Two tanger advice?

[wbks]

I'm thinking about flicking my zxr250 for a two stroke before I start blowing stuff up needing to replace whole engines while I'm assuming new parts are still available for 250 two strokes seeing as people do have to rebuild them all the time, right? I was just wondering how reliable and gas hungry two stroke 250s are and which models are best? I like the look of the TZR DEFINITELY over the others but NSR's are nice. RGVs a little ugly but I would pick a reliable bike over a nice looking one. Much thanks for any help and advice!:Punk:

[MSTRS]

I'm thinking about flicking my zxr250 for a two stroke before I start blowing stuff up needing to replace whole engines while I'm assuming new parts are still available for 250 two strokes seeing as people do have to rebuild them all the time, right? I was just wondering how reliable and gas hungry two stroke 250s are and which models are best? I like the look of the TZR DEFINITELY over the others but NSR's are nice. RGVs a little ugly but I would pick a reliable bike over a nice looking one. Much thanks for any help and advice!:Punk:

Don't. You're welcome.

[wbks]

Lol. Reasoning behind that please? :) My zxr250 has way way way high kms and its bound to start having problems soon the way I ride it

[MSTRS]

A 2stroke that is capable of taking on your ZXR and/or putting a smile on your face will not be a cheap, reliable alternative. 2 Strokes are heavy on gas, prone to touchy tuning and will lunch themselves quite readily. Depending on the amount of 'lunch', they can cost as much to repair as well. Plus, any that are of the type you seek will be as old and flogged out? as your ZXR.

[wbks]

Yes those are good reasons not to buy them but zxrs have no new engine parts so its just "buy a new engine" if so much as one cylender's rings wear to far out. That was the main attraction for me anyway. I'm sick of having the thought in the back of my mind everytime I give 'er gas that if I drop a valve or something it will be atleast a year untill I can afford to ride again. What do you think?

[MSTRS]

Yes those are good reasons not to buy them but zxrs have no new engine parts so its just "buy a new engine" if so much as one cylender's rings wear to far out. That was the main attraction for me anyway. I'm sick of having the thought in the back of my mind everytime I give 'er gas that if I drop a valve or something it will be atleast a year untill I can afford to ride again. What do you think?

Really? Do you think that old 2 stroke parts are not like rocking horse shit? I'd hazard a guess and say that it's simply a matter of tracking down a source. Parts for anything are often not 'off the shelf' - and will be ex-Japan. Find someone who can bring in parts.

[wbks]

Well I thought that there must be new two stroke parts (piston/ring kits at least) around considering they need regular rebuilds to stay running? I'll have a look on TM for zxr parts now...

[wbks]

I only found little nicknacks like alternator covers and junction boxes etc but no engine internals or whole engines at that

[xwhatsit]

Yeah, TradeMe definitely not the right place to look for things like that. You'll only get wrecked bikes and people wanting to sell off old bits and pieces they had around the house. You'd surely be able to get bits through Kawasaki, if not, there's plenty of ways and means to get things out of Japan.

[Ixion]

A 2stroke that is capable of taking on your ZXR and/or putting a smile on your face will not be a cheap, reliable alternative. 2 Strokes are heavy on gas, prone to touchy tuning and will lunch themselves quite readily. Depending on the amount of 'lunch', they can cost as much to repair as well. ..

Yeah, they do that. Is why we loves them so :love:

[speights_bud]

Well I thought that there must be new two stroke parts (piston/ring kits at least) around considering they need regular rebuilds to stay running? I'll have a look on TM for zxr parts now...

NSR crank bearings for sure....


From Greece.... :eek:

[wbks]

Well I just got offered a whole engine, suspension(maybe bent but still good for springs if i should ever need them) and side plastics for $100 from a mate. :) problem solved. Those NSRs seem sexy, still i guess. Someone on here described them as "sluts who need to be canned mercilessly" which actually sounds appealing to me but hey, I'm a teenager...<_<

[racefactory]

God damn haters... if he wants a 2 stroke then let him. He's asking which one... not for you to tell him if he should get one.

