paul g Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Has any one ever owned a Yamaha RS 200 1981 model, and if so what do you think of them?. I know its a twin cylinder 2 stroke engine but i havnt seen many of these around. I was thinking about buying one off a freind of mine in quite good condition with full MOT on it. Would it be considered a classic bike these days and something worth holding onto for a few years. Best Regards Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimR Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Has any one ever owned a Yamaha RS 200 1981 model, and if so what do you think of them?. I know its a twin cylinder 2 stroke engine but i havnt seen many of these around. I was thinking about buying one off a freind of mine in quite good condition with full MOT on it. Would it be considered a classic bike these days and something worth holding onto for a few years. Best Regards Paul Hi Paul Yes I have owned an RS 200, back in the day it did not sell well so 1981 registration may not mean 1981 model ! In the UK we had 2 versions, one with a single seat & top box ( and a seat pad that replaced the top box if you carried passengers), the other version had 'hi rise' handle bars & a duel seat. To be fair the bike was good (both versions) but suffered from a few problems (in the UK). The bike was really never meant to come to the UK so when it was here needed to modified to run correctly. The problems were :- Plugs oil fouling if ridden slowly - Fix, reduce the minimum stroke for the oil pump and change the plugs to a softer grade ( I just cannot think of the grade but if the spec is B7HS then install a B6HS) and adjust the ignition timing to 1.6mm btdc fully advanced Heat Seize if ridden fast - enlarge the size of the main jet, keep the plugs per spec set the minimum pump stroke to spec, adjust the ignition timing to 1.8mm btdc fully advanced. It then became a little more difficult if you use the bike, mostly slowly, then thrash the nuts out of it (holed pistons) or if you thrash it most of the time and do some slow work with it (oiled plugs). Most of the time it was good to adjust the minimum pump stroke, this allowed good centre ground. When the RS200 was 'on song' it was an awesome 2 stroke twin with a single carb ! Regards Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul g Posted June 16, 2011 Author Share Posted June 16, 2011 Hi Paul Yes I have owned an RS 200, back in the day it did not sell well so 1981 registration may not mean 1981 model ! In the UK we had 2 versions, one with a single seat & top box ( and a seat pad that replaced the top box if you carried passengers), the other version had 'hi rise' handle bars & a duel seat. To be fair the bike was good (both versions) but suffered from a few problems (in the UK). The bike was really never meant to come to the UK so when it was here needed to modified to run correctly. The problems were :- Plugs oil fouling if ridden slowly - Fix, reduce the minimum stroke for the oil pump and change the plugs to a softer grade ( I just cannot think of the grade but if the spec is B7HS then install a B6HS) and adjust the ignition timing to 1.6mm btdc fully advanced Heat Seize if ridden fast - enlarge the size of the main jet, keep the plugs per spec set the minimum pump stroke to spec, adjust the ignition timing to 1.8mm btdc fully advanced. It then became a little more difficult if you use the bike, mostly slowly, then thrash the nuts out of it (holed pistons) or if you thrash it most of the time and do some slow work with it (oiled plugs). Most of the time it was good to adjust the minimum pump stroke, this allowed good centre ground. When the RS200 was 'on song' it was an awesome 2 stroke twin with a single carb ! Regards Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul g Posted June 16, 2011 Author Share Posted June 16, 2011 Ok thanks Jim for the info on the bike. The one hes got for sale is the high handle bar model with twin seats. I have never owned a 2 stroke bike but from what you are saying they can be a bit of a pig to maintain and keep running correctly.I must admit i do like the look and style of the bike and would use it to commute to work. Its the kind of bike at the price he wants you could use for a few years and still have a resale value of what he wants for it Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimR Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 Ok thanks Jim for the info on the bike. The one hes got for sale is the high handle bar model with twin seats. I have never owned a 2 stroke bike but from what you are saying they can be a bit of a pig to maintain and keep running correctly.I must admit i do like the look and style of the bike and would use it to commute to work. Its the kind of bike at the price he wants you could use for a few years and still have a resale value of what he wants for it Paul Hi Paul, once set for your riding style maintaining the RS200 was no more difficult than any other 2 stroke twin (designed) from the 70's the Suzuki SB200 for example had CDI where as the RS had points which did make it a little easier to maintain. Normally the only complicated service work is setting the timing and they were fine. If the electric start has been used a lot you may find the genny brushes to be well worn, you can check this by running the motor & seeing if the charge light goes out over 1500 rpm Regards Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluesmoke Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 i had a little rs200 a few years ago, was a good fun bike and went very well on the open roads. The timing is critical as is getting the carb and oil pump spot on but once done it never missed a beat. i loved mine and replaced loads of little bits to make it a nicer bike, no problems getting parts and i had the bonus of a working electric start as well. just keep the battery charged and double check the motor settings and it will be great fun... The one i had phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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