- Jun 15, 2001
- 2,552
- 0
Every once in a while I get to thinking about this situation and kind of start to laugh about how "out of control" everybody's getting here with these 4 strokes, and the thought that the 2 strokes are gonna get outlawed soon....and blaah,blaah....you'd better get a 4 stroke soon,....blaah,blaah....yama-frickin-ha says so!....blaah,blaah...there will be no 2 strokes soon...etc.
Well, my opinion is that day will NEVER come. Or, if it does come, it will be short-lived. Why?
1) 2-strokes have been irreversibly integrated into industry, from chainsaws to dirtbikes to large 2 cycle CAT motors. Simply mandating their extinction will require too massive an expenditure and/or effort, and would probably even threaten the livelihood of some of the companies that produce them. This would obviously create a huge "stink" and might even threaten the economy. I don't know the numbers, but I would guess the problem would be huge.
2) MXA, it appears, is at least largely, if not primarily, responsible for propagating rumors of the 2 stroke demise because:
a) Their relationship with Yamaha is not too dissimilar from the Clinton/Lewinski phenomenon. AND, they seem to show absolutely NO sense of responsibility, equality, objectivity, etc. They are like a woo'd child in a candy store, and it's obvious.
b) All the 12-16 y/o kids read MXA like it's the bible of dirtbiking, and thus tend to, as the largest readership, propagate anything that exists between the 14,563 Blue paged ads existent in the standard publication.
3) I don't care how much technology you throw at a 4 stroke. If you threw that much at a 2 stroke, you'd still end up with an "at least" as functional product with LESSER weight. Try to tell a logger: "Uh, sorry sir, this will only take a second. I'll just slip this 5hp briggs & stratton onto your chainsaw, or er...rather, I'll just weld your chainsaw to the motor base...:scream:
4) There are a lot of people that will throw fits. BIG fits. INCLUDING ME.
5) Has anybody ever done a "study" looking at the actual contribution of the relative "few" 2 cycle engines in comparison to the millions of cars, power plants and old "exempt" cars out there ((clear throat)..like my 68 vette with 555 bbc :o )
6) Look at history: many a "concept" has been "outlawed" by the EPA historically, only to find its way back into society through another loop-hole. Consider the sad oppression on the vehicle industry in the late 60's/early 70's. Big blocks are back being produced and Chevy makes more BBC's that they can't keep up with production. Admittedly, although most of the production bbc's go into fuel-injected pickups, most bbc's (currently made by GM,MERLIN,etc.) go into "exempt" cars and race cars. Thus, they found their way back into the cars that they were initially pulled from.:)
There are multiple other reasons, but I don't have the time to go on. In reference to Dennis Miller, "that's my opinion, of course, I could be wrong.." ;)
Well, my opinion is that day will NEVER come. Or, if it does come, it will be short-lived. Why?
1) 2-strokes have been irreversibly integrated into industry, from chainsaws to dirtbikes to large 2 cycle CAT motors. Simply mandating their extinction will require too massive an expenditure and/or effort, and would probably even threaten the livelihood of some of the companies that produce them. This would obviously create a huge "stink" and might even threaten the economy. I don't know the numbers, but I would guess the problem would be huge.
2) MXA, it appears, is at least largely, if not primarily, responsible for propagating rumors of the 2 stroke demise because:
a) Their relationship with Yamaha is not too dissimilar from the Clinton/Lewinski phenomenon. AND, they seem to show absolutely NO sense of responsibility, equality, objectivity, etc. They are like a woo'd child in a candy store, and it's obvious.
b) All the 12-16 y/o kids read MXA like it's the bible of dirtbiking, and thus tend to, as the largest readership, propagate anything that exists between the 14,563 Blue paged ads existent in the standard publication.
3) I don't care how much technology you throw at a 4 stroke. If you threw that much at a 2 stroke, you'd still end up with an "at least" as functional product with LESSER weight. Try to tell a logger: "Uh, sorry sir, this will only take a second. I'll just slip this 5hp briggs & stratton onto your chainsaw, or er...rather, I'll just weld your chainsaw to the motor base...:scream:
4) There are a lot of people that will throw fits. BIG fits. INCLUDING ME.
5) Has anybody ever done a "study" looking at the actual contribution of the relative "few" 2 cycle engines in comparison to the millions of cars, power plants and old "exempt" cars out there ((clear throat)..like my 68 vette with 555 bbc :o )
6) Look at history: many a "concept" has been "outlawed" by the EPA historically, only to find its way back into society through another loop-hole. Consider the sad oppression on the vehicle industry in the late 60's/early 70's. Big blocks are back being produced and Chevy makes more BBC's that they can't keep up with production. Admittedly, although most of the production bbc's go into fuel-injected pickups, most bbc's (currently made by GM,MERLIN,etc.) go into "exempt" cars and race cars. Thus, they found their way back into the cars that they were initially pulled from.:)
There are multiple other reasons, but I don't have the time to go on. In reference to Dennis Miller, "that's my opinion, of course, I could be wrong.." ;)