KTM's two-stroke range has a great variety to ensure you find the ride to suit you. Photo: Motology

If anybody thought that two-strokes were going extinct, think again, because although they are getting rarer on the motocross tracks around the world, trail goers are still lapping it up with the high-pitched revs of a two-banger.

And while riders are still buying them, KTM will keep making them, with one of the greatest two-stroke line-ups on the market today – featuring the 125 EXC, 200 EXC, 250 EXC and powerful 300 EXC.

Lighter and more traditional in the more aggressive enduro terrain, two-strokes have a variety of benefits stemming from the light weight that sees them weigh in at around 8-10 kilograms lighter than the four-strokes on average in KTM’s EXC range.

Simple to work on, a cinch to maintain, and a blast to crack the throttle open on the trail, two-strokes are a very popular choice not only for enthusiasts and recreational riders, but also for racers around the globe.

This year’s KTM EXCs have copped a slew of changes including a new frame on the small-bore 125 and 200, with a steeper steering-head angle by 0.5-degrees, while the triple clamps have a revised off-set from 20mm to 22mm.

To coincide with the frame changes, both the 125 and 200 also feature lower handlebars than in previous years to match the handing characteristics of the new frame.

Other chassis changes that have been incorporated on the entire range include revised suspension re-valving that includes a needle design in the PDS at the rear similar to the SX model from the 2009 range, albeit with an enduro setting just like the four-strokes received.

The two-strokes are more difficult to ride in the mud, but easy to place where you want them. Photo: Motology

Other component changes are a more compact and lighter Brembo master-cylinder and caliper, new TOYO front brake pads, an optimised airbox, a new air filter, 100g lighter Excel rims, a DID X-ring chain, a 1.8 bar radiator cap (instead of 1.4), brighter graphics, and Renthal Diamond grips.

In the engine department the changes are minimal, with the 125 featuring a reinforced first gear, while the 250 and 300 both have received a reinforced cylinder head for durability purposes.

Also on the 250 and 300, the bikes have a revised starting drive gear for less wear, and new bushings for the electric starter drive so there’s less maintenance required for the bikes.

As per last week’s four-stroke test, the two-stroke launch was held over the same two days of epic enduro riding, where West Coast Trailbike Safaris guided us through some of the best trails in the land in the south west corner of Western Australia.

While the flat transport sections, selected wide-open trails, sand dunes, and a few of the sizeable climbs were four-stroke territory through and through, the two-strokes were favoured in the tight and technical sections including the water crossings (especially if you drown it), down hills, and through the scrub – especially one section where some of the crew decided to lift their bike right over a fallen tree.

Some notable disadvantages of riding a two-stroke in the bush include having to premix fuel if you’re going on a long ride rather than having the luxury of topping up at a service station if you can find one, not to mention their tendencies to vibrate more through the handlebars than the four-strokes.

But the range that KTM has is quality from the word go just like the four-strokes, and actually feature a very similar feel when in the saddle apart from the obvious zingy exhaust note that fires out with every blip of the throttle.

The 125 EXC never fails to raise a smile on anybody’s face with its lethal ability to carve through corners and eat up the tight sections, with a low-powered engine enabling riders to get hard on the gas and push the envelope of both man and machine.

It loves to be revved hard to get the most out of the engine, and you need to be on your game if you are to truly make the most of the lowest capacity EXC model in the KTM stable.

Power is surprisingly smooth from the 125 all the way to the 300. Photo: Motology

As mentioned, handling is as precise as it gets, with the lower handlebars and changed frame geometry urging riders to hit the corners harder and steer right through them at speed. Luckily for us, high-speed riding doesn’t seem to be affected one bit.

If you’re looking to step it up a notch without getting yourself too deep into a powerful bike, then the next step is the 200 EXC, which feels like a combination of the 125 and the 250, which isn’t surprising.

I would say that the chassis feels more like the 125, and has the same geometry changes for 2010, while its engine note and bark is more similar to that of the 250 without the snap in the powerband that you’ll find on the 250.

For me, the 200 is almost the perfect ride if you’re into two-strokes, simply because it has the agility of the 125 (or close to it), but has a touch more power that greatly helps on the climbs and enables you to cruise along without riding the clutch quite so much to get extract the most out of the ride.

Fatigue is at a minimum on the 200 with a grunty engine and formidable chassis package, meaning that it’s a fantastic balance between a high performance machine and a great trail ride.

Stepping it up one more notch is the 250 EXC, which is just what you’d imagine from a 250 two-stroke – plenty of power, a great sound, and yet another solid mix of power and handling.

If you’ve only ridden a 250 motocross bike then don’t compare that experience to this, because KTM’s off-road 250 is a very tame beast if you’d like it to be, but still has plenty of mumbo when you give it a kick in the guts.

Going down is simple, getting up the climb is the hard part. Photo: Motology

The gearing feels quite tall with wide ratios and that further flattens the spread of power, and it actually performs best in the bush when you ride it a gear high and ultimately lag the engine through the obstacles.

Handling-wise, the 250 is where the size of the bike can actually be felt, and if you were to split it in half with the range, you’d place the 125 and 200 together as very similar machines, while the 250 and 300 are more similar at the higher end of the spectrum.

As the what I prefer out of the 200 or the 250, it’s kind of like separating the 400 and 450 in the four-stroke range – give me the 250 for the morning stint and I’d be happy to take over the handlebars of the 200 once fatigue sets in come the arvo run. If I’d have to choose one, I still think the 250 would provide more thrills in the long term.

The big-bore of the two-stroke range is the 300 EXC, which not only has massive amounts of outright power, but the torque is just phenomenal as you can select your gear and the motor will easily pull any gear at just about any time.

It starts to reach four-stroke ease in getting up the hills, yet is still more abrupt, and gives you a lot of bang for your buck if you’re a rider who loves to use power to pull you through on a long ride.

Handling is surprisingly still very nimble for a large capacity bike, only proving that little bit harder to initially turn into the corners at high speed because you’re obviously going faster, and it weighs six kilos more than the 125 at a claimed 103kg dry, while the 200 is the same as the 125 at 97kg, and the 250 sits directly in between at around 100kg.

The vibrations are noticeably higher on the 300 and it is quite a bit more tiring than the smaller bikes since you’re effectively fighting to keep up with the brute power of the engine, unlike the 125 where you’re working it the entire time, but it’s proven a very popular bike for KTM since its inception.

A very notable bonus of purchasing the 250 or 300 is that they come standard with electric start, whereas the 125 and 200 are kick-start only, and when you’re stuck in sticky situations (as I was on more than a few occasions during the two days in WA) then you thank the ease of the electric start over and over without having to use up vital energy having to kick the bike over.

Ergonomically, all of the bikes are very similar with a slimline feel, and again, like the four-strokes tested last week, the standard hand guards and having the graphics within the side shrouds is great for durability purposes, at least initially.

Like the four-strokes and the complete KTM range, quality is top of the line with the Austrian manufacturer and those first class components such as the WP suspension, Brembo brakes and Renthal ’bars (just to name a few) make purchasing a Kato a very satisfying option.

Buy it, throw it in the ute, and head straight for the trails, because these bad boys are ready to get dirty straight from the showroom floor.

Click here for our launch of the four-stroke range

Click here for a detailed look at the entire 2010 KTM off-road range

Click here for our detailed image gallery of the new models

Note: Pricing and specs are still to come.