Well a two-stroke has a BANG! on every crank rotation, not every other rotation (per cylinder). No poppet valves or cams or any of that stuff. They breathe through ports cut into the chamber walls and the size, height and shape of the ports is VERY important, along with exhaust pipe shape, length and size. Intake tuning is important too with "Piston port" designs or reed valves or rotary valves in use on that side.
They are more thirsty, but make more power per cc than a comparable four-stroke. Note the MotoGP racing, the only way to break the 500cc two-stroke stranglehold was to allow 990cc four-strokes. Twice the size.
However, the power is not nice, "clean" four-stroke power that rises predictably as revs rise, like a turbine, but instead is concentrated in a narrow "powerband" at a certain RPM, due to intake tuning, exhaust tuning, port tuning, etc., and comes on positively FURIOUSLY. Truly beastly machines.
They are more maintenance intensive than a four-stroke, (when's the last time you had to de-coke the head and exhaust chambers on a CB?), and require more care and attention, both in maintenance, and when riding. But there is NOTHING that can match the feel of a two-stroke coming "on the pipe" or getting into the powerband.
What "killed" 'em was emissions laws and noise laws. They're loud, they burn oil and are generally considered "Rude, Crude and Socially Unacceptable." The EPA f@ggots pretty well killed the road-going versions in the late '70s to early '80s.
I'm gonna keep my old CBs for daily bikes and for most of my riding, but I just picked up a two-stroke for a toy. I'm totally taken. I don't think I'm completely converted to the Stroker Side, but I'm enjoying this little Affair.
