Hey all, So earlier this year I made the change from a 2008 EXC R 450 to a 2015 300 XC-W Orange frame sensation...Mmm Mmm Good...Now mind you I have never owned a 2 stroke or matter of fact yearned for one.....My distaste for them started back in my teen years as I found out the hard way what a H.S. friends late 1980's CR250 can do to one's sneaker shodded foot.At 44 I still have a golf ball size knuckle on my right big toe..... Fast forward 20 some years later I revisited riding with a four stroke as my weapon of choice. So here I am , it's 2009 I have mounted myself on a 2008 EXC R 450.....whistle whistle ........ and I am no longer the kid in a corn field grabbing gears, no this is single track in the Eastern PA NW NJ Rock and root infested terrain.....technical and debilitating but I push on. 800 engine hrs later and numerous dual sports (Dabbers in Mill Hall PA, Hancock Quarry Run and Hammer Run Millville NJ every year) along with countless outings with my riding crew ....it is time for a replacement of the EXC R 450 ......So here we are, late winter early spring 2015.....Winter's firm grip is loosening and the cabin fever has been unbearable. My 450 needs some serious attention-top end /bottom end /swing arm bearings/ replace or undent the header pipe....etc...Being that my Rocky Mnt ATV/MC account went Platinum in 2014 for which all $ spent on keeping the 450 alive, I decided that enough was enough and all those moving parts (primarily in the valve head) if replaced were just gonna fail sooner or later......what to do? Rebuild and keep riding till another head rebuild?Wow just how many hours can one put on a bike? Predicament? On a back note ....late in the riding season of 2014 the 2008 450 EXC R was bellowing smoke consistent to valve seats gone bad and one only knows what else is in ill state. And so I was privy to borrow a neighbor's 2003 exc 200 as for I was not gonna miss the last few rides of the year. Yes I have a problem (riding is my addiction)...say what?.....this things gonna kill me. And so I ride..... Pine Grove PA RORR one day dual sport "Got Rocks?" ...Giant baby head size boulders...I for sure am gonna be stalling and kicking this thing over and over again....not the case at all....she's light ,nimble and a quick feather of the left lever and viola instant leap to the next obstacle....Power issues absolutely not...plenty but just enough to not kill you. I ride this little hornet at Hammer Run Dual Sport in Millville NJ....Pine Barron stick farm....what a blast. I zip and zap through the bobsled run of trail....I am now hooked on a 2 stroke and its nuance's ....want to lug her? No problem, this bike just chugs away. Need to light her up ? Just ask and she'll answer."But of course." O.K. time to return this guys bike before I break something....so I clean the 200 up ...give her some new tires,brake pads ,gear oil..and some SC-1 and send her on her way.... Alright so back to "The issue": rebuild$$$ or buy$$$$$$$$$$? Any guesses??? Of Course I went with the later of the 2 choices. Yup I went out and doubled down on a 2015 XC-W 300 complete with that fancy orange frame....whistle whistle. Basically a mountain bike on steroids but even better...I know there's multiple threads with gazillions of posts about the mighty 300 and all encumbrance of how to tune her and jetting yada yada yada....but there is something missing and it's her smell.....oh how she smells. That sweet succulent smell.... My addictive persona has just been aroused to another level. And I can't get enough.....what's the special sauce you ask? Well it's a blend of 50:1 AV gas (non ethanol,local airport) and Amsoil Dominator....yes yes I know there's all sorts of High end fuels for these machines but the locale of the airport and the lesser of price $5/gl compared to the VP or others of same $75 and up per 5 gallon can I chose this route...Fellow riders say my bike has a burnt chemical smell whereas the VP's and others are of a sweet aroma...Hmm? I reminisce of the days of Yamalube and the extraordinary amount of "rolling Coal" that once bellowed from the tail end of the scramblers of yesteryear. And until recently if I was to go on a ride - Enduro, Hare Scramble ,dual sport what have you, and you become lodged behind a 2T,an asphyxiating and eye watering ordeal would unfold. Unpleasant to say the least. Not anymore......I am more like a dog sniffing one's tail end for a recognition and admiration. Just what has happened? So tell me 2T owners what's your favorite blend?
2016 Beta 250RR (PLATED) with Motul 710. Oil injected haha, no mixing and still that sweet fragrance for which we lust.
Hmmm, Maybe I need a new Klotz 2t cologne. I'm using Amsoil Interceptor because the last owner told me it was the best stuff for my Millenial 300? Klotz 4 strokes smells like candy and I've got a sweet tooth.
I put a capful of Maxima castor bean oil with my regular Lucas synthetic sauce. That castor bean smell takes me back to my childhood. ***Really thought that I was the only one with this 2T smell perversion. Glad to know I'm not alone
You are not alone my friend. Love it...I put this stuff in my chainsaw and my leaf blower just for the smelllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll :)
You guys are so boring. Get with the times, your bikes could smell like rootbeer, bubblegum, or even vanilla. https://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/p/936/31313/Manhattan-Oil-Scented-Gas-Additive But I do love the smell of race gas, and JP being burnt in a turbine.
Like aromatherapy for dirtbikes? Cool! I'm still partial to that old school castor bean oil. Apparently it can cause carbon build-up on your PV, so I only use about one quarter castor bean, and whatever synthetic clean burning elixer that's at hand. Today that's Lucas
What? I'm appalled that one would suggest a Kardashian cocktail to alter the fragrance eau du toilette of such a magnificent aroma....mrrrraaaahhhh...hear me roar with displeasure. No actually I have smelled french fries in the middle of the woods...makes you hungry and lose concentration. I would perhaps venture with victory vanilla. Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
It's weird; when I was young, bikes smelled, and two strokes were far more common than four. And sometimes that smell would set off the brain pleasure response that fires up due to the joy of riding. Fast forward to today and I don't even smell my bike. It'll smoke when warming up but it's more of an unburnt fuel smell; I don't really pick up on the oil fragrance. I try not to breathe it. When I'm riding, it's all behind me. And I haven't ridden with anyone else with a two stroke. My main riding bud says it bothers him sometimes. But my four stroke street bike exhaust also bothers him so it's probably unburnt hydrocarbons that he's sensitive to. I've been running the motorex and motul 800; I need to get a line on the dominator to check out. I like the earlier idea of adding a touch of castor oil to the mix; maybe that smell will bring back another element of the past.
Long live the smokers. If castor oil even came close to new synthetics for quality lubrication I'd be running it. Every time I smell it I get a late 70s flashback. Good times I run the dominator and it's been pretty good, in the new bike I'm getting more spooge though even with the same jetting as my '08.