I live in a Del Web retirement community. Lot of gulf carts around here. LOL We see a PT Cruiser EVERY day ! We get a few in the shop but here in my area they are very well kept and only need minor servicing. On the other hand when people finally sell them or give them to their grandkids they destroy them in short time. I can say the engine and transmission made them in a performance class unappreciated. LOL I build BBW and modified exhaust manifolds, custom larger Throttle Bodies and a complete reworked intake manifold, complete ported head with my own designed valve train components and performance camshafts. that would push the HP into the 400+ range easily. The transmission I offered a few hands built Torque converters and full performance rebuilt kit with many upgraded and performance level parts. And then there is the suspension upgrades I engineered.... LOL
Now we can talk about my 1959/60 MGA with a Blown Injected 391 small block Chevy 9 inch ford 6.14:1 spooled rear end and Doug Nash 5 speed?? LOL
Or my 1965 Olds F85 station wagon CA street registered and running in the 12 in 1975. LOL
Oh the MINI in that picture pushes well over 400whp but I never published the actual and guess what same basic long block 4 cylinder used in some PT Cruisers. .
I love under dog builds...
We are really steeling this thread LOL

 

Yeah, I hung up my leathers a couple years back, after yet another idiot pulled out in front of me.
I'll be 70 in March and the way I like to ride it was time to do so anyway.
As for Ducati's, this was my track bike that also occasionally used on the street.

 

Nice ,DESMO DUCK . Nothing SOUNDS OR HANDELS LIKE A DUCATI .

 

Hmmm..... arguably a RG500 with Jolley Motos no cans @ 10,000 RPM is waaaaaaay sweeter to the ear...

 

Strictly a matter of taste , Sushi vs Calamari .

 

hahaha yes but you have any Idea how many RG500 won national and world championship races when the 500 GP class was still around. I doubt there is a true biker (*not HD riders) that does not like the smell of a 2 stroke engine and the sound of the engine. Oh honestly on most tracks while a Ducati is very KOOL they are still heavy comparing a Gama and you would be fighting to stay up with any RG on a twisty mountain road. My RG at 100mph getting into the rotary valves would raise the front tire skyword with no effort.

* with respect for Harley Davidson rider I do know that they had a 2 stroke Enduro offered at one time in the 70's. I almost bought one and got a SL100 Honda instead..


I have no clue where my pictures are of my RG???? I know I have some when I lived in Santa Cruz at my house. Also many taken at
Menu - Allison's Country Cafe (allisonscountrycafe.com)

 

Never got into the two strokes early on, consequently never checked out the later year ones.
One friend had a Kaw Mach III, one an RD350 and another's brother had a T500 Cobra and of course yet another with a Hodaka Super Rat.
They certainly would fly but I was riding my Honda 305 & 450 scramblers back then and getting on the two strokes felt like riding a mini-bike to me (size wise).
Then once I got my Honda 750 I just continued to increase the CC's with every new motorcycle.
Yeah, even an HD at one point before I knew better (my uncles were all HD riders my grandfather had Indians when he was "courting" my grandmother).

 

I had a 400 Husqvarna my Grandfather bought me in my senior year in HS . I lived in a very rural part of north jersey. I tore up the woods and mountains for miles around. That thing was a torque monster ,but you could leave a cloud of stinky oil smoke and a gigantic carbon foot print where ever you went . It sounded like the worlds biggest chain saw. Never was a fan of 2 cycles. A friend of mine ( Ken) had a red 750 triple Kawasaki , it was pretty damn fast ,for the time . He put a Avon slick on it and would beat every car in the county.

 

Has anyone heard of reports or experienced a short loud buzz during moderate or strong acceleration? On mine, it seems to happen after the engine is warmed up and maybe more frequently when the A/C is in use. It's usually brief but very noticeable from normal engine sound during acceleration. And usually near the beginning of accelerating from a stop. I currently have 56k miles on mine and bought it brand new.

 

I would have a look at the belt ,idlers,and tensioner ,with 56k it may be time for a serpentine belt/tensioner replacement .