the reason 2 strokes are better than 4 stroke

[teeroy]

I'm sure it works good, I've seen and ridden a few that are nice, but in the end it always come out the same....

I think there is something like 8 hp difference between the CR 500 and CRF 450. I had a 500 until I got the 450 in '06, 2 totally different animals. didn't take long to get used to the 4-fitty tho, it will hold it's own with the 500's I ride with. I think it's a matter of preference nowadays.

 

[Modman]

Yep - 500's are nice, but the 450's power is seamless, I really disliked how the KX 500 would come on the pipe really hard, riding it was like - hit it wide open and then wait....wait....wait..........wait for it - then Booooommm!! this huge power was there, spin like crazy and then over rev it and it just hits a wall and won't really go faster.

Surely someone will tell me I'm crazy and I don't know what I'm talking about, but I rode many other peoples kx500's as well to see if they were all the same and they all are. We tried lots of different things and ended up running best with a dented pipe and White Bros double pumper carb. Until you ride a bike that pulls from 4,000 to 10,000 rpm, you don't know consistant power. While the 500's make good power, sometimes keeping them in the powerband is hard and requires more shifting to maintain the rpm. I spent a lot of years on a 2 stroke and still enjoy them, I'm just into a different type of riding now that 4 strokes are better for. The torque production is really what has helped the 4 stroke out.

For my style of riding I prefer my 4 cylinder 4 stroke, but that's just me. To each our own.

 

[CR500R]

I agree it's all about the style of riding you prefer, and your right about the KX, it is a hard hitter. I run a flywheel weight on my CR with rad reeds, pro circuit titanium pipe and silencer and a few other little tweeks. I like it because I can lug it down low like a 4 and when I crack it open it just continues to pull, my powerband is extremely wide, most guys that have ridden it are surprised by how hard it pulls without that real heavy hit. I got a buddy with an 01 and it's not even close to the same ride as mine.

 

[teeroy]

the one thing that frosted my nuts when I first got the 450 was the stumble it sometimes exhibited when snapping the throttle open at low rpm's. nothing worse than trying to pop the front wheel up over a log or obstacle at low speeds and it gives a fart and stuffs it. thought it needed more fuel on the bottom, turns out the opposite was true.

not sure what mine is putting out after installing the HRC kit (jet kit, hot cam, headpipe, intake and exhaust mods) but it's gotta be close to a stock 500. in short drags I can hang with my buddy's piped '02 CR500, longer races I can outleg him no sweat.

here is a quick vid of him and I back in the early 90's when we both ran KX 500's....I'm the one getting mowed down....lol.

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgwXhsU-6XE[/media]

 

[CR500R]

I imagine that it wasn't funny at the time , but I got to say that cracked me up!! I notice the same thing when racing my buddies, I'm usually into 5th gear before they can get moving and it takes them a bit to catch up, but if it's over any distance they'll pull away from me, but that's not due to any power on their part it's because the 4 stroker has a much wider gear box than a 2 , and I'm also geared low for climbing and single track, I'd have to gear up significantly to get the same top end speed.

 

[teeroy]

the beauty of the four stroke....I can run tight single track and hills all day, then run it home on the highway at 100mph if I want to, and have enough fuel left to do it again the next day.

we still laugh about that vid....in the last 20 years, he's ran over or into me in every motorsports discipline we participate in. sleds, quads, bikes, karts, and even smashed into me on a rental sea doo once up in whitehorse.

note the blind left eye....stay off that side when riding near him. trust me....

 

[Modman]

the beauty of the four stroke....I can run tight single track and hills all day, then run it home on the highway at 100mph if I want to, and have enough fuel left to do it again the next day.

Yeah, but you can't rebuild it on the side of the trail like you could a 2 stroke. Trying to compress those valve springs with your thumbs is tough man!!!! :d

 

[teeroy]

Yeah, but you can't rebuild it on the side of the trail like you could a 2 stroke. Trying to compress those valve springs with your thumbs is tough man!!!! :d

true dat. there isn't much you can do to them, even in the shop, without tearing the thing half apart....

 

[adrenalinjunkie]

I went from my CT70, XR250, XR600, YZ250,YZ426,WR450 and now just picked up a KTM300XC-W. Best of both worlds with the KTM. 2-stroke with the 4-stroke powerband and 220lbs and electric start/kickstand. The 4 strokes are way to much $ to maintain. Back to the $300 rebuilds after 200hrs!

 

[-LadyDirt-]

love KTM's, they make so many different style bikes to suit everyone's individual wants/needs..."variety", you just can't get with other brands