Anyone who has worked on old junk and spent hours trying to get it started, and when it finally fires for the first time can 100% relate to how you felt then. Good job. Respect!

@Doomstrader

11 ай бұрын

Lol the most addictive feeling! I started with mini bikes went to dirt bikes etc. didn’t have any money so I ended up with stuff like this. Now I have money and I look for stuff like this, go figure.. I have a rusted magna sitting in the back yard, must get it started.

@billybgamer5205

11 ай бұрын

I took hours trying to get mine started when it was New Junk!

@thearchitect4726

10 ай бұрын

Junk ? are you mental ? its one of the most sort after bikes of the 80's, would take one in a heart beat.

@leifvejby8023

10 ай бұрын

Absolutely!!

@PhilipKerry

9 ай бұрын

A classic bike is NOT old junk mind your language please ...........

this might honestly be one of my favorite moto youtube channels great to see you prosper craig!

@throttletherapyisneeded

11 ай бұрын

What you said !

@Doomstrader

11 ай бұрын

Craig is the bomb!

@johnstephen7557

11 ай бұрын

Yep. I got numbers too.... don't know why?

@frank-t6857

11 ай бұрын

How many videos has Craig uploaded? I only see 4 videos and 7 shorts 🤔 Not possible to ha 80K+ followers with 4 videos.

@nikolas7030

11 ай бұрын

@@frankblackcrow8772 KZread put those numbers there, my username is Nikolas and KZread adds numbers to differentiate me from a potential other Nikolas, that way everybody gets to have their own username

I am 67 years old. In 1975 I bought a used GT550. It is good to see Craig resurrecting this machine. Keep going. Trinidad & Tobago. West Indies.

@michaelmonicatti3163

26 күн бұрын

I’m 68. Bought mine in 74. Just got out of high school. Ran Klotz oil. Great smell! Put on chambers like this bike. Lost some low end and was real peaky on the powerband. Like a light switch.

Abandoning these fabulous 2 strokes was criminal, loved 70s/80s Japanese bikes.

Everybody needs a Craig in their life. So dang good with the mechanicals and so entertaining to watch. Undaunted by the reality of a seemingly insurmountable situation, he pushes forward, tackling one problem at a time until... Success! I think there is a life lesson hidden somewhere in his work ethic...

@Beethovenvirus

11 ай бұрын

Craig's videos are so educational with situations you never want to cross with, take care of your bikes, even if you don't use them! This channel rocks!

@user-pg2bj7rv1t

11 ай бұрын

A Craig for your car, along with a Sven for your house, LOL! Remember those old ads?

@masonhill4065

11 ай бұрын

Normal people just say, "Good watch"

@anthonyhumbert8787

11 ай бұрын

​@@masonhill4065I've never seen someone post "good watch" so not normal.

@sargera1

10 ай бұрын

esp that cleaner kit with vibration ones,up till now never saw someone doing bike stuff with that thing lol

I felt this one in my soul, the look on Craig’s face said it all, he was absolutely electric. I’ve personally had this exact experience with so many abandoned, previously flooded projects. There is nothing like hearing a hunk of junk you’ve invested too much time, energy and pain into fire up against all odds. By far my favorite video from you guys !

@wanderheuvelman1449

11 ай бұрын

there's no such thing as spending to much time, energy or money in a bike you love (maybe theres a point to make for the money). But if you like the bike, go fix it up and ride it there's no such feeling in the world after you've resurrected an old smoker by yourself and are able to ride it. the satisfaction is just not there if you bought it running or buy a new bike. (ofcourse you could choose a 4 stroke)

Started turning wrenches in 1958, and haven’t stopped. And you impressed me with your field inventiveness. That is really great problem solving. Which is what a resourceful mechanic does. Two Thumbs Up!

@MrMambott

10 ай бұрын

Always going for my two large round biscuit tins of bits and pieces that get me out of trouble. Before throwing anything away I pull it apart taking every useful object off it cause it will be used in an emergency one day for sure 😁

I have done this many times, and it never gets old. I can relate to the feeling you had when she finally started. I pretty much had the same feeling, and i am sitting over 3000 miles away in the UK.

Man, you can tell how passionate Craig is about motorcycles! Seeing how excited he was when it started running put a smile on mine and everyone else's face!

@Tolbat

11 ай бұрын

Same he was the heart of Bikes and Beards

That first smokey fire-up is always the best feeling. Bikes, cars, heck, even lawnmowers.

I'm watching this video on a Friday, this has been a very stressful week for me on my job, but all the joy and happiness that happens at 20 minutes mark made my whole week freaking better; I was laughing with Craig and Dan. Many thanks, guys, for this channel; this is awesome.

