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so, these aren't listed for an R5 or DS7 but same part. also good for RD200, and other models. I use these on other bikes as well . just figured id pass it along.  got some for the 70r5 and they are super nice. also use them on the aftermarket gauges on the t500 and 72 R5.

if the frame hadn't been cut. sigh.  still saveable but too high for what it is. maybe the 'racing jets' add value..? 

https://www.facebook.com/share/17kzd1VPhZ/

old school factory timing gauge.  I got it w the melted foam and missing the lid inside,  so drew up and printed a new insert for the case. much better. 

this was the charge on a set of $1300 stainless chambers I ordered in may from Jim Lomas. UPS sent me the bill.

do not go down the political route on this,  im not and it cost me pretty dearly.  Just an FYI. curious to see what if any imprt fee is on the yambits order I placed is. Just be warned. these were stateside before I got the notice. 

On the 72 R5 i am sort of intentionally 'doing it wrong' as far as carburation. I put a set of stock RD350 ('a' i think) carbs on, with the 08 jet tube and 5IE(?) stock needle. No dave f mod, no air jet mods.  wanted to see if i could get it to jet ok with a k&N  and y boot, fpps and stock porting on repop cyls.

Yes, i had pwks on it but wantd to see

so, after playing with it on and off here and there, i was trying to tune out the sort of weak spot in the throttle, was only at certain rpms. i man, anything over 6k and its a rocket. (it does have a zeel, mzb cdi and v force reeds)

this has stock r5 heads on the kveldwulf cyls, and a crossover intake, with an rz crossover tube. (i just had it laying around).

Jetting landed at 270 mains, needle ont eh 5th (richest) postition, 27,5 pilot and 1.75 out on the air screw.

(ign curve isnt anything exciting. just starts at 18, jumps to 23 degrees at 2200-5k, then at 7k its at 19. then tapers down from there with it at 17 at 10k and the rev limiter at 10.5   ) it pulls from down low up just fine.

the issue was a quick rap on the throttle at 4500 or so it 'gulped'. I was at 4th clip but decided to move to 5th and boom. cleared it up. its been like that for a few mos and was fine and rideable but def got better pretty much everywhere over 1/2 throttle on 5th.

Yes, i have better carbs, heads, etc available but wanted to do it this way. sort of nostalgic to the 90s pre dave f/dale a mod became the norm.

Point being, there are 5 clips. done be afraid to use them if your motor tells you it needs to be there. (we all know it can be a mental block).

heres a plug after about a 3/4 mile pull 4th gear 1/2 to 3/4 throttle. motor was fully warm.







 

off the ls2. perfect storage and low, low miles. still, time takes its toll.

original vs new ngk

went ahead and picked this up today. needs some attention mechanically but got it running and riding today w Matt's help. clear title too.

 

whats a nice original condition, with title, running 72 Ls2 going for these days? local ish one available. curious on the consensus. 





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finally dragged the yl1 to the gap meet, been meaning to for 2? yrs. did extremely well for what it was. on relatively flat land can maintain 51mph with me on it in full gear @ 200 lbs. did the hills I 3rd mostly maintaining 40-45 MPH. on rare occasion had to downshift into 2 to get rims up to get in power for 3rd . overall, pretty good. here's a long video coming down off this run. and yes, towards the end I got stuck behind 2 Harleys. on a stock 58 year old 100. 

I'll be in the mts all week at deals gap, so i turned it off for the mean time. just letting everyone know. 

paid 179 or so a week ago, which was a great deal, but best buy dropped price again to 139. so, bought a spare. they must be phasing them out?

mostly to test the new go pro, need to play w the wind suppression settings. Not my greatest ride, not the greatest road but still fun as hell.

66 model in Midwest. no affiliation.  https://www.facebook.com/groups/1553233251641230/permalink/3614150932216108/

like, the most 4 stroke thing ever. last owner a good friend, decided these were ok, and they were for about a year, but they finally gave up the ghost. and he had the head off...    either way, all sorted now with some mechanical jack-assery. also fixed a nagging leak on the LH side of the motor.




took it out the next day, did 132 ish miles, was really good (admittedly fixed leak on motor after 1st ride and second). it had gotten bad enough was getting on the rear tire..   yes, i've been avoiding it. 

air in the cyl to keep valve from dropping in. c clamp tool used totally wrong. 












'barn fresh' seals.   




and the next day:



yes, a scruffy 74 350 was on that ride.

this has been along term bike for me, the old build thread was on the OLD board. i wont bore anyone w all that, but, this was a florida basket case. and, its one of the only bikes i actively sought out to get after owning one 25 years prior.

it was def not a restoration candidate, so i went a bit creative w the appearance. and, its been a great bike over-all. there have been nagging leaks here and there and the biggest issue is (was) the suspension. the front ends on these were just DISMAL. the brake, even though it was a drum, was actually ok, but the forks damping was basically non existent, they flexed (34mm!) and the external springs were just weak. and, i could never get the collars to stop seeping fork oil. i had had enough, so i procured a GT550 front end (1st year disc model) and went ahead and swapped. had the lowers glass beaded, then vapor blasted along w the upper tree, the spacer, etc.