Ok here is the brief run down on them all:

TZR 3XV- the best looking of the lot as you stated. Rare. Top end rebuilds from NZ are fucking expensive- but if you look around you can get a total top end kit for around $450 including shipping from USA. I know some sites if you want them. Fairly good knowledge base.
PARTS: Not that good.... to sum it up. it's the rarity of these machines really.
TOP END: rings are prone after high mileage to have the ring retaining pin wear down which results in a slipped and blown ring. expensive from NZ, must look overseas.
CRANKS seem to last well.
HARDEST to derestrict. Will cost you a fucking lot of money since the restriction is all of carbs, exhaust, CDI (CDI for derestricted TZR SP is fucking hard to find)

NSR- All of the versions are good. Its a honda- well built. MC18 is the most popular and also the best all rounder in terms of performance and price. It is lighter than all of the later versions.
PARTS- good. Econohonda in NZ has shitloads... parts for these are not that hard to come by if you know where to look.
TOP ENDS: good... heard no cons about them. Goes for long time without rebuild.
CRANK: pretty good but have heard oil seals and crank bearings are known to go from time to time.
EASIEST to derestrict. Rediculously easy- its a procedure that involves a wire cut and joined to another wire. Instant 60HP.

RGV- 3 versions... VJ21 VJ 22 VJ23. The latter the better generally. Early ones are prone to drop their powervalves into the top end of the engine to due a bad pin design... something definately to watch out for on high mileage bikes as it means a whole new engine if the foresaid should happen. However you can get this part replaced as it is common knowledge on these bikes... more inconvenience than a cost though.
PARTS: Good!!! There are SO many VJ22's around! You can always find parts! Also can use APRILIA RS250 engine parts. Shitloads of aftermarket pistons and so on.
TOP END: no cons here as with the honda NSR- top ends go for a very long time, some good mileage i've heard without rebuilds... but you may as well rebuild it every 15- 20 000k since you can probably scout some pistons down in that time for sure.
CRANK: Good... heard no complaints about them. Seen some good mileage on them.
ITS OK to derestrict. SAPC carbs and cdi. you need to change the CDI and the carbs to derestrict it to 60hp, thankfully those parts are not too hard to come by...

[wbks]

Thanks. When you talk restrictions on the TZR, is it a horsepower restriction or top speed? And when they say gas hungry two strokes, how hungry? Like small car hungry? Or like $5 more than my zxr's fuel bill? And are there many other things to consider?

[racefactory]

Thanks. When you talk restrictions on the TZR, is it a horsepower restriction or top speed? And when they say gas hungry two strokes, how hungry? Like small car hungry? Or like $5 more than my zxr's fuel bill? And are there many other things to consider?

When i say restriction, that's mainly on power... but there is a top speed restriction too (who cares if your on road) however that is always a more simpler procedure to remove if you really want to.

how gas hungry- well, I don't think it's that bad to be honest but i didn't thrash mine too bad at all... it's more due to the nature of these machines, you just want to drive them at the higher revs... and therefore you are using lots of oil and fuel. I'm personally not sure how to put it but i'm sure there will be some that say as much as a 600cc machine.

things to consider, yes there is one thing- you MUST be prepared to either get your hands dirty (or send to a mechanic) every 20 000kms max to give it a fresh top end (piston, ring, bearing, gasket) however on these simple motors that task is very easy to do and you'd only need to be shown once if you think you really can't do it yourself.

[wbks]

The rebuilds shouldn't be a problem. The RGV sounds pretty good parts and reliability wise though they are ugly as sin. I've never really heard about replacing cranks, only ever needed to do top end rebuilds on my 125 MX bikes. How many Km's is the norm for a crank to need replacing on one of those bikes?

[CM2005]

both of you have blatantly forgotten the RS250... VJ22 engine tho so i guess its kinda suzuki. u have to be understanding with the 2t road bikes, keep an eye on fluids, rebuild them properly every 10'000k, and have a good supply of oils, pistons and spark plugs.. oh and clutch plates! very rewarding and fun to ride though!

[wbks]

I had thought about them but I will be broke enough rebuilding a $4000 bike every 10,000 without trying to buy one of those expensive things

[wbks]

"Also not that unlike the later model RGVs the VJ21 only has a 2 piece PV that is not prone to catastrophic roller pin failure that plagued the later model VJ22s with the 3 piece PVs." Is that right?

[matt83]

Good to see someone knows their stuff. I have rebuilt plenty of 2 strokes, you will always, always find parts. Pistons and rings are easy to come by, pro x make decent kits.
They dont use a hell of a lot of fuel if set up right, but running decent 2 stroke oil (you'd be stupid not to) is the most expense in day to day running.
A 2 stroke will make you grin heaps more than any lame 250 four stroke... :)