That is the bike that changed everything. 0-60 in 3.5 sec. Never rode one but there were few around. My uncle who was a die hard Harley man rode one of the first Honda V45’s, so went out and bought a Ninja 900. He rode it down and stored it in my garage and gave me the keys. I took it out in the country behind Castle AFB. Insanely smooth, fast with no feeling of speed. I never even got close to full throttle. Ran it through the gears and looked down and was doing 110. That scared me. Took it home and put it back in the garage.
The Kawasaki 500 3 cylinder (shown above) had a power band that had you holding on for dear life. If we ran Torco synthetic injection oil it hardly smoked at all. If we ran the outboard motor oil, ha, you layed down a smoke screenIt is terrific to hear about the bike you owned. I have never had a 2 stroke bike. It seems I may have missed out on something special.
The pipes are like the Kawasaki. Oh, that's a triple.The predecessor to my R75/5 was a Suzuki 380. 3cyl 2 stroke. Pretty much bullet proof like all Suzuki’s. Pretty quick but definitely felt like a toy compared to the Beemer.
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The predecessor to my R75/5 was a Suzuki 380. 3cyl 2 stroke. Pretty much bullet proof like all Suzuki’s. Pretty quick but definitely felt like a toy compared to the Beemer.
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I rode that 380 for several years and the only thing I did besides lube the chain and plugs was put a set of points in it. I still have the kit with dial indicator you screwed into #1 in place of the spark plug. At a measured point before TDC your continuity tester on the points went off to set timing after setting gap. Having set point gap with a gauge and my timing many times with a continuity light on my VW’s I was familiar with the process. Just not using the DI.I am sure I did some work on that model for a friend back in the mid 1970's. The only work I have ever done on a two stroke from memory. I guess this was the fore runner to the 750 water bottle.
Mal
I had one of these.
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"Those were the days my friend, we thought they'd never end" to quote an old song lyrics.
I rode that 380 for several years and the only thing I did besides lube the chain and plugs was put a set of points in it. I still have the kit with dial indicator you screwed into #1 in place of the spark plug. At a measured point before TDC your continuity tester on the points went off to set timing after setting gap. Having set point gap with a gauge and my timing many times with a continuity light on my VW’s I was familiar with the process. Just not using the DI.
I have always liked the vehicles best that I fussed with the least. The Bink’s carbs idle on the Beemer drove me nuts. Otherwise once I got it caught up on maintenance it was perfect. With the Vetter fairing it was as comfortable as I ever got on a bike. After one crazy close call I took it as a sign bikes were too dangerous no matter how alert I was and I put it up for sale and it was gone 2 days later. No regrets.