Up in Smoke

It feels like only yesterday I was grooving to the high-pitched exhaust whine of my RX135, hands sticky with run-off 2T oil after top-ups and billows of blue smoke as I left every four-stroker eating my dust. The RX 135 sure rates as an icon in my diary. Two-stroke bikes for long dominated performance arenas the world over and it was no different in India. Clued in Indian bikers (with a modicum of self respect) in the 80s could walk into showrooms and ride out on a stonking new RD350. While the Enfield Fury 175 was enough to keep the more sober in high spirits. Who can forget the Yamaha RX100, a pocket rocket that just exuded, er... make that screamed thrills from every pore.
It was death knell for the RD350 when performance two-strokers were perceived as threats to our planet’s ecology. Though MotoGP tracks buzzed with the manic music from two-stroke expansion chambers, the big two-strokes vanished from the streets. However, the smaller capacity siblings were exempted and the RX100, Kawasaki Bajaj KB100 and Ind Suzuki’s AX100 soon ruled the roads. Quick, light and easy handlers, these bikes featuring inherent simplicity of two-stroke engines, were trouble-free and inexpensive to maintain. With higher power than four-stroke bikes of similar capacity, they proved popular in rural areas too. The Fury meanwhile died a silent death in face of Enfield’s woes.
The bikes flourished in the 90s, the Yamaha RX100 attaining cult status. TVS Suzuki too had share of the pie, with a wide range including the Suzuki AX100-R (MAX100 later) and the Samurai and Shogun that redefined performance with perky 108cc engine producing 14PS of power.
With growing eco consciousness, the two-stroke bikes too were under fire. Besides, increased capacity and catalytic converter shod variants couldn’t sustain sales thanks to rising fuel prices and fuel efficient four-stroke bikes. No surprise, by the turn of the millennium, two-strokes were relegated to history. However, there are huge numbers of two-stroke bikes still seen on Indian roads. And the RD350’s and Yezdis’ popularity instead of waning, has soared - all their brand specific rider clubs in every town are testimony to the phenomenon.
Despite market shift to four-stroke performance bikes, the thrills of two-stroke biking are still a hallowed yardstick.
Now, the advent of the Yamaha YZF-R15 heralds another stir in the domestic performance arena. But this is in homage to the mighty thrillers of yore...