@adsinit

10 ай бұрын

Totaly relate to that

I had a 1975 GT380. There is a special place in my Heart for these old Suzuki Triples!

@RonaldDaub-xi5jz

2 ай бұрын

I was lucky enough to get a job at wfo Suzuki in Paducah Kentucky and I sold them and I was the parts man and the mechanic at one point

Good job on getting the bike running! I've been working on Suzuki two strokes for 50 years. Apparently, one or more of the CCI check valves stuck open causing the contents of the oil injection tank to fill the crankcase. This will happen again if the problem isn't fixed. The "Oil Bath" sitting in the crankcase might have saved the crank seals and bearings from deterioration over the years. However, the seals might fail in several hundred miles after sitting for 30 years, but they might be OK. I've had both scenarios happen! Incidentally, don't disconnect the CCI system and run pre-mix only. The oil guide plates in the crank are designed to feed oil from the main ball bearings into the hollow crank pins. The oil guide plates will keep the bearings from being lubricated properly if the CCI system is disconnected and pre- mix is run. I recommend replacing the CCI oil line assembly.

@LSD97123

8 ай бұрын

What if we take the engine apart and remove those oil guide plates? Then we'll be able to run pre mix, right?

@paulluce2557

5 ай бұрын

@@LSD97123 The whole point of CCI is (was) to overcome and improve the short comings and inconvenience of pre-mix in what would have been a high performance two stroke engine in the day. You could remove the CCI (and presumably there would be ports you would need to blank off) or leave the hardware in and just run pre-mix.. HOWEVER in both scenarios you will not get the benefits of the CCI system and run the risk of engine damage etc. You wouldnt want to be going down the road of a crank bearing and seal rebuild on a multi cylinder two stoke due to the way the engines are built.

This video made me legitimately happy to see all that smoke and the reactions that entailed.

Trond from Norway here. I have been watching your videos for about a week.. A lot of them!!! I have enjoyed it A LOT!!😅 And you have inspired me to finally start working on my 1978 Yamaha XS 650 who haven't been started in about 20 years... I bought it for about 15 years ago, and dreamed of buying a café racer, but as I always had other bikes that have been running, and jobs and so on....

A brilliant gentleman. Turning the bike upside down, shows his true greatness.

watching Craig get so excited made my day haha

I owned a 1974 GT550 in 1975 until the summer of 1977. One of the sweetest and fastest bikes I ever rode. If you can get that bike running correctly, you will be amazed. Nice work.

@Justa_Dood

11 ай бұрын

Mine was a 76. Great bike

@nigelbaldwin752

11 ай бұрын

Mine was a 74 that ipurchased in 77. Agree super sweet engine with such adictive power delivery, fantastic bike with great memories.

@dutchsailor6620

11 ай бұрын

I had one of the first series with front drum brake, it was my first legal (agewise) road bike. Decent power but mediocre handling. It ended up me crashing it into a ditch and totaling it. After that episode I decided to scale up to something more sensible and got me a ported Kawasaki 750 h2. Ahhh, the things we did when we were young and foolish...

@strangeuniverse1199

11 ай бұрын

The bike won a middle weight motorcycle shoot out in the late 70's in Cycle World magazine. They said the bike was fast in a roll on, the fastest of all the bikes tested. The RD 400 was fastest in the quarter however at 14.1 seconds.

@richardraby6266

11 ай бұрын

@@dutchsailor6620 I had a CB500 four in 1976, I was flat out on a motorway when the cops clocked me... 102.5 mph. Rather disgusted with to top speed I got rid of it very shortly afterwards and bought... A Kawasaki KH500 triple.

watching Craig work on these abandoned and broken bikes and get them running or almost running in just a few hours makes me wanna go work on my own bike ... then i look at the pile of bits and come to my senses.

watching Craig get so excited made my day haha. Totally informative and entertaining. Craig uses humor and skill with interchangeable success..

For not being a motorcycle guy I love watching your videos. Your wit and enthusiasm are what draw people to your content. Keep it up!!

I took my basic rider course on one of those but a 250. Instructor told us to pick the style of bike we're interested in. Once I got on two wheels I just could not stop smiling under my helmet. Love the content!

@JohnKentSV

11 ай бұрын

That is the sensation every biker feels, ride to be free, free to ride!

@TotemoGaijin

11 ай бұрын

Yeah, until like halfway through when your butt feels like you've been sitting on a brick all day, lol. Just finished my first range day on a TU250 as well.

