The Impossible 2 Stroke!

This is the impossible two-stroke. When Vic Shield wanted to put this motor into this chassis, he was told it simply wasn't possible, that it couldn't be done. But that only fuelled his fire to prove the sceptics wrong. And as you can see, he turned his dreams into reality. This is the Mutant. But what exactly is this machine? How did Vic achieve the impossible? And what on earth does this thing feel like to ride? We're going to answer all of those questions and more in this video. This bike started out life as an old MZ Scorpion, which had a 660cc four-stroke Yamaha engine. But as we can see, it has certainly changed a lot since then. We love showcasing crazy bikes like this on the channel. So if you own something cool and different that you think we should feature, please do drop me a message on Instagram at One Minute Moto. We love crazy custom two-strokes here on 999 Laser, whether that's on the dirt or on the road. And what we find more satisfying than most is when a bike starts out life as a lumpy old four-stroke, only to find a new lease of life later on after being turned to a smile-inducing two-stroke. Bikes like our custom 700cc Megalodon, and bikes like this, the Mutant. So Vic, tell us what we're actually looking at here. What did this bike start out life as? What's it turned into? What's the chassis? What's the motor? The chassis was MZ Scorpion. Cheap, good frame, T-Craft built, three-in-arm, forks. The wheels are different. The motor's out an RD power valve race bike. So that's a 350cc two-stroke power valve. It's a track bike, bit of work done to the engine, but it was the right dog. So when you picked the chassis up, it was just the frame and the wheels? No, the whole running bike. Oh, so you had the motor in there as well? Yeah, I sold the motor separately off Fundys. I didn't want the original wheel so heavy, and the idea was to try and make it as light as possible, get the weight right down, and be a powerful engine. What has putting this motor into this bike done to it? What did the Scorpion start out power-wise, and where are we looking at now? Because this isn't a standard RD 350 motor either, is it? No, it's a quarter-range tuned 421. So this is stroked? Yes, 4mm stroked. Every tuning possible has been done to it. TZ pipe, racing carb, race ignition. It's about 45 horsepower more than the standard MZ. Up towards high 90s, the spec of it should be high 90 under horsepower. So what does that do then on the road? Obviously the power-to-weight of this is going to be insane, right? So what does it actually feel like to ride this bike? Bit frightening. Handles well, handles really well. MZs were known for their handling. They were really loved in the 90s, weren't they, for their handling? And the Scorpion, they've got a racing series with them. So even the 660 Yamaha engine, they still race them and they're still doing well. So that was the main thing I wanted, a good handling bike. I didn't want to put it in an RG frame or a prettier frame. It's been done before, I want something different. Caught myself a lot of headaches, but it's light. It's about 100 kilos, dry. So yeah, power-to-weight ratio, 900,000 horsepower a ton. So it turns well, but it goes like hell in a straight line as well. Definitely, yeah. Comes about 6,000, 7,000 revs and it revs right up to about 11.5. So yeah, a lot of power down. Puts a smile on the face. Oh yeah, definitely. Yeah. In my opinion, people like Vic really do make the world go round and make it a far more interesting place. And our videos are made far more interesting thanks to the support of our sponsors like Pewterline, who enable us to go further afield and make cool videos just like this one. Pewterline have a wide range of products to lubricate, clean and protect your bikes. And just like us, Vic actually uses Pewterline MX-9 two-stroke oil in all his bikes, which means that the mutant here is running on the good stuff. As always, a huge thank you goes to Pewterline for supporting what we do. And if you guys want to show some love to the people that help make these videos possible, I've included some links to Pewterline's website and their socials in the description down below. Now let's hear about how Vic managed to create this beast and let's see it in action. Am I right in thinking that you was told that this build wasn't possible, right? It can't be done. Yeah, you can do anything really, but a lot of times people said that that can't be done. You can't fit two different bikes, four-stroke, two-stroke, but it's not hard. So you're like, screw it, I'll prove you lot wrong, I'll do it. I've put engines in other things before, put V8s in old Ford Escorts and things, so you can do it, but it takes a lot of effort. Yeah. Lining the wheels up, I had to make all the front, the front part of the frame, that is RD, so I just welded that to part of the MZ frame, made the cradle. Once that's done, then you've got to line up the engine with