Everyone always asks us, way more people are not riding 300cc two strokes for snow bikes. They make great power and they are lighter than a 450cc dirt bike. In the last 10 years of renting snow bikes we have had a hand full of 300cc two stroke snow bikes and they are awesome!! It does feel lighter and much more nimble, then the 4 strokes. The power is incredible, once you get the motor on the pipe there is nothing like the power of a 2 stroke. Now that we have bikes that are oil and fuel injected, it just makes everything that much easier. So back to the question. Why are there not more 300cc two stroke snow bikes out there? The first problem we had, was renters would cold seize the motor. Twice we encounter where the bike cold seized. When went to retrieve the bike you could see where they had lunch and about 30 yards away. You definitely need to let the bike warm up before you get on it. On really cold days, even with carburetor blankets and intake heaters you can run into problems with slides freezing. Another small disadvantage is, you must carry much more fuel, which cuts into the light weight feel to the bike. However, the biggest disadvantage is that you have to ride it much more aggressive than a 4 stroke. You diffently can not lug it around all day like you can a 4 stroke. The track system is much heavier than a wheel set up. You really need to ride it wide open the majority of the time. You don’t realize how often you need the full power of your snow bike, until you ride a 2 stroke. You often need that low end power, instantly, for hill climbs unseen ditches, creeks, tight trees etc. On really long rides, deep powder days, it defiantly takes a lot more energy to ride the 2 stroke. If I only had one bike in my garage I would certainly go with a 4 stroke verses a 2 stroke.