I’m only 20 or so mins from Pittsburgh and I’ve only just started watching your videos but I appreciate the good information and lessons to learn while keeping it interesting and fun

"...once we have it started we'll worry about keeping it started...they call that running..." Love the way you adapt and interject humor. Greetings from the other side of the county, Palmyra.

The shock & pure joy on Craigs face when the engine first lights up - beautiful!

So happy to see Craig’s channel growing as quickly as it is! I was part of the first 1,000 subscribers, and seeing it rapidly closing in to almost 100,000 makes me happy! Well deserved!

@joshuasmith4184

11 ай бұрын

Same. I love Sean and all...but to see Craig do his own thing and watch it take off is amazing. I'm looking forward to the cross-over videos they do together, hoping Sean gets more videos out soon, etc. I've *never* been into the whole 'like/subscribe/notify' thing, normally don't have time for that crap...but then I found Bikes & Beards, and now I'm hooked on these two fellers. :-)

Fantastic- always keep the faith and it’s surprising how often you win! I’ll get out in the yard and get some of those old bikes going! Thanks for cheering me up!

Thank you for the way you put together your videos without swearing. It is nice to be able to watch the videos with my son.

Man I am a long time bikes and beards subscriber but the bearded mechanic is pretty awesome. I love the new direction and content. Thanks Craig

I love your channel already. I am working on my 3rd bike revival. First as a 1997 Vulcan, an 1982 XS400, and currently a 1976 GL1000. The whole "parts in labled bags" and "cardboard bolt layouts" is my style. But this video really resonated with me. I love that as someone who isn't a mechanic on the daily, I could related to your personal passion here. I could follow what you were doing and told a great story too. Can't wait for more!

I just love how happy Craig gets when it's finally firing up! I almost feel the same joy! At least it makes me smile just as much. greets from Denmark

That’s so cool. I was born the year this Bike was made. 😊 Sweet!! I also always clean up the carbs first whenever I start a rebuild or a project. Way to go Dude.

Glad to see I'm not the only one that loves bring back old bike to live again , keep filming

Tell you what Craig, that was brilliant. The best motorcycle video ever! Thats exactly how I feel everytime I get a bike going. You're the Top Man. Be lucky, from England...

I've been a motorhead for 60 years and still to this day my heart skips a beat when that one cylinder fires for the first time ! Outstanding videos !

This channel is absolutely amazing, can't wait to watch it grow, and just excited to watch your content as it comes out!

Totally informative and entertaining. Craig uses humor and skill with interchangeable success.

Old motorcycles have always been a huge part of my life. I like Craigs approach to taking on such a project. The carbs look like Mikuni VMs very easy to find parts for. The rest is pretty much easy to deal with.

Recently found your channel! Love the work, comedy, and enthusiasm!! Don’t give up and one thing at a time, great points!

First saw Craig on Bikes and Beards my fave KZread channel. Loved his and Sean’s interactions with each other, reminds me of my friend Bret and me. Then I found Craig’s channel and fell even more in love with his channel! Craig you’re freaking awesome and entertaining to watch!

Love how Craig is so excited when he finally got it running!

I've worked on old bikes to get them running. I totally get this. Nice job Craig. You put a big smile on my face when it fired up. Congrats and much success to you.

giving life to this old bike & making it run is amazing! doing it on a driveway is mindblowing.

I love them old Triple Two Strokes! You really fortunate that the crankcase filled up with oil because if it didn't the crank seals probably would have dried out and been bad

@nitrorc4life1

11 ай бұрын

Had an old kawasaki two stroke three cylinder, was a very quick.

That was one of the best motorcycle videos I've seen. When it fired up, I got as excited as you all. It's definitely one of the best mc channels on KZread. Keep up the great work, guys!

Just had the same oil problem with my 76’ Kawasaki kh 500. Drained a 1/2 Qt. Of oil from the bottom end before it would run. Loved your video.

I have been binge watching and really enjoy your channel. Also wanted to mention that the “family friendly” language is noted and appreciated. Awesome job!

Enjoying the content, Craig! Glad we get to keep seeing you do your thing!

Awesome videos! Glad to see when i am futzing with my carbed outboards that the pros are just as messy/occasionally flustered.

The GT550 and her big brother the 750 kettle were my dream bikes when I was a kid. Love yer work Craig!

This video absolutely earned you a subscriber. When you finally got it running was awesome.

