Ask The Editors: 2-Stroke Engine Swap
A good smoker candidate.
Well, let’s start by dismissing one of the claims right off the bat. There was a time when 2-stroke engines were much simpler and thus more affordable to rebuild and maintain compared to a larger displacement 4-stroke of similar HP. These days a lot of the complexity of modern engines apply to both configurations. Fuel pumps, injectors, ECUs and the sensors required for fuel injection are a given regardless of how many cycles.
Still, 4-strokes are undeniably more complicated by design with heads that contain valves, springs, guides, seals, camshaft, timing chain and multiple bearings.
Based on what you asked, a very good transplant candidate would be the KTM300SX. It should fit fairly well physically, offers a counterbalancer to smooth things out and has electric start to boot.
However, were it our build, we would probably forego the idea of trying to mate a motorcycle 2-stroke and just buy a brand new 600cc fuel injected 2-stroke mill from Panthera. The only downside here is those aren’t cheap. Depending on the configuration, it can cost between $6,800 to $9,800.
More information, if you’re interested, can be found here.
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