It appears that spring may finally be here for good. The roads, however, are still an absolute mess. Sand, gravel, everywhere. Why does this matter?
Aretha! Aretha is my 1981 liquid cooled Yamaha RD350. Someone once described riding an RD as being somewhat akin to leading an angry Rottweiler through a room of yapping Chihuahuas - on a shoelace. (The little photo of me on the sidebar was taken when I was repacking the mufflers.) You do not ride fast angry Rottweilers on roads strewn with winter sanding crap.
Two strokes have "peaky" powerbands. If you've ever ridden one, that sentence just made you grin. Remember that moment when the Starship Enterprise enters warp speed? And the stars turn into streaks of light? That's what happens when you hit the powerband.
You move through 5K, 6K, 7K rpm fairly smoothly and uneventfully (though with increasing volume) and then, without warning, at around 8000 rpm --- wham --- suddenly the lightpoles and other objects beside you turn into streaks. At 10K there's only one thing to do. Shift into second.
Oh, why did I mention Kyoto?
 | Because this is what happens when you start an RD in a basement |
But soon.
More photos here. And yes, I truck her to my riding destinations. Until you've ridden a vintage two stroke for more than 7 hours, in 40 mph cross winds, as I have - keep your snarky comments to yourself, thankyouverymuch.
A friend of mine put together a Kawi 750 triple(someones terminated project) in the early 80's,and you could FEEL the friggin vibes riding beside him I swear.Besides the fact being short and stocky,when he took off on it,it was like the Ewok stealing the hoverbike in the Starwars movie.If you'll remember the Ewok fluttering behind the handlebars and yelping,you'll have a good idea of what I'm talking about.
Think simple. Learn different. Macinstruct.net