The following essay is the result of an e-mail that I received, a high school student asked some questions about the differences between two-strokes and four-strokes. After e-mailing some information, this is the end result as written by a 10th grader for one of her classes.
Enjoy!
Adrenaline, power, color… which one is better? There are many riders out there that say many different things about which bike is better and which one is more powerful. They have some good ideas but I think that the 250cc two strokes are better!! Let’s see what the info has to tell about these mudslingers.
Depending on what kind of rider you are. Professional riders like the four stroke but people have tested which one is better. Michael Leib he has ridden different bikes and so they put him to the test. They put him on a 250cc two stroke and by the end of the day they couldn’t get him off of it because he was running about a tenth of a second faster. So it goes to show it depends on how much you ride and what you do with your bike. Racing and back road riding is totally different. The two strokes might be old school but they are coming back up in the world.
The skill level and the knowledge set of the rider could make it go either way for some people. First off you should learn to know the bits and pieces of the bike, most riders have gone through plenty of bikes. The four stroke seems easier and more contained if you are a knowledge rider, but most riders say yes to the two stroke because you have to work to get the full power out the machine. Easy is better, I think not, the more challenging the more exciting when you get a good outcome.
If you add new gear to the bike of course the power and endurance are going to change greatly. Modifications help you get a better result out of your bike. All and all 250cc two strokes are better than a 250cc four stroke! With a two stroke you have to shift more to get the power so it doesn’t bog out. With the four strokes you have all the power right at the start so you can’t really get all the power even after the last shift. More power, more adrenaline really makes the race. The two strokes are more work but very rewarding.
It’s like a wild rose if you don’t plant it in the right soil it won’t grow it will wilt. Just like these bikes if you don’t ride them to the max then you won’t know the true potential of the performance. The 250cc are not the same, just stop and realize everything is different in its own unique way, just ask a rider who has experienced both. Power, adrenaline and color, they might be old school but man they work!!
By: Katrina R
Grade: 10