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by sliverstorm 5823 days ago
Actually, making a 2-stroke that doesn't require both valves be open solves two problems. There's the fresh gas flowing right out the exhaust, and there's the limitations in compression ratio. Higher compression ratios result in higher efficiency, but the 2-stroke doesn't work right at high enough compression ratios.

Observe:

2 stroke: http://www.yamaha-motor.com/sport/products/modelspecs/30/0/s...

4 stroke: http://www.yamaha-motor.com/sport/products/modelspecs/12/0/s...

As a side note, do not conclude overlap (both valves open) is inherently bad. A little bit of overlap is sometimes used even in passenger cars.