zulujack

http://www.enduro360.com/2013/02/07/blog/2013-ossa-enduro-husqvarna-sale-economic-realities/

I think it is all in the timing. If you are KTM and your current crop of 2Ts top the sales, why would you pull out the DI trump card to sell just a few more bikes? You'd probably wait for a smaller company to take the plunge, or for sales to slump enough for it to make a real difference. Don't think becuase it is a new technology everyone would want one. Just look at what happened to the Gagiva VDue (injected 2T). In theory it should have been a big seller, but it turned out to be a complete flop.

You’d think they’d put better silencers on bikes, but sadly it just does not happen. Trials bikes are quiet compared to other things, but even at our local trials comps the one or two 4Ts are normally the only thing you hear on the other side of a hill. I think it is more a sound frequency thing than an actual volume thing, but whatever it is the sound of your average 4T single carries for miles. Not a good thing for the times we live in. Personally these are all considerations when buying a bike. If a 4T was superior in every way i.e. lighter, better grip, harder to kill, cheaper, easier to ride, easier to maintain, etc… I’d probably get over that one aspect, but let’s face it for a bike that needs to be light/manoeuvrable and does not have to be high performance I’ll go with Less-is-more.

I’m surprised that no one has mentioned the Elephant in the room as yet….. 4 Strokes have definitely changed the face of MX racing at the highest level, but at what cost? OK we have already covered the obvious things such as the initial purchase price of a 4T, but has anyone considered the maintenance cost? What does it cost to freshen up a 4T VS sticking a new top end on a 2T, or worse fix it when it goes “Bang”? All it’s done is widen the gap between Pro and Armature riders. It really saddens me that it has become another sport (like road racing) where having wealthy parents more often than not makes the difference between going all the way or not. Perhaps not so much of an issue for a Trials bike, but the one thing that probably could be is the noise factor. Since the manufactures turned their focus to 4Ts about a decade ago complaints about noise have sky rocketed. The Noise a 4T makes travels much further than a 2T and is much of a concern to people who like sharing the outdoors with Trail riders, or who happen to live close to MX tracks. I have watched progressively as all our MX tracks within close proximity to our suburb have been closed down one after the other due to residents complaining about the noise over the last few years. Some of these tracks had existed for decades and only became a problem in the last few years. I for one would not even look at 4T just for this reason. I love the sport of trails, but I’m not so arrogant that I’d do it without consideration for people who like to watch TV without constant fart noises in the background!