Anybody who says a 2-stroke isnt reliable is either riding a junk motor. Nothing against suzuki's but they do break a lot. Or the rider cant tune a 2-stroke properly and winds the heck out of it constantly. A 2-stroke can last a long time if taken care of properly. Id rather replace a piston every 8 months then blow a timing chain or break one of the countless other top end parts on a thumper.

You can make any bike reliable, yet you can also make any bike unreliable. Its how well you take care of something

 

hell yeah i have had my quadracer 250 for 2years now and i all i broke was a blown gasket or piston once a year. everything else held together fine.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

I like the thumpers. For one, no matter what anyone says, they are more reliable. They are also more efficient, and more versitile. I was right there with banshees today, they'd just get me in the steep hills, but that's banshee/two stroke territory. Other than that I was right with them the entire time in trails, jumping, and just regular dune riding. I can ride all day on a tank of gas while the 2 strokes are holding the rest of us back on rides, having to go refuel. You're right, that powerband on 2 strokes is nice but to me, it's definitely not worth the extra cost, maintenance, and inefficiency.

Just my $.02

 

2 Strokes are a lot more work to keep running at there optimum performance. Way harder to jet, they eat plugs in the middle of the ride, the power band is usually the top 10 percent of the revs – pain in the *** for everything except wide open straight smooth trails, and in general are just way to finicky to keep going. I used to love my 2 strokes, then I broke down and bought the Z,
never looked back since, LOVIN IT!!!
[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

How do you figure 2-strokes are more to maintain? Because you have to buy oil for the fuel? Thats the price to go fast is how i see it. And as far as inefficient, how so? 2-strokes respond best to mods. If im not guessing right by what your meaning in please correct me though.


Megacrash~I recently dynoed my 370 not too long ago, and you say the powerbands are in the top 10% range. My bike dynoed and held peak horsepower and torque from 8k to 11k. Thats 37.5%. And your Z will never touch it. I will admit though it isnt a trail motor.

 

I did word that wrong, I should have stated the plusses of the 4 strokes,
(1) Much more “user friendly Power band”
(2) Much easier to Jet, and more forgiving when it comes to temp, humidity, altitude, etc.
If I had a dollar for every 2 Stroke statement of “I would have beat you but I’m not jetted right yet”, I’d be a rich man.
(3) Uses less fuel, a big plus when you’re buying race gas or alcohol
(4) Never fouls plugs
(5) Doesn’t puke smoke out the tail pipe like a tired old Diesel
(6) Engine runs great at every RPM, doesn’t load up and puke a plug when you run at less then wide open
(7) Whenever you nail the throttle it revs up instantly, not so with a 2 Stroke starting to load up
I could go on and on with these but you see where I’m going with this. I have a lot more experience with 2 Strokes then 4 Strokes, so the plusses of the 4 Stroke are easy for me to see.

I gave up some power when I bought the Z, but its advantages everywhere else more then made up for it.

 

Im not sure why people say 2 strokes r unreliable...ive had a blaster since 87...and i only had to put a piston in it 2 yrs ago! Thats pretty damm realiable to me! But...i jus bought a new Z...and im never goin back to the smoke bomb!!! Clean...quiet...goes all day on a tank of gas...and power at all RPM...top to bottom. If u compare a stock 4 stroke...to a stock 2 stroke...well...u guys that have 2 strokes know what im sayin. You have to spend a few hundred bucks on pipes...jets...filters...etc...to make em hit that very narrow power band with any authority!!! Youll all come around eventually [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] Anybody here remember when CD's first came out??? [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif[/img]

 

MegaCrash, from the negatives you stated about 2-strokes, it's obvious that any 2-stroke you had before was not jetted properly or running correctly. First, the only time mine will smoke is when it's cold and just started, Second, if you're fouling plugs that frequently there is a problem, but it is one that can be corrected, and yes, a 4-stroke can foul a plug. As far as lugging before power????huh?
Trust me, there is no lug, smoking like a diesel, fouling plugs, or hesitation like you stated with my Quadracer, and power is instant when you nail it!
True, some 2-strokes can have a spiked powerband. Not ragging on Banshee's but they do tend to have that peak as you stated. Most 250 quads have a much more "ridable" powerband.
Also, jetting is no more difficult on a 2-stroke than on a 4-stroke. It's all the same principal.
I will agree that a 4-stroke is "easier" to ride, especially if you want to putt around, but who wants to idle around anyway?

 

The principles are very different.
With a two stroke the only thing moving in the combustion chamber is the piston. The fuel and air are drawn in once the port is exposed, and there is a slight vacuum pulse that draws it in the combustion chamber. Atmospheric pressure, Temp. And Humidity all have a big impact on this.
With a 4 stroke the fuel and air are pulled in with the piston acting like a air pump, during the intake stroke, more predictable and controllable.
Tuned 2 strokes lose quite a bit of power with a rich mixture, and only make maximum power when run as lean as you can get without melting the piston. (I’m talking about modded 2 strokes here, not factory set up trail engines)
With 4 strokes they can be set up slightly rich without losing much performance, giving them a little room to spare when conditions or altitude start affecting air/fuel mixtures.
It all boils down to the 4 stroke being MUCH easier to jet for maximum power.
I’m sure that when you had your bike on the Dyno it was at least main jetted for that exact location and situation.
If you’ve never noticed any of this then your not getting all the power you can out of your 2 stroke.

Not sure about 2 strokes not smoking, I've never seen one but if you say so, ok.

 

Easier to maintain by not having to rebuild the top ends every few seasons. Inefficient in terms of gas. Take for example yesterday we were riding with some 400EXs, banshees, a 250R, and I had my Alba Z. We had to turn back because the 250R was on a quarter tank and he filled it up before we left. The banshees had half tanks and me and the 400ex were 3/4 or above.