Contributing: Simon Makker.

The ongoing debate over four-strokes versus two-strokes in the MX Nationals continues to be a hot topic in the sport, as parity between the engine types is the centre of attention in MX2 and MXD. MotoOnline.com.au spoke with a number of the sport’s knowledgeable people for an insight on the whole saga, to see what the general feeling is on the record.

Image: Simon Makker.

Ben Townley – 2004 MX2 World Champion and 2007 American East Coast 250SX Champion:
My initial thoughts on it when they introduced it in New Zealand quite a few years ago was that it was going to be a good concept. I thought it was a good, cost-effective way to have guys involved in the sport. But now I don’t have that same opinion because you’ve got brands supporting top riders with two-strokes. I don’t think that’s really fair from the point that the bikes aren’t apples for apples. When four-strokes were introduced, a 450cc motorcycle was designed to replace a 250cc two-stroke, so you’re taking a bike designed for the class above and taking it down. Without a doubt, just on horsepower they have a competitive advantage. I spoke to Mitch Payton about it because I’m running Hondas in New Zealand and with our 250Fs, just to be in a position where you feel like you’re not at a disadvantage, you’re having to spend a significant amount of money to be competitive with a stock 250 two-stroke. The other thing for me is, when you’ve got young guys racing 250 two-strokes, I don’t believe it’s doing their careers any justice to be honest – especially if they have international aspirations. Any competition outside of Australia and NZ, they don’t have 250 two-strokes in the class. Really, at the end of the day, if you’re riding a 250 two-stroke you’re on a bike with a superior advantage, so it’s making your career look better than what it actually is. To me it doesn’t make a lot of sense for anybody under the age of, say 20, that has a dream of being an international racer, because you’re really not helping your career whatsoever in my opinion apart from the fact that they are doing well domestically. There’s always going to be an asterisk beside your name. Whether it’s a Kiwi or an Aussie, as a fan I love seeing guys get opportunities overseas.

Steve Jones – Tunetech Racing KTM mechanic:
We had the option to switch to a four-stroke with backing from KTM this year, but we chose to stick with the two-stroke because Kale [Makeham] and I had a good thing going on. With the amount of riding that he does during the week, and me working full-time with my business and doing suspension, I wouldn’t be able to keep up with the maintenance schedule of a four-stroke. Two-strokes are easier to maintain and the price to keep it on the track is a lot lower. The other reason is we’re definitely stepping up to MX1 next year and we’re looking at it from a future perspective. We figure the step next year will be easier with the focus, throttle control and bike technique that we’ve learnt from a two-stroke and that’d carry over really well onto a 450. There are a lot of noises now about the 250 two-strokes in the MX2 class, but they’ve been in the class for years and it’s never been an issue until someone started putting the bike on the podium. I think it’s great for the sport. It’s no different from privateers bitching and moaning that they shouldn’t have to race against the factory guys on four-strokes. Combining the two bikes in one class has narrowed the gap and has made for some great racing.

Matt Moss – Team Motul Suzuki’s multiple MX2 and current MX1 champion:
It’s fair in a way. People don’t realise that teams just can’t afford to have factory Lites riders on the teams anymore, so there are less rides available. These guys that are on the two-strokes they’re paying for everything, whereas the guys on factory 250Fs are getting paid to race and bonuses. I feel it works out; definitely makes for better racing and if you take out the two-strokes there won’t be many bikes on the grid that’s for sure. I definitely feel two-strokes are better bikes because they’re obviously faster – it’d be a lot harder championship to win on a 250F. In saying that, the four-stroke guys up front are usually on factory teams so they should be able to make their bikes handle better and things like that to keep up with these privateer guys. If you’re planning on going to a 450, they both have their benefits. The two-stroke’s faster so you’re not hopping off such a slow bike to a faster one, then obviously if you’re on a 250F you’re going from four-stroke to four-stroke. Most of these guys have ridden 250Fs before and they’re going back to two-strokes to be competitive, so it shouldn’t be a problem for anybody going to a 450. I feel like if you win the championship or went really good on a 250 two-stroke in MX2, you should try and follow up as a factory rider on a 250F the year after. That’s what I’d personally be doing in case you want to go overseas or even race for Australia in the des Nations on a 250 because you can’t do that on a two-stroke. That’s the way I would do it, for sure.

Image: Jeff Crow.

Ben Lane – Raceline Pirelli Suzuki team manager:
I’m not a fan of it at all. I can see what WEM is trying to do, and can see that it’s boosting the rider numbers, but the 250 two-stroke doesn’t belong in the MX2 class. If privateers want a cheap way to go racing, then they should race the 250 two-strokes in the MX1 field. I’ve spoken to a few people lately about horsepower, and out of the box with just a couple of bolt-on accessories, the two-stroke pulls around 55 horsepower and produces far more torque than we could ever dream of getting out of a 250F. I think that’s unfair and it’s disheartening to put endless hours into making a the RM-Z250 a competitive race bike, only to have a near-stock two-stroke walk away from us on the weekend. Riders like Kayne Lamont and Kale Makeham have also picked up how to really ride the two-strokes, and now, even on hardpack tracks like Broadford and Appin where the four-strokes should have an advantage, these guys are just as fast. Now that we’re going into a string of sand-tracks that power difference is really going to show. At the end of the day manufacturers pay us to sell their product and when people see the four-strokes getting smashed, they won’t buy our bikes. That’s already shown in our motorcycle sales figures this last quarter, and if it keeps going like this we probably won’t be able to go racing next year.

