Why race a 350 4stroke against 450?

[wintrader]

Cairoli got insane? Disadvantage? He got less horsepower less torque but still he races a 350 and wins!!!

[Jontey]

I think he raced a 350 last year too, but that was a yamaha.

[maicoman009]

Wintrader,Just because a motocross bike has a 100cc smaller engine does'nt mean it is automatically going to be slower around the MX track? Just look at what Mike Alessi #800 did this past weekend on the new KTM-350sx!In case you did'nt see the race,Alessi got the "holeshot" and never looked back!He even got as far as 5 seconds ahead of the 2nd place rider! :DI LOVE IT! Maybe if all the manufacturers made 350 4-chokes then we just may see the 250 2-strokes come back and kick some tail!!!!

[scotty dog]

Dont like the fact they rev out to somethin like 13500rpm 

[MCGRIDDLE_321]

often times the 250f class will put in the same or faster lap times then a 450. so just because its smaller doesnt mean its slower.

[DangisMX]

I also don't understand what the 350 is supposed to do. Isn't the only reason why four strokes are so "great" the fact that they can have double displacement?. Why not use this advantage if it's practically the only one you have? If a 350 sxf, or whatever, is as good as any 450, they say, than so are 250 two strokes. So basically if you buy a 350 four stroke, you buy a 250 two stroke that's overly complicated and has unnecessary moving bits inside the engine that go very fast and tend to break often.

the fact they rev out to something like 13500rpm

...and other things they did to the engine to make it go almost like a 450 are amazing in terms of engineering, but nothing more than a massive headache for anyone owning a bike like this other than the factory teams. I think if I had to go four stroke I would still buy a 450 F because I believe it will be more reliable somewhat. If the power is to much, ride a 250 F. And if you can think for yourself and know what's best, just get a two stroke, forget about everything and just enjoy racing. That's my opinion.  

[MCGRIDDLE_321]

I also don't understand what the 350 is supposed to do. Isn't the only reason why four strokes are so "great" the fact that they can have double displacement?. Why not use this advantage if it's practically the only one you have? If a 350 sxf, or whatever, is as good as any 450, they say, than so are 250 two strokes. So basically if you buy a 350 four stroke, you buy a 250 two stroke that's overly complicated and has unnecessary moving bits inside the engine that go very fast and tend to break often.
 

the reason for the 350 is because the rider can ride it harder for longer with out having the bike wear him out as much. why ride a 250 2stroke that will wear you out and not be as easy to ride?? yeah the 250 2stroke will run or beat a 350 but its harder to ride.

i love 2 strokes and would love to see them race but you got to live that they wont. if your going to see 2 strokes racing other than the occasional daring rider they will have to have there own class. and personally i think that would be cooler than watching them race with the 4 strokes.

[DangisMX]

I see. Now that you said that, maybe it makes some sense . It will be very interesting to hear what people have to say about these bikes once they start buying them.

[graham472]

My prediction is KTM won't be able to make enough of them. More power than a 250f for the same weight without the fear factor of a 450. Their downfall for the average punter will be the overstressed engine.

[TotalNZ]

Alot of people seem to be misunderstanding what it takes to go fast round a MX track these days. Now i'm not saying that i'm even remotely fast cause i aint lol, but what i do know is that it's traction and smooth predictable power delivery that makes for good lap times. With the nature of MX and SX what it is you don't need any more power than a modern 350F. the 450's and big bore 2t's have just got too much i reckon. Thats why 250F times are right up with and sometimes faster than the 450 class.
He'll be able to hold the throttle on for longer going into corners and get on it harder coming out. A 450F or big bore 2t are a handful on any MX track i've ever been on and i'd probably put faster lap times in on a 250f, but i'd be bored as hell with the bike after couple laps and be missing the challenge of my bike.
just my opinion of course.

[luthier269]

Question  How did they get to race the 350 ? I thought you had to have 500 bikes in the US to be able to race them ?

[TMKIWI]

Good point.
Seams like different rules for the big boys again.

[ford832]

It seems to me a first year,one time thing is different.Consecutive years standard rules apply.I believe when Yamaha first showed up with the 400 it was this way-I think

[evo550]

Fords right, there is a rule that allows for a 12 months devolopment of new bikes.
Yamaha must have some pull with the AMA.
They instigated the production rule back in '86 when they complained it was to expensive to run works bikes.
Yamaha then had the rule backflipped so they could devolop the yzf 400 works bike in '97.