The end is here...

[Rick]

Yup, when it's time to fix the 4-stroke, you better have a tidy sum in the bank.

Quite a number of folks in the regional offroad series jumped to the 4-stroke when they hit the market.  This year, more than half are back on the 2-stroke.  Hmmm, kinda makes you think....

I'll just keep big green as long as I can keep getting parts...

Rick

[kawdude]

I love the 2 strokes as much as anyone but I will be very surprised if they stay around.  I think it's a losing battle.  The EPA doesn't care about maintenance costs.  It's the end user.  It's what they do.  If given the choice would they give up riding because only 4 strokes exist or switch to the 4 stroke.  The future could bring better efriendly 2 strokes or better 4 strokes but my bet is on the 4 stroke.    Look at the anti-gun groups they are destroying that sport.

One of the above topics mention higher maintenance costs which brings up a question I've been meaning to ask.  I would agree that the XR is a dependable machine.  With that in mind why are the other newer 4 strokers less dependable or more prone to failure.  Is it because of the rpm range the newer ones can rev to?  If I owned a yz450f or crf450 and just lazily cruised around wouldn't you expect them to last like the xr's.  I would expect them to last way longer than the 2strokes if you don't ring the engine out all the time.  What am I missing here?

[Paul]

It because they weigh so little, ANYTIME you give up weight - in an engine environment - you are losing strength. Titanium, while light, becomes brittle the more times it is heat cycled as do most other metal that are being used in thumpers, also the internal weigh more that 2 stroke internal and have more internal friction, these are forces the engine must fight to produce power. Over coming these forces causes fatigue in these seriously weak parts. Ever wonder why the 2 stroke manual mentions topends every 25 - 30 hours and the thumper ones suggests 10 hours ? Atleast the CRF one I saw did.

[gowen]

I used to have a YZ426 and it did not lug very well, it would stall, overheat and would NEVER start when hot and the compression is twice as bad as a kx500. When I dropped it, I would just walk away and let it cool down, as it would not start. My buddy has a new yz450 and it is just as bad. They are NOTHING like the xr's. I had a xr600r for awhile and it was nothing like the new 4 strokes. Unfortunately. Nothing is going to take the place of a 2 stroke.

[Rick]

Wow, a top end every 10 hours!!!!  On a 4-stoke!!!  That would mean I would be putting a piston in every week after my weekend riding.  Yuk!

[mikesmith]

The Hondas also need a lot of valve jobs.

[JBKX]

So is it true that 04 is the year for the KX500?  If so, where's the best place to purchase one (dollar wise)?  Kelly's Kawasaki in Mesa, AZ possibly.

[Fookeneh]

Destry Abbott said in Dirt Bike magazine;' Trying to extract more power from the kx500 is stupid, getting it to run clean and smooth is the challenge... '
 So in other words ,jet it properly and win races without breaking the bank.     I'm keeping mine , and I might save up for a 04.

[sdkx500]

I'm glad I bought my 2004 KX500 then!!! I had actually thought that 2007 was the end of the beast, but I did not have the will power to wait that long. Please, whoever gets the last word on the last year for the bike, be sure to let everyone know promptly. Thanks.

[5Hundy]

THE HONDA  CR250F  HAS A PISTON RING AS THICK AS A BICUIT  AND HAS 2 BE REPLACED IN 20HRS ELSE  THE ENGINE BLOWS!!

WHO WANTS TO BE DOIN  HEAD JOBS ON 4 STROKES!!!!!!!!!

AKA  KIWI  K5 RIDER

[Paul]

Ummm, caps lock  :blink:

[Pinchy]

So whats the best route for people like me that want to be able to go out on the weekend and throw a roost on a big bore 500 in 15-20 years from now? I try to plan ahead. Will there be parts for the kx or do I need to wait a few years and find a goodused 2004 kx and have a parts bike or something.

And is the four stroke craze really from EPA or something else? I mean the actaul motocross racing community is insignificant compared to gas hog driving SUV/dualie driving peeps. I figure they wouldnt care for a few cubic feet of bellray to fill the skies every once in a while. you got tons of chainsaws/weedeaters and the like running all the time.

Ill have to admit it was pretty awesome to see doug henry kick ass on that four stroke back in like 98 i think it was. What was that race?..It was las vegas or something and the track was muddy and he was running circles around those chainsaws AND HIS BIKE WAS BLOWING SMOKE MORE THAN THE 2 STROKES;))))
[might be part of the reason he won since he seemed to really smoke screen the competitors]

But all that still isnt a reason to ban 2 strokes or phase em out. Whatever happened to open class races? just not enuf interest?

what are the desert racers going to use now?

And I want one of those tshirts that say 'forget the whales save the 2 strokes'

[mikesmith]

20 years is a ways a-way,so who knows what will be going on,hybrid bikes,battery powered or soler?EPA picks on us because were easy prey and there friends the tree huggin hippies that hate us!Doug's first win on the 400 was vegas,but it was Hangtown that he laid down a smoke screen,the anouncer said "looks like it smokes like a chevy on it's last legs!",(hey I love chevys!) As far as the open class you can thank Yamaha and then Suzuki for killing the big bike class,they couldnt build a competitve bike so they got the AMA to drop the class! Poor sports! As far as desert racing that will be interesting to see if some privateer on a KX500 smokes the factory guy's 4-strokes!

[Fookeneh]

I think marketing has something to do with it. To get more people noticing the sport the factories will build a new breed of machine that will be competetive, obviously trendy,and last but not least,more expensive for the end user. The majority of consumers wait in line to spend their $ on something that they heard was the latest and greatest . 4-strokes are a  big buzz in the motocross & GP bike industry and its making lot's of money .    We dinasour riders know  better though