Missing the smell of the 2 stroke oil

**Hads** · 23rd October 2015, 16:05

Ever since I stopped riding an old Jawa I have missed the 2 stroke feel. I now have a klx 250s for mostly commuting and the odd bash around the Ashley river, is there a 2 stroke out there that could be used as a dual sport? Would it be reliable enough to commute 100km a day on?

**jim.cox** · 23rd October 2015, 16:37

How about a TS250?

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/List...x?id=967379190

**Hads** · 23rd October 2015, 16:41

What is a bike of that age like with reliability? I found with a 72 Jawa it would not start once every two weeks.

**Ender EnZed** · 23rd October 2015, 17:16

There are usually a few newer TS185s floating around.

Example 1
Example 2
You can even get a brand new one (though not road legal).

Not exactly ideal for a 100km daily commute but you could probably manage it if you were keen enough.

**jim.cox** · 23rd October 2015, 17:36

Originally Posted by Hads

What is a bike of that age like with reliability? I found with a 72 Jawa it would not start once every two weeks.

"If it has tits or wheels it will give you trouble in the end"

**clint640** · 23rd October 2015, 20:54

It's a short list - DT230 Yamaha would be my pick.

Cheers
Clint

**Muzz67** · 24th October 2015, 08:04

here does.
Just chuck some Castor oil in yer BMW,, so all the riders trailing along in the fumes can re-live The Good Old Daze.
Meybe sneak some in the blokes tank in front too, so you get to inhale it as well.

**T.W.R** · 24th October 2015, 08:16

Simple......TDR250 Yamaha, the machine that spawned the TDM850/900

RZ250 motor in mild enduro/adventure bike frame.

**george formby** · 24th October 2015, 09:00

I have a DT 230 Lanza and CRM 250 sat in the shed. Both do 150 - 200km on a tank and are reasonably comfortable for that distance. Apart from basic maintenance they just run. Unfortunately they are like hens teeth.

I'm going to have a look at a TDR 250 in bits soon to see if it's worth putting back together and on the road. I've wanted one for years... Yee haw!

**Hads** · 24th October 2015, 16:30

The DT230 lanza looks cool, but they are certainly hard to find, I will do a saved search on trademe I reckon. TDR250 looks interesting too, so will hunt for one of those.

**caspernz** · 24th October 2015, 19:47

Oh the nostalgia of 2 strokes...reminds me of the old mans' GT750 from about 1976 or thereabouts. Certainly heavy enough to be called a waterbus, unique enough sound in its day. Not sure I'd seek a 2 stroke out as daily transport though...

**george formby** · 25th October 2015, 09:47

Originally Posted by caspernz

Oh the nostalgia of 2 strokes...reminds me of the old mans' GT750 from about 1976 or thereabouts. Certainly heavy enough to be called a waterbus, unique enough sound in its day. Not sure I'd seek a 2 stroke out as daily transport though...

I remember seeing TDR's used as courier bikes.
The trailie's are great commuters, not so flash sitting on motorways. Biggest problem is ignoring the little devil trying to make me do anti social things.
I recently re-jetted my DT, used WR 200 jetting, they use the same carb but big difference in set up. The aim was to make it run cooler and increase longevity. The side effect is a lot more ooomph and drop in fuel economy. It will wheelie out of corners now if that's your thing.
I crack up laughing every time I jump on one of the chook chasers. 40ish HP and sub 140kg.

**clint640** · 27th October 2015, 14:53

I had a TDR250 when I was a young fulla. A bitchin motard, massive fun on the road or track & a real head turner back in the day, but a dual sport it was not. The weight, suspension & wheel size would make it a big step down from a KLX250/DT230 for river bed bashing, plus replacing the fragile & probably unobtainium plastics if you dropped it would not be fun.

Also the TZR based motor was thirsty (~150km out of a 14L tank IIRC) & not very reliable - if you did yearly piston replacements you might get those commuting miles out of it but it'd probably be cheaper to run a V8

Cheers
Clint

**Motu** · 27th October 2015, 16:50

Another plug for the DT230 here, they are really high tech for a 2 stroke and a shit load of fun. Yamaha blurb said ''like riding an MX bike on the street.'' Yep, that'd be right - riding around town I couldn't go straight anywhere, I'd take every side street, and then the next one and the next one. Neeyit, neeyit, neeyit, flicking through the 6 speed out of every corner. It ticked almost every box for me - but having to get down to one bike, I needed to tick a few more boxes.