Two Stroke Future

by Tim
(Canada)

A 2 stroke produces power every revolution making it vastly more efficient than a four stroke that needs two revolutions to do the same thing. All other things being equal, this fact incontrovertibly makes the 2 stroke a far better engine by it's very design. But things are not equal. To add insult to injury, the 2 stroke does this with hardly any moving parts when compared to the four stroke.

Some people complain that a 2 stroke wears them out because its too aggressive. Just jam a potato in the carburetor or something until the thing runs like a four stroke and reap the benefits of even less maintenance since the engine is less stressed.

Until now, the problem with 2 strokes was the emissions. I don't think any one can deny that. That's why I am so exited about 2 stroke direct injection technology. The 2 stroke gets to keep all it's advantages while slashing emissions to acceptable levels. As the idea catches on and finds its way onto dirt bikes, four strokes are going to decline in popularity just like what happened to the two stroke of late. The important difference is that the reason for the decline won't be emissions or too much power. They will decline when people realize they have become obsolete.