FIM now wants 2-strokes back

By John Dickinson on 20th Apr 07

Motocross

Having decided that the MX future was four-stroke, the FIM has now lined-up with the AMA and Youthstream to plead the case for two-strokes to save the sport - exactly as campaigned for by T+MX..

LAST week's Motocross Diary lead story, which cited the ground-breaking meeting between the FIM, the American AMA and World MXGP Championship promoters Youthstream, was certainly a corker. In this meeting, which could - and should - result in a huge shake-up for motocross, several major points were made.
One was that they were collectively seeking a reduction in power (and thus capacity) of MX1 four-strokes. Reasons being that they are ruining GP tracks and also reducing competitive racing as few riders are capable of extracting all the performance. The suggestion is taking them down from 450cc to 350cc to increase competitiveness in MX1.
Point two is that motocross needs to become more accessible and an admission that two-stroke machines can reduce the costs dramatically for young and non-professional riders who can then race motocross on a modest budget.
Hallelujah! Knock me down with a feather! Pardon me from saying we told you so but - ''We Told You So!''
Ever since the ‘Kill-The-Two-stroke' lobby leapt into action with the ridiculous ''125 two-strokes to race against 250cc four-strokes and 250cc two-strokes versus 450cc four-strokes,'' T+MX has vociferously railed against this time and again. And picked-up lots of black looks from the powers that be.
Expensive four-strokes are all very well for the World Championship teams and industry lackeys. It matters not to them whether they are racing with 50cc two-strokes, V12 Merlins or nine-cylinder radials. They are simply spending money.
Personally, it bothers me not a jot how much the bikes rip GP tracks to shreds, in the real world of MX, ie grass roots level, the four-stroke obsession has been strangling the sport. Week after week after week T+MX staff have fielded phone calls from desperate riders faced with huge bills for re-building their engines and from dealers who dread trading the four-bangers in-case they go bang on a new customer.
Now ask yourselves how many MX tracks have been lost to the grass roots because of noise abatement orders slapped down purely because of the racket of big-bore racing four-stroke singles? The answer is, ''Too many.''
The situation must have indeed been pretty damned bad for the FIM (and AMA) to perform such a spectacular U-turn in order to inform us of the very fact that we have been screaming for the last couple of years!
The manufacturers (MSMA) are reported to have rejected the proposals - but will crucially engage in a series of meetings before reporting back later in the year.
There is quite a power-struggle going on here behind the scenes. And the main players would appear to be Honda and KTM. Honda are behind the four-strokes, having publicly stated that their aim is to be 100 per cent four-stroke right across the board. KTM meanwhile has been publicly critical of Honda's seemingly intractable four-stroke stance. The Austrian giant - and it is a very powerful firm these days - has been far more open-minded with regards to two-strokes and is pumping lots of money and resources into two-stroke research and development.
As a matter of interest, KTM has stated that ALL its 2008 model two-strokes pass the stringent Euro 3 homologation tests. And if KTM can do it...
Regardless of this political in-fighting, intriguing as it is, common sense and experience proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that you can run a two-stroke comp bike for a fraction of the cost of an equivalent four-stroke. New four-strokes cost roughly a third more in the showroom for starters. Check out the price of the four-stroke 150 Honda, to which the 85cc Youth classes have been disgracefully sacrificed. £3,500 for the four-popper against £2,500 for an 85cc stroker (or a lot less if you read the ads in T+MX carefully (£1799 v £2,899 if you find the right ad) is one hell of a price difference. I have no problem at all with a 150cc four-stroke - as long as it is in a 150cc four-stroke class and not 85cc two-strokes.
Of course, there will always be people who will shell-out whatever it takes. But there are a hell of a lot more who we will simply lose forever. And don't say: ''Well, if you can't afford a four-stroke you can still ride a stroker!''
That is simply burying your head in the sands of reality. No-one is going to start a race knowing that the dice is totally and deliberately loaded against you (125cc vs 250cc - 250cc vs 450cc). Hence the four-stroke only grids. Well, they got what they wanted, and now panic is setting in as tracks are lost along with all the riders who have callously and unnecessarily been priced out of the sport.
Let's hope that common sense eventually prevails...

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