Posts
10503
Joined
4/13/2010
Location
Lake Geneva, WI, USA
Edited Date/Time
1/27/2012 1:16am
Before anyone accuses me of fishing I'll admit I am... hey its an off week. Yes todays riders are going faster but it doesnt take as much skill.. they are twisting the throttle and hanging on... O'Mara , Bailey , Johnson, Ward etc. They were technicians dealing with the wheel spin and the precision needed to excell on a 2 stroke . Put them on a deisel in their prime and they would laugh as they were gapping the field.
I will say, there's some merit to your statements though. Different deal riding a 4t, and easier.
If you don't get it, you don't get it.
The Shop
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
-Power per cc = 2 stroke wins
- Overall weight = 2 stroke wins
-Handling = 2 stroke wins
-Maintenance cost = 2 stroke wins
-DIY mechanic friendly = 2 stroke wins
-Controling BD levels = 2 stroke wins
-Sounds cool = 2 stroke wins
-Makes you a better more skilled rider = 2 stroke wins
-Fun to ride = 2 stroke wins
I could go on and on.
In fact the only thing going for 4 strrokes is that they do hook up well in some situations and any muppet can ride them.
Though you could argue they're more environmentally friendly but thats only the case when you only look at what comes out the tailpipe, I mean there's car manuafacure's that are clamming that their elecric cars are "zero emission" what a crock of s$%t!
4 strokes are a whole emperor's new clothes secnario.
Oh and some guy named RC ...
But you forgot to mention the finesse in the battles of other greats like Bailey and GLover on 500 machines, or the complete lack of it in the brutal style used by the late Magoo.
I consider myself fortunate to have witnessed that era in the sport and wonder if it will ever come back because of what the farting pigs have done to the sport.
Unfortunately, one of the largest factors in the popularity of the thumpers is more related to the general trend towards obesity in this country.
Why is the four-stroke so popular despite costing more to purchase and maintain ?
The polite term is it makes more "friendly" power. What that translates to is the average Vet and up rider who is carrying EXTRA weight and is out of shape can now go a few more laps than he could on a 250T. Look around the next time you're at a track. Riders now are older and tend to be heavier. A lot heavier. Just part of an unfortunate trend in this and many other countries.
Back a generation ago, those same guys were relegated to the back of the pack on a smoker. Now they can plunk their fat ass down on a 450 and keep going longer. The same exact thing occured in jet skis when they switched from stand-ups to sit-downs.
And of course Stewart on the one two five...
I forget how loud these damn 4 strokes are. We are parked right by the start line and when they take off we can't even hear ourselves think!!
This sport has went to shit and I hate it. I don't watch it much or follow it much anymore because of it.
bust my ass if you like, but at our track i have seen way more endos in the last ten years then the ten years prior. Less high side corner crashes.
Nothing to do with bike types but this scubbin stuff hurts many also.
just my .0002 cents.
Pit Row
They are not as easy to ride as everybody thinks. I think the trend toward heavier riders has more to do with the fact that Vet racing is huge now. Guys are riding into their 40s a lot more than they used to, and older guys tend to have some weight on them.
And some of these big dudes are surprisingly fast.
Well I started racing again this year, and the lack of people showing up at the gate is a bit alarming. The novice and am classes used to be stacked........I always figured most of that age was 16 to 28 or so........let’s say that the economy was booming, who can afford $1200-$2,000 rebuilds? On top of the bike price to begin with, at that age? All it takes is a little dirt to get behind that filter. I am pretty good with keeping it all clean now at age 27, but it took me a long time to realize how important that was. Now if a kid wants to get into it and makes that same mistake, he or she’s done. I have seen it first hand with a few kids who have bought my used bikes.
I don't want to sound all negative, but the reality is, now you better have some major parent financial support, and to be honest, I think a ton of racers in the novice and am classes will never have their parents blessing, let alone financial support for this crazy sport. And I think that’s the sole of amateur motocross. 16-28 or so.
I make a pretty decent living, I have a college degree, I bit of a go getter some say, and to come up with the cash for valve jobs and rebuilds isn’t all that easy. How can the working man do it without sacrificing EVERYTHING else?
One of my accounts is a Yamaha dealership, and I think I will be trying out the YZ next year
In short, I love my 450, LOVE IT. But I would rather see many people racing an affordable bike, so that there are more people to race with, rather than a select few who can afford the new generation of dirt bikes.
And of course, the two strokes at the pro level were tenfold more exciting to watch.....
How did we get here? What happened is the manufacturers pretty much tapped out the development of the two stroke and they needed a brand new product to boost sales. That new product was the thumper and it hit the market at the same time the economy was booming. The thumpers sold like crazy, even though they cost 30% more, because the economy was artificially high and people wanted something "new and improved". Now the "new" has worn off and people are more careful about their expenditures and suddenly the four strokes don't make sense at all. Race tracks around the country have become ghost towns and dealers have three year old bikes on the floor. It all comes down to money. $8k race bikes are a pipe dream for most people and you would think someone at the big 4 would step up and say "hey fellas, I think we priced the middle class out of motocross. Maybe this four stroke experiment was a bad idea after all."
The cure is for all the sanctioning bodies to drop any displacement handicap, period.
There was a dude racing a 1976 RM at Budds recently in the regular vet class. You want to race you will find a way.
The costs to campaign a 250F are pretty alarming though. If money is a concern, you still have the YZ250 or KTM.
BTW, I run the same lap times on my '82 RM250 as I do on my '08 CRF450.
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