13 Things You Need to Know About 2-Stroke Dirt Bikes

What's going on you guys? It's Cody with The MX Factory. Today I'm going to tell you 13 things you need to know about two strokes. I've been riding two strokes my whole life. As the sport progresses and the sport grows we're seeing less and less people on two strokes so we thought it'd be a great idea to make a video about some key points on two strokes that some of you might be scratching your heads about maybe wondering about. Number one, these things sound really cool. When you show up to the track and you're ripping a two stroke you better believe you're going to turn some heads. That's my favorite thing about these bikes. Number two, these things have what we call a power band. Specifically a purple power band. Just kidding, they don't have colored power bands. What a power band is, is it's the curvature of the power. If you put this bike on a dyno and you look at the bike on a dyno you're going to see it's relatively flat in the beginning and then it steepens up and it has an aggressive power curve. That's one thing that makes these bikes just a little bit more difficult to ride is the fact that there's a narrow window of power that you kind of have to ride these bikes within. Number three, more clutch is required on these bikes. Just like I mentioned with the power band there is a flat spot with these bikes. Sometimes as you come out of the corner the bike does want to bog so sometimes you'll need a clutch bump just to get those rpms up versus a four stroke where the power is very linear and you're not going to need as much clutch action. Number four, there's more room in the engine bay. If you look at a two stroke you're going to see that there's a whole lot less engine in here and there's just more room. There's a couple things that make that nice. Number one, you can get your hands up in here if you need to get to a bolt or something like that versus a four stroke where you might have to pull the tank. Number five, these things are easier to work on. Like I just mentioned before with number four, there's more room in the engine bay. The reason why there's more room in the engine bay is because there's less moving parts on these bikes. They're more simple. We don't have our camshafts, we don't have valves, we don't have timing chain, so they're easier to work on because of that. Oh my god that was wild. I swear I've done that better in the past. I promise. You guys, head over to shopmxf.com, get yourself a hat, get yourself a hoodie, get your style looking right like me. Number six, these things are cheaper to maintain. There's less moving parts. That means there's less stuff to wear out. On top of that, these bikes do put out just a little bit less power than your modern four stroke. So that means stuff like chain and sprockets are not going to quite wear out as quickly. Cheaper to work on. For a poor guy, this is the bike right here. Number seven, these things are cheaper to buy. Like I mentioned earlier, these are simpler machines, right? There's less moving parts. That means they're cheaper. There's less to buy there. That's another thing that makes two strokes really awesome. Number eight, these things have less electronics than your modern four stroke. That just means they're simpler, right? One thing to be mindful of on most two strokes is they're carbureted versus your modern four stroke, it's going to be fuel injected. Don't forget to turn your gas on though. Number nine, these bikes are lighter. One thing that is nice about a lighter bike is the fact that when you get tired and you tip it over in a corner or something like that, it's a little bit easier to pick up. It's a little bit easier to load in the back of your truck, unload in the back of your truck. And on top of that, if you do have a smooth, good riding style, sometimes a lighter bike is going to require just a little bit less energy to ride as well. I'm such a weirdo. Number 10, these things are less planted to the track. Going along with the bike being light, unfortunately, sometimes that does mean it's less planted and it has a less stable feel on the track and it's more of a dance to ride the bike. Some riders can really appreciate this. Riders that have started out on four strokes and ridden four strokes their whole life really normally don't like this feeling. Number 11, more body English is required when riding these bikes. Going along with the steeper power curve, the more aggressive power band on these two strokes, you've got to move just a little bit more to be in position for the power of these bikes because they hit a lot quicker and the power is a lot less linear than a four stroke. So along with that, you've got to be more agile on the bike and you've got to be willing to move around just a little bit more because, like I said earlier, they're less planted on the track. So it's more of an active feel and it requires just a little bit more movement from the rider. Number 12, no engine braking or actually way less engine braking than your modern four stroke. Some riders can really appreciate this because on a really rough track, sometimes it allows you to stay a little bit lighter in the bumps and the bike actually feels a little bit smoother, but it also feels really foreign to a four stroke rider hopping on one of these. It's like rolling down a hill on your bicycle and just free coasting. It just, you don't have much feedback from the engine. So yeah, less engine braking. Number 13, there's really only two major manufacturers that are still pushing out two strokes. That's going to be Yamaha and KTM. Yes, we've got Husky. Yes, we've got Gas Gas, but let's be honest, they're basically just rebranded KTMs. The two strokes are a dying breed. Get out, ride the two strokes. Save the two strokes, everybody. We need more two strokes. Please, ride two strokes! I want to thank everybody at home for watching the video. I know I'm not Tyler. I tried my best, so make sure you tear me up in the comments, all right? If you want to see more of our videos, look right over here. Check out our Instagram right down here and don't forget our Patreon. I'm about to have a little baby. I need some baby clothes.