Vintage Motorcycles
I'm an avid vintage motorcycle enthusiast with a particular love for 1970s and '80s two-stroke Japanese bikes. I spend weekends restoring and fine-tuning classic machines like my Suzuki GT250A and FA50 moped — not just to get them running, but to understand the engineering behind them and push their performance limits. It's equal parts nostalgia, mechanics, and meditation.
Doesn’t is look proud of it’s self? Right after the first motorway ride, 50 miles and smoking all the way!
GT250
I’ve been restoring and refining a 1976 Suzuki GT250A, a classic two-stroke twin with serious vintage charm. This project has involved a deep dive into the mechanics and quirks of the bike—replacing the oil injection lines with modern tubing while preserving original fittings, experimenting with pod air filters and fine tuning the carburetors to be synced and correctly jetted.
I've tackled both mechanical and aesthetic restoration, diving into the weeds with port timing, jetting, and oil flow, and considered every nuance of two-stroke performance. My interest in the GT250 isn't just about getting it running—it's about understanding and honoring the design philosophy of 1970s Suzuki engineering. From diagnosing obscure issues to rebalancing carburetion, this bike has been a hands-on education in vintage motorcycle mechanics.
Also fun to ride, but I’m mostly doing this for the mechanical fun!
FA50
I’ve been rebuilding and messing around with my 1982 Suzuki FA50, a tiny single-speed two-stroke moped that’s way more interesting than it looks. It started out as just getting it running, but I’ve gone way deeper—trying to figure out how the air filter affects the fuel mixture (of course it didn’t come with a stock one), how much restriction the intake really needs, and even playing with a new custom high-performance exhaust.
I’ve worked in the weeds of port timing, pipe dimensions, and how two-stroke pressure waves work—just to squeeze a little more power out of this little bike. I’ve been learning a lot about oil injection, carb tuning, and how these small engines behave under load. It’s not just a simple fix-up anymore—it’s turned into a kind of experiment and learning project.
Most people probably see the FA50 as a simple moped, but for me, it’s been a fun way to dig into two-stroke theory and get hands-on with real mechanical problem-solving.
And, yes, it fits in my Jimny, how else do you think I transported it on a 70 mile highway excursion?