Love seeing old bikes come back to life. When I was 14 I had a 78’ Honda SL70 that I bought at a yard sale for $80. It had a busted clutch lever, broken throttle cable, warped rims, bad tires, locked up brakes, and a rusted out tank. Within a month I had it restored and was banging through all 3 gears having the time of my life. I sold it a few months later for $2,500. I didn’t know it was collectible I was just having fun lol.

@RonaldDaub-xi5jz

2 ай бұрын

You should have had one more gear on the SL that's what I liked about the SL and the CL they were four speeds. The CT70 was a three-speed but wow you should have had another gear

I’m not a bike person but Craig is such a cool guy and his knowledge is great that I enjoy these a lot, keep em coming.

This makes me so happy! Bearded mechanic Craig for the win! Awesome to see dan on the opposite side of the Camara as well!

I had one of these in the 70's, ported and polished motor, gusseted frame and a 3 into 1 Bromlech exhaust. A wonderful bike.

its fun watching your skills as a narrator / content creator improve with each video. keep up the great work! i love the content!

Really awesome channel, Craig. Loving this content. Missed a joke with the bikes at the start. Should’ve turned around to look at the bicycle 😂 Don’t ever think your work is boring, either. Lots of people would love extended cut videos of you working on carbs and what not

good thing it started. I love the reaction. I kinda squirm tho when you flipped the bike. Every time i get working on a two stroke bike with separate greasing system and sitting for too long, i remove three things : Carbs, airbox and more importantly : Exhaust. there is always either old juice sitting there (water, oil and gasoline most of the time) crank the bike a few time, rince the cylinder by putting some gas through the sparkplug hole, empty the exhaust, put everything back together and provided you have a spark, it'll start at the first cranks

I’m glad Craig got his channel giving him his spot light I don’t watch bikes and beards much no more Craig’s the goat of the show needed him talking more

This channel is fantastic. Maybe Craig was the star of the show this whole time?

Good work! I bet the torque of that 2 stroke would be a blast on the road. I bought my first bike, a 2001 1400cc suzuki intruder, non running for dirt cheap. Ended up cleaning the carbs and finding a bad pickup coil for the rear cylinder, which was the no spark issue it had. Replaced the clutch springs as well. I'm still riding that bike after 2 years and almost 10k miles!

@Toxic2T

10 ай бұрын

as long as the rings hold on or the cylinders arent too worn or rusted. itll be a blast to ride

Great old bike, I had the gt185 in my younger years, loved to overheat and stall. When it ran, it was good fun around town. Love to watch your work

I celebrate your victories with you, I think I feel as happy as you do when I see you turn on an old bike

I just got a 1974 ct70 going after sitting 35 years. Wasn't too easy but not too bad. The reward was priceless.

Great episode Craig! I love the combination of humor, history, and mechanic'ing. Keep up the great content! Question though, do you pre-arrange with the owner to be able to get the bike running?

@The_Bearded_Mechanic

11 ай бұрын

Thanks. Yes, I asked him if we could use his driveway.

I can feel the excitement when that thing turned over. One of the best feelings. Excellent job Craig, you da man! :D

You are absolutely amazing. Taking that carb apart at putting all those little pieces together and JB Welding that float. Skills my friend, awesome skills. Made for some great content.

I rode a 2 stroke 750 water cooled version of this in NZ, even sounded the same! Was a brute, only kick start with a vicious habit of kicking back if you didn’t do it right. Cool to see you get it running, I dont think I would have thought to turn it upside down

@ahobimo732

11 ай бұрын

That must have been an insane bike to ride. I love 2 strokes.

@sargera1

10 ай бұрын

@@ahobimo732 a single 250 can do as much as 30bhp with a tuned carb' TPI kit let alone 3cyl ( 350 twin yamaha pulling 50ponies on a watercooled YPVS)

@sargera1

10 ай бұрын

its a 750 , u rlucky its a 2t(low comp) other wise its same as 250 twins w/o decomp start (Honda IGS system), even a tuned 150 can kick u up good( been there before on a suzuki 150 sport cub tuned ones)

@ahobimo732

9 ай бұрын

@@sargera1 I've got a 700 triple in my Yamaha snowmobile (2003 SX Viper). It's got about 120hp. It's the most exciting thing I've ever driven. I'll never part with it, unless it dies on me, which is unlikely because it runs like a Swiss watch.

FYI the center spark plug is not the same as the outer ones. The center cylinder runs hotter that the outside cylinders. If you do not put a cooler spark plug in the center cylinder you can burn a hole in the piston.

@noxious89123

10 ай бұрын

A cooler spark plug is just to make the *plug* run cooler, nothing else. With the wrong heat range plug, the plug would overheat and get burned up, which could drop the tip into the cylinder and damge the piston, head and cylinder. It won't just burn a hole in a piston like running it lean would.

