Kawi2strokes.com Forum

C'Mon Ric, tell the GT380 story..... it was a 380 wasn't it?




Lane

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Busy doing more riding than wrenching.......

I learned to ride in the sixties on a small Honda 65 in some fields behind a friend's house. My first street bike was a Honda 125 and I progressed quickly up to a Honda 750 which I rode all over North America, averaging 15K miles/year. I moved on to other 4-strokes but always had a 2-stroke dirt bike in the garage (I actually traded the Honda 125 and a Honda 350 in 1978 for a TY250 trials bike which I still have.) I ice raced dirt bikes and rode off-road for years but had never had a 2-stroke street bike. I bought my H2 in 1995, I think I'm the 3rd owner. It's had several rebuilds, mostly a street bike but I've done some LSR with it.

I got my H1 in 2005 after answering a "help" post on one of the old boards from a guy who left a shed full of junk at his parents house a few hours from here, and they wanted it cleaned up. The shed roof leaked and I got a very ratty H1 with some spares out of the deal. It ended up being rebuilt to stock specs and is a fun street bike. I ended up with a few others and can't see myself parting with any of the 2-strokes.

I've been into electric bikes a lot the last 7-8 years. I drag raced a converted GT550 the last couple of years and did fairly well. I hold a couple of LSR records up at Loring and will set some more this year on my E-Busa.

I wanted a bike since early high school when I'd lust after anything on two wheels that was for sale anywhere.


I finally got my bike license and bike (DT250) at the age of eighteen by borrowing a couple of dollars off of my parents and managing to convince them it was what I wanted to do and be.
I'd had a few big roadbikes once I had enough time and experience under my belt from a couple of Yamaha dirties to learn on - I had a string of Suzuki Katanas, 750, 1000, 1100.

I used to frequent a Suzuki dealer on the north side of Brisbane for parts and advice for the Kat/s when I noticed a used RG500 that had sat for months without selling.
This was the late eighties by this stage and everyone wanted a GSX-R race-replica and the poor RG had basically been orphaned.

I asked the price and was pleasantly surprised to learn that I could have it for $4,000 as the dealer just wanted it gone from his shop.
I snapped it up and rode its arse off for many years eventually (foolishly) swapping it for yet another Katana .

That did kick off the second love affair for me with 2 strokes (after the Yammie dirties) and with some extra cash and a desire to start into restoring bikes about six years ago I bought and restored first a GT750, then an RG500 and I finally managed to get a part-restored H2 a year ago.

Of course the 'affair' with Kats never went away and there are now two of them in the shed as well, and I was told no bike collection was complete without an RE5 ...

I'm well looking forward to finishing the H2 as I can then do the comparo between the two great 2 stroke road bikes of the seventies properly.

Plus, a good H2/GT/RG in the hand is fast becoming a decent investment it would seem...

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'66 T20
'72 H2
'74 GT750L
'76 RE5A
'80 GS1000ST
'82 GSX1100SZ
'82 GSX1100SXZ
'86 RG500G
'09 DR650SE
'10 GSX1300R

Bought my first bike when I was 16 in 1973. It was a 69 Suzuki T500 two stroke. Went to look at it with my older brothers buddy who was a member of the local Harley club and my Dad. One cylinder didn't fire, turned out to be a bad coil. Paid $200 for and stuck in the trunk of our 72 Plymouth Duster.

You are a bunch of lucky guys, I had the motorcycle hater Mom from hell. Had to wait until I was out of the house to get a real street bike.

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Twist the throttle, tilt the horizon, and have a great time. What triples are all about...........

1967 (I was 7) standard POS Briggs & Stratton job with a friction rear brake. Like many of us I used and abused the poor thing till it blew. Then a well used but running Honda mini-trail. Pretty much the same story - used and abused. Then a Yamaha DT100, then DT250. I was 14 when the 100 blew but I was living in a car and had no resources. At 15 I bought a DT250 (chased by cops a lot) and at 18 I bought my H2 that I still have.

Over the years I've had a lot of bikes (at one time I had 34 complete motorcycles - mostly all running). I had all my dirt bikes (many!), a bunch of 70s Honda's and Yamaha's, a 1966 BSA, 1962 Lambretta - the list goes on.

This is my old DT250 with me on it. This is also the same motor I brought to the GAP last year for Rick and that Carl's sons brought back to life

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This is true. Where I grew up the hills were so steep and long, when your ball rolled down the hill you just said "screw it"...

After the obligatory rigid framed Briggs & Stratten powered mini bike, my first "real" (clutch & shift) M/C was a 71 Yamaha JT-1 Mini Enduro, the one with lights. My best friend had a 74 Suzuki TC100 and we would ride all over the hills, trails and streets of upstate NY. When we moved to Florida my Dad got a 73 GT250 to ride to work. Once my brother got his license "we" adopted it, and when I got my licence I was no longer on the back, I was FREE! When I was 16, a guy at school had a green '74 H2-B, stock with K&N pods. I didn't know him that well so I was surprised when he asked me if I wanted to ride it. Of course I did! Not being my bike, I went "easy" on it (while in sight ). That's it! I was hooked! I wanted a Kawasaki Triple! I had ridden many of my friends' bikes, including: CB350, CS-3, RD250/350/400, DS-7, GT380, several Suzuki, Kawasaki and Yamaha enduros of various sizes and lots of dirt bikes. Nothing made my eyes light up and stirred my soul like that H2! It was like that "kid at Christmas" feeling! When I turned 17 I traded the GT250 for a Candy Emerald Green 77 KH400-A4. My immediate impression was that my GT had a rubber band for a throttle cable! WOW, this thing was magic! I was king of the road, and immediately started stripping off those nasty parts that add weight and don't add power. (stupid hotrod teenage punk... ) Before long it had clubman bars, H2 carbs, mild "homebrew" porting and Denco H1 stingers. I used to drag race it and got a best 1/8th mile time of 7.23, and 1/4 mile of 12.96.



Not bad for not really knowing what I was doing (but I thought I did ) Over the years I have had: S2, S3, H1, R5, along with tons of parts for all. I have ridden: CBX, GS750, GS1100, GPZ550, and I'm sure I forgot several. So here I find myself with a garage full of triple again, in various stages of completion. I'm actually going to "thin the herd" a bit, leaving 2 or 3 running bikes, I just don't have the facilities for projects right now, time to back off... a little

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We don't need no stinkin' Cams!

Dad tought me to ride on a GT 750 in a superstore car park

June 21, 1972 got my license and Dad bought me a shiny new S2 for my surprise 16th birthday present. Some folks who know me would say he must not care for his oldest child putting a firecracker into his hands, but I disagree. Dear Dad is still smiling on me from heaven.