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KTM 300 turbo?

tdorval

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Has anyone turboed a KTM 300 2 stroke yet? If no why not? Plenty of folks having good luck with carb turbo 2 strokes out there...This just seems like my dream snowbike unless some other high powered option comes available.
 

wwillf01

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Has anyone turboed a KTM 300 2 stroke yet? If no why not? Plenty of folks having good luck with carb turbo 2 strokes out there...This just seems like my dream snowbike unless some other high powered option comes available.

Kms is working through testing


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tdorval

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Interesting. Surprised this hasn't happened sooner! Seems like a good idea, anyone have any thoughts as to how well it will work, or won't work for that matter?
 
M
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Not trying to be a dick but I'm just curious as to why you would turbo a 300 over a big bore 2 stroke either a KX or CR 500. If you are going to go to the effort why not start with nearly double the displacement. Seems to me that a lot is being asked from these 300 builds. Big blocks always win at the drag strip.

M5
 

ravenous

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Yes. The poor little 300's. There is no replacement for displacement.
I love my 300 with wheels, but why torture it in the snow?
 

tdorval

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It seems like the 300's make just about as much as a stock 500, of course the 500 has more room to make more power but stock for stock numbers are pretty close. Also you get electric start, less vibes, modern chassis with no work. Maybe the 500 would be better but I don't see anyone boosting the 500 with how few there are out there. Maybe the right setup is a 500 moded but who knows? Have you been around a boosted 500?
 
M
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No I haven't and to be honest I don't really see the need. Some engine work and the right mods and a 500 makes the same torque as a turbo 450 thumper. One problem I see with turboing a 2 stroke of any sort is you are adding a whole bunch of weight negating the 2 strokes advantage in the first place. If you look at 2 stroke vs 4 stroke turbo sleds the smokers require a pretty big turbo due to the air volume so on a bike you'll be adding yet more weight. As for the E-start that was my number one concern going with the CR500 this seasonut with the decomp its a non issue.

Its pretty easy to slap a 500 motor into a KTM frame. Best of both worlds but for the snow I wouldn't bother.

M5
 

wwillf01

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I agree with the 500cc being a beast... Ported right it is even better and easier to kick over than my 300..... That is without the decomp on it. I say the turbo wins out for us at high altitude because we loose so much hp..... I am riding between 7000ft and 11000ft. The wonderful thing about forced induction for me is you are not loosing the hp.... So I would be happy even with a small amount of boost;) If its not reliable though then there is no point... and I think that is going to be the task that is difficult to achieve....
 
M
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Take a look at the evolution of the snowmobile. 10 years ago an 800 Doo or Poo made say 140ish hp. Today they are 160ish give or take. That's in the order of a 15% power increase, really not very much in the big scheme of things. Where they have dramatically improved is in chassis design and weight loss. A new sled of brand whatever you choose would kill a 10 year old sled with only 15% more power.

My take on the whole snow bike thing is that gains need to be made in weight and efficiency before power. IMO C3 is on the right path for the sport of snow biking to the point where TS now has a bunch of catching up to do. They are evolving the chassis the way Poo, Doo and the others have. Having done the big hp thing in sleds its easy to overcome the weight of a big sled and make it climb with big power but in the end its still a big sled. Apex/Rx1 etc. What do you want to do with the bike? I don't see very many videos of turbo bikes climbing chutes, most vids are of guys boondocking so who really needs a turbo on a snowbike is my question. If you are needing more power from a 300 to boondock then its the wrong bike for your application/style.

The 300 tweaked to the max may produce 60+ hp but it doesn't have the torque and it never will. 60 hp on a 500 is entry level. Turboed 300 I don't know, but seems to me like it'd be like trying to turbo a 500 Phazer Mountain Lite fanner, I just can't see the cost benefit. I think for a 300 your money would be better spent on upgrading to a C3 kit and dropping all that excess weight. Belt drive.......

Turbo snow bike = Yamaha turbo Apex but I've been wrong many times before. JMO


M5
 

wwillf01

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I know for my nytro the turbo made the machine... it also made it a better boondocking machine and less time flooring the engine.... so in the end I save fuel ..... sometimes;) we will see where it goes.... I agree that the design of the skid can have great gains for the sport instead of just throwing power at an inefficient machine; ) but lots of power on tap is never a bad thing when it gets deep;)
 

madmax

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i don't see it happening, a production 2-stroke turbo kit for any carbed bike. Keeping a 2-stroke carbed turbo running half decent is far beyond the tuning knowledge of most guys who have bikes. There is a reason why cutlers, boondocker and the other turbo kit builders never made carbed kits for sleds, they are way too hard to keep running consistently. Now when KTM finally releases their 300 EFI it will be a whole different story.
 

wwillf01

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i don't see it happening, a production 2-stroke turbo kit for any carbed bike. Keeping a 2-stroke carbed turbo running half decent is far beyond the tuning knowledge of most guys who have bikes. There is a reason why cutlers, boondocker and the other turbo kit builders never made carbed kits for sleds, they are way too hard to keep running consistently. Now when KTM finally releases their 300 EFI it will be a whole different story.


Can't wait for the efi..... But I know Kms is looking into other avenues... He fuel injects his banshees to make the turboes run better among other things... We will see after summer it looks like;)
 
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