2 or 4 stroke? HELP!

On Tue, 13 Dec 2005 13:40:06 -0600, four2two
<UseLinkToEmail.DeleteThis@www.motorcycleforumz.com> wrote:

>Hey, well i have a bit of a problem.....i have been riding four
>wheelers for about 2 years now and am getting a little bored. last
>weekend i met up with a buddy of mine at Carnagie and he had just
>bought a used YZF450. to make a long story short, i rode it and loved
>it, and am now trying to sell my 400ex to help fund a bike. my only
>problem is there are TONS of used 250 2strokes out here (so. cal) that
>are in mint condition, selling for around 2500, and 450’s are not. i
>am rather partial to 4 strokes. any advise from those who know will be
>taken! thanks, trav

Ride a 250 2 stroke and see how you like it.

There are pros and cons to each, but you already know that.

Welcome to the two wheeled world.

It's far more better.
 >> Stay informed about: 2 or 4 stroke? HELP! 

2 VS 4 stroke has been a time honored argument at least ever since I
can remember. That goes wayyyy back. In the sixties we would ride our
bikes to the local pie shop and take up table space all night, never
buying anything, and arguing about which is superior, 2 or 4 stroke.
Road guys would say 4 then someone would bring up the Kawasaki h2. My
305 Honda beat a lot guys who rode 2 strokes. For some it boils down to
a simple question; if you are riding on a hillside and you fall over
with your leg under the bike, which would you prefer, 4 stroke or 2
stroke? Well punk, do you feel lucky?
 >> Stay informed about: 2 or 4 stroke? HELP! 

"four2two" <UseLinkToEmail DeleteThis @www.motorcycleforumz.com> wrote in message
news:7533310_8a698ba3b27637178493753b647b08ae@motorcycleforumz.com...
> Hey, well i have a bit of a problem.....i have been riding four
> wheelers for about 2 years now and am getting a little bored. last
> weekend i met up with a buddy of mine at Carnagie and he had just
> bought a used YZF450. to make a long story short, i rode it and loved
> it, and am now trying to sell my 400ex to help fund a bike. my only
> problem is there are TONS of used 250 2strokes out here (so. cal) that
> are in mint condition, selling for around 2500, and 450’s are not. i
> am rather partial to 4 strokes. any advise from those who know will be
> taken! thanks, trav

2-stroke:
stinky, dirty, noisy
hard to keep running
lightweight, fast-revving, powerful
fun as hell

4-stroke:
clean, quiet, refined
reliable
heavy, slow
gets the job done, albeit without fanfare

If they were cars, the 2-stroke would be a VW, the 4-stroke would be a
Honda.
My $0.02
 >> Stay informed about: 2 or 4 stroke? HELP! 

A lot depends on the type of riding you do and your skill level. Since
your starting out that anwsers one of those questions. Do you race, do you
ride off road for fun, do you plate a bike and go from gas station to gas
station?

Here in Colorado you can plate a bike pretty easy and then connect Mtn
town with Mtn town over some really great trails. A E start 4 stroke works
really well for that.

If you are in California you have red and green sticker concerns. I
don't fully understand that system just know of it.

2 strokes are good woods bikes, very good on MX tracks and easy to start.
4 strokes are really good on the MX track till you kill them, they are great
climbing machines with low torq but a little heavy in tight woods and a real
bitch to start at times.

Rex McKinney
 >> Stay informed about: 2 or 4 stroke? HELP! 

Yeah ride both. It was 4 stroke with a button for me.
 >> Stay informed about: 2 or 4 stroke? HELP! 

> 2-stroke:
> stinky,

Well smelly anyway. Wheter it stinks or smells kind of good depends on
the premix you use and your idea of what stinks or smells good. Some
of the premixes actually do smell pretty good.

> dirty, noisy

I'd rather listen to the noise of a 2 stroke with the average pipe and
silencer than any of the new 4 strokes with loud exhausts on them.

> hard to keep running

Not sure what you mean by this? Do you mean they don't idle well (some
don't) or that they require a lot of maintenance? The new racing 4's
require about as much maintenance as a medium to large bore 2 (at least
according to the manual).

