There are two things that make me jealous when I go for a ride with one of my mates who has one of those fuel or oil injected two-strokes. The first is not having to premix fuel and the second is the fuel economy. I can hear all the Honda CR500 tragics out there laughing at me when I say premixing fuel is annoying. Ten years ago I didn’t know it was annoying but since I’ve tasted the sweet nectar that is injection, it annoys me now. But I’m happy to tolerate mixing fuel so long as it’s worth it and in the tight snotty stuff, the traditional carb on my 2023 Sherco 300 SE Factory long term test bike makes it worth it.
Where it may be questionable is on long trailrides. The fuel economy from the 2023 Sherco 300 SE Factory long term test bike is average at best when wringing its neck and singing down some singletrail. I have geared my bike to be a little more torquey which means it has more grunt down low. I did this by going up a few teeth on the rear sprocket and the downside is that it now revs quiet hard doing over 80km/h.
I recently went on a trailride with the owner of the Beta RR300 in the reader ride section. Seeing as how we were both on 300cc two-strokes I thought it would be a good chance to compare the fuel economy as he has also made gearing changes in the same direction. Over a three to four hour ride, the Sherco 300 SE Factory used about 30 per cent more fuel than the oil-injected Beta. In fact, I’d go as far as to say, I’d be lucky to get over 100km from a single 10-litre tank on the Sherco 300 SE Factory.
Premix, carbureted bikes are not known for being super-fuel-efficient but that’s okay because they produce the kind of power that injected two-strokes just can’t. They grovel slower and with more strength than any other bike and when you switch to Sun mode they can launch into power in the blink of an eye. I love how strong the motor is in any gear and how the power will hit like a Mike Tyson right hook if you want to. I’ve just got to accept I’ll need to carry fuel for long hauls or mix it up at the service station.
MITCH LEES
For the full feature, check out issue #532 of ADB.
