Posts
24438
Joined
4/1/2008
Location
USA
Edited Date/Time
1/26/2012 4:10pm
That is a term I hear a lot of lately. Mostly I see or hear it used when people try and justify the rise of the four stroke and the fall of the two. However, if not for the double the displacement rule, how would that wallet vote have worked out ?
I see where people say that buying a used two stroke( or four stroke for that matter) off Craigslist won't send a message to the OEM's. But cheap bikes selling on CL while $8000.00 bikes collect dust in the showroom should be sending them a message too wouldn't you think?
I buy a absolute shitload of parts for all the bikes I either own or restore. I do a lot of voting with my wallet purchasing two stroke parts for older model bikes. Do you think they notice that ?
Or do I have this whole concept of "voting with my wallet" all wrong?
I see where people say that buying a used two stroke( or four stroke for that matter) off Craigslist won't send a message to the OEM's. But cheap bikes selling on CL while $8000.00 bikes collect dust in the showroom should be sending them a message too wouldn't you think?
I buy a absolute shitload of parts for all the bikes I either own or restore. I do a lot of voting with my wallet purchasing two stroke parts for older model bikes. Do you think they notice that ?
Or do I have this whole concept of "voting with my wallet" all wrong?
I think GuyB plays it about right on this forum without getting in "trouble".
In my opinion I think 2 strokes will have to make a comeback for this sport to grow again. When I was 16, in 1996 mind you, You could get a brand new 125 out the door for 4k, and a good used 1 year old bike for $2,500. Those days are long gone. Especially on the used bike side, cause now the used ones are time bombs that will cost more to fix than it did to buy. Hence nobody buying them. So I would say in the next couple of years the rules will have to change otherwise we will continue to spiral down with bike sales and track closings, which is a vicious cycle. Less tracks = less bike sells, less bike sells = less tracks.
And when and if that does happen, it will be interesting to see if Matthes and all those like him flip flop and jump ship back to the two strokes. But I think one thing that has to be understood is Matthes is like the "political elite" in Washington, not in touch with reality. While he may be at the races every weekend, he is not in touch with the reality of the average joe working 9 to 5 having to support his riding by actually buying a bike and parts and fixing them themselves without being a factory trained mechanic, and not getting them free from Kawi or whoever like like he used too.
That is ABSOLUTELY NOT a dig at Matthes, it is just pointing out where his loyalties lie and that you can't bite the hand that feeds you. I love all the stuff that guy puts out, except of course his anti 2 stroke stuff. One day maybe we will se him eat crow
*runs to the corner store for popcorn, comes back, sits and eagerly hits refresh repeatedly*
Most of the new bikes are financed and all the gear and extra's thrown in then they run up the Credit card trying to be Ricky Carmichael.
afterward the bike goes on CL to pay the house payment and us guy's who work everyday and pay bills bail everyone out with our tax dollars.
So 2 stroke or 4 stroke it doesn't matter unless a person can get approved for financing.
The Shop
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I love 2 strokes. A lot of fun to ride not so much fun to race, IMHO. I'd like to see the displacement limits changed to 175/350 just because that will make for some awesome bikes HOWEVER I am just so over the current crop of Two Stroke lovers and your absolutely dumbshit rants about the conspiracy to eliminate them and that it all political..... blah blah blah blah fucking blah!!!!!!! If two strokes sell then somebody is going to make them. My hearty suggestion is beat a freakin path to that showroom and buy one!!
Until then enjoy your vintage bike.
Come on man its not the same.
The older guy that could afford the new $7995 two stroke all of a sudden realizes that he liked that smooth lazy power of his old four stroke plus he forgot how much he hated mixing gas. Well he goes to trade it in but finds he can't get anything for it because there is still some on the floor because the young racers still aren't working and still have no money to go buy a new bike(two or four stroke).
BOTH are out of the average persons disposable income level except for the vet riders.
We have 2 pretty fast A riders that have KTM 250 two strokes that have been left at home most of the season because they are blown up. Still riding their 450's.
To me its like a way of saying, "hey, fuck you poor guy, this is what you could have with a real job, loser". It's very motivating to look down on you and use that to enhance my confidence, which will ensure further income and my ability to buy expensive bikes. Quit blaming the manufacturers and blame yourself for not reaching for more in your life.
What you need is confidence so you can get a better job and finally get a life and learn to appreciate the finer things in life. Ass pennys, is my guaranteed program to improve life and make you a king of your domain!
Then you too can afford a new bike and see whats it all about and stop the insanity of living in the past
You thirty-six year old baldheaded fag, blow me
You don't know me, you're too old, let go
It's over, nobody listen to techno
Pit Row
When you say "WTF should anyone care what you could buy in 1996?" Well at face value, nothing... You live in Cali where MX is still pretty strong, But in alot of other places in this great nation things aren't so well. So if you want to figure out why tracks and dealerships are closing, you have to look at history. You see while bike prices have jumped 50%, your average blue collar workers pay has not jumped 50 percent at all. No where close. Therefore just a marginal increase on the price of a new bike will put it out of reach of your average blue collar guy. This now has become just a small slice of the pie. Maintenance cost have went up probably 300%, and when you factor in the fact that most of those guys would fix their own two stroke, and cannot fix their own 4 stroke, those cost multiply even more. That puts the cost of owning a 4 stroke out of reach for most of the people who would make up the core of the sport.
Would everyone buy them? Not likely but allowing the 2 stroke to compete on the AMA circuit where racers would have a choice as long as the displacement numbers were in line, NOT cc for cc because lets face it a highly tuned 250 2 stroke would murder a 250f and same goes for a 450 2 stroke. 150 in the lites and 300 in the big class would be about fair. Will it ever happen? I doubt it......but having a choice as a racer and team to which bike they want to ride would without a doubt cause a resurgence in the sport.
Think about it, how mant MORE teams would pop up if they could run 2 strokes? It would make the budget for smaller teams a lot easier to swallow. In conclusion I love me some 2 strokes to death and am not going back ......when the 4 strokes came out I was just like a lot of riders and bought them because they were so easy to ride and go faster on, it was cool for a little while but once I got comfortable on a 4 stroke I noticed there were things I could not do on a 4 stroke that I was easily able to do on my 2 stroke i.e. I was more in control of the bike on my 2 strokes than I was on my 4 strokes seems the range of motion to throw the 2 stroke around is a lot wider than a 4 stroke (the 4 stroke wants to go in a straight line) .
Granted for some the 4 stroke works well and others not so much ....I just wish we had a choice between them because currently we dont and it sucks, thats my biggest gripe about the 4 stroke. Im sure MOST of us 2 stroke fans feel the same way....I dont care if the MFG's continue to make the 4 stroke but a current 2 stroke from the same MFG would be extremely appreciated ......sad part is that they dont realize how many more bikes would sell if 2 strokes were offered and on a level racing platform of displacement....like I said above more teams would be able to sprout up as a result.
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