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Two stroke engine builders?

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BenR
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PostPosted: 10:40 - 13 Oct 2018    Post subject: Two stroke engine builders? Reply with quote

Looking for recommendations really. Did a search on Google & there are lots of ads on eBay for rebuilds but they're all people/companies I've never heard of so asking the BCF massive for opinions. Who's good & who's best to avoid?
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Old Git Racing
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PostPosted: 10:52 - 13 Oct 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Which bike and what sort of rebuild, full, top end, tuned or left standard? Where are you based?

OGR.
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stevo as b4
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PostPosted: 11:07 - 13 Oct 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

There's some Merit in going to someone that regularly does engine re-builds or specialises in your particular bike, especially if it's a rare or classic machine.

On the other hand, many two stroke singles say like Enduro/MX bikes, are very similar in design and features, so I'd be quite happy on a bike like mine using a decent MX engine builder. You get to hear who's good and worth using if you go to a few race events and talk to people in the paddock etc.

I've got 3 engines, one I'm going to be re-building myself, one I'm just doing the top end on, and my best engine with a tuned cylinder will go to a pro builder to put it together just right to make the best out of it.

It might also depend on what you want done, is it a re-build just to get a bike running again quickly and without hassle, or are you looking for blue-printing, Port matching, and setting up compression and squish clearances exactly with all bits weighed matched and balanced to an anal degree?

I too am wary of recommending a specialist without knowing the bike or the requirements really.
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pepperami
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PostPosted: 11:59 - 13 Oct 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

This would be of interest to me.
I might? Possibly, maybe, be getting back into motoball.
This means I might possibly, maybe need to build myself another motoball bike.
Old single cylinder two-smokes are ideal for this.
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BenR
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PostPosted: 15:52 - 13 Oct 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

@ OGR sorry I should've said it would be for my little wolf mate (suzuki rg125). I'm keeping my eye out for another bottom end as I already have a couple of spare top ends but as PJME no longer do full engine rebuilds I have to find someone else. At the moment I'm based in the South East but don't mind driving. Thumbs Up
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Phil_B
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PostPosted: 22:27 - 15 Oct 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

You not thought of doing it yourself? I got pjme to rebuild the crank and pull back in, put in new seals and bearings. Did the strip down and rebuild myself...there's not a lot in them!
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MarJay
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PostPosted: 23:02 - 15 Oct 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

The issue with 250+ cc two strokes is pressing the crank together. Most back street garages only have a press capable of doing a smaller crank.

However, your bike has a smaller crank, so it may very well be that any decent back street garage of repute could do your engine, especially if it is not being tuned at the same time. You don't need to take it to a super duper sh*t hot specialist, you just need to get it rebuilt.

Even if the back street garage can't re-press your crank, then they can send it away to Applebee or someone like that to have done.

I had a bad experience with Stan Stephens which I won't go into now, but a back street garage could do just as good a job especially if they aren't expected to do any tuning at the same time.
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BenR
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PostPosted: 23:27 - 15 Oct 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Phil_B wrote:
You not thought of doing it yourself? I got pjme to rebuild the crank and pull back in, put in new seals and bearings. Did the strip down and rebuild myself...there's not a lot in them!


Hi Phil no I'm afraid I'm no mechanic engines aren't my thing rebuilding the top end is about as far as I go. Besides I'm a bit clumsy & have a tendency to lose things. Embarassed

@Mariah thanks for the reassurance. Stan Stephens is now retired isn't he? Where do you get yours done?
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MarJay
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PostPosted: 09:20 - 16 Oct 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

BenR wrote:
Phil_B wrote:
You not thought of doing it yourself? I got pjme to rebuild the crank and pull back in, put in new seals and bearings. Did the strip down and rebuild myself...there's not a lot in them!


Hi Phil no I'm afraid I'm no mechanic engines aren't my thing rebuilding the top end is about as far as I go. Besides I'm a bit clumsy & have a tendency to lose things. Embarassed

@MarJay thanks for the reassurance. Stan Stephens is now retired isn't he? Where do you get yours done?


