This week I thought I’d switch gears and share with you the restoration of my 1975 Kawasaki H2. When it comes to the handful of bikes I have owned, this bike was the one where I would be completely heartbroken if something happened to it. Unfortunately that was just the case. 

My love affair with two-stroke bikes started while in college and the Kawasaki H2 happened to be the king in this arena, it fascinated me. Naturally I had to get my hands on one, but I couldn’t afford a running or restored one. So it turned out I needed a project! On a Wednesday night in the spring of 2008 I was perusing craigslist, using one of the national search engines, and found a pair of 1975 H2s in Dallas. Instead of dutifully studying for an exam I had on Friday, I got to thinking about how I could feasibly get these bikes over the weekend. Thursday rolled around and I was still mulling things over in my head. One of my girl friends came around that night to study for an exam we had on Friday and I mentioned to her how I wanted to get the bikes. She suggested we leave that evening and go pick them up. She had a commitment on Sunday but if we left almost immediately we could make it back in time. I wasn’t completely sure if she was serious, but I found out soon enough that she was dead serious. So we set off for Dallas and I got a pair of basket case H2s.

When I got to Dallas I found that the bikes were in a worse shape than I had suspected, but I bought them anyway. 

Once I got back to Minneapolis, my friend and I promptly submitted our doctor’s notes so that we could make up the exam. Along with finishing up my studies for the year I got to work on the bike.

Here the bikes are shortly after I got them home...

This is a question I was plagued with once I realized I wanted to do everything two-wheeled related for the rest of my life. Recently a few younger folks sent me messages thanking me for sharing my personal story, technical advice, and being so open in my blog. I am so happy that my journey thus far has inspired those of you who are looking into getting into a career in the motorcycle industry.

 A few of these folks have shared with me how they are struggling a little bit right now in university, from difficult classes to professors that aren’t open to supporting unique projects. I figured if these folks reached out to me, there must be a few other young people in the community with some of the same thoughts on their mind. Since it wasn’t too long ago when I was dealing with similar situations, I thought it might be a good idea to share some of my advice regarding attending a university and landing the motorcycle industry dream job you want afterwards. And what better time to address some of these issues than at the start of a new school year?

How am I doing and what’s on your mind?

We are a few posts in I’d like to take a moment to ensure that the most important part of Moto Mind is being taken care of. That part would be you, the reader. Me filling up this blog with content that none of you need or care about would put me on the fast track to having my own online diary! I don’t need a diary for my mental health, I have plenty of fast motorcycles to ride to keep me sane.

What I do want is to create a dialogue between you, my readers, and myself so that I can better serve your needs and interests when it comes to your bikes. Over the past four posts I’ve hit on a few topics I feel should benefit all of you. Have you gotten a chance to think about or use them? Any thoughts or tips on your end concerning warming up your engine and piston ring end gap? You guys are the most important part of this dialogue and hearing from you is the ticket to making my time here worthwhile. 

Along with working in some of the content you want to see, I also want to share some of the topics I’m getting pumped to post about. On the technical side, I am going to post an in-depth look at engine balance, continue to post on successful engine building practices, and discuss the importance of keeping a log of the maintenance you perform on your engine.

In addition to the technical content I am also planning on taking you through the complete design of a single cylinder two-stroke engine. As I design I am going to explain the process, creating an open door policy on how an engine is designed and why. The two-stroke engine is one of my passions and I would like to see a resurgence of it as a viable powertrain platform for sport vehicles. My aim is to teach you how the two-stroke can be produced using a more clean and efficient design.

I hope you’re excited as I am about these upcoming topics. My aim is that this knowledge can serve you as much as it has served me. Give me a holler through the comments below and fill me in on what you want to see more of and what you want to learn about. Moto Mind is merely the sum of its readers and riders. 

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I cringe when I see someone guess at the proper amount of oil to mix with their fuel when filling up their two-stroke dirt bike, snowmobile, jet-ski, or even weed whip. Manufacturer’s spend an awful lot of time figuring out what the right amount of oil is for a given engine application so when I see someone add a splash here and a splash there and call it good it worries me. If you’re one of those folks maybe after reading this it will worry you too.

Adding too little oil may lead to improper lubrication of the crank bearings, rings, piston, and rod bearings causing premature failure due to excessive wear and increased friction. You might think using less oil will save you a few dollars, will lead to more horsepower, or will keep your spark plug from fouling. Let me assure you that buying another quart or gallon of oil is much cheaper than having to replace an entire top and/or bottom end. Personally I have not come across a single study that proved less oil lead to more horsepower. I have ran oil mixtures as rich as 20:1 and have not had any problems with the bike fouling plugs. In my opinion, plug fouling occurs from poor combustion (possibly caused by combustion chamber shape, spark strength, or ignition timing) not the amount of oil in the mixture itself...