Half and Half

by Jon
(Montana)

Between the two bikes it is a huge tossup - the noisy zing zing of a two stroke is something that I just love to hear at a motocross race but yet I prefer to ride a thumper. Mainly for their torque and power combined.

Zingers are great don't get me wrong but we had a YZ85 a few years ago and within a month of owning it my brother blew it up. They run at such high RPM's that the motor just literally shreds itself apart, and it's one heck of a gas guzzler! God I got tired of mixing up gas for that thing all summer long. And the noise, oh gosh could be heard five miles down the road, seemed like there was always something broke on it, couldn't off road to save its tin.

I like thumpers because the new technology they have put in them makes them great racing bikes as well as off road bikes. Zingers are purely for speed and racing and make only high-end power so you need to keep them wound up all the time to get them to climb anything. Thumpers are way more reliable and last longer and get wonderful mileage too.

I admit I would miss the zingers on the track but modern technology is proving that thumpers are better and people are buying them because of this as stated above they are way less maintenance and way more reliable and last way longer. I love the feel of a good thumper, the feeling that you get when you twist the throttle and shift through the gears, it seems like you change while riding one.

I hate to say it but the days of the zingers as we know it are coming to an end. And sadly there is not much we can do to stop it, with government regulations on emissions getting stiffer especially with this new Administration, things are in for a rough ride. Motorcycles as well as cars are going to change within the next few years I think.

But amidst all this commotion I can't wait to go pick up my 2004 Kawasaki KX250F tomorrow morning and go riding again after being absent from the dirt bike scene for three years!