3D printed some badges for the caliper, and some gaiter mounts. new BT46s as well. the improvement was very notable.

also, since the turn signals had to be remounted, (the disc upper tree doesn't have the provisions), i used some spare R5 ones i had (mounts) under the fork cap and emulated the stock location. used k&s aluminum signals, and had to machine spacers in the back ones to kick em out a bit and use a carbon bolt (since the TS holds the grab rail on).

the stock stuff thats good will be used on the 71 i just got, since its missing  the rear signals and the front wheel is in need of help.
 











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not mine, seems reasonable ish.

https://www.facebook.com/share/16TvrHnrTA/

So Barney, my 70 R5, has been kicking around since about 2011 or so.  It was pretty rough when i got it but always ran weirdly strong. 
tis was when i first got it running way back at the old house.



i didnt do much w it for a few yrs, but then after i got divorced i went full into making it a rider. replaced crank seals and all the normal stuff, but never split the cases NOR did i ever pull a cyl head. didn't need to, deepest i went was a clutch replacement. compression was always good so f-it.

the last few yrs, after doing a bunch of slow cosmetic upgrades over the past 10 years, and forks/swingarm bushing, etc, all the maint stuff, the motor was getting noisier and noisier. Not really top end noise but at 27K  on the bike and no signs it had ever had the motor out, i planned on a lower end rebuild a few mos ago.

bought a vitos crank, a gasket set, seals, etc, all the normal stuff. its a very early one so maintaining the original cases were important to me.

I pulled the top end down and it was still on a 64mm bore, but had later non dykes oem pistons in it, and they measure perfectly, so , as unusual as it is, i left the top end alone, just cleaned it. ( i was fully prepared to rebuild it... but no need) so at some point somebody had done the top end ( i knew it had been off by the witness marks on the head bolts)





However, the crank shaft  had def spread, it was almost 2mm out width wise and was pushing on the outer bearings pretty good, they were roaring when it ran and that's the noise i heard.



the vitos cranks are very well built, and there's rumors they come w cheap bearings etc. NOPE.



so, since its an early motor, there were def some casting difference, quite a bit actually. i wont show most of them but the inside is pretty clear vs a 73 RD350 case. (which i stole the 6 speed out of to put in the r5). the rd was mush more refined a casting. no worries the 73 rd motor i had was already apart as it also had a bad crank. 

r5 motor:


rd motor:


cases cleaned at local coin op carwash. used S100 and some brushes. want edo keep original finish, why they weren't blasted.



r5 motor w new crank and rd trans (all of it) w new bearings etc


frame cleaned and touched up it was SUPER nasty under here.



cyls painted etc.



and all back together. way, way quieter, smoother, and the 6th gear is admittedly very nice.




keep in mind, this is a dead bone stock tuned bike, airbox, lid, etc. the ONLY thing different from stock is a vape cdi, set static to 1.9mm btdc. and a 520 chain conversion from EC from yrs ago. thats it.  and its one of my favorite bikes to ride.

cruised up I-77 70-75 mph easily not even wringing it out, hit 80+ a few times passing cars. this thing sbeen rock solid since its been finished.. 5+? yrs ago.

Met up W Dimas w his beautiful CBR, Matt and D. Old man donut and coffee meetup.

I liek to check compression on occasion, and figured it was time to check barney. Mind you, as -far as i know- its a bone stock topend, but it def has been off before. Ive had this bike since 2012 or so, and its always mechanically ran oddly well. It does have a bit of noise at cold startup, im suspecting a crank bearing is wearing, but its been doing it for 8 years.

I did change the crank seals years ago, but have never, i mean never, even had a head off. Heres why:





and, if it shows, a video  w a bore scope. To be honest, i wasnt sue what pistons it even had in it.. look to be cast, and i cant see an overbore mark but not sure.

https://2strokeworld.net/wp-content/uploads/70-R5/2025/70-r5-rhc.mp4

https://2strokeworld.net/wp-content/uploads/70-R5/2025/70-r5-lhc-cleaned-dome.mp4

the left cyl, i did use a dremel with a brush attachment and clean the center of the piston, so that bright spot was intentional.

the bore scope is a cheap klein tools one that just plugs into my phone, for like 40 bucks it does really well. (and fits in the plug hole).

So, its good, technically.

BUT, i want to freshen up the crank since.. it may be 55 years old now. also, take the opportunity to swap in a 6 speed ( i have all the stuff to do it a few times over)

This will also give the opportunity to vapor blast the cases and paint the cyls correctly, etc. 



Thurs:


 

Took out the YL1E, then the KZ650 today. Only got this pic of the KZ by the airport runway. was 56F and quite nice for a few hours.