2 Strokes Are Much Easier To Start

by Brendan
(Canberra)

We have all heard the 2 stroke vs 4 stroke debate many times and it is interesting to read the points on both sides. One point that you don't see come up often enough though is the ease of starting a 2 stroke vs a modern 4 stroke.

I have seen blokes crash out on hill climbs on WR450s and then proceed to kick themselves to exhaustion trying to fire the thing back to life. I have seen blokes in similar situations overbalance and drop bikes on tight slopes - trying to go through the motion of finding the compression stroke, releasing some pressure, re cocking the kickstarter and then finally booting it. I have also seen blokes give up trying to kick them, turn them around and then crash out whilst trying to roll start due to a rear wheel compression lock up.

For the average rider this is a significant disadvantage and it is one of the reasons why two of my buddies (like many, many other people like them) sold their 4 strokes to go back to 2 strokes. The other reasons of course being the thrilling power of a two stroke, the weight advantage and the ease of maintenance.

Long live 2 strokes.