Dylan Long – KTM 250 SX-F privateer racer:
My deal with KTM is to ride the four-stroke as a privateer, where some of the others from what I know are on two-stroke deals. There are definitely some ups about being on a two-stroke, but also some ups about riding a four-stroke as well. You’ve got a fair bit of power on a two-stroke, although you should be able to last longer during a moto on a four-stroke. And the 250F is what everybody rides in America, so I guess it’s a bonus racing against two-strokes will make us a bit faster here. It’s a good idea to ride a two-stroke if you want to be winning here; I would do it if I could do it. But while I’m getting support from KTM I’ll ride what I’m given. We put a fair bit of money into development, but obviously not as much as a factory team. At the same time it’s important for us to balance reliability with outright power. The start is the hardest thing against the two-strokes, it makes things tough that’s for sure.

Scott Bishop – GYTR Yamaha team manager:
Does the 250 two-stroke belong in the Lites class? My answer to that in particular right now is no. The 250 two-stroke is stuck in the middle. It’s obviously outclassed by a 450, but in terms of its power and weight it is a bit above a 250F at the moment. It deserves its own class. There is a horsepower and advantage there that I don’t think at the moment results in parity between the two bikes. For our team, GYTR Yamaha, racing is a form of marketing. We have a brand new 2014 model YZ250F that we would like to promote and it’s a great bike, so we would like to continue promoting that bike and we’re doing quite well with it. It’s not an easy question to answer in quick terms; it’s very complex. From a development side of things, which is what our team essentially is, my job is to develop riders for Yamaha’s [MX1 and MX2] teams. If Serco is using the 250F, there’s not much point in me racing with a 250 two-stroke. The teams must begin to wonder ‘is that guy winning on that bike because he’s got more power, or because he’s a better rider?’. You have to weigh that decision up and again, it’s not easy to come to a conclusion.

Luke Arbon – Husqvarna TC 250 privateer:
When I rode a 250F for GYTR Yamaha I thought the two-stroke rule was ridiculous. I hated the fact these guys had such a big horsepower advantage and I thought they were cheating. Now I’m on the other side of the fence, where being able to race the two-stroke is the only thing keeping me in the sport. They’re cost-effective to take racing and the Husqvarna TC250 is putting me at the pointy end of the field straight out of the box. To get that sort of performance out of a 250F you have to spend a lot of money on the motor and maintenance. Motocross is such a costly sport, and every penny I can save is a bonus. Instead of blowing my budget on trying to get more power out of the 250F I’m using that money to get to the rounds, and paying for fuel, food and accommodation. It’s definitely helped ease the financial pressure and I can keep doing what I love.

Image: Jeff Crow.

Luke Clout – Serco Yamaha YZ250F-equipped MX2 championship leader:
I think there are advantages and disadvantages to racing the two-strokes. The advantages are they’re a lot faster and definitely have an advantage on loamier tracks, off the start-gate and up hills – any spectator can clearly see them pull away from the four-strokes in these situations. From a privateer’s point of view they’re a lot cheaper to take racing and easier to maintain, so we’re seeing more privateers using them than we have in the past. The biggest disadvantage is that they’re harder to ride and you have to be fit and have good endurance to ride one for 35 minutes. I look at it from a big picture; if you want to make it big in the sport you need to race a 250F. All the teams – especially if they’re based in Europe or America only looking at results sheets – would rather a guy who’s already racing a four-stroke and would question whether someone who’s killing it on a two-stroke can do the same on their four-stroke. All the teams would rather a four-stroke guy. There are guys at Serco who definitely aren’t fans of having the two-strokes in the MX2 class. A lot of people are starting to say a bit about it all, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens.

Greg Chambers – Marketing and communications manager for KTM Australia and HQVA:
From a business and sales point of view it’s a positive move to have the two-strokes racing against the four-strokes. It allows the privateers to race around this big brown land of ours, it’s actually allowed our rider support program to expand quite a bit and help more riders get to the races. Without the two-strokes being out there racing, that additional support wouldn’t be possible. I’m still not convinced that two-strokes have a significant advantage; Serco Yamaha won both motos on the weekend, and in all media tests and shootouts that contain both two-strokes and four-strokes, I have yet to see a two-stroke voted as the winner. I think the sport is as healthy as it’s ever been. The MX2 class now fielding a full gate of riders, and it seems like we now have a real battle between two- and four-strokes, which is great for the fans. I know Kevin Williams is a big fan of having two-strokes in the class and I’m crossing my fingers that that doesn’t change.

Errol Willis – Yamaha YZ250-mounted privateer:
I definitely think they should be allowed. It’s the same for everybody out there and manufacturers do have a choice to ride two-strokes. Yeah, they don’t produce them anymore, but really I’m on a 2006 bike basically – it’s a ’14 but it hasn’t changed since then. There’s downfalls and ups to anything – I’ve ridden the new YZ250F and I’d race it any day if I got given one of them and could afford to build it. For me, it’s cost me $22,000 to get to the first round, so to do that on a four-stroke… I can’t even think how much it would be.