Cinnabun

iTrader: (39)

quit attacking me with my now illegal certified slot machine that hasn’t even ran a race yet.

Revolter22

iTrader: (2)

.

Zerodefect

450 is easier to ride on our trails. Ktm Exc500 is the top choice.

250 is strictly for racing. YMMV.

nitrous36

On the bike thing. I often wonder what 125/250 2 strokes could be like now if the big four continued giving them the same R&D the 4 strokes received. Its taken about 15 years for them to finally match or best the power of the smokers.

Zerodefect

My 2002 Honda crf450r was ahead of any 250 we've ever tried. Way more power and grip.

For years Honda tamed that engine, not beef it.

A 250 two stroke would stand no chance, today.

nitrous36

450s have broader torque curves and more tractable power. And now they finally make more HP. I'm just wondering if the gap would be as wide if 2 strokes kept the same development. The OEMs starting abandoning their 2 strokes and shifting focus to the thumpers around 02-04.

staiguy

iTrader: (7)

damn California carb standards. 4 stroke is okay since they are easier to run cleaner. 2 stroke spit out oil/gas. Now they outlawed here. If other states follow carb rules, the market gets smaller and smaller. Manufacturers aren’t going to pump money into commercial sales.

nitrous36

With the focus on EVs, the days of 4 stroke MX bikes may be numbered too.

OffRoadJunkie

iTrader: (9)

Oh yeah....
You also paid too much. You could have purchased a Surpass V6, that has more torque and the same RPMs, for $75.

OffRoadJunkie

iTrader: (9)

KTM, Beta, and GasGas started putting money into the 2T bikes. They are becoming popular again. They are getting fuel injection and e-start. However, they are not yet matching their 4T variant, such as the 250 vs 450.

OffRoadJunkie

iTrader: (9)

They are really numbered and the big bike manufacturers know it. That's why we are starting to see E-bikes being tested by them. Honda just ran one in a MX rave in Japan. If I remember right, I think they did quite well.

Cinnabun

iTrader: (39)

but it doesn’t have the slot machine handle logo that everyone dies for

seriously though, it’s looking like my local tracks are going to allow us to use them for non-roar races. It will hold me over until my Tekin SpecR2 comes in.

gotheframe

Collecting some reoccurring topics
I see this a lot - the typical club racer doesn't replace wear items like ball cups, all orings/gaskets, and drive pins. All these compound handling issues. Servos wear out, most of the competition brands have rebuild kits but the inside is voodoo, right? Motors can last a while with maintenance but they also have voodoo inside and require additional equipment to tune. Transmitters wear out, become less accurate. Bearings... There is a life span to kits and components.

This is where I highlight the cash grab is the emotional want of upgrade parts. For most the kit is sufficient, and replacing every year can be more economical than maintaining the wear items.

No manufacturer is building kits from the ground up every year. Having a closer look at component part numbers, there are lots of carry overs from prior years.

Rant
Stock is killing rc racing. Team drivers with unobtainium motors and batteries (even ESCs, not to mention kits/parts), some even on the podium representing brands they ditched under the radar in favor of competitor item to get there. All the while fueling motor of the month club both on the want to be more competitive and the requirement to keep up with drivers that shouldn't be in stock. The cost of keeping up and the inability to do so even when explored is turning drivers away. It was nearly comical after slot machine to watch several go to the Reedy SP5 only to find out it was in fact not the motor of the month. Stock as a "level playing field" is farce and the sooner club racers figure that out and stop fueling the manufacturers to support sponsored stock drivers the better the hobby would become.
Rant/

Also, no upgrade or motor of the month is going to make up for being marshaled ya dummies. Might as well NOT get those titanium ceramic carbon factory team of the month option upgrades, that's not why you're getting beat.....

billjacobs

iTrader: (65)

The problem with the advice that winning is not just about getting hop-ups is that getting hop-ups and tinkering is a big part of the hobby. If everyone just built the car, maintained it and raced it, it wouldn't be half the fun. In terms of who drives in stock, who cares. Back in the day, the biggest classes were 27.5 stock buggy and stock stadium truck. The heats sorted the talent and everyone raced against those in their heat, not in other heats (especially not in the top heat.) The difference is that in those days we had 50+ stock buggy racers show up for a club race. If you get 10 today, that's a big turnout.

nitrous36

I've been following that. I wonder if Yamaha will eventually offer a fuel injected version of their YZ250. There was a third party doing it, but nothing official from the maker. Either way, the days of 2 strokes(and soon 4 strokes) in the spot light are over. We'll never see 2 strokes race again and I no longer care what the OEMs are doing as long as I can still ride my smoker. I'm not buying an EV bike. I don't care have much faster and better than ICE bikes they become. I'm 35 and not winning any races anyway.