Kick a** two strokes!

In late 2001 or 2002, a friend of mine pulled together an informal race in Fukushima prefecture. He was close to the Suzuki factory and he also invited over Ted Campbell (AMA pro) and Stefy Bau to give some training to the Suzuki factory women's class rider (Saya Suzuki) who was the Japan national champion at that time. A few top Japan pro's also showed up along with a couple of employees from the Suzuki Factory who had a very special bike in their van that shocked the heck out of me.

When we think about the old bikes, somehow we think they are not as good as our modern machinery. Our memory gets hazy over the years and when we ride one of the old bikes, it is usually a bit worn from years of riding, and confirms our bias that the new bikes are better. Well what the Suzuki factory employees had in their van was a brand new 1982 RM250 that was still sitting in the factory warehouse all these years. It had never been ridden or started, still had the plastic covering the seat, and was essentially just like it would be in the showroom in 1982. But this is 2001 or 2002.. almost 20 years later! This bike was in my 250 class race. I admired the shiny new 1982 machine and it was cool to see it as if one almost stepped back 20 years in time. The factory employee riding the bike wasn't that good and the start was a very long steep sandy uphill that favored power. I had a brand new 2001 CR250 with several engine mods.. the engine was very strong and I was always a good starter so I never thought the 1982 relic from the past would be a factor. Boy was I wrong. I was second going up the steep uphill start and there was a bike trying to power past me. I was shocked when I looked over to see it was the 1982 RM250 pulling with me all the way up the hill. It wasn't even broken in yet as they started it for the first time that morning. I have had deep respect for that engine ever since. These old two strokes really made some good usable power and I think we forget how good they were,

mike

Yea it is. There was a threat of rain but still a decent turn out. It was in Moberly MO. I raced in the novice class because it was my first time on the bike. I had a lot of fun and plan on going to the next one in Kahoka Missouri on July 20th.

Both for sale!

Those YZs were the best ever.

They sounded so damn crisp it wasn't even funny.

Nothing like them.

Sweet garage man.

And bikes! lol

That 82 kx is beautiful.used to have one back in the day.looks brand new.great work!

Here is where I'm at with my RM125. Couple little things left to do but it's close.

The blue TM's look so sweet.....but this one is a show stopper!

WoW!

I seriously wish my bike will look like that one day, that thing looks great man!

What's the story behind this bike? Didn't Thomas Jefferson build a replica of this bike? I'd be down for the stock front fender/number plate combo if I had trick red clamps and works Showa forks. Looks so fuckin bitchin.

Thanks for the kind works guys. Took longer to get everything together than I planned as the girlfriend and I welcomed a baby into the house. Finally getting into a routine with the kid stuff so got some time to put the bike together and get out for ride. Easy to talk the girlfriend into new stuff for the bike when I tell her it's Jackson's bike now haha

Thanks! Loving them. I still usually prefer the 144 depending on the track and conditions, but the 250 is great too. Best mod so far is the Lectron 38mm carb, I've tried it on both bikes and I can't believe how clean they run and how much overrev they pick up with a simple carb swap. I've got the stock Keihins running well but the Lectron is just something else.