Alright, let me begin by saying this is my first two stroke after 20 years of riding and wrenching on old bikes. Bear with me if I’m a little ignorant in dealing with the quirks of a vintage smoker...
So, I recently finished a full restoration of an ‘83 CR125R and have been testing and tuning it. It fires right up and sounds crisp at idle and rev. I drop it in gear and it pulls...weak. When it hits the pipe (like a light switch!) it screams but it doesn’t exactly leap into action. The plug looks good, the carb is clean and tuned and the new clutch isn’t dragging.
I know 2 strokes generally require a certain skill to ride right. Am I just spoiled by the instant torque of 4 strokes? Do I just need to learn how to dance through the gears better to keep it on the pipe? Or is there something else that would cause a bike to sound great and run clean but lack a “hit”?