local Pawn Shop and pick up another one that I can pull, cuss, pull, cuss...then say to #$%^ with it, go inside, get a nice JD over ice, rest an relax.

I was a Detroit Diesel mechanic for many years.
I like 2 stroke diesels.

Wingmaster

Don't forget one of life's essentials....the outboard boat motor.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

I built this 558 cc 10 mill stroker drag Banshee. Almost killed myself on it.

Oneflycowboy,
That rig is pure madness!!! As I was scrolling down the thread I was thinking how back in the 2 stroke heyday , 70's, I had a few street 2 strokes that would eat the big litre 4 strokes alive. Many a street fighter was embarrassed by those small CC 2 strokes.

However nothing I had compared to that monster you built. A piece of art.

The 2 stroke is a cold-hearted b**ch, and I love her...

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NRA Life Member

The 2 wheel 2 twoostroke deathmachine
almost knocked my theeth out when i kissed the handlebars

I have numerous 2 cycle yard tools and am happy with them..Among them is a Stihl leaf blower..One day a construction crew was using the Stihl, they couldn't get it to run, the guy got PO ed at it an gave it a toss over a dirt pile..I asked him if I could have it ? Yeah, take this piece of ****..My boss is bring a new one..
I looked at it, all I did was clean the spark arrestor, changed the spark plug and gave the entire unit a clean up..It took right off...That's been 8 years ago, still starts and runs great !! And the price was right !

AHHH!!! The Kawaskai H2.... Didn't get any better than the Kawi triples.

I had one years back, I think it was a Lawn Boy.

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Don

Dam things needed way better brakes.
Sure we're fun back in the days of youth.
Now I like four wheeled machines both on and off road.

My friend had one that he souped up a wee bit. I roade it like i did my Harley
wasn't impressed at all.
You need to rev it he said.... crashed the back fender and almost my teeth
but i stayed on

I had a 1974 Suzuki GT750 for a few years. 3 cyl., water cooled, big, heavy. It was as good as any bike made back then for a road bike, until the Gold Wing came out. Oil Injection, no mixing, no valves to adjust, stayed in tune. I loved it, but then the siren's call of the big 4 stroke pulled me in, and I got a GS1000E, and never looked back.

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Wayne
Torn & Frayed

I guess my Harley-Davidson Super 10 wasn't in the same league as what you guys had. But I did take it over Trail Ridge Road 3 or 4 times (12,001 ft.) One kick, never failed to start.

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and what his trumpet saith

*
I drove a couple of them. One was a 318 with a 13 speed; the other a 475 rated 8V92, also with a 13. Had to row them around by the shift lever, and if I messed up and let them fall off the pipe I was in for a miserable time trying to get down enough gears in time to get back to work. Loud, even though they had mufflers; terrible idling when I needed to keep warm, etc. The with the 475 was geared stupid fast, too - someone had geared it more like a high torque rise motor so the RPMs were too low at 60-65. Ended up in 11th too often, and wound out in 13th it was good for way over 100 - which was silly.

I really liked the first truck I drove OTR - Superliner with a Mack V8 and a 10 speed. Once in 10th, I only downshifted to change roads or stop. I could drive from Illinois to Presque Isle ME without shifting other than those times. The big hill west of Springfield on the MA pike, at 78K gross, no downshift. Same with Sideling Hill on the PA pike.

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NHI, 10-8.

That's what you get for dumping the clutch on a triple.

Knew a guy who had one of those out for a test ride. Was tripping down the interstate at about 50 and went to pass a car. Drop from 5th to third and lifted the front end a little. Pulled off the road, cleaned out his pants and went back to the dealer slowly. Told him more bike than he needed.

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Quando omni flunkus moritati.

Went to the Harley's a number of years ago. Still having a need for speed I scratch built a 120 CI, low end motor for my EG. 140 lbft of torque. Most of the time I'm putting around at 2 thousand rpm but sure is a gas when you twist the wick.

Hard to tell if the old two bangers were faster. They surely seemed fast way back then.

No need to pop the clutch, it went "plurppoppopp" up to 7k on first gear
Then it went balistic

Hey Qball, I had, in the early '70s, one of those early '60s 2-cycle SAABs. I was a terror cornering -- used to show off -- as back then front wheel drive was unusual.

Ultimately rolled it one night right next to the local police station in Williamsburg, Va. Wound up on its side in the front lawn of a William & Mary fraternity house. After confirming that we were okay, and switching off the engine, my passenger and I climbed out the driver side like sailors getting out of a submarine. The fraternity brothers, who rushed out to see the spectacle and who were mightily impressed, righted the car for us, and we drove off none the worse for wear other than a cracked windshield.

