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B. I'm not doing it because I don't want to be burned at the stake when I rate four-strokes above the beloved two-stroke...
EDIT: I've added what I'll try doing going forward into my post on the second page.
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Just sayin.....
again, i understand why but i think the argument "why not" is a much stronger one
2) I don't think anyone would care if you rated a 250f higher. (Well, maybe some would...) People have opinions and it would be nice to have a valid comparison between all of the bikes eligible for the racing we all do. I think using the lap time data etc. that you used for the most recent test would be very beneficial.
And I can't go out to buy nine bikes to test.
We do First Impression test on two-strokes as well, but I spend more time testing the bikes that are selling better and have more aftermarket support, four-strokes. It's can also be hard to get two-stroke test bikes from the manufactures long-term, as there are very few in the test fleet.
And I still really don't want to be burned at the stake for giving them last...
What about a head-to-head shootout after the main one is done? You could just test the YZ250 against the YZ250f, the KTM 250SX against the 250SX-F, etc... That way people could just use deductive reasoning to place the two-strokes in the lineup themselves. It would keep the manufacturers happy, and it would give us one more resource to use before buying. For example, say the KX250f came in first and the YZ250f came in second. You could then test the YZ against the YZF and use that test to say "well, the YZF was better than the YZ", which we could use to assume that the KXF is also better than the YZ. Maybe it wouldn't be the most unbiased/accurate way to present the information, but it would add a little more breadth to the testing and would be a tad more informative than simply testing 2 vs 2 and 4 vs 4...
But I guess that doesn't solve the issue of having to buy more bikes... Like I said, just a thought.
And I don't think you'd be burned at the stake... Lightly charred maybe, but not burned
But that'd make too much damned sense. Party on, Wayne.
No need to add them to the four stroke shootout. The shootout is there to compare bikes that are similar.
Not two completely different types of bikes.
Pros don't buy bikes based on shootout findings. The shootouts are for everyday shmucks like us who do most of the bike buying. We can race 250 vs 250 in amateur MX and off road, so IMO... they should be evaluated next to 250 four strokes in the shootouts.
What does any of that have to do with the similarity of the bikes?
They are completely different.
Why not compare them to like bikes? Its very hard to compare an apple to an orange.
I, like you, would like to see the two strokes included. Even though a certain moderator may prefer to ride four strokes, I doubt that he would assert that they are faster than the two strokes, in totally stock form. Maybe I am wrong, but I guess we won't get to know for sure.
Pit Row
I see no need to compare to 4 stroke 250's.
The reviewer is in a position of having to get the bikes loaned, and they don't want to rock the boat by asking for two strokes to add to the review..they know that will cause frowned faces among the powers that be. The reviewers make their living from promoting things, and so need a constant flow of items to promote. They can't rock the boat too much or they'll end up with nothing to review/promote.
There are a lot more models than just the KTM and Yamaha. And the offroad models are a whole other shootout, which would be cool to see.
I'm with you on keeping them separate. No need to co-mingle the two shootouts.
1. Including two-strokes in Vital MX's 250 Shootout?
No, not in the foreseeable future. With six bikes already, it's absolute pain-in-the-ass to do them properly and I'm still trying to figure out how we can improve upon that. Adding another four bikes (TM, YZ, KTM, Husky Two-strokes) would really screw up how much time we're putting on each model and not do any of it justice in my opinion. I'm also there to test the bikes that directly compete against each other in all forms of racing, not in certain places. I want to do the best job we can there.
2. How about a 250 two-stroke Shootout?
Sure! I can make that happen for the 2017 model range (late 2016 or first thing of 2017). 2016 won't be do-able at this point, I can't get my hands on the needed bikes. I'd like to do this with the YZ, KTM, Husky, and TM. I won't add a bunch of unnecessary bikes and I don't believe in adding Service AF bikes because of their cost and the fact that the suspension is used from four-stroke settings.
3. What about some sort of 250 two-stroke vs four-stroke comparison?
Possible, I could pit one brand against itself. Maybe whoever fairs best overall in the 250F and 250T will go against it's brethren. I'll get through the Shootouts before I make any promises on this one.
Post a reply to: Why no 250 2 strokes in the 250 shootouts?