Two-strokes have always been cheaper to build, cheaper to maintain, and way cheaper on the scales than their four stroke brethren. So why on earth did we suddenly all go four-stroke?
In our modern Eurocentric tree-hugging society Eco mentalists insist that two-stroke bikes are the devil’s work because they pollute our environment and corrupt our kids making them smile with joy. These ‘do-gooders’ insist that the four-stroke with its cams, valves and reciprocating rotating mass are the second coming. So ‘they’ say the two-stroke is dead.
Thats crap... I say long live the two-stroke!
In recent years we have seen a resurgence in motorcycle factories producing competitive two-stroke bikes for a small niche off-road market, namely Beta, GasGas, Husaburg, Husqvarna, KTM, Sherco, TM, Yamaha and now South Africa’s very own Puzey BRM 300.
Mike Puzey, owner of Puzey Motor Corporation, is a unique and inspiring individual who currently holds around 25 international patents. Mike was able to strip down and rebuild his go-kart engine at the tender age of five (at the same age I was climbing trees and running through a garden sprinkler). Mike built his first motocross bike at 11 by welding together cannibalised scrap parts while again, at the same age, I only learnt how to ride a motocross bike. I’ve always wanted, and you probably have as well, to design my very own bike, test ride it, and have custom specs developed and so on. Well Mike Puzey has actually achieved that dream.
After I heard nothing but praise for his latest project, a 300cc two-stroke enduro, I was totally curious to see what all the fuss was about so Bill arranged for me to ride Mike’s prototype bike with hand built frame and all. I was going to ride a pre-production bike for the first time ever, happy days indeed.
So what were my first impressions? Wow, this bike has been ridden a lot and the hard testing miles were evident for all to see. Some parts were fabricated, some were taken off other bikes and the whole look was experimental. I liked it though; it reminded me of the factory motocross bikes of the early 80s.
On our test ride a friend of mine, Shaun, brought along his Husaburg 300 because it is the benchmark and ultimate 300 enduro bike money can buy (perhaps). So we would swap bikes to gauge where the Puzey stood in the greater scheme of things.
Firstly the standard features blew me away; remember this bike is designed as a South African enduro bike where we like it rocky, muddy, extreme and widow-making. So commendably the 300 Puzey has exhaust and radiator guards, front and rear disc brake protectors, hand guards and, hold on to your helmet, a radiator fan which Shaun wanted to steal for his Husaburg. No other 300 two-stroke has one of those.
The ergonomics were good and nothing seemed out of place. The handlebars have a comfortable bend and the seat is thick, flat and offers a lot of support. The footpegs are wide and supportive, everything seemed very comfortable. My only complaint was that I prefer to stand a lot but the frame, where the plastics are bolted to, stands out slightly too much, which was annoying as I couldn’t grip the bike properly because my ankles were forced out by the frame. Nothing Jeremy Clarkson’s hammer can’t cure.
Up front the forks have Showa internals and out back Mike has developed a clever cam adjuster so you can effectively lower or raise the ride-height of the bike, fancy pants. To be honest the suspension wasn’t set up for me and I struggled to push the pace as the bike would wallow a little up front and kick at the back. This is the third bike that has done this to me, so I’m now officially on diet. However, when I spoke to Mike about the suspension, he showed me his suspension workshop and said he could tailor the suspension to do anything from social riding to a full blown motocross track set-up, depending on the client’s specific needs, all in-house as well. Fantastic!
At the heart of the bike is a TM 300cc enduro engine, which Mike spent six months developing with TM, experimenting with compression, ports and other mechanical wizardry to produce a way more rideable torque than the standard motor can offer. He admits that the standard motor is faster but he wanted more torque to make riding easier. To assist with this there was a maps switch on the handlebar that had two preprogrammed settings; 1 was race and 2 was torque, apparently, but I just kept it on 2 because I was having a blast! This motor is a tractor; I don’t do steep hills or huge mine dump climbs but, with this motor, I went looking for them. This bike pulls from way down low and by keeping the bike just above idle it would pull my non-athletic physique up any climb, enough said! I did notice there was no electric starter but those are just for sissy boys anyway. Starting wasn’t a problem; it would start first kick every time, anytime, brilliant!
I must admit I didn’t give the bike much credit until the 75km ride was over. I suddenly realised it had done everything I’d asked of it. It went everywhere the Berg went and then some, maybe not with the finesse of the established brands but it did it South African style, chewing on red meat and drinking beer. After all, we’re bred for rugby not ballet! It never broke down, coughed or spluttered and that says a lot for Mike’s time and effort. This particular bike has done the Roof of Africa a few times, which is an utterly insane extreme endure, and survived, so you know the reliability is there.
Whilst trying to fathom out who would buy this bike, I came to a conclusion; I’m the target market. I need a cheapish but quality built, reliable bike with dollops of power that can survive a long outride or spend a day just tooling around with friends. I need to know that the parts are in stock, that someone can help me set up the suspension and so on. Yes, I might even race once or twice a year, but instead I’m more of a weekend warrior slash one lap wonder. The price of just R60,000 is considerably cheaper than anything else in its class, so the money you’ll save over the ‘others’ can be well spent elsewhere, like holidays or a new kitchen for your significant ‘other’ to make up for all the lost time together while you’re out riding and having fun.
So, if you’re in the market for 300cc two-stroke enduro, do yourself a favour and go and see, touch and ride a brand new production model, they are stunning! I think you’ll be as pleasantly surprised as I was and I’m proud to have ridden a bike that was ‘Born in SA.’
Click on to www.puzey.co.za for more details and other Puzey motorcycles.
