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Pun intended.

I have a '57 Parilla 125 2T and I cannot find the timing degree in any manual I have (I have the originals in Italian, still not there!).  Does anyone have an idea what ball park degree I should shoot for?

Frustrating part is that the flywheel is marked for TDC and for firing, but the markings are on this outer shell on the flywheel which has broken loose over time and will now move freely once the engine is heated up.  The magnets don't move, just this outer ring.. I have to come up with some other temporary way to mark it for a timing light. To add to that, you have to take the shifter, kicker, engine panel AND flywheel off to change the timing. 

It runs, always has, even after I moved the stator plate around and test rode different setups.  I had it running pretty well and was really getting it on it in top gear then it immediately cut out at high speed - I think I may have almost detonated or something.  Instinct had me pull the clutch immediately when it started cutting out and the engine just totally cut out. Checked everything out and it didn't see any any damage anywhere, retarded the timing a smidge and it runs ok but bogs and is slow rev now.  Could be the old plug it has in it, or could be because it got too hot..

Searched high and low at the junk yard for an RD400 bottom end and happened across this one in a shed that was ready to fall over.  It was on the ground, didn't want to turn over at first but it broke free.  Cylinders aren't ported but heavily rusted.  Obviously a total rebuild if even possible, but I was actually after the transmission for my 350 build anyway.

They declined my offer of $100 for it all, understandable at first. But then he was telling me he could get $250 for the bottom end alone so I didn't bother negotiating from that point.  As it sits right now, I highly doubt that it's worth much more than my offer... or am I off base?  Obviously every bearing is junk and its possible the rust in the bores is beyond repair, especially if it's already bored over (no pistons could be found).  Who knows what the inside is like, however the "exposed" part of the crank once I turned it over was clean metal.

I've had my eye on this motor for over 10 years at the junkyard but he always wanted way too much for it.  This trip I discovered the situation there was only getting worse - pigeons. 

It turned over still.  After he gave me a much more manageable price of $150, I manage to.. uh hum.. scrape out enough to get a socket on the head and remove it - STD bore.

Took the plunge.  I'll follow up after some serious poo removal.

I used to be able to find more about this on the old site but I've lost my notes.  I am a fiend for things seeming like OEM setups, so I was always searching for "mated", left and right TM carbs I could update my RD with, instead of buying 2 new carbs each with their own choke and fuel supply.

I know the Suzuki RG250 carburetors are mated TM28SS's - one choke, shared fuel supply, left and right carburetor pair. 

Does anyone know of any other paired TM carbs?  And what differentiates a TM carb from a TMSS?

A mated TM30 setup would be absolutely sweet, but I think only the WR200 (single cylinder) had a TM30..

I thought you guys may enjoy this due to the oddities of this old 2 stroke motor. This bike was imported from Italy in '91 to California and remained untouched until I purchased it several years back. It is one of about 4 in the country that I know of, but they are somewhat easy to find in Italy. It had all the right stuff for an easy restoration or at least a refurbishing - strong compression, spark, squeaky clean tank inside.. but no carb. I sourced a NOS carb from Italy after much searching and Google translating. Then I started working on it!

Hey guys. I am interested in getting into racing but have no clue how people get involved. To be honest, I just want a chance to learn how (slowly) in some sort of racing class that is, simply put, not very serious. Does such a thing exist? I figure I could go to racing schools somewhere to learn as well? Sounds expensive though.

I am currently building a DS7 which I intend to leave piston port 250 for now. May or may not want to race with that, I have been advised that you don't want to go learning on a bike with that much powerband.

I used to have a heavily modded RD350 that I took around the track at Barber Vintage for a few laps with some WOT. I've had the desire to get into it ever since.