Two-Stroke Tour

Somerset to John o’ Groats by scenic route... on 110cc step-throughs.

It all started when our local dealer was selling Yamaha branded step-throughs for less than the price of a decent crash helmet. They were (and are) 110cc two-strokes, and from what I can work out were built under license in Thailand. They had been in storage for 20 years, but were effectively brand new with less than one mile showing on the clocks. My mate Cliff and I bought one each. We had to register them (which took about three months), fit new batteries and replace perished fuel and oil lines, but then they were ready to go.

Now, at some point one of us suggested that it would be a great idea to do Nathan Milward’s Garbage Run, which is Lands End to John o’ Groats the scenic way with almost no motorways or hotels, just camping. Having agreed that this was a splendid idea, we set about converting the bikes into luxury tourers.

To do this we fitted a rear rack and top box to each bike and, the piece de resistance, the optional Yamaha front baskets!

Our first ride out was 20 miles to the local greasy spoon and back, which went well apart from a few dodgy gear changes as we got used to the clutch-less four-down change pattern. We did a few more shake down runs in the weeks before the Garbage Run, until both bikes had around 200 miles on the clock, not quite run in. Due to a family commitment, we couldn’t make the Lands End start, but arranged to meet the group in Bridgwater, Somerset, the following day.