> lightweight, fast-revving, powerful
> fun as hell

Yep... the zing factor of the 2 stroke is addictive.

> 4-stroke:
> clean, quiet, refined

Smooth...

> reliable

How is a new racing 450 4-stroke any more reliable than a KTM300? The
only time I've had a breakdown in the woods was once when I broke the
kick start pawl on my 300.
It is by design a little weak to begin with. I see kick start pawls as
being gender neutral... neither 2 nor 4 stroke...

> heavy, slow

Depends whether you are talking about an XR or one of the newer racing
4 strokes...

> gets the job done, albeit without fanfare
 >> Stay informed about: 2 or 4 stroke? HELP! 

I think the main thing I like about 2 strokes is the lack of braking
compression. Once you get the bike up to crusing speed you just need to
hit the throttle every now and then to keep it there. With most 4
strokes you have to actually hold the throttle at the precise speed you
want to run.

The main thing I miss from my XR4 days is that abundance of low end
torque. You can make a mistake on a hill and you can torque your way
out of it. The KTM300 is pretty torquey for a 2 stroke, but It's no XR
down low.

The thing I don't miss about the XR days is kicking it. If I were to
ever go back to a 4... the magic button would be a must.
 >> Stay informed about: 2 or 4 stroke? HELP! 

On Tue, 13 Dec 2005 23:04:25 -0600, "mrdancer" <mrdancer.TakeThisOut@iw.net>
wrote:

>"four2two" <UseLinkToEmail.TakeThisOut@www.motorcycleforumz.com> wrote in message
>news:7533310_8a698ba3b27637178493753b647b08ae@motorcycleforumz.com...
>> Hey, well i have a bit of a problem.....i have been riding four
>> wheelers for about 2 years now and am getting a little bored. last
>> weekend i met up with a buddy of mine at Carnagie and he had just
>> bought a used YZF450. to make a long story short, i rode it and loved
>> it, and am now trying to sell my 400ex to help fund a bike. my only
>> problem is there are TONS of used 250 2strokes out here (so. cal) that
>> are in mint condition, selling for around 2500, and 450’s are not. i
>> am rather partial to 4 strokes. any advise from those who know will be
>> taken! thanks, trav
>
>2-stroke:
>stinky, dirty, noisy
>hard to keep running
>lightweight, fast-revving, powerful
>fun as hell
>
>4-stroke:
>clean, quiet, refined
>reliable
>heavy, slow

Um, you haven't taken a look at many in the last few years, I'm
guessing.

>gets the job done, albeit without fanfare
>
>If they were cars, the 2-stroke would be a VW, the 4-stroke would be a
>Honda.
>My $0.02
>
 >> Stay informed about: 2 or 4 stroke? HELP! 

"mrdancer" <mrdancer.TakeThisOut@iw.net> wrote in message
news:Mf-dnTQQsbsVOwLenZ2dnUVZ_sednZ2d@prairiewave.com...
> "four2two" <UseLinkToEmail.TakeThisOut@www.motorcycleforumz.com> wrote in message
> news:7533310_8a698ba3b27637178493753b647b08ae@motorcycleforumz.com...
> 2-stroke:
> stinky, dirty, noisy
> hard to keep running
> lightweight, fast-revving, powerful
> fun as hell

My two stroke isn't stinky or smoky once it's warmed up. It's only as dirty
as the other bikes out there. It's quieter than a 4 stroke. It starts on
the first or second kick, and stays running and idles nicely. The rest is
correct.


> 4-stroke:
> clean, quiet, refined
> reliable
> heavy, slow
> gets the job done, albeit without fanfare

My 4 stroke is never 'clean'. It smokes as much as my 2 stroke, leaks a
little oil, much louder than my 2 stroke. Refined? Ha! It's a dinosaur
bitch that takes 50 kicks to start when cold. It's VERY heavy, but a
tractor on rocket fuel.

> If they were cars, the 2-stroke would be a VW, the 4-stroke would be a
> Honda.
> My $0.02


Mine are just the opposite. My 2 stroke is the Ferrari and the 4 stroke is
the John Deere.

John
 >> Stay informed about: 2 or 4 stroke? HELP! 

