CHECKING OUT A VERY FAST YZ300 2-STROKE: THE WRAP

[MotoFactory]

Last month’s Wiseco Two-Stroke World Championship still has us buzzing. The live stream on Dirt Bike’s Youtube channel was a hit and we’re still thinking about all the cool bikes we saw. One of the crowd magnets was the Yamaha of two-time Champion Robbie Wageman in the Heartbeat Hot Sauce/NanoXtreme pits. The roots of this team go back to Ryan Clark’s privateer campaign in the 2000s. Ryan is now a team owner along with Chris Elliot, and the effort has grown to a podium-finishing team with riders like Bob Kiniry, Phil Nicoletti, Justin Buckelew, Kyle Partridge and now Robbie. The Two-Stroke World Championship has evolved into a KTM vs. Yamaha affair, with Beta recently emerging as a wildcard. Those are the companies that have stayed in the two-stroke MX game all these years. The Yamaha YZ250, in particular, holds a very special place in the hearts of U.S. MX fans. A Yamaha 250cc two-stroke earned the very first national motocross championship in America back in 1972, and the YZ250 has enjoyed the longest production run of any motocross bike in the world. Admittedly, the current YZ is a product of two decades ago and building it into a pro-level racer takes considerable work. But, it’s a labor of love for this crew.

Robbie Wageman is a two-time winner of the Wiseco Two-Stroke World Championship. His YZ300 is a product of passion from a Supercross team.

A 2026 YZ250 has plenty of power to compete in the amateur world, but if it’s to stand a chance against Dante Oliveira and his new KTM 300SX, it needs to have all the displacement it can get. Eric Gorr was one of the first technicians to develop a 300 kit for the YZ. He did that almost 20 years ago and has made revisions over time. The bore and stroke of the stock YZ measures 66.4 by 72mm, so it’s a relatively easy job to bring the bore up to 72mm and the displacement to 293.2cc. That’s the configuration of the KTM, so no change to the stroke is necessary. The three-piece power valve has to be modified and then there are a number of different head and porting configurations possible. Most riders don’t necessarily want a full-power motor that needs race fuel, but that’s what racers of Robbie’s caliber generally need. 

The official name of the team is Heartbeat Hot Sauce/NanoXtreme Yamaha, but we still think of it as Team Solitaire.

When the Yamaha YZ250 was first designed, the idea of custom ignition mapping was almost unheard of. Now, it’s a fact of life for most engine tuners. Of course, you can’t alter fuel delivery through mapping when you’re dealing with a carbureted engine, but you can do wonders with just spark advance if you have the right tools. The team knows the GET system inside out because that’s what they use on their Supercross YZ250F race bike. Race Tech fine-tuned the engine on the dyno with new jetting and ignition specs. In addition to the base engine mods, a full FMF pipe and silencer system was used with a V-Force 4 reed valve from Moto Tassinari. The fuel tank was filled with ETS P14M mixed at 40:1 with TiLube T2 two-stroke oil.

The world is full of all kinds of crazy two-stroke builds. We have seen some with YZ250 two-stroke motors stuffed into modern aluminum twin beam frames. The results haven’t been that great. The current Yamaha four-stroke frame is designed for a motor with a rearward tilted top end and an upward facing intake. It simply doesn’t fit the two-stroke motor, and even if it did, why? There’s a devoted cult of hard-core believers who still insist that the central backbone aluminum frame is responsible for the best-handling bikes that Yamaha has ever produced. The only geometry change is a 0.3 degree decrease in rake accomplished with FCP offset headset cups. And, over the last 20 years, there has been considerable advancement in suspension technology. Accordingly, the Yamaha got A-Kit suspension valved by Enzo, just like the Supercross bikes.

After that, it’s simply a matter of using the best parts available. Works Connection supplied brake reservoir covers, handlebar clamps, a holeshot device and miscellaneous hardware. The bars and grips came from ODI. P3Carbon made the skid plate, the rear caliper guard and a rear master cylinder guard. More bolt-on stuff included Moto Stuff Pro Pegs, a D.I.D 520 ERT Gold Chain, D.I.D STX Rims, Supersprox aluminum countershaft and rear sprockets, Dunlop MX34 tires and a TM Designs chain guide and slider.

By using FCP offset headset cups, the steering geometry can be altered without more invasive chassis modifications.

When it was all done, the Yamaha still didn’t have all the creature comforts of a truly modern bike. It didn’t have a counterbalancer or electric starter, and you had to remember to turn off the fuel petcock at the end of the day. In sheer performance, though, it was at least the equal of any bike on the Pro gate.

P3 Carbon parts were sprinkled liberally over the YZ for the factory look.

The line up for the 2026 Wiseco Glen Helen Two-Stroke World Championship was brutal. Defending champion Dante Oliveira was back. Beta was there with a very serious effort that included Dare Demartile and Derek Drake on the new 350RR. Canadian National Champion Phil Nicoletti was even there on a Husky 300. When it was all over, Robbie emerged with a fifth overall. In a truly international field that included quasi-factory bikes, that’s something to be proud of.

In the ongoing saga of the Yamaha YZ250, the results demonstrated that the legacy continues. The YZ didn’t add to its collection of Two-Stroke World Championship wins, which stands at nine victories in 16 years, but it did acquit itself well. Yamaha YZ250s filled 17 gates in the 37-rider field and had the lion’s share of bikes in the top 10. Next year, the battle will continue.

The entire Open Pro race from the 2026 2-Stroke Championship can be seen on Dirt Bike‘s Youtube channel.

 

OPEN PRO OVERALL STANDINGS

1. Dante Oliveira
2. Joel Milesevic
3. Phillip Nicoletti
4. Giacomo Redondi
5. Robbie Wageman
6. Sean Collier
7. Ryan Surratt
8. RJ Wageman
9. Gary Sutherlin
10. Arik Swan
11. Josh Mosiman
12. Ezra Lewis
13. Justin Muscutt
14. Derek Drake
15. Brian Medeiros
16. Nathan Hamlin
17. Billy Lea
18. Matthew Cerami
19. Ryder Patridge
20. Seth Nemec
21. Rafael Chao
22. Colton Aeck
23. Dane Morales
24. Dylan Gaszak
25. Brandon ONeal
26. Rocco Morse

PAST WINNERS

2010 … Bobby Garrison (Hus)

2011 … Austin Howell (Yam)

2012 …Michael Leib (Hon)

2013 … Sean Collier (Yam)

2014 … Sean Collier (Yam)

2015 … Mike Sleeter (KTM)

2016 … Mike Alessi (Suz)

2017 … Ryan Surratt (Honda)

2018 … Zach Bell (Hus)

2019 … Robbie Wageman (Yam)

2020 … Mike Alessi (Yam)

2021 … Robbie Wageman (Yam)

2022 … Trevor Stewart (Yam)

2023 … Carson Brown (Yam)

2024 … Justin Hoeft (Yam)

2025 … Dante Oliveira (KTM)

2026 … Dante Oliveira (KTM)

 

 

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