2 stroke oil

[hayley1963]

as this is my first bike and my hubbys only brit bike was a hinkley triumph..we have been taking advice from lots of people which no one seems to agree on things.
what oil do i use to mix with petrol and do i keep to the old measure of 2 parts oil to 1 petrol
and someone said to me it might need converting to use unleaded.
we have got the mixture wrong and she was burning oil.
my MOT ran out yesterday so big decision as to keep her original as she came out of the factory.or add things take things off.. to put her back on the road :-/there are 21 original re2's left do i really want to make it 20

[L.A.B.]

what oil do i use to mix with petrol

That can be a matter of personal preferance, and also how much money you want to spend on two stroke oil?

Any good quality two stroke oil that is suitable for pre-mixing will be fine, although you can use either semi-synthetic or fully synthetic oil if you want to? They cost more but should give added protection as well as less smoke, and you can normally reduce the amount of oil you add to each litre/gallon.

and do i keep to the old measure of 2 parts oil to 1 petrol

 


I don't quite know what you mean by that, as that would be two litres of oil mixed with one litre of petrol?


Older two strokes would typically use a petro-oil mixture of around 20:1 (20 parts petrol to 1 part oil) or 5% which means adding 50cc/ml of oil to each litre of petrol, but I don't know what the exact ratio is for an "RE".

Modern synthetic two stroke oil can allow that oil ratio to be reduced to 30:1, 40:1 or even 50:1 (2%)  but always err on the side of caution, as adding too little oil will damage your engine.

Fuel/Oil calculator http://www.unixcook.com/fuelmixcalc.html

and someone said to me it might need converting to use unleaded.

As it's a two stroke engine, there's nothing to convert.

my MOT ran out yesterday so big decision as to keep her original as she came out of the factory.or add things take things off.. to put her back on the road there are 21 original re2's left do i really want to make it 20

And don't give up on it now!

Lots of us ride "old" bikes, and we generally seem to manage to get around all these minor problems somehow, as I see it, all you really have to do is fit a brake light, which shouldn't be too difficult, and won't really detract from its originality as what's been done can be normally be undone, if necessary.

[hayley1963]

i have the original oil measure and it says on it 2 measures to 1 gallon of petrol.it holds 1.5 gallons so i make that 3 measures?
but it seems there was too much oil in it. i give it a good shake before i start it but i have un burnt oil splashed all up my L plate.i thought it was mud at first
i have been told to turn the petrol off before filling her up and give her a good shake to mix it. have been doing all this.

as for the brake light my garage will not give me an mot with the lights on as there is no way of testing them because you have to be doing 20mph before the lights come on.and as soon as you slow down the lights go out.one reason i would ever take her out at night. my bike is a 125cc but only 4hp top speed 37mph i did get 40 out of her once

just found this on the web..
FIVA defines a historic vehicle as a mechanically propelled road vehicle:

which is at least 30 years old;
which is preserved and maintained in a historically correct condition;
which is not used as a means of daily transport;
and which is therefore a part of our technical and cultural heritage.

my historically correct vehicle

[L.A.B.]

i have the original oil measure and it says on it 2 measures to 1 gallon of petrol.it holds 1.5 gallons so i make that 3 measures?

Ah yes, two measures of oil to the gallon!

i have been told to turn the petrol off before filling her up and give her a good shake to mix it. have been doing all this.

Yes that's good advice.

as for the brake light my garage will not give me an mot with the lights on as there is no way of testing them because you have to be doing 20mph before the lights come on.and as soon as you slow down the lights go out

The lights should at least come on when the engine is started and brighten up a bit as the revs are increased so there could be something wrong with the charging system? Are the bulbs the correct voltage/wattage?

just found this on the web..
FIVA defines a historic vehicle as a mechanically propelled road vehicle:

which is at least 30 years old;
which is preserved and maintained in a historically correct condition;
which is not used as a means of daily transport;
and which is therefore a part of our technical and cultural heritage.

my historically correct vehicle

Better to have it slightly historically incorrect and usable rather than a correct museum piece to be left standing in the garage doing nothing in my opinion?

[52t-bird]

Hello, I agree with LAB there is nothing wrong with sensible modifications to keep your bike roadworthy and safe. It is one thing to worrying about preservation but that is more for museum exibits not working bikes. Regarding your lights i would bet you have 12V bulbs fitted which is why they do not come on until high engine output,most likely done to stop the 6V blowing by iregulated generator output.
Whilst i applaud and encourage your enthusiasm for your old bike you must understand they are not easy to own and will always need TLC and be a work in progress. It is the nature of the beast and part of the British bike experience to have problems and after 30 years of Triumph ownership i still havent beaten them!If you cannot live with that then it is time to buy a plastic rocket!

