Here at BikeBound, we’re big fans of two-strokes — the sound, smell, and sometimes scary power bands of these two-wheeled smokers just move our blood. 2022 was a particularly strong year for two-strokes on BikeBound, so we decided to follow up our Best Customs of 2022 with a 2T-only list.
As with our previous Top 10 lists, your visits, likes, and engagement served as votes, so these bikes were selected according to their popularity among our readership. This is the most objective ranking we could achieve.
Without further ado, here’s our list of the Top 10 Two-Strokes of 2022, in alphabetical order by builder:
• Joe Banks: 421cc Banshee Framer
• Black Cycles Australia: KTM 300 EXC
• Nathan Chasseray: Kawasaki KX125
• Simon Cheras: NSR-D Project
• Jake Drummond: Yamaha RD350
• Mark Goulding: Yamaha “RD443LC”
• Langen Motorcycles: The Langen
• SALT Motorcycles: KTM 300
• Smyth Innovations: Yamaha “RD427”
• Tough Tracker: Suzuki GT250
• Honorable Mention: Monsieur Dakar’s “YZ535”
Our feature of Stéphane Peterhansel’s Yamaha “YZ535” Supermoto hit it big, but considering that Team Sonauto Yamaha actually built the bike 33 years ago — in 1989 — we didn’t think it was fair to stack it up against these contemporary builds. Still, it deserves a honorable mention as one of our most popular two-strokes of 2022!
The Latest Two Strokes…
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Ken Block Tribute: Simson S51 “Holy Bastard” - 43-hp Simson Smoker from Tony Möckel… In 1856, brothers Löb and Moses Simson purchased one third of a steelhammer works in Suhl, Germany, and began producing guns and gun barrels under the trade name Simson […]
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Street-Legal Smoker: Yamaha MX360 - Streetable Endurocrosser from Germany’s Loose Screw… In 1968, Yamaha hit a home run with the original DT-1 250 — an affordable, lightweight, street-legal two-stroke dirt bike that not only sold out in short order, […]
MaXimilian: Double-Engine Yamaha MX80 Salt Flat Racer - “Like straddling two chainsaws…” If you love motorcycles, a trip to the Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials (BMST) should be on your bucket list. Where else can you see men and women on garage-built machines […]
KH Five: 5-Cylinder Kawasaki Widowmaker! - Kawasaki Quintuple: 883cc 5-Cylinder Two-Stroke from Allen Millyard… Recently, we’ve been looking back at the many mind-blowing creations of Allen Millyard, the mild-mannered English gentleman known for shed-built specials that defy belief. In the past […]
Old Smoker: Suzuki GT550 Restomod - Kickback Contender: Restomod GT550 from Jeremy Missin… By the time Suzuki’s GT series of two-stroke triples landed on the scene, Kawasaki had already cemented a reputation for producing unbelievably fast and feisty “widowmaker” triples. The […]
1000cc Widowmaker: Kawasaki H2 Mach IV 1000-4 - 120-bhp 1000cc 4-cylinder Widowmaker from Allen Millyard… Introduced in late 1971, the Kawasaki H2 Mach IV 750 was the fastest-accelerating, scariest production machine money could buy. The 748cc air-cooled two-stroke triple-cylinder engine made 74 brake […]
Top 10 Two-Stroke Customs of 2024 - Here at BikeBound, we’re big fans of two-strokes — the sound, smell, and sometimes scary powerbands of two-wheeled smokers is hard to beat. We have to say that 2024 was one of the strongest years […]
They still make 2 strokes? Call me surprised. I thought that ended years ago