"scrape" wrote in message...
> On Tue, 13 Dec 2005 23:04:25 -0600, "mrdancer" wrote:

> >2-stroke:
> >stinky, dirty, noisy
> >hard to keep running
> >lightweight, fast-revving, powerful
> >fun as hell
> >
> >4-stroke:
> >clean, quiet, refined
> >reliable
> >heavy, slow
>
> Um, you haven't taken a look at many in the last few years, I'm
> guessing.

I must admit, most of the two-strokes I've dealt with lately have been
outboards, and they were a coupla years old.
 >> Stay informed about: 2 or 4 stroke? HELP! 

"spodely" wrote in message...
>
> "mrdancer" wrote in message
> news:Mf-dnTQQsbsVOwLenZ2dnUVZ_sednZ2d@prairiewave.com...
> > "four2two" <UseLinkToEmail RemoveThis @www.motorcycleforumz.com> wrote in message
> > news:7533310_8a698ba3b27637178493753b647b08ae@motorcycleforumz.com...
> > 2-stroke:
> > stinky, dirty, noisy
> > hard to keep running
> > lightweight, fast-revving, powerful
> > fun as hell
>
> My two stroke isn't stinky or smoky once it's warmed up. It's only as
dirty
> as the other bikes out there. It's quieter than a 4 stroke. It starts on
> the first or second kick, and stays running and idles nicely. The rest is
> correct.

I guess it depends on the bikes. I was talking more in general,
across-the-board terms. Of course a new 2-stroke will likely be nicer than
a 4-stroke that's a few years old, or has a few miles under its belt.

> > 4-stroke:
> > clean, quiet, refined
> > reliable
> > heavy, slow
> > gets the job done, albeit without fanfare
>
> My 4 stroke is never 'clean'. It smokes as much as my 2 stroke, leaks a
> little oil, much louder than my 2 stroke. Refined? Ha! It's a dinosaur
> bitch that takes 50 kicks to start when cold. It's VERY heavy, but a
> tractor on rocket fuel.

See above.

> > If they were cars, the 2-stroke would be a VW, the 4-stroke would be a
> > Honda.
> > My $0.02
>
>
> Mine are just the opposite. My 2 stroke is the Ferrari and the 4 stroke
is
> the John Deere.

In the automotive world, current thinking with current models has it that
VW's are great fun to drive, but have lower-than-average reliability
ratings, while Hondas are generally boring to drive, but have
higher-than-average reliability ratings. Again, there are exceptions. :þ
 >> Stay informed about: 2 or 4 stroke? HELP! 

"dsc" wrote in message...
>
> > 2-stroke:
> > stinky,
>
> Well smelly anyway. Wheter it stinks or smells kind of good depends on
> the premix you use and your idea of what stinks or smells good. Some
> of the premixes actually do smell pretty good.

agreed

> > dirty, noisy
>
> I'd rather listen to the noise of a 2 stroke with the average pipe and
> silencer than any of the new 4 strokes with loud exhausts on them.

agreed

> > hard to keep running
>
> Not sure what you mean by this? Do you mean they don't idle well (some
> don't) or that they require a lot of maintenance? The new racing 4's
> require about as much maintenance as a medium to large bore 2 (at least
> according to the manual).

hard to keep idling... and hard to keep the 'carbon burned out' if the
newer ones are anything like older ones...

> > lightweight, fast-revving, powerful
> > fun as hell
>
> Yep... the zing factor of the 2 stroke is addictive.
>
> > 4-stroke:
> > clean, quiet, refined
>
> Smooth...
>
> > reliable
>
> How is a new racing 450 4-stroke any more reliable than a KTM300? The
> only time I've had a breakdown in the woods was once when I broke the
> kick start pawl on my 300.
> It is by design a little weak to begin with. I see kick start pawls as
> being gender neutral... neither 2 nor 4 stroke...

Yep, exceptions. I was talking more generalities than racing bikes,
etc.

> > heavy, slow
>
> Depends whether you are talking about an XR or one of the newer racing
> 4 strokes...

see above
 >> Stay informed about: 2 or 4 stroke? HELP!