I remember!! The four stroke Nationals were not very high on my list of interests, so I never paid much attention to them.
The "new" advanced four-strokes are so much better....
They're so much better that they need to be double the displacement of the two strokes they compete against! I must be from another planet because that does not make any sense to me.
It's not just the AMA, the Big 4 manufacturers have a huge say in what happens in Pro Motocross racing. From the information I have heard, if they don't get their way, they threaten to pull out of racing. So the AMA and the promoters give in and they get what they want.
It's a vicious circle, that will not end until people make some changes and stand up for what they really believe is right. What do I mean by that? Well you'd never believe how many racers I talk to that currently race four-strokes because they feel they would be at such a disadvantage by racing the smaller two-stroke. The problem is that these guys prefer the two-stroke and feel they are forced to race the 4 bangers...
Another instance is attending the Pro Events. I've tried a few times over the years, mostly when I heard rumors that someone was going to attempt to compete with a two-stroke. Every single time I'm disappointed. Not just because there are no two strokes, but because the racing is so boring and deafeningly LOUD! So often it's like watching a conga line.
The worst is when a racer stalls, and he kicks, and kicks, and kicks, and kicks, and kicks and nothing happens. He basically gets a DNF because he can't start the bike because it's hot. What kind of crap is getting a DNF because you can't re-start your race bike? You don't mind of the guy broke his frame in half or a wheel exploded or even that the bike seized, but you DNF'd because you stalled? That sucks! Even more so for the fans. Remember James Stewart at Anaheim 1?
From the reports that I have heard, KTM has fuel injected (DI or EFI I don't know) two strokes ready to go. Test riders say they work great, but there is no real talk of when they will be released.
Yes all the manufacturers have competitive two strokes right now. They just choose to allow the four-strokes to be bigger so they win and can sell more of them to Joe Public....
Man I feel like a broken record! :'(