http://www.adbmag.com JUNE 2019 | 37
T
wo-strokes are always popular
fodder for trailriders at the local
watering hole. But there’s really
only one smoker capacity that
has withstood the onslaught of
the new-generation four-strokes
and that is the 300. Sales figures
back this up, with a new generation, fuel-
injected weapon, KTM’s 300EXC, ranked
second in the FCAI’s enduro chart in 2018
year and hanging on to that spot so far this
year, without the carburettor version.
It’s very easy to work out where 300cc
two-strokes shine in the racing world and
that’s anywhere the conditions are on the
gnarly side. In the 2018 World Enduro Super
Series, the top-five of Billy Bolt , Manuel
Lettenbichler, Nathan Watson, Josep Garcia
and Taddy Blazusiak were all riding 300cc
two-strokes and most of the field weren’t
doing any different. Even our own major
event, the Wildwood Rock Extreme Enduro,
features predominantly 300cc two-strokes.
I raced every capacity except a 300cc
two-stroke at the many A4DEs, but when I
decided to race Wildwood, it was an easy
decision to race a 300T. And the second time I
raced Wildwood I did it on one again.Away from the racing scene, you only need
to attend one of the major trailrides, like
Kowen (p78), to witness how popular this bike
category is. I quite often find myself
gravitating towards two-strokes for trailriding
as well. Why is this? For me, the 300 two-
stroke is like the mountain goat of the dirtbike
world. It’s a motorcycle that will cart me
along any crazy trail with ease. There’s no
sign of overheating like a four-stroke and if I
do stuff up and end up somewhere I shouldn’t
be, they are light enough to manhandle my
way out.
For trailriding they are capable of blasting
down fireroads at crazy speeds, but are just as
happy plodding along in first gear. They are
popular because they have less moving parts
in the engine, especially if something goes
wrong. On the flipside, a few of those fun
features are also the reason I never raced one
at the A4DE. A twitchy, powerful two-stroke is
not my ideal bike for racing, as it requires a lot
of energy to get the same result I could on a
four-stroke.
Let’s see which one of the current 300cc
two-strokes is the best grasstrack bike,
sharpest endurocross weapon and nimblest
hard enduro mountain goat.