Motocross Media and the Two Stroke

By 2STROKEREVOLUTION on April 24th, 2010 at 9:17 pm

No really James?! A stock 250 is slower than a Factory, $50,000 450F? I would have never guessed! How much did Yamaha pay you to say 2-strokes are dead and the YZ450F is amazing? And I am sure that $500,000 is low like you said. I heard Carmichael got paid near $10 million by Suzuki so I expect Stewart to be similar.

By JohnNicholas on April 25th, 2010 at 8:36 am

Family Man – You are so right! Did you notice that James showed all of his Championship winning machines on the MTV Crips show? If he had to give the bikes back, why did he have so many of his championship winning machines?

The other aspect to consider is how many machines do you think the factory builds for a racer like him in a year? It certainly isn’t 1 machine for the whole season!

Just a week or so ago someone posted photos of a factory Kawasaki SR250 two-stroke with Ryan Villipoto’s graphics on it, in front of the Factory Kawasaki rig. How did Ryan get that machine and who gave it to him?

Pics located here – http://twostrokemotocross.com/forum/index.php/topic,519.0.html

From the rumors I heard, James gets paid about 12 million dollars a year. Not sure how much comes from Yamaha….

Besides, if he didn’t like the two-stroke, why would he bother to use one on his ride days? Yamaha has plenty of YZF450′s he even had one sitting there in the pits…

Something smells really bad!! And it’s not the two-stroke.

By iluvmx on April 25th, 2010 at 12:10 pm

Hey everybody, just signed up for this site….awesome site. Here is my take on this……..James Stewart is quoted as saying in another article on this site that(paraphrasing)-”it was the two stroke that he wanted to take across the country with him on his ride days”. I’ve watched many of the vidoes of his ride day videos on the 2t, and with the crowds and exposure that this was generating I guarantee you the Yamaha brass pulled James aside and reminded him that advertising 2t’s (by riding them publicly) was counter productive to the company’s marketing and sales focus, which is to sell 4t’s. Think about it, it hurts 4t sales when the best rider in the world is ripping on a 2t and showing all those youngsters how amazing the 2t is. Yamaha pays him to peddle (sell) 4t’s. Did you see his front wheelie into the corner, drop the back end down, and roost away???!!!! OMG- I’ve never seen a move like that in my life! Stuff like that sells 2t’s which is what the big 4 do not want. Yamaha quashed his 2t ride days because they pay him to sell 4t’s. Thanks for letting me vent- 2 strokes forever!

By Punisher on April 26th, 2010 at 10:41 am

Well, i remember that James Stewart had to make a video where other yamaha riders asked him about the new yamaha 450f because many rumors about this bike.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fh7IxOJsR-Y

Well, i think that many people know now that four strokes are bikes very expensive for fun only and Stewart, again, have to answer.

By wintrader on April 26th, 2010 at 1:00 pm

If i start sounding boring sorry but last time. KTM put a lot of money in the 350 4 stroke and they put cairoli on the bike to win races. Seems next year the 350 will be the next standard in mx 1 class. Why? Because by now almost everyone found out that the 450”s are not faster round the track then 250′s but actually slower. Because ktm do not want to loose money on their investment in the 350 they do not want cairoli to ride a 2 stroke ktm. They a sell a lot of 2 strokes already. Now they want to sell the new 350 4 stroke. All the amatures next year want the 350 because they think they will be faster.

Heard stefan Everst talking about the 350 and he said the 450 has too much hp and too hard to handle and sometimes the 250 has too little horsepower and so on. Still cairoli was about 2 seconds slower on his 350 then herlings was on his 250 4 stroke. So figure it out for yourself.

All just marketing thing.

So last time almost never a 450 will be faster round a track then a 250. And certainly not on racedistance because all that 450 hp is tiring you out. Sand tracks 450 always slower. Only on tracks will long straight 450 faster.

So actually it is an unfair advantage to ride a 250 in a 450 class. If you do not agree think of the reason why cairoli rides a 350 and not a 450.

The mx 1 class is just an other class an other thing!! Other tiredness other way of riding. Why do you think cairoli rides a 350??? It is true that herlings would had won the mx 1 class on his 250 BUT would he also have won on a 450??? Just other thing! Respect the 450 for what it is also the 500 2 stroke but do not think it is the faster bike on a track because it is a fact it is not the faster bike round a track.

PPPfff is said it again. hahahahahah

By jrhockey03 on April 27th, 2010 at 9:28 pm

I’ve got an ’02 Kx250 that I just rebuilt from the ground up. I rode with a couple of my buddies at the track last weekend. One has a KTM450EXC and the other one has a former pro’s 08 YZ450. The stock KTM with the enduro tank was way easier to ride than either my KX or the YZ, but those damn 4 strokes are so heavy. It felt like I was riding a mountain bike when I switched back to my KX and it certainly isn’t the thinest of the bunch either, plus it sounded way better and its quieter. I know where KTM is coming from with the HP tiring you out, and a 250F doesn’t have enough ponies to carry my 210 pounds around the track. If I could afford it I would probably own both a 2 and a 4 stroke, its kinda fun switching back and forth between the two. But since I can only have one bike, its the 2 stroke all the way!

By 2STROKEREVOLUTION on April 28th, 2010 at 1:44 pm

I have both a 2-stroke and a 4-stroke. I love my 4-stroke and my 2-stroke. But they are good for different things. 4-strokes have smooth powerbands. I use my XR250 for long rides, 100+ miles, in the desert. The powerband and power doesn’t wear me out and I can just cruise if I want. It is also good for technical terrain where the engine won’t die, runs as great at the bottom as it does up top, and just keeps chugging along. And because it is air cooled and not shim under bucket valves, maintenance is fairly easy. I can adjust the valves from the head with ease MYSELF unlike new 4-strokes. It will also last me a lifetime since it isn’t tuned to oblivion like the new MX 4-strokes. And it isn’t loud as hell like them.