that wheel. It weren't too bad on this. So just talk us through the processes. What was the hardest part of the project of making the mutant? Making it look right, that's the hardest bit. Yeah, I wanted it to look like an old Cappy racer look. The normal style of Tritons, Trips, they've been done. I like them, I love them, but I want something different. I'm a two-stroke man. So the engine was tuned, went too far with it really. Once I started, it just got more and more involved. Yeah, GSX-R radiators to keep it cool, that was over-cooling. It's when you build something like this, it's trying to get everything working correctly. As soon as you've solved one problem, something else happens. And just tell us about the look then, how did we get this finished look? I wanted that 60s look. My dad's into old British bikes. I've always been brought up with the Cappy racer boys, Tannock boys. I love the style of them, all aluminium, polished. And that's what I went for really. That's a Norton tank that we modified, chopped it up, cut and modified the bottom of it. We made the rear tailpiece. Because that's your background, you're a panel beater, right? Yeah, coachbuilder of a trade, done my apprenticeship with our bus company years ago. So we talked about fabricating and vehicle design, which does help, goes a long way. But when it comes to actually imagining it, that's the hardest bit. No good drawing it, you've just got to build it as you go along. So just talk us through some of the parts of the bike then, like what have you had to do? Cosso cocks, engine temperature gauges, they plug straight into the exhaust, they measure the temperature of the engine. 600 degrees, that's flashing, letting you know it's going to melt the pistons, a bit warmer. GSXR radiator, go-kart thermostat, TZ race pipes, lightweight aluminium Italian rims, TZ Talon hubs, standard bars, cut modified. I don't think anything we haven't really altered. The main frame, this part here, that's all original, swingarm's original, all this has been welded on. Exhaust pipes made from there backwards, footrests are the Harris. Yeah, basically just made the parts bin and hope it looks good. And kickstarters, you've got a kickstarter every time? Yeah, no electric start. So put that big effort in to get it going. Yeah, 500 revs it picks up on the race ignition, so it bumps easy and it kickstarts. But once it's going, it ticks over nice. Is this the only mutant in the world, do you think? Is this the only version of this bike? Not at all, there's aluminium bikes out there, but this is the only one. I couldn't build another one. Did you build it to sell it, did you build it for yourself? I built it just to keep it by myself, just enjoy it. I've got a few other bikes, but I don't like standard bikes. It's got to be different, it's got to be like one-offs. And you'd get attached to them, right? Yeah, that's a problem. Yeah, we have the same problem, build a bike, build a two-stroke for our channel. You think, oh, we might sell this, then you kind of get attached to it. It's a child, isn't it? Yeah, it is. People don't realise that when 200 hours went into that, it's a lot of time, a lot of soul-searching. Money's a big object of it. I was lucky enough that I could fund it over a period of a couple of years, sold other bikes to help fund it, but it's not the budget at the end of the day. If you've got an open cheque that says, oh, here's £100,000, build me something. You spend that? Yeah, easily. The more you've got, the more you want to chuck at it. So what's your reaction then when you pull up to a bike show or a bike meet on this? There's quite a few different reactions, really. It's a double-take, what the hell's that? Yeah, the purists don't like it because I've ruined an ID with just hundreds of them. The old boys think it's a Norton. I'll just let them believe it. But most people just don't know what it is or what is it, never seen one. Yeah, quite a mixed bag of reactions, really. Right, let's find out what the mutant is like to ride. We're going to gear up Vic. We're going to hit the road, see this thing in action. As usual with special builds like this, video just doesn't do justice to how awesome the bike sounds in person. A flyby on the pipe is spine tingling and you just can't help but smile. And not only does the bike sound great, but it looks so fun to ride as well. The power to weight ratio is obviously just insane and you're receiving awestruck looks from everyone wherever you ride. In our opinion, it's hard not to fall in love with creations like this one. Now, let's hear this thing sing. Truly is a far more interesting place because of people like Vic and because of bikes like the mutant. This is a salute to all of those that dare to be different. As always, guys, my name is Max. This is 999 Laser. Be sure to subscribe if you enjoyed this video and you want to see more two stroke content in the future. Until next time, I'll see you at the track.