Hmm... Auto correct I assume. I got my last one done by Stan, but... well... bad things happened. It's a very long story and I won't get into it here.

Nowadays I'd probably do it myself. I'd get cranks done at Applebee:

https://www.applebee.co.uk/motorcycle.html

And the rest I'd just do myself. There is a shop up the road from me in Bramley that is a two stroke and four stroke race bike specialist, and having spoken to them at length I'd probably let them loose on my bike if I couldn't be bothered to do it myself.

Where abouts in the south east are you based?
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NeverAgain
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PostPosted: 09:46 - 16 Oct 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

MarJay wrote:
I got my last one done by Stan, but... well... bad things happened. It's a very long story and I won't get into it here.


As someone with a 90s era 2 stroke twin, Stan Stephens has a good reputation. I'm curious as to what happened?
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redeem ouzzer
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PostPosted: 11:17 - 16 Oct 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Grampian to do your crank, do rest yourself.

Sorted.
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BenR
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PostPosted: 17:50 - 16 Oct 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

MarJay wrote:

Hmm... Auto correct I assume. I got my last one done by Stan, but... well... bad things happened. It's a very long story and I won't get into it here.

Nowadays I'd probably do it myself. I'd get cranks done at Applebee:

https://www.applebee.co.uk/motorcycle.html

And the rest I'd just do myself. There is a shop up the road from me in Bramley that is a two stroke and four stroke race bike specialist, and having spoken to them at length I'd probably let them loose on my bike if I couldn't be bothered to do it myself.

Where abouts in the south east are you based?


Hi mate yeah sorry it's the kindle can't turn it off either it's bloody annoying! Mad I'm in Hertfordshire fella. There are people local but I don't know anything about them or what they're like.
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BenR
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PostPosted: 17:52 - 16 Oct 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

GT200Fan79 wrote:
Grampian to do your crank, do rest yourself.

Sorted.


The guys on the RGV forum highly recommend Grampian motors but I'm looking for someone who can do the whole lot.
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Shaft
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PostPosted: 21:53 - 16 Oct 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

NeverAgain wrote:
MarJay wrote:
I got my last one done by Stan, but... well... bad things happened. It's a very long story and I won't get into it here.


As someone with a 90s era 2 stroke twin, Stan Stephens has a good reputation. I'm curious as to what happened?


I always got the impression Stan's reputation was built around being the biggest name, which doesn't always mean you're the best.

He never did anything for me, but he built three engines for a mate and they were biblically unreliable, you could measure the gap between seizures in hours rather than miles.

There was a memorable trip to Brighton where we had to stop three times, because my pal's 350LC kept nipping up - it wasn't what you would call mind blowingly fast either.
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chickenstrip
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PostPosted: 23:26 - 16 Oct 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Shaft wrote:


I always got the impression Stan's reputation was built around being the biggest name, which doesn't always mean you're the best.

He never did anything for me, but he built three engines for a mate and they were biblically unreliable, you could measure the gap between seizures in hours rather than miles.

There was a memorable trip to Brighton where we had to stop three times, because my pal's 350LC kept nipping up - it wasn't what you would call mind blowingly fast either.


On the other side of the coin, he did the tune on my YPVS 350, and it was mental, and I never had any problems with it either. Then I sold it to a mate who took it racing (illegally with the tune it had, but he always said everyone was at it, and you had to, to be competitive in whatever class/series he was racing in). As far as I'm aware, he didn't have any problems with it either, and did reasonably well.

But people like me were getting tuning done for road bikes, yet going for race spec. tunes - should we have expected them to be entirely reliable for miles and miles of road use? Back then, the one thing I think we all knew was that if you got the nuts tuned off a bike, 4 or 2 stroke, it was likely to be less reliable.

There is no question in my mind that Stephens knew his stuff. But I do wonder who actually carried out much of the work on all the engines taken to him. I doubt he did it all himself.
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DJP
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PostPosted: 16:57 - 17 Oct 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Stan Stephens' tunes were good but his customer service could be patchy.

A mate of mine sent in some RD350 parts for tuning and received back 2 left hand cylinders!

Took a while to get sorted as well.
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