Thread: 250 2stroke or 300 4stroke

I think it all depends on the type of terrain you intend to ride in

If you were track riding (Moto X) a oil burner would do .

If you want to ride trails where some slow work was needed and hill climbs id go 4 stroke

Me im over the ball busting power band smelly oil burners and prefer torque of a 4 stroke when needed

Don’t buy a KTM Freeride. They have too many problems. Anyone I know that has had them has dramas.

There aren’t many 300 4 strokes only Older Huskys and Shercos. I wouldn’t touch a 4 stroke Italian Husky as they have too many problems. A Sherco 300 will be out of your price range.

You should consider a 250 4 stroke. Any bike can be set up for rec rego with some effort but MX bikes are harder to ride in the bush due to close ratio boxes, power that isn’t trail friendly and stiff suspension. I would look at Yamaha WR 250F or Honda CRF250x, the Honda has a bad reputation for valve problems but are easily fixed wth after market valves, they are cheap to buy and repair for a 4 stroke.

Two stroke wise you are limited to KTMs and Husky’s if you want lights or Yamaha’s and KTMs for MX bikes. There are older Kawasaki’s and Suzuki’s but I wouldn’t touch them.
Also consider 300 and 200 KTMs.

The Yamaha’s and KTMs have Been around for at least a decade, there are lot of parts available and plenty of knowledge.

Powerwise the 2 strokes will eat a 4 stroke but the 4 strokes can be a bit more manageable. 4 strokes can get expensive if they have engine problems.
Modern 2 strokes have more torque than the 4 strokes but are more aggressive transitioning into the mid range.

If you intend to mainly ride MX tracks a MX bike will be fine. If you will mostly be in the bush get an enduro bike.

Ktm300 exc 2 stroke. Great bike, can lug along like a 4 stroke if needed too.

Love my KTMs as you might guess, and I’m a bit biased, but I’ve had a 400 and now a 525 EXC

brilliant bikes and well within your price range.

I did 20,000 k on the 400 before selling it to a friend who had no problems with it. Not as much on the 525 but still no problems. 400 was new, 525 was a well used second hand.

I think the free free rides look like a good bike. I suspect the”maintenance” problems with the KTM is either carry over from years ago, or people who think that because they are a four stroke you can treat them like the older Japanese 4 strokes

if your screwing that much power out of a smal motor then you have to really keep the maintenance up to them. If it’s any help I got the 525 so I could ride slower then I had to on the 400

Originally Posted by Charliektm400exc

Love my KTMs as you might guess, and I’m a bit biased, but I’ve had a 400 and now a 525 EXC

brilliant bikes and well within your price range.

I did 20,000 k on the 400 before selling it to a friend who had no problems with it. Not as much on the 525 but still no problems. 400 was new, 525 was a well used second hand.

I think the free free rides look like a good bike. I suspect the”maintenance” problems with the KTM is either carry over from years ago, or people who think that because they are a four stroke you can treat them like the older Japanese 4 strokes

if your screwing that much power out of a smal motor then you have to really keep the maintenance up to them. If it’s any help I got the 525 so I could ride slower then I had to on the 400

I wasn't saying KTMs were troublesome just the Freerides. Just for the record I have owned 5 x KTMs (520,400,450,250F and 125), 2 x Italian Huskys (250 and 450), 1 x Husaberg (650) and 1 x Austrian Husky (17 TE300 current bike) in the last 20 years and didn't ride due to injury for 8).
The Freeride brakes are pathetic and have plastic pistons, the triple clamps crack, the air filter is a joke and the suspension isn't up to the job. A lot of these problems can be fixed but they are still a compromised bike IMO. I've ridden one and it isn't much better than a DT175.

I didn't see the OP budget was up to $7K, for that much they can get a late model WR250F, KTM250/300EXC, Austrian Husky TE250/300 or even a Beta 250/300RR these would be the picks IMO. They are all light and easy to handle with good suspension and reliable motors. By all reports the Sherco 300 4 stroke is a great bike but one of my riding buddies had one and it went pop and was very expensive to fix.

You should take a look at Gas Gas, as well.
I've had my 2005 EC300 2-stroke for 12 trouble free years. I was fairly new to dirt riding when I got it.
They're reliable and easy to ride, you don't have to ring its neck like a 2-stroke, but you can if you want. They've got a lot of torque like a 4-stroke.
I was working for GG a dealer when I bought mine. At the time, we sponsored a Gas Gas rider who won the 24 Hour Reliability Trial 4(?) times on his EC250 2T.

Unfortunately I have to drop my price range to 5k, putty most of the Euro bikes out of my price range.
Have been looking at Husky 300 or YZ250's, have ruled 4strokes out now.

TTR250, CRF250L, DRZ250, WR250F, all great bikes.

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