There’s purity to a singing two-tanger that the flailing internals of a bellowing four-stroke single will never match. And if that’s the only reason people buy two-strokes anymore, that’s fine by me.
There are plenty of other excellent reasons to buy a two-stroke; just rationality seems to be lost in the hurry-up to be 4T-fashionable. Of course, fashion is not the issue if you’re a serious racer.
Since the rules allow a bike of twice the capacity in a class, you’d be a fool not to be on it. Unfortunately, those rules were left alone too long, and though MNZ, the AMA and FIM are trying to address them now, it’s too late and there will be a mountain of work to get 2Ts back in the highlights.
Kawasaki and Honda have dropped theirs and Suzuki has no plans to produce 2009 RM250s. Yamaha has cautiously committed to 2010, potentially after that leaving KTM a market all to itself (and some exciting injected 2T developments).
And what will FMXers ride? Honda has recently been providing unintentional humour in that market by avoiding the reality that its key FMXer, Robbie Maddison, stuck the worlds longest jump on its defunct 250 two-stroke. It’s been talked up in press releases as a “CRF”.
Why wouldn’t you?
Keeping racing cheap and accessible is essential to our sport. Four-strokes are neither to a beginner, especially second-hand. Unfortunately, right in newbie zone exists second-hand 250 4Ts, of a few years vintage. Spooky. I wouldn’t touch one. There is almost guaranteed to be a $3K repair bill in their near future.
Obviously, we’re huge 2T fans here at MTN. Why make racing more expensive? Why have 100 moving parts when three will do? Does anyone like land closures?
Let’s face it, people will buy what they want for a variety of reasons, and practicality is never one of them, so cest la vie. To the shrewd, a bike 10 kilos lighter, way cheaper to run and rebuild is smart. We think the real appeal, however, is the happy flick and bark and bite a 2T has. They’re just more fun.
This is not a traditional test because the 2008 YZ250 here has been in the MTN garage for the long term. Rather than having the usual 2-3 weeks to put it through its paces, we’ve been living with it for the last three months. Always a good way to get to the core of a machine.
Turn & burn
Many years ago, skis were nearly all big evil planks modelled on those made for world champions with thighs like a ‘roo. Humans couldn’t use them. Ski manufacturers got hit hard by snowboarding and realised they had to make their skis wider, easier to ride and more fun.
Modern two-strokes are a bit like that. In the old days, 2Ts used to have a powerband an inch wide, and 50 horses strong, that took an educated clutch hand and a brave man to hang on to. If you showed fear it would eat you then foul a plug. Suddenly easy-to-use four-strokes came along and the engineers started to focus on 2T useability.
The two-stroke YZ is the pinnacle of that focus. It delivers broad, torquey power that is easy as pie to lay down. Almost four-stroke-ish you could say, except for a giddying temptation to steer it solely off the back wheel at full throttle, laughing. In fact, this is the most rewarding way to ride the YZinger.
It doesn’t much like to be mucked around, but the harder you use it, the more it delivers. You’ll get away with really surprising speeds.
Slash & strike
The chassis has a traditionally neutral Yamaha feel and simply will not deviate from your chosen line unless you chuck a car at it. This aides bravery and encourages hairy-looking passes that actually don’t frighten the rider too much. It always feels planted, almost in a front-wheel, biased four-stroke way and sticks even to hard surfaces.
For all this stability, there is, not surprisingly, a mild trade-off in cornering, where it likes a firm hand. To lessen the rider-input we slid the forks up 5mm in the clamps for the better turn in and more corner options, and put up with the occasional minor headshake. The 2008 Yamaha forks are actually 4mm shorter than the ‘07s, so this is the same as 9mm of ‘07 fork poking out the top of the clamps.
The front end is actually where most of the work’s been done, or borrowed from the 250F. Heavier fork springs, and
lighter everything else – axle dropouts, wave rotors, fork guards, brake caliper – contribute to an almost one kilo weight loss over the ‘07.
The Yamaha Kayaba suspension is the gun in the knife fight. From the AOSS system in the front to the titanium springs in the back, it’s so well dialled from stock (as is all of big blues’ off-road range) no other brands get a look in at the suspension corral.
Sundry items are all well executed and we love the inside-out frame, pro-tapers and titanium pegs. We’re not so keen on the smallish cockpit (is Chad Reed a midget too?) or slipping dirty filters between the too narrow frame rails. The brake pedal is quite short, and is what I’m going to blame for a rash of stalls last race day. It sits under the ball of big feet rather than more toward the toe, which is a fraction more sensitive.
Lightning strike
So, overall, are you buying an icon, or a has been? It’s an icon and make no mistake. The engine is strong, torquey and proven bulletproof. It will run forever. The handling exhibits many of the good traits of its 4T stable mates, and it’s so much lighter it’s laughable. Go rediscover the joy of a big two-stroke on full throttle.
Thanks to Yamaha NZ for the long-term lend.
