MikeMartinRacing.com - Latest Comments in What Killed the Two-Stroke Motocross Bike and What May Bring it Back

Re: What Killed the Two-Stroke Motocross Bike and What May Bring it Back

Mike Martin — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 11:14:47 -0000

Hey Tom, Thanks for the comment and the kind words! Right now I'm riding a four-stroke as my race bike and it is easier to ride, but sometimes I wish everyone was on two-strokes, they are sooo fun to ride, nothing beats it! TM bikes have always looked good, but they never really have made a dent in the market, and I would be leery of spending that amount of money on a small brand where support will be hard/impossible to find other than over the phone. The KTM two-strokes, on the other hand, are great, and I hope they continue to make them for two-stroke lovers for time to come, but as the economy worsens, if the sales of two-strokes do not pick up, KTM may be forced to cut them in order to cut costs :(. We'll have to see what happens....

Re: What Killed the Two-Stroke Motocross Bike and What May Bring it Back

Tom — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 12:41:44 -0000

Well written my friend!
It is an interesting subject to write upon.
All your comments are spot on.
I think most would agree that 4-Strokes are easier to ride, so I can see why riders made the switch in the first place but personally (from a non-competitive perspective) I prefer 2-strokes.
As you rightly say, they are cheaper to run, easier to work on but above all... it's hard forgetting that feeling of complete insanity when you're on the power on a smoker.
To me that is the definition of motocross and I hope it is never forgotton.
I think it's abit sad that it is pretty much only TM (http://www.tmracing.it/), KTM and Husqvarna that are still developing the old girls!

Anyways thanks for posting this... quality article!

Kept me entertained at work for a while! hehe

Re: What Killed the Two-Stroke Motocross Bike and What May Bring it Back

Mike Martin — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 12:59:25 -0000

Thanks for the great comment! I agree that four-strokes are easier to ride, but two strokes are more fun, in my opinion, under almost any circumstance. And your points on maintenance are all spot on. There may be more of it with two strokes, but it is all easy and cheap compared to four-strokes.

I always used to think that the FMX industry would help to keep the two-stroke alive, but in the past few months I have even seen some of them riding four-strokes. Once they go four-stroke they probably won't go back either. But I can't imagine doing some of the more innovative tricks such as 360s on a four-stroke, way too much mass there. We'll have to see what happens, I hope two-strokes live as they are the soul of our sport! Four-strokes are great, but nothing beats riding a two-stroke through a sandy berm...

Re: What Killed the Two-Stroke Motocross Bike and What May Bring it Back

pingram — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 16:42:23 -0000

Okay, well for one, 4 strokes are simply much easier to ride plus I think marketing plays a big factor. Everyone wants what the pros ride.

I own both an RM250 and an RMZ450 and I use them for different types of riding. I use the 4 stroke mainly for track riding where jumps and turns are tight and supercrosssy (is that even a word?).

I ride the 2 stroke when doing ramps, desert or dune riding. Personally I like the ease of maintenance on the 2 stroke but it's also more messy, i.e. pre-mix, goopy repacking, cleaning the exhasut port, etc.

The 4 stroke maintenance-wise is kind of a pain (for me) because I have to do the timing chain manually, check the valves and when changing oil, the oil filter isn't placed so great, neither is the drain plug.

However, I would say I ride the 4 stroke more often just because it's less work, but whenever I see an awesome hit in the sand, I'll always prefer my 2-smoker!

One would think that at least the FMX industry would keep 2-stokes alive, what's your thoughts on that?