Dakar: KTM great but why not 2-strokes?

So I watch as much of Dakar as I could and the top riders are riding KTM 450's. Why not 2-smokes? Why 300exc is way simpler to fix and has less to go wrong? In the USA I would say it is rules against 2-strokes on the road, but down there?

I think it has to do with the torque.

Long stretches of WFO and 2stroke don't go well togeather.

Why is that? I am sure you right but I do not understand why. It seems a 2-stroke 400 or 600 would make massive power /weight and you would not have to run WOT. They put 2-strokes in boats and they run WOT all the time.

Baja has been won many times by 2Ts. It doesn't get much more wide open than that. But the manufactures want to sell 450 4Ts, so guess what they race.

when they aren't jetted right...

but 2 strokes seriously suck gas which would add allot of weight for a dakar bike.

I don't know about you, but I would not want to try and figure out proper race jetting for a day that has a 3000 meter elevation change. Maybe fuel injected 2 strokes would be ok....

Luis!!!

not really that different the carbed 4 strokes though.

FI brings it's own problems ask HRC

Fuel consumption.

Any weight saving from a two stroke is taken up by the extra fuel it would have to carry.

My 200 used to use 10l per 100k on gravel roads taking it easy, my 4 strokes use between 5 and 6 liters per 100k.

Considering 30l was not enough for an FI 450 ridden by a front runner, how much fuel would you need for a 300 2t?

Plus the oil you have to carry for refueling

Sure they do. 500s used to rule the desert for years and years.

Most of the time, guys allready mix the premix in, before they take the fuel to the fuel stops.

2T uses more fuel than a 4T?

If its not jetted right, sure they do. My 300 sips gas, why? Because its jetted right, lol.. I get 35+ mpg out of it just tooling around, and about 30 at race pace.

Manufacturers DONT WANT to race the 2T's, otherwise they would. Thats why.

Either your bike is dangerously lean or your idea of race pace and mine don't line up at all. I get about 20 out of my 200 during race. Jetted for max power clean plugs and no spooge.

Sorry to hijack, but how do you avoid no spooge? I always thought even if jetted perfectly, the motor will not burn 100% of the 2T oil.

This has been discussed a few times before,here is one of the threads I found while researching my sensible and thought provoking response (OK, I was looking for the pics of that 300 Rallye bike Sommer built).

Difference in riding styles, I'd guess. I've historcally gotten really good mileage out of my tanks.. I short shift a lot and carry momentum. I dont go WOT very often. I'm sure you probably ride that 200 more agressively than i ride my 300 :)

Ok, so it can have race pace...but how practical is that pace on the 100-400 miles of DAILY transit stages bookending the daily race stages? Seems like it wouldn't make a 2T happy to drone on the highway for 5 hours a day....

It won't burn all of it, but what it doesn't burn will stay in the engine / pipe versus running down the back of your silencer.

Owned a Yamaha RD350 2T twin years ago. You could ride on the highway all day (is a roadbike). Quick as a 750/4 or more. You'd build a 2T Rally as a twin not a single and with air injection which is supposed to be frugal on fuel. I thought KTM were rumoured to be onto air injected 2Ts in R&D?