@vinylexperience77

10 ай бұрын

@@noxious89123 NO. The cooler plug in the center cylinder is because it runs hotter. I know this first had because I owned the same bike. In fact I had two of them.

i bought a Honda CB 350 that had sat for a while, the carbs looked worse than those. after a few hours with a wire wheel and a Dremmel tool, i got them apart opened all the jets and freed up the floats on the float pins. i didn't think the bike would ever run again but it did and it ran really well. Great job on this one.

I love the smell of two stroke in the morning - smells like . . . victory. The Suzuki GT 2 strokes were great bikes and probably worth more thank you might think. This video reminds me of when I noticed a neighbour had an old Suzuki 125 2 stroke twin languishing in the back of his garage. He said it belonged to a lodger who rode it once, crashed it and never touched it again. The lodger moved on years before but left the bike. I was able to resurrect it ( mostly basic stuff) and the only big problem was running a cable to the back light to get it to work - I could not find where the break was in the loom. My younger brother used it for two years to go to and from college.

I had a 1973 version in 1977 that I bought with 6" over tubes on it and a useless sissy bar. Getting the tubes back to stock was easy. Getting the wiring that had been extended in ALL RED WIRES not so much. The throttle cables weren't a barrel of laughs either but I got it done. I had that thing for a few years and loved every minute of it.

Awesome ! Great job getting it to run !! I love these 2 strokes ! Used to ride a Yamaha R5 350 cc (1970), one of the most fun bikes I've ever owned.

Your videos are so well put together and well shot that it didn’t even register in my brain that you branched away from B&B and made your own channel less than a year ago, all videos i’ve seen of you two i just thought you two were doing a video that featured you 😂 I love your videos!

Had a 76 GT 380, very fun bike. Was fun watching this video, brought back good memories.

Well done on getting it started. Love it

I used to have a 550 when I was younger in 78' .How I loved that bike !

I had a GT550 back in the 70s, took it cross country and everywhere else. Best bike I have ever owned.

An amazing video, and seeing that genuine joy at the end was inspiring.

Hey Craig , I had 550 long time ago. It had separate cables to carbs. Reliable smooth bike.smoke clears up after an hour or so into trip.

Love it. I could watch these all day. Reminds me of when roadkill would save Junkyard cars just enough to do burnouts.

5:59 am on an Sunday and I'm totally ready for the week just looking at how happy Craig got when it started

I had one given to me as a project. I got it running and loved that bike. After getting sick I had to sell off a bunch of stuff and the 550 was sold. I miss that bike....

Loving the latest content craig. Keep it up. Enjoying the style. Good job.

I had one of those way back when, job well done! What a hoot!

Keep up the great work! Your videos are a breath of fresh air.

You said it Craig SKILL for sure... Great job and I really love watching you do your thing.

This whole video is worth the watch just for that look of sheer joy at 20:07, made my day.

My dad bought a '73 model about a year after I graduated from high school. He let both my brother and me use it for the next couple of years except when he rode it to work. Due to the oil injection system causing a considerable amount of exhaust smoke, we called it the Mosquito Exterminator. I had a good many thousands of miles of fun on that bike. Then it sat in the old shed out back for about 20 years until I sold it to a guy who was restoring an identical bike but needed a parts bike. He used many of the parts from that old M.E. and is still riding it around today, so the old girl lives on, at least in part.

Man I absolutely love your excitement sir

Craig well done brother been watching b&b channel and good to see you finally made your own channel best of luck man

Totally Awesome! Great job!

I always thought it was grease-sert as in like grease insert. Learned something new today!

I soldered the holes in my brass floats. Varied success. Bad carbs are fun!

best video for a long time anywhere thank you

I'm happy for Sean but glad my fellow pa boys are still here. Only a couple hours away in the poconos

*I HAD ONE OF THESE AS A KID* for riding around the quarries at the back of the house... with the "RAM AIR" system LOL Mine didn't have that carb setup - it had a 1 into 3 cable splitter and a cable to each pot.

I was 13 when my Dad bought a GT750 and that’s what I learned to ride on the street with. These were extremely fast for their time 12.6 second quarter mile in the late 70’s was amazingly fast. They were great in a straight line, but they didn’t exactly corner well, especially using the tires Suzuki put on them

Brings back memories, Cornwall, UK

OMG!!! DUDE!! THAT START UP WAS EPIC!!! AND ENVIROMENTALY FRIENDLY!!😎👍💯💯💯 LOVE IT!!