Now my 2-stroke, KTM 380SX, is just a beast. It has more power on tap than any sane person could need. But that is part of the fun. No matter how fast you are going you can pull a wheelie. But for long rides it gets tiring and sucks gas like no tomorrow. The light weight is great. The powerband isn’t good for technical terrain. But it is the most fun I have ever had on a bike.

I got a chance to ride a KTM 300XC-W. That bike combines most of the good of both bikes. Smooth power band with a lot of power on tap, light weight, good for hauling ass and great for technical terrain. The only thing that makes me keep my XR250 is the gas mileage and I don’t have to mix gas. The 300XC-W sucks gas too. My friend with that bike has a 3.5 gallon tank and carries a 2 Liter bottle of gas and still can’t go as far as my 2.5 gallon tank. I also like to ride into town and fill up my tank.

The only thing that can do it all will be DI 2-strokes.

By miedosoracing on April 28th, 2010 at 2:20 pm

Well, I think the carbed bikes could actually be higher peak power if tuned like that. The reason I say this, is look at the size of carbs they use on them. My 125 which is made for topend only, uses a 38mm carb. my 250 and 500 use the 38mm as well. If we went by peak power, my guess, is that a 250 should be around a 40-42mm and a 500 42-44mm. Just my opinion
But I’m sure you are correct, so maybe not so much on topend, but surely much better than what we see right now.

By OKmotocross.com on May 1st, 2010 at 3:14 pm

Here is a helmet cam video of Stewart riding in texas on his 2t. In the video at roughly 2:00 in he is asked if he likes playing around on a 2t and he replies yes. The audio is kinda hard to hear, but it is interesting.

http://www.vimeo.com/6976029

By yz125rider157 on May 16th, 2010 at 10:12 am

I saw a very interesting video today on racerxonline.com that every body needs to check out. Max Anstie is testing a yz144 kit that GYTR made for 2005 up to 2010 yz125s. Max Anstie said some very cool stuff that us two stroke fans like to hear. CHECK it out at racerxonline.com the video is called GYTR yamaha yz144. It would also be a great video to put up on the site.

By joeshepherd on June 2nd, 2010 at 11:54 am

I have always loved the sport and tried my whole life to get into the sport. My family didn’t have money and I currently don’t have much either. I looked at all bikes and have enough knowledge to find out whats best for me. This comes from a childhood of on and off spurts of riding and letdowns. I always told myself ” If I just had the money to afford a bike and ride more often I could be good”. With most poor trailer park kids like me that wasn’t possible. This is a belief I had from the first time on a track ( on a borrowed bike ) I could clear all the obstacles with a small amount of practice. I just didn’t have the stamina that comes with countless hours at the track and ” O Yea ” a bike. In those days most if not all bikes at the track were two strokes. I have kept up with the sport watching all AMA events in my area, and all local races. I am well aware of the four stroke and its rise to dominence. I just didnt know why. I knew it was a time I could buy a bike I just didn’t know which would be better for me a two stroke or four. I was ready to finally do what I loved so I started looking on the Internet on the subject of two or four. I found nothing but people in blogs begging for the two stroke to come back, and found nothing that made me lean one way or the other. I just couldn’t understand why people just went out and bought four strokes so I tried to find out. I went to the local trck were I would hopefully be riding soon and asked around before I made my purchase. The one comment that kept poppin out was that not alot of pro events allow two stroke 250′s to compete with four stroke 250′s, but im not a pro and this track allows it. One guy I talked to was a young man around 19-20 years old sitting in riding pants and watching his friends ride. I asked him ” Do you ride ”. He said yes, but his bike is broke and needs a head job. He said he doesn’t have the money to fix it and doesn’t when he will be able to afford to fix it. He rides a 450 four stroke and the head job will cost him around 1000 dollars. Since I am a guy with little money and dont want a lot of downtime off a bike this fact intrested me the most. I wondered what i would do in the same situation. I snapped of a comment like, ” Well if you had a 250 two stroke you could probably do the head job yourself and it would probably cost alot less”. He told me he had a 02 yz250 two stroke before he bought his 08yzf450. He told me his two stroke handled as good and felt like it had the same power. He also said yes he could do the head job himself for around 200 dollars and would be on the track right now and wouldn’t be borrowing friends bikes. I noticed his brother who just started in the sport was on a kx125 two stroke. So with this knowledge I left the track after getting a few riding tips here and there and knew I had a decision to make. The only reason I came up with on why everybody is on a four stroke not a two is the AMA supercross and motercross series. I believe people think that if it is good for the AMA its good for me. Those teams have lots of money and technology. I don’t see that much with local riders, and its not my situation either. I need fast and cheap and reliable not fast unreliable and expensive. I wondered if the supercross lites class all rode 250 two strokes what the local track would of looked like then. I believe the fastest rider on the tack is still the fastest if he is on a two stroke or four. I don’t believe the displacement would make a difference until you are in a pro level of racing. I believe speed comes from alot of riding and proper technigue. I decided to buy an 01 yz250 two stroke for 1200 dollars. I found the bike completly stock even the piston was original. It was in the same condition as it was bought of the showeroom floor, with just some minor scratches. I have ben riding and practicing as much as I can and love having my own bike. I hope I made the right decision. If I sat a two stroke lover and a four strok lover side by side what would ther arguments be, and what are the first things I should upgrade on my bike.

Joe Shepherd, Houston tx

By joeshepherd on June 2nd, 2010 at 3:55 pm

Well its just looks like he will lie for money. He used to be my favorite rider, but not anymore.