2-stroke bike advice (Enduro)

[oldguy]

Ok its out I'm a closet 2stroke fan, their I said it.

Need some advice, I am thinking of upgrading from my WR250F but thinking of going 2stroke, I have ridden a few 450F's CR450X. WR450F KLX450R and a KX450F just for fun but not on the list.
Anyway I like the power of the other bikes, but not the weight, also the seat height bit too tall for me.
what can you tell me about these, KTM 250 exc.... KTM 300 exc looking at second hand and what to look for.
or any other 2t endro.

or should I just stick with my WR it has not let me down 7000 offroad K's on the clock and is still going strong.

[Reckless]

Ok its out I'm a closet 2stroke fan, their I said it.

Anyway I like the power of the other bikes, but not the weight, also the seat height bit too tall for me.
what can you tell me about these, KTM 250 exc.... KTM 300 exc looking at second hand and what to look for.
or any other 2t endro.

All the Ktm's seem to have quite a high seat height 900 or so I think??
The 250 and 300 share the larger chassis. The 125 and 200 share the smaller chassis.
The 300 is defiantly more enduro.
The 200 has good torque, has adjustable power valve (so you can make it deliver power how you like) and the latest has electric start and still is the same weight as my 08 model.
I found the 200 lightest with best lug ability for trees and enduro and you can still wang like a 125 it at Ardmore, Harrisville or maze races.
About $400 for a recon if you do it yourself
In saying the above no two stroke will deliver smooth tractable climbing power like your four stroke will. Until someone sorts out direct injection that is???

Take one for a ride you'll love it or hate it

[nzspokes]

Im not qualified really to comment as so new at this. But I loves my KDX. Not bad torque but epic power once she on the pipe. Well it feels great to me. And it can haul my fat ass up hills better than my xr200.

[george formby]

I heart 2t's too.
Was talking about it yesterday, jumping off a 2t onto an older 4t feels like your on a bike with a flat front tire.
Glad your enjoying the KDX spokes, thought you might.
Among the current 2t crop Gas Gas seems to get consistent thumbs up.

[ktm84mxc]

I'll admit it I'm a 2smoke man started with a 79 PE175n, tried a 80 KLX250a1 handled nice but so sloooooow.
Any of the 2 smoke 250\300's will be a revelation to you just choose your colour and enjoy the ride, get the latest model your budget will allow say 010 or latter .

[Dent]

You should certainly consider a GasGas 250 or 300. I'm on my second 300.
The 300 has more torque down low, meaning you can be fairly lazy on gear shifts and still make it up the hill etc.

The 2012 had a higher seat height than previous. I think the 2013 has reduced that a little.

We have excellent sales/support from D.A.S. in chch http://dasmoto.co.nz/ , not sure how well bikes get setup from dealers elsewhere. Out of the crate the jetting needs a needle change, and he electric leg (option) needs a little tweaking on some bikes.
D.A.S. does the occasional demo day where you can ride a bike.

[Pornstar]

the xc 250 is the perfect offroad 2t and the 200 is a totall hoot, its a 200 that thinks its a 300, but id say a good deal gasser would be just as good.

P.S the Xc 150 would be way cool, if your into giant slaying that is.

[pouakai]

We've got a EXC450(4t) and a EXC300(2t) in the family and in all honesty I am staggered by the torque available for the 2t (nearly as much as the 450!!) but it's lighter and more nimble than the 450 - it's an absolute hoot !
I'd buy one in a heartbeat ! (The 450 does some service as an Adventure bike though so it's place in the garage is secure!)
P

[george formby]

but it's lighter and more nimble than the 450 - it's an absolute hoot !

I think that sums it up nicely.

[oldguy]

In saying the above no two stroke will deliver smooth tractable climbing power like your four stroke will. Until someone sorts out direct injection that is???

Take one for a ride you'll love it or hate it

Thats what I wondered.

I hear the 300 is more race focused, but i see a lot on trail rides, apart from the obvious would it be better than me going back to a 250 MX 4t for what I would be using it for.

thanks for all your advice guys give me something to think about.

[snarldom]

I've just bought a KTM 300EXC (2008). I've done a few rides out at woodhill on it and am heading out to Ardmore today for a squirt for a first attempt on an MX track with it. Being an ex CRF 450 rider (a shit rider, but a rider none the less), I will try and give an opinion of sorts tomorrow.

[Dent]

Jetting on the 300 2 stroke makes a big difference to how 'exciting' the hit of the power band is.
KTM's seem to be jetted to be fairly exciting when delivered.

A 300 jetted to provide more linear power will be considerable more predictable and easier to control. Yes this will mean its running a little richer.
A single taper needle in a gasgas 300 makes them fairly placid, but with stump pulling torque far lower in the rev range than the modern 450 4 stroke.

[oldskool]

Thats what I wondered.

I hear the 300 is more race focused, but i see a lot on trail rides, apart from the obvious would it be better than me going back to a 250 MX 4t for what I would be using it for.

thanks for all your advice guys give me something to think about.

Rider Comfort.

