Not the way we ride and where we ride. Two strokes dominate the mountain 150:1. I'm not exaggerating. If there's 100 sleds in a line, 80 of them are Ski-Doo, 12 Polaris, 7 Arctic Cat, and 1 Yamaha 4-stroke which is likely the pack mule for fuel. We spoke with a lot of guys last year about the 4-stroke sleds, and it seems that many of them end up going back to a 2-stroke sled after owning the 4-stroke. The rage now is turboing the 2-strokes...makes for a wild ride, but the uncertainty of breakdowns keeps me from going down that path...

 

Try one Morris, that's all I'm gonna say, you ride a 4 stroke & you'll laugh at ppl who smell like 2 strokes

 

Why Sherm, theres no mountains out there

 

If I ever rode anything it would be a 4 stroke, I`m not after speed as long as the handling was there.

 

Gerry I can say I really disagree with you. four stroke sleds suck( with exception) They're heavy gutless pigs. They may get decent fuel milage, but the new two strokes are not that far behind. The four strokes handle like a tank and if you get one stuck.... Get ready to find out who your real friends are.
Now like I said there is some exceptions, but only if you have lots of money. I got to see brad storey's propane injected turbo yamaha in person. That thing was incredible and was making over 300hp.
Disclaimer: I want you to remember I am a mountain boy and extremely bias to mountain riding conditions.

 

Insane, how many miles does your sled have on it?

We have had sleds with well over 10,000 on them that havent been touched. They dont make em like that anymore.

I wanna get a newer sled, and for me the next one might be a four stroke. I dont ever go mountain riding, lost of trails, ditch banging (which a 4 stroke is a bit too heavy) and lots of off trail type stuff in northern sask.

For me whats changing my mind about 2 vs 4 stroke, is the terrible reliability of the new 2 strokes. Seems like with my favorite company (ski doo) if ya get an 800cc you have all kinds of power, and you rebuild the engine every year or two.

I do a fair bit of riding out in the middle of no where, and I just dont like to be broke down.

Sucks cause i grew up on two strokes. The worst part Id miss is the smell, and the pure snappiness of them compared to a 4 stroke.

My father in law has a brand new 4 stroke, and my 1998 summit will chew him up all the way up to 70 mile an hour. I top out and he keeps going then haha.

I seem to notice a growing trend for guys wanting the 4 strokes over the 2 strokes, EXCEPT mountain riders, for obvious reasons. I go on dootalk quite a bit and whenever there is a thread about the comparison between the two, 90 percent of the guys mention they would rather have a 4 then a 2.

 

Darryl you never tried a 1200cc Ski doo, That's yer opinion, talk to me after you try one, you don't know what yer talking about

 

Good Thursday morning M/S enthusiasts, I hope its warm where you are, have a good day ......

 

True, there are no mountains here in Sask, but I travel west to do the majority of my riding in the mountains, or at least find somewhere where there is some real deep stuff in Sask. Either way, a 4-stroke for me would be like having an affair with a fat chick after being married to my wife... Way to heavy to handle, even if they smell nice and are reliable

2500 miles/4000 kms. Nothing really.

I gotta side with Darryl here... There isn't a stock 4-stroke out there that will perform like a 2-stroke unless all you care about is having no smell and something that supposedly will outlast your grandchildren. Even the reliablilty thing is questionable. I have family in the far east who jumped on the 4-stroke bandwagon, after a couple seasons they went back to the 2-stroke sleds because the power:weight ratio is better suited for the kind of backcountry riding we all do. I had an aquaintence from Sask take his Yamaha Nytro to Revelstoke with a bunch of guys...after two days he left his Nytro in the trailer and rented a 2-stroke Ski-Doo Summit 800. Spoke with a few Alberta boys last year at Golden, BC. The two sons were riding the new Arctic Cat M1100 4-stroke Turbo sleds. They said the 4-strokes were awesome for straight up climbs on hard pack snow, but when they got into some deep stuff, or tried boondocking through the trees, their dad would leave them behind on his relatively stock M8 2-stroke...

I could sit here and argue all day long... Ain't one person going to convince me that a current model 4-stroke would give me the same satisfaction that my 800 2-stroke does (when its running lol...)

 

Happy Thursday mornin' all. -18 feels like -24. Nice to see you back Sheldon. Have a great day guy's.

 

That really blows man. Seems to be the norm now with big performance 2 strokes, around 5000 kms ish and its time for a rebuild. Whats it cost ya to rebuild the engine? Ive seen many sweet deals on 800 ski doo sleds, but I know they have a terrible reliability record, and thats kept me from one right now. If it didnt cost an arm and a leg to rebuild the engine, I might think twice about that though, as my 670x could stand to get upgraded to a newer platform.

I agree as well for straight up performance. You just cant beat a new 2 stroke. Now a guy can mod up a 4 stroke so they fly as well, but thats a different story.

What ive seen regarding the reliability, is so far the 4 strokes have been superior. Thats really no surprise to me though, as far back as I can remember a 4 stroke bike would always outlast any 2 strokers I had, but the 2 stroke of similar cc would always demolish the 4 stroke in performance. If a guy knows how both engines work, its easy to see why one is a better performer and one is a longer laster.

Way I see it is they both rock. If I could afford it, Id have a brand spanking new 1200 gsx LE and a brand spanking new freeride etec 800r sitting in my shop, one for doing long distance trail type stuff and one for demolishing the back country off road stuff!

I dont see one as being superior to the other in every way, but I do see they are superior to each other in different ways.

 

I meant to say 1200cc Sherm, I do care about the smell, I'm not saying go buy one but if you ever get the chance try one, you'll be surprized

 

Thx for backing me up Sheldon.........4 strokes have a place in the market

 

How about JD 400 4 stroke?

 

Nothing wrong with that Morris...........