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I also suspect that using the stock brake light switch may increase lever travel a bit, and also make bleeding more difficult by potentially trapping air bubbles.

I had big problems when trying to use some "anti squeal" shims that came with a set of new pads. Binned them, and all was good.
My setup is an alloy repop caliper from EC, one piece steel braided teflon hose, 13 mm Brembo master cylinder, coffin style reservoir. Works great!

ill take the 300hp h2r for 50k. that's ridiculous

However,  the H2R is a porker compared to the Ducati....

I have a set of snowmobile VM34s and they are small body - not as small as a 28 but much shorter than a regular VM34.

The bad news is that they have zinc or Mazak bodies so they are a touch overweight.

Hmm, I have come across the opposite weight phenomenon. For example, the OEM VM28 for RD350 seem pretty heavy for their size, while a single VM34 or 36 from a fan cooled Rotax 503 snowmobile engine was amazingly lightweight. Almost so you would suspect it was magnesium...
Does anyone know what material genuine aftermarket Mikuni carbs are made of?

Hmm, at least to my eyes, those PWKs look more "streamlined" on the air filter side than the stock VM28s. I wonder if anyone has done any flow testing of VMs  vs PWKs?

Yes, Vm34 short bodies.

So you have tested? Equal size?

A slightly different issue regarding Mikuni carbs: Some VM30 used as OEM in snowmobiles, had same body as VM26/28. While those normally available in the aftermarket shared body size with VM32/34

Hmm, at least to my eyes, those PWKs look more "streamlined" on the air filter side than the stock VM28s. I wonder if anyone has done any flow testing of VMs  vs PWKs?

XS650 kickstarter has same splines as 73-75 RD 350, if that helps. Quite a bit more heavy duty than the RD kickstarter.
I also have an awkwardly shaped, alloy kickstarter with RD/ XS splines, I believe from a Yamaha MXer

Quite a story, and kudos for not giving up!
I actually have an ongoing XT 250 project myself, it is an "86" model, but I believe they just made too many of them in 80-82.
Anyway, it sort of must be the dad/ granddad of the 225. Very similar stroke, just a 75 mm bore instead of 70 mm.
We actually had another XT250 back in the 90s, and it gave similar fuel economy, 3 l/100 km or around 78 mpg (US). So a great little runabout for daily errands.
Talking about "errand mules", a Honda NC 750 X would be very hard to beat, even when larger, heavier and more expensive. Similar, ridiculously low fuel consumption, plenty of power for any freeway, and a super convenient "trunk" where you would expect the fuel tank to be
Beautiful? No, but darn practical

Why is it quicker? I mean is it quicker revving due to a shorter stroke? Is the three piston design attributable?...seems like more rotating mass. Is it a better design in terms of combustion design?

The early H1 had 60 hp, vs the T500's 47 hp. Both manufacturer's numbers.
Being a triple the H1 had a shorter stroke, so could safetly rev higher. More revs gives more power. So the H1 was given more extreme port timing/ cylinder design, and an exhaust system designed for higher revs and more power. I believe the H1 exhaust actually was expansion Chambers, "hidden" inside more traditional looking mufflers.

Was it really capable of a 13.20 quarter mile? That couldn't have been much slower than a H1/ Mach III?

mmm. i think it was an 'its good enough' design at the time. they were aiming for reliability, then performance.  a reliable 2t 500 twin from them was a big deal at the time. i think that motor was designed around 65-66 with of course, heavy influence from early 60s MZ design.  either way, it somhow works but its super dated. only bike ive ever had that pinged at idle.   

I seem to remember that the T500 was roadraced back in the 60s/70s, often in a Seeley frame?
I guess the engines were modified quite a bit for that use...Btw, is the T500 just like the 380 and 750 triples, just one pair of transfers?
(Although much better shaped transfer ducts, at least on the 750, than on any RDs, due to the pretty clever rotated cylinders)

Btw, has any of you any experience with redirecting the secondary transfers to a more forward direction on RD's? According to Kevin Cameron this worked well on TZ750, Jan Thiel is also promoting it (aka "the leaning tower")

As the tread has wandered off into heads and squish, I wonder why many Suzuki two stroke heads had no squish area. Mark's T500, the GT750 and some PE and RM engines are of this design.
Not that Yamaha was much better, as the squish clearances mostly were too big to do much good.

Regarding squish band, combustion chamber shape and head geometry in general: I follow a retired Swedish diesel tech, who is repairing and building 50-125 cc two strokes, and testing them on his home built dyno. IIRC, he tested a 50 cc engine with an 80 cc aftermarket higher power cylinder, power in the 11-13 hp range. He tested two different heads with the same volume, and found a significant power increase. If you are able to understand Swedish, check out "Tvåtaktsmeken" on YouTube.

I do have straight die grinder, a Dremel etc, but no right angle handpiece. And since those are pretty expensive, I am looking at having this done by a somewhat local shop. I can easily deal with intake and exhaust ports myself, but do not intend to change timing, maybe just improve the exhaust port finish to slow down carbon buildup.