Kawasaki Is About to Ruin 2-Strokes Forever

[Trackday]

This is old news as almost a year ago Kawasaki said they are bringing back a 2-stroke—great, right? WRONG what I’m hearing, they’re about to ruin it.

First off… oil injection.
Why? Why would they do this? Inject oil? Directly? Like some kind of modern machine? I want to stand at the tailgate at 6 a.m., half asleep, pouring oil into a gas. But no—Kawasaki wants to take away that heritage, that ritual, that delicate art. “Just ride,” they say. “It’s convenient,” they say. Well, I say: NO.

Then… fuel injection.
Oh of course. Because carbs are too “old school.” Too “dirty.” Too “simple.” Too “tunable with a flathead screwdriver and pure emotion.” Now the bike needs a mini ECU, a TPS, maybe even a laptop cable like some kind of jetless dirt-bike laptop creature. What’s next? Power Tuner app, A diagnostic port? A firmware update?

I didn’t sign up for that. I signed up for jets, needles, air screws, and a prayer.

But wait… hold onto your handlebars… counterbalancer shaft.
Apparently Kawasaki wants 2-strokes to be smooth. SMOOTH?
A real 2-stroke shouldn’t be smooth. It should buzz your hands like an angry hornet colony. It should make your feet go numb halfway through the ride so you think you’re getting frostbite in July. That’s tradition. That’s character. That’s the 2-stroke way.

And then the final insult… electric start.

Look—all I want is to casually stall my 2-stroke at the top of a hill and then spend three minutes doing the kickstart dance while my buddies laugh. I want a bike that boots back when I kick it wrong and sends a lightning bolt up my shin. I want the struggle. The suffering. The bond.

So yeah. Kawasaki might be bringing back a 2-stroke—but if it has oil injection, fuel injection, a counterbalancer, and electric start, then I’m telling you right now:

It’s over. They’ve destroyed it. The golden age is gone.

I’ll be over here hugging my carbureted premix-powered kickstart-only rattle-snake of a bike.

Because that, my friends…
is what a real 2-stroke is supposed to be.

 

[GreyGhost]

My guess is a combination of emissions and consumer demand. Like HD, the people that don't want things to change are dying off. Give most teenagers a 2T and they will have no clue and it will either be abandoned in a shed as a pos that won't run or blown up with no knowledge/desire to rebuild it.

 

[TwistedKestrel]

Are you nuts? The "golden age" of the 2 stroke was 40-50 years ago, depending on who you are talking to. Do you also complain about automatic ignition timing, or that time they added filters to cigarettes? Transmission fluid isn't any good anymore after they took the whale oil out?

 

[Priller]

Are you nuts?

Yes.

The "golden age" of the 2 stroke was 40-50 years ago, depending on who you are talking to. Do you also complain about automatic ignition timing,

Yes.

or that time they added filters to cigarettes?

Yes.

Transmission fluid isn't any good anymore after they took the whale oil out?

Agreed.

(I kid, of course, along with the OP who I think has a healthy amount of tongue in cheek, but I'm of an age where two-strokes didn't really exist in street bikes. Just GP bikes, dirt bikes and chainsaws, so I only have nostalgia by proxy. My main connection with them now is my dirt riding buddies complaining that the 4T motors need just as regular rebuilds as the old 2T counterparts, but the work involved is significantly more.)

 

[Trackday]

KTM rolled out oil-injection and fuel-injection on their two-strokes, but let’s be honest—it was pushed more by emissions rules than by innovation. TPI was hyped as “the future,” yet riders quickly discovered that the future came with sensors that failed, oil pumps that starved engines, and throttle response that felt… well… sluggish.

The aftermarket reacted instantly with kits to rip out the oil-injection and drag the bike back to the glory days of premix.

Then KTM pivoted to TBI—basically admitting, “Yeah, TPI wasn’t it.” The new sales pitch? TBI finally makes the bike feel like a carburetor again. And just to stir the pot, KTM offered two versions: premix and oil-injected.

Social media lit up with riders complaining about oil injection, fuel injection, weight, complexity—pick a topic, someone hates it.

Meanwhile, four-strokes have been fuel-injected for more than a decade and everyone celebrated it as progress. More wires? More sensors? No kickstarter? Sure! Except for the Suzuki RM diehards still clinging to the past.

But bolt fuel injection onto a two-stroke and suddenly the sky is falling and the sport is doomed.

If riders are truly that opposed to fuel-injected two-strokes… then why isn’t Yamaha’s carb’d two-stroke the best-selling bike on earth?

The “good old days” were when dirt bikes were simple and anyone with a wrench could fix one. No laptops, no sensors, no mystery failures—just spark, fuel, and go. Riders don’t want tech that breaks, costs more to repair, and feels like a cash grab. And with KTM under pressure, you can bet prices are only heading in one direction.

Remember: if it’s not broken, why change it? Just look at pickup trucks—they’re still rolling around with solid rear axles and leaf springs, the same basic setup they had in the 1920s. Sometimes the old way really is the better way.

If the new Kawasaki is just going to be a green KTM, then what is the point. We have enough bad and broken bikes on the market we don’t need another.

 

[Mad Mike]

I have a bunch of 2strokes from the glory days, they are a bunch of work to keep running.

Lets go thru the '***** List's.

Oil injection. All 2stroke motorcycles and scooters except race bikes have been oil injected since 1965 - 60 years now. It's simple and it works.

Fuel injection. While relatively new for 2ts, it's dependable and provides a lot of benefits. Easy cold starts, no rejetting for altitude,20-30% better mileage (and range), no plug fouling or spooge in exhaust.

Counterbalancer. If you've ridden one for anything but MX you'd appreciate a counterbalancer. I rode a TS200r for a long time, it was comfortable in the road for day long rides. While they are a small tax to response, the benefit to the rider is considerable.

Electric start. Kick start is nostalgic, but after kicking bikes for 50+ years, I can live without one. Also let's me ride with flip-flops instead of boots.

The good news is there are a zillion vintage 2 stroke bikes still running (5 in my garage). Just grab one of those.

And if kicking bikes excited you, come on over and try kicking over my Goldwing (yes, it has a kick start).

 

[TwistedKestrel]

And if kicking bikes excited you, come on over and try kicking over my Goldwing (yes, it has a kick start).

You joke but I actually have wanted to try that ever since I learned about that nifty emergency feature

 

[Renboy]

All I can picture is Grandpa Simpson going off about change. More young people need to get into motorcycles. It's almost painful listening to all you broken hip, geriatric mofo's complain about advancement.

 

[Mad Mike]

All I can picture is Grandpa Simpson going off about change. More young people need to get into motorcycles. It's almost painful listening to all you broken hip, geriatric mofo's complain about advancement.

Is it as painful as watching a generation of bubble wrapped mommyboy mofos too afraid to mount a motorcycle?

At least those geriatrics are brave and tough enough to keep the industry's heart beating.