Homepage Bike Tests

Q: FIRST AND FOREMOST, IS THE 2012 KTM 250SXF BETTER THAN THE 2011 KTM 250SXF? A: No. Electric start does not make a bike go faster; it just makes it start easier. Q: WHAT CHANGES WERE MADE TO THE 2012 KTM 250SXF? A: Before we jump…
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Q: FIRST AND FOREMOST, IS THE 2012 KX450F BETTER THAN THE 2011 KX450F? A: Yes. Always known as an ?engine company,? Kawasaki has finally begun to make some headway on its weak points. Q: HAS THE KX450F IMPROVED SINCE ITS 2006 INTRODUCTION?…
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Q: FIRST AND FOREMOST, IS THE 2011 YZ450F BETTER THAN THE 2010 YZ450F? A: Nope. Oh, don?t get us wrong, we love that the new clutch actuation arm has a slightly heavier pull with less free play whether hot or cold. But in the grand scheme…
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Q: FIRST AND FOREMOST, IS THE 2011 KTM 250SXF BETTER THAN THE 2010 KTM 250SXF? A: Yes. The one aspect of past KTM 250SXFs that we always hated was the linear, No-Doz powerband. It made lots of horsepower, but you had to wait for it. It was…
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Q: FIRST AND FOREMOST, IS THE 2011 KTM 250SX BETTER THAN THE 2010 KTM 250SX? A: Yes. KTM has consistently modernized their two-strokes with chassis updates, stylish aesthetic changes and two-stroke-specific tweaks. Q: WHAT CHANGES…
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Q: FIRST AND FOREMOST, IS THE 2011 YZ250F BETTER FOR MOTOCROSS THAN THE 2010 YZ250F? A: No. Q: HOW MANY CHANGES WERE MADE TO THE 2011 YAMAHA YZ250F? A: The 2011 Yamaha YZ250F gets a goose egg in terms of the number of quality updates…
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2011 TM MX300-2T Cross: TM doesn?t just buy parts from outside suppliers. They try to build as much of the MX300 as possible at their factory. Q: WHO BROUGHT TM MOTORCYCLES TO AMERICA? A: Way back in 1994, Pete Vetrano was at the Trask…
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Q: FIRST AND FOREMOST, IS THE 2011 KTM 150SX BETTER THAN THE 2010 KTM 150SX? A: Yes. KTM continues to refine its two-strokes, in spite of what the other manufacturers do. The traditional KTM practice of including the 150SX in all the common…
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Q: FIRST AND FOREMOST, IS THE 2011 YAMAHA YZ250 BETTER THAN THE 2010 YZ250? A: No. Although the 2011 YZ250 did get a few changes over the previous year, most of those changes were made to make it possible for Yamaha to sell the same bike in…
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The stigma of sluggish, Euro-style understeer is broken by the TM MX250FI. Q: WHERE HAS TM BEEN FOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS? A: TM is not a big brand and you can forgive most American motocrossers if they have never seen one. For the last five…
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Q: FIRST AND FOREMOST, IS THE 2011 KTM 450SXF BETTER THAN THE 2010 KTM 450SXF? A: Yes. Why? Because it has the same great brakes, superb handling and incredible powerband as last year in a smaller, shrink-wrapped package?all the good stuff…
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Q: FIRST AND FOREMOST, IS THE 2011 KX250F BETTER THAN THE 2010 KX250F? A: The unvarnished truth is that the 2011 lacks some of the raw feel that made the 2011 such a great motocross machine. Q: WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST CHANGES ON THE 2011…
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Q: FIRST AND FOREMOST, IS THE 2011 RM-Z450 BETTER THAN THE 2010 RM-Z450? A: Yes, but with so few 2010 RM-Z450s offered for sale last year, the important question is whether the 2011 RM-Z450 is better than the 2009 model?which it is by leaps…
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Q: FIRST AND FOREMOST, IS THE 2011 YAMAHA YZ125 BETTER THAN THE 2010 YZ125? A: No. Q: HOW OLD IS THE TECHNOLOGY OF THE 2011 YZ125, AND IS IT OUTDATED? A: It's old, but the amazing technology is far from outdated. Yamaha was the first…
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2011 Husqvarna TC250 : The Italians are making a serious push at competing on the world circuit with their fuel-injected, lightweight, nimble-handling 250 four-stroke. Q: FIRST AND FOREMOST, IS THE 2011 TC250 BETTER THAN THE 2010…
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Q: FIRST AND FOREMOST, IS THE 2011 CRF450 BETTER THAN THE 2010 CRF450? A: That depends on your definition of ?better.? Honda made some changes for 2011 that, on paper, should have made a significant difference, but on the track there is…
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Q: FIRST AND FOREMOST, IS THE 2011 HONDA CRF250 BETTER THAN THE 2010 HONDA CRF250? A: Yes. After going for the gusto in 2010 with an all-new CRF250, the Japanese manufacturer made a handful of changes for 2011. These updates were…
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Q: FIRST AND FOREMOST, IS THE 2011 RM-Z250 BETTER THAN THE 2010 RM-Z250? A: Yes. How so? A total of 34 changes have been made to the 2011 Suzuki RM-Z250. That's quite a few updates, considering that in 2010 the RM-Z250 was practically new…
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Is it strange to note that a wily veteran, entering the twilight of his illustrious career, has received the most support from the droves of Supercross fans this year?or that the soft-spoken man/child with a friendly Southern drawl still…
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Here's a hypothetical situation. Pretend you?re an offroad racing champion (perhaps you?re the WORCS champion, Endurocross title holder and have won ISDE medals). You?ve been so successful that you are paid a handsome salary, are feted in…
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The last National moto of the year officially marks the end of the season and the beginning of a game of musical chairs. This past off-season will forever be remembered for Roger DeCoster going to the RedBull/KTM team and Chad Reed building…
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With the 2011 Grand Prix season set to start in Bulgaria in April, the MXA wrecking crew decided to take the time to ride what may be the last of the KTM 450SXF's to race the World Championships. It is a unique bike and worth looking at.…
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Ryan Hughes has always appreciated the FIM World Motocross Championships. His appreciation started when he was a little kid standing by the fence at the Carlsbad USGP cheering on the Americans, and it culminated in him representing his…
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Perhaps no bike in recent history has engendered as much controversy, idle chatter and uninformed speculation as the KTM 350SXF . The mid-sized Open class bike is really not a rare bird when viewed across the spectrum of motocross history.…
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Yamaha used to have a race team to develop hop-up products for their race bikes. The only problem was that when Team Yamaha did the R&D, they kept the results secret. In fact, they hid the data like it was the formula for Coca-Cola. Now…
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The YZ310F wasn?t built for a chassis test. MXA left the suspension stock. The motor, on the other hand, was a three-grand endeavor, not including the Hinson clutch and titanium FMF exhaust. A quick look at the specifications of Thumper…
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If you have a carbureted CRF250 you are out of luck for an effective big-bore. The 2010 and 2011 CRF250s have thicker cylinder liners that offer more than enough room to go bigger. As a rule, the MXA wrecking crew keeps our test bikes in…
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With each new medium of information comes new opportunities for marketing, and believe it or not, computers are yesterday's news. Cell phones with web browsing, GPS and many other impressive applications are literally attached at the hip of…
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