Tailgating With Nick Wey On A 2004 KX250 Two-Stroke

Recently we bumped into motocross veteran Nick Wey at the track and were surprised to see the always-fast racer piloting a pre-mix burning two-smoker! We grabbed a few moments of his time to see if there was a special occasion for this foray from the four-stroke or if this was the norm.

DR: So, a two-stroke huh? What's the deal? NW: Well, I'm racing this weekend in Costa Rica in the Costa Rican National Championship so my race and practice bikes are already on the way down there. I have other bikes but this was the only one all the way put together. I just got it from a friend of mine for a really good deal. What's cool is that some parts off a new 450 fit on it like the triple clamps and the forks , the wheels fit, the brakes fit. I put a V-force and Pro Circuit pipe on it. The guy I got it from took really good care of it so all it really needed was a new piston and ring, couple seals here and there, a little bit of new plastic.

Does riding this bike bring back memories of racing a 250 two-stroke? It's a little bit weird jumping it and things like that until you get used to it because there's no engine breaking and it feels so much lighter, like it's less stable in the air. But you can really rip some of the tight corners. I'm surprised. Going back home to Michigan, when I ride local tracks there, two-strokes are pretty popular. I mean, they're pretty cost effective, that's for sure.   A lot of track riders still love moto-ing their two-strokes, even the 500s. Yeah, I went to a race in Australia about a month ago and started next to a guy on a 500. It was just kind of a fun race, but local pro guy had a 500 and I was like, 'Oh man.' Ben Townley was on the other side of me and I looked at him and said, 'Hey, I'm kind of worried about this guy holeshotting me."

What are you up to right now? I'm just training and getting ready for supercross. The plan is just to keep riding and racing, it's fun.   What do you think about allowing 250 two-strokes in the 250 four-stroke class? Well the 250 four-strokes are pretty good. I think manufacturers are worried about the two-stroke having more horsepower, like max horsepower not torque. I think places where they do allow it, whether it's Australia or Canada, where you can ride a two-stroke in those series in the professional 250F classes, I think it is more of advantage there because I don't think that the teams there have the money to get the 250Fs as developed as they do here. Overall, I think two-strokes are pretty good. It's a great tool for an up-and-coming rider. I think every serious racer should spend some time on a two-stroke. I mean you just learn some different fundamentals, you have to shift a lot, you have to use the clutch.