Think I bought it for $250 and sold it for $50 with the cracked windshield when a call to said police station informed me that it would not be okay to just knock the windshield out entirely and drive with goggles.

I recall pulling into gas stations and asking, "Do you guys have outboard motor oil? Yeah? Okay, put a quart in the gas tank and gimme seven gallons."

Had to always keep it going by revving it. Sounded kinda like a chainsaw gone beserk, or a Bangkok tuktuk.

Used to lose cylinders in the rain, though. Kinda a jerky ride when that happens and ya only got four to start with!

And I recall there was a switch to disconnect the engine and transmission for coasting down hills...

Fun car!

A well built, good running 2 stroke is nirvana. I hate the EPA for killing it.

Long live my 1966 X6 Hustlerl, it lived it's life like a candle in the wind. Snif snif.....

I have found that when I ingest corn derivatives, I am not that reliable,
Does that mean that I am two stroke?

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NRA LIFE MEMBER

Go on YouTube and type in Detroit Diesel 8V71 318 HP. No better sounding engine in the world. Keep On Truckin.

Doug M.
That 475 8V92 was a great truck engine. It would run circles around the four and a quarter Cats that most truckers were so proud of.

Wingmaster

I had a Saab 3 cylinder 2 cycle in the early '70's. I got to know my local Saab dealer quite well. He raced them and could get around 14,000 rpm out of the motor. I know they had needle bearing in the small end of the rod and ball bearing in the large end. The crankshaft ran on four sets of roller bearings. No wonder they could turn up so fast.... The main problem was if you threw a rod bearing you were pretty guaranteed to need a new pan casting, crank and rod. (Minimum clearance). Mine swallowed a ring and bits of it bounced around all three cylinders (common ports on the intake) and pretty much trashed the block. I couldn't get pistons oversized enough to make up for the amount of reaming needed to clear the gouges.
Anyway, the dealer had an engine that had blown the bottom. I had a good bottom with a blown top. He gave me the engine with the proviso I brought him back a "complete" engine. I managed to get a running engine out of the two. (The replacement had triple carbs. One for each cylinder....)

I liked the "free-wheel' feature. It had a lever you could throw and it would shift the tranny into neutral when ever you let off the gas. (Ir was like a popcorn popper going down the road. Kind of "RRRrrr,pop,pop,pop,RRRrrr, pop,pop,pop".)

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Dean
SWCA #680 SWHF #446

Yeah, Deadin, that's right, three -- count 'em! -- cylinders. When I would start losing 'em in the rain it was like riding a mechanical bull!

Onomea,
Your's wasn't blue by any chance? (Or were they all blue....?)
I had mine when I was stationed in Virginia Beach and sold it around 1973 when I transferred out to Seattle. I can't remember what year it was but it was a Saab 96 and was early enough to not have the automatic oiler, which came out around 1966. Iremember that during the gas crunch in the early '70's the local gas stations would only sell 10 gallons at a time. If you took less, you still paid for 10. My tank was only 10 gallons so it was always a challenge to get to a station just before running out. (They also wouldn't pump any into a jerry can.)
It also made it easier to judge how much oil to add .....

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Dean
SWCA #680 SWHF #446

Mine was dirty white. The dirty part because I can't recall ever washing it, back in the day. Bought it after my equally old Chevy II inadvertently caught fire due to an electrical issue occasioned by my stuffing a whole buncha wires up under the dash after the prevoius owner had installed instrumentation between the two front passengers in an effort to create the illusion of bucket seats, and I decided I didn't like the look. Or so I s'pose anyway, re the origins of the fire. Came out of a store, turned the ignition, no engine catch, but smoke all over place. Got the heck out of the car and observed it from a distance. Smoked away, but did not blow. Yikes!

This is maybe 1970, 1971 or so. Anyway, ditched the Chevy and got the SAAB. I was going to W&M at the time, and recall once, in the SAAB, careening into the parking lot at my typical high speed and slamming on the brakes in a parking slot at the library inches, just inches, in front of a brick wall. When I left the library later, back in the car, I noticed the brakes no longer worked. At all. I suppose I broke the brake fluid lines...

After I rolled the SAAB, and the police said I could not drive it, I bought a 1960 Rambler for $125. Was on my way to Tucson, Arizona, spring 1972, with a carload of hippies in search of spiritual enlightment and -- dream on -- loose women, and it got stuck in second gear in Richmond, VA. Last I saw of that vehicle.

Wound up, with the hippies, in a "Drive Away" jeep bound for California.

Thinking back, I went through three cars by the time I was 19. Did not buy another until I was in my forties.

Yep. Nothing like being young and immortal. (Thank you, God, for preserving me through my foolish youth! I owe ya.)