Boondocker99, what year is your 300? Xc or exc? What is temp range that it runs great? Any challenges with keeping pipe warm? What prior bike did you ride and how does the 300 compare? Thanks
I have a 19 Husky TE300i which is basically the same as a 300 XC-W. This is the first snowbike I owned/built but road a couple different YZ450s before I built my snowbike. When I road those I knew I wanted a lightweight nimble 2-stroke. I did a ton of research and got a lot of feedback. There are plenty opinions each way but in the end there were enough people that I talked to who had owned 450s and went to 300s. I like 2 strokes, I like lightweight, I like simple rebuilds, and I like the 2 stroke sound. I also ride single track in the summer and really don't want to ride a 450. The 300 when running right with a high comp head and tune puts out about the same HP as 450 but lacks in the mid range torque so in the end you just need to shift more. I also still ride a sled which I prefer on deep days anyways so any argument about the 450 being better in the steep and deep is not important to me. This bike paired up with a CMX 129 rocks. I have no concerns with keeping up with a 450+TS which is about the most common setup out there.
The TPIs must be kept above 165 to run good so get a Thermo-bob and be sure to get 165 t-stat. Last year I ran a carbon pipe guard and SXS engine guard which worked good but I've got some plans to make a pipe/engine guard in hopes to put my muff pot on the pipe (one thing I really miss from the sled!).
If I were start fresh the only thing I would probably change is getting the TX with the standard tranny as most people say that works better. I'm going to drop a tooth this year and see what happens. I'm serously thinking about a BRC500 (tpi) for next year cause well you can't have too much power and with that I think this tranny will work the best as that should pull the upper gears fine.
Don't let anyone tell you a 300 tpi can't run with a 450 as that is complete BS! They probably road a 300 carb that was not running right. The 300 tpi works great and feels so much lighter than the 450s, even the race bikes that weigh the same as it has a lot less rotating mass and lower center of gravity.