Homepage Bike Tests

Between racing, testing, going to Nationals, flying to Europe, riding at new model introductions, hanging out with our buds and going to work, the MXA wrecking crew has been deep into the 2012 test bike schedule. Over the last two months we…
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Husqvarna was once a major player in American motocross. They won National Championships, sold thousands of bike a year and were a powerhouse in every aspect of offroad racing. They want to get back to where they once were. In real estate,…
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This past two weeks have been busy for the MXA guys. We have been at Red Bud, Mt. Morris, Glen Helen, Piru and Racetown/395. We also had business meetings with Yamaha and Kawasaki and have been busy testing bikes and products on a daily…
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2011 KTM 1250SX. Both the KTM 150SX and Yamaha YZ125 originated from the classic two-stroke gene pool, but thanks to gene splicing, borrowed technology and constant revisions, both machines have evolved into the fulfillment of the…
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We live in a world of constant judgment. Critical eyes and biased opinions are everywhere. Everyone has an opinion on everything?even stuff they know nothing about. Sadly, one man's opinion is another man's resource for a fact. Ignorance…
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The two-stroke versus four-stroke question comes up at regular intervals'so, we are rerunning our shootout to add clarity to the arguments. Let's cut through the effluvia! Rules changes made the four-stroke what it is…
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Q: FIRST AND FOREMOST, IS THE NEWEST YZ125 BETTER THAN THE PREVIOUS YZ125? A: No. It is the product of Xerox engineering. Q: WHAT ARE THE MAJOR CHANGES THAT YAMAHA MADE TO THE LATEST YZ125? A: There are none. The graphics on the gas tank…
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You are forgiven if you are a Honda CRF450, Kawasaki KX450F or KTM 450SXF owner and you don?t give a twit about hopped-up Yamaha YZ450Fs. You may be thinking, ?Yamaha? I don?t own a Yamaha and don?t want to read about them.? But, you know…
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The popularity of throttle-driven mini-motorcycle racing, like so many other hobbies, correlates with the state of the economy. When the housing market flopped and jobs went the way of the white Siberian tiger, the pit bike market…
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You are forgiven if you are a Honda CRF450, Kawasaki KX450F or KTM 450SXF owner and you don?t give a twit about hopped-up Yamaha YZ450Fs. You may be thinking, ?Yamaha? I don?t own a Yamaha and don?t want to read about them.? But, you know…
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You are forgiven if you are a Honda CRF450, Kawasaki KX450F or KTM 450SXF owner and you don?t give a twit about hopped-up Yamaha YZ450Fs. You may be thinking, ?Yamaha? I don?t own a Yamaha and don?t want to read about them.? But, you know…
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You are forgiven if you are a Honda CRF450, Kawasaki KX450F or KTM 450SXF owner and you don?t give a twit about hopped-up Yamaha YZ450Fs. You may be thinking, ?Yamaha? I don?t own a Yamaha and don?t want to read about them.? But, you know…
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When somebody mentions a spring, you probably picture a standard coil spring that looks like a steel pigtail. Most motocrossers immediately envision the shock spring on a race bike. A spring, however, is any elastic object that stores…
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Crunchies Food Company offers a wide assortment of dried fruit and vegetable snacks. What makes them crunchy is their drying process?which takes place in a refrigerated vacuum. Supposedly, this allows the fruit to retain more natural flavor…
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This bike test was of interest to the MXA wrecking crew for reasons not obvious to the casual observer. What's so special about the Ice Works Honda CRF250? In an effort to boost foreign relations, the MXA gang embarked on a journey that…
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The side panels and rear number plates are all one piece. The frame is chromoly steel with the gas tank where the airbox would normally be and the airbox is behind the steerer tube (where the gas tank would normally be). The gas cap is…
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2011 RM-Z250 For 2011 Suzuki has taken its potent RM-Z250, and have fine-tuned it into an even more capable machine. The 2011 RM-Z has seen numerous updates: it now meets a stricter AMA noise limit (94db) while maintaining smooth engine…
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2011 HONDA CRF450 Long regarded as the bike of choice in the big-bore motocross division, the 2011 CRF450R incorporates improvements that will help this bike retain its premier standing. The prodigious powerband is now even stronger…
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Q: FIRST AND FOREMOST, IS THE 2010 YAMAHA YZ250 BETTER THAN THE 2009 YZ250? A: No. It is identical to last year's model. Well, not identical, because there were two changes from 2009 to 2010: (1) The right-side gas tank…
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More AMA 250 Championships than any Motorcycle in History! It's an old refrain: The factory guys get all the good stuff. Their bikes are faster, lighter and just plain tricker than the motocrossers you can buy off…
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Most people take for granted the ability to go down to their local Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki or Yamaha dealer and buy a motocross bike. It wasn?t always this way. In the good old days, if you wanted to race flat track, scrambles, Hare and…
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Readers often call the palatial MXA towers with questions. The queries range from the latest racer gossip to technical problems to bike setup tips. I hear it all. And, quite honestly, I revel in helping readers find solutions. The most…
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There was a ton of buzz about the totally redesigned 2009 Honda CRF450. Some of it was good, and some of it was bad. As a magazine test rider, I have the privilege of being among the first to ride new bