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Well here we are, 2017 and nothing.. The whispering has moved to 2018 now. This time next year it will be 2019 lol...
Actually Howertons factory bike was the Cats Meow.
Pit Row
But for the sake of all that's holy, let's stop these yearly bullshit "I heard" threads.
I know it sounds crazy, but a simple to work on, cheap bike is what this sport needs to grow again. I know it will never happen, but I have to believe the sport could be more accessible to more families.
So, you might have missed the entirely new Beta and Sherco 2 strokes that have come out in the last few years?
Not MXers, but hell, they are flat out meeting demand for their 250 /300 Offroaders, so, currently, they've no need for MXers. Perhaps with further growth of both brands, they may do MXers to rival the KTMs and KTHuskies and YZs. TM, put out their lovely bikes, as ever. Gas Gas, well, I hope they come back to a reasonable level of production.
If KTM are set on permanently forsaking the 125 Road Legal 2 strokes in Europe (I doubt it), there's quite the opening for both Beta and Sherco to meet that market. Then, they may branch out towards MX. 125s are pretty popular in Europe, be it Offroad or MX.
And, there are a lot of growing markets out there that 125s, and 2 strokes in general, would be great for - hell Argentina, even with a recent big slump in their market, sold within a few thousand (not sure if more or less) of the same amount of bikes as the US did. Both 'round about the 470,000 units in the same year (2014) . And that's just one South American country. The established markets are ever losing significance to the emerging ones, of which there are many.
The other Japanese manufacturers? Some may say, Who Cares?, but I'm sure there'd be a reasonable market for S and K 125s. Honda, well, they are "all 4 stroke, all the time" - fuck 'em.
Caveat: I hope I haven't misquoted him, but I am 99.9% sure he did
The problem is that most 2 stroke riders here are massive KTM/Husky fans, if the Jap manufacturers brings out more 2 strokes onto the market then who will suffer (sales wise), yes your beloved KTM/Husky....so perhaps you should not be so quick to wish there are more produced. If I were them I would not be saying fuck you Suzuki, Kawasaki and (especially) Honda...you should be saying thank god they dont....right?
Makes perfect sense as well, with the GP's grooming their talent in the EMX125 series, plus he wants his kid on a Suzuki when he gets on 125s.
No, I think genuinely new 2ts, will take sales from 4ts. And, increase overall sales.
Some people have bleated about the counter balancers on the new 250 /300 KTM / KTHuskies. It's that sort of thing, that narrows the gap between 2ts and 4ts. Same as Electric Starts - people bleat that it's not needed on a 2t - but, it's a wonderful thing to have for the average person. Hell, watch Any of the Hard Enduros, like Erzberg / Romaniacs etc, and see the difference in just pressing a button in any difficult situation, as against the poor bastards who have to use a kick starter. They lose time, and are often placed in peril just using the KS.. Things like ES are the sort of thing that really got sales of 4ts going - and, it's the Enduro / Trail market that gets real sales, anywhere.
Whatever comes from companies to make their 2ts comply with coming Euro and other market legislation, will invariably further 'civilize' 2ts for the average person. Example :Oil injection, for no mixing fuel for the average noodle. Yes, to some it's just too hard, as strange as it can seem to we life long mixers.
Far better fuel economy than current, to bring 2ts to the same consumption level, or better than 4ts, ease of starting, smoother (which is what the average punter lurves about their 4t), yet better power, and still, no matter what tech is used to clean 2ts up to ensure their continued existence, a much, Much simpler and cheaper engine design than a comparable 4t. These points should make it a forgone conclusion as to what really should dominate the IC engined Motorcycle market. That is, if common sense prevails.
But, there's not much commonsense having been shown in the last few decades, with relation to Motorcycling, and, especially the highest levels of MX , well nearly all highest level Motorcycle Racing . The 'handicap class' for 4ts, in so many branches of the sport, is what got them to prominence, and keeps them prominent in the average, unknowing doofus' eyes. It's generally quite the revelation to non motorcyclists, who like watching MC events, when they are informed of the capacity advantage given to 4ts. The general comment I get from most people, when informed of that, is it's far from fair. Commentators tend to always rave about the speed and power of 4ts, without ever giving voice to the handicap rules that have brought that about.
But, to repeat - I believe if more, modern 2ts were made by more manufacturers, it's the 4t sales that would suffer, whilst, at the same time, more overall sales would be achieved.
Even with adding in a new RM 125 for the EMX125 class, were still talking about market demand of 5-10 units (because not every rider would be switching to a Suzuki in that class. It would only be a percentage, just like the current brands achieve).
Honda will not be producing a 2 stroke MXer. I don't know about enduro, but I doubt it.
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