If you remember John, I rode a GG300 for a couple of years. Hated the thing. I was glad to see it go. It was a soul-less machine.
Yes the motor had plenty of low grunt but it all came on using less than 25% of the throttle. After that it squirted and the back wheel lost traction. Had to short shift everywhere and only lug it up the hills. Typical big bore 2T
The famous Marzocchi Ohlins combination was a myth, the handling was crap. Thinking I was doing the right thing I rushed out to suspension tech to get it sorted. He didn't want to touch the thing. Said if I took off the forks and shocks he'd service them but he wouldn't set the bike up, he said the GG EC300 are a crap design to work on with everything in the way and boltheads all a different size. Anyway I was expecting a chalk and cheese difference after his revalving but was very disappointed. Cost me $800 for that experience. In hindsite why did I give him the job if he wasn't willing to be responsible for it. Needless to say, I wouldn't use him again. Anyway that's my personal experience with GG and it wasn't a good one. I almost quit riding because I wasn't enjoying it that much. So I went and bought a Suzuki and the sun shone bright.

I'm extremely happy with my new ride. It handles like a dream. I'm willing to give most obstacles a go now. It's about rider comfort at the end of the day. If you are happy and confident on your bike it doesn't matter what colour it is. I ride harder faster and with more confidence now and it happened overnight. I could almost say the GG held back my riding style.

My advice, if you want to go down the bigbore 2T path, don't look at a GG, simply because you don't get industry wide support for the brand in Aucks. You're on your own with it...oh except for remote online help when you are looking for a part.

[noobi]

Having only owned enduro 2 strokes since moving on from a crf150, but ridden everything in between the crf150 and a Husaberg 300. I feel somewhat qualified to comment.

So a light bike with smooth power?
Which is pretty much an enduro 2 stroke, or a detuned mx bike right?

So theres a few options,
KTM do a whole range of 2 strokes, 125/150/200/250/300.
GasGas do too, 125/200/250/300
Husqvarna, 125/250/300
Husaberg(blue KTM) 125/250/300
Then theres the ones ive never or rarely have seen, TM, Beta, Fantic

Theres also de tuned Jap 2 strokes. They all more or less need similar mods to make them more 'friendly'.
Basically the YZ250 is the only one that will be easy to find, they also have a huge amount of aftermarket mods available to make them more 'woods' worthy, as it were. However, if you bought one as a stock mx bike, you would want at the least a flywheel weight and some suspension work. At the most, engine mods, flywheel weight, pipe and silencer, reeds and jetting mods, possibly 18" rear wheel, barkbusters, radiator braces, skid plate, revalved and resprung suspension, transmission mods, auto clutch and possibly other things.
Now you could do none or all of this, but it will still at its heart be a fire breathing monster ~50hp mx bike.
Thats not to say it wont work superbly, but, its a huge amount of money and effort to put into a bike to make it like something you could already buy.

Where as the euro 2 strokes already have, heavy flywheels, tamer engine set up, plusher suspension, sensible transmission ratios etc.
You mentioned you were after a lower seat height, KTMs are tall, very tall. You can lower them, but unless you have a newer one with a linkage its not easy, and needs to be done internally by a suspension tuner.
GasGas' have the lowest seat height of all the euro bikes I listed, with the exception maybe being the Beta, but they dont really exist here in NZ yet.
Husqvarnas are as tall, if not taller than KTMs.
Husabergs are KTMs in blue clothing.

Ive now owned and maintained 2 gasgas', 2 ktms and a husaberg. I look after my dads bikes too.

I can honestly say that the gasgas' havent required any maintenance that wouldn't be common practice for any other brand.
As oldskool pointed out, they do have a couple of 'quirks', which are much more obvious in the older models, I owned 2 07's, a 125 and now a 200.
I would be cautious of 06 or older gasgas'.
The aftermarket parts thing can be a hassle, although, thinking right now, there isnt much in consumable parts I cant get aftermarket through any dealer.
The fasteners thing isnt that big of an issue if you have a socket set, some allen keys and a few screw drivers. Oh, and some patience.

The KTMs are much more user friendly, everything is fairly easy to get to. I recently starting riding our 09 250exc much more, its a very nice bike to ride, but it is really really tall for me. The suspension is very nice for farm type riding, but its not as predictable as on the gasgas on technical stuff.



Everyone has different experiences with any given brand, and depending on the type of person they may never get over it.
I once owned a Honda, and it was shit, therefore all Hondas are shit and no one should ever buy one. Sounds silly when you say it like that.

[IIIRII]

What 2t have you ridden ?
I know someone here who rode a trick wr250 and now rides a KTM 300 and says he would never go back.
You can have a squirt on noobs (my) KTM 250 some time if you are at a ride we are at, I have modified it and it has pretty much no power band, pulls like a 4t from idle so don't get sucked into thinking they come on like a switch.
People who say that kind of thing either don't know or have never tried tuning to suit how they want it to ride.
Once you get over no engine braking and the crank vibration through your feet, its all good.
Like noob said the biggest downside to ktm's is there height, which isn't that much of an issue until you stop .......