[hayley1963]

my instruction book says
the flywheel generator provides the correct voltage at about 20-25 mph in top gear..if the light is inadequate below this speed change to a lower gear
thats what happens
if i sit in the garden revving her i get lights but no real power to them.i know someone else who owns a restored re2 and they say the same. the lights are not very good
i have never took her out in the dark.i go out with my hubby following me and he indicates etc i never go on main roads either i stick to back roads and country lanes.i admit its no good for modern traffic as my husband says you dont have the power to get out of trouble.
i can only have a 125cc on a cbt i was thinking of looking for another british bike a bit more updated and just preserving this one to show at events. the reoc dating officer told me you very rarely find a old enfield with matching engine, frame and original paintwork.

[33d6]

Hi again ,
I've been riding old British two-strokes for a very long time.
I've long since learnt they run very happily on unleaded petrol and  cheap two-stroke oil. Todays cheap two-stroke oil is better than what the bike used when brand new. Expensive synthetic two-stroke oils are unnecessary.
Modern two-stroke oil is self mixing, you don't have to shake the bike or worry about what goes in first, oil or petrol or any of those old stories that relate to much earlier oils in early days.
You can cut down the oil ratio a little bit, the 20% mentioned in an earlier post is on the money, but not too much, as unlike modern two-stroke engines that are designed to use a lot less oil these older two strokes still have the odd plain bearing that relies on a high oil presence.
Riding style is important in keeping down the amount of smoke produced. Short trips and pottering around the back streets lets oil accumulate in the exhaust sytem so that the bike is always smoky. Every now and then you need to take the bike out on a fast run where the engine really gets up to normal operating temperature and is kept there for at least ten miles. Once you get the exhaust really hot the excess oil will start to burn out and you will lay down a smoke screen like you wouldn't believe until all the excess is gone. The bike might even cough and splutter while this is going on. When the excess is burnt out the smoking will stop, the bike will then pick up its heels and sing along and you will think 'Wow, I like this."
Your Re2 is renowned for being a willing worker. It will respond well to being ridden hard. It doesn't like being molly coddled. Being a 125 it was designed to be ridden near its limit. Go for it!

Cheers,

[hayley1963]

thanks for your advice as we new nothing about 2 stroke bikes.my husband had a 2 stroke jap bike years ago and he said the oil measure used to be next to the petrol pump..but he never owned it for long.i spent years trying to get him to buy a british bike i wanted a 1954 tiger 650 and i decided if i am ever going to own one i would have to ride it myself the law says i can have a 125cc thats how i came about owning my re2 after discovering triumph never made a 125cc.the funny thing is when my husband took her out he kept braking when he changed gear and my cbt instructor reckons british bikes are wrong because the foot you put on the floor is next to the traffic.well i am on a big learning curve..all i ned is my own 80 year old royal enfield mehcanic...anyone know one

[L.A.B.]

Thanks for sharing the photos with us, Hayley. I think the RE2 is a better looking bike than the BSA Bantam.

I know it can be difficut "daring to be different" as you could have just bought a modern 125cc bike or scooter and not had all these problems.
The lights really should be better than they are, as having no lights up to 20MPH would I'm sure, have been unacceptable even when the bike was new! One problem with any electrical generator that relies on permanent magnets is that they aren't exactly permanent! They slowly lose their magnetism over time, so the amount of electrical output drops over the years.

  

After well over 30 years working on all kinds of bikes in my spare time, I know without any shadow of a doubt that some sort of temporary power pack could be rigged up to power not only a brake light,-but probably the headlamp and tail lamp as well that would have any MOT tester jumping for joy! And without damaging or destroying any original parts of the machine.


I do hope you find some local knowledgeable person who would be able to help you sort out these problems, and a sympathetic MOT tester as well!  

[Bruce]

Hayley

You were loking for a MOT place that could deal with your Royal Enfield I would recomend Hartills Motorcycles Caladonia Street,Bilston,West Midlands 01902 492481.The guy doing the MOTs is Fred Basterfield who I have know for many years his experience with older bikes is excellent.
Bruce

[hayley1963]

funny you should say that my friend takes her 82 virago there and told me to phone them.thanks i will do that when i have fixed my oil leak from the gear box.anyone know where you can get the old felt washers from

[L.A.B.]

anyone know where you can get the old felt washers from

Hitchcocks are the number one Royal Enfield specialists so I would start with them.
http://www.hitchcocksmotorcycles.com/

[Justin_Faithfull]

anyone know where you can get the old felt washers from

You can buy oil seal felt in various thicknesses & make you own felt seals & washers. You can find the felt on different stalls selling gasket materials at autojumbles & shows, or you can send for it from Paul Beck Vintage Supplies. Here is the link.
http://www.vintagecarparts.co.uk/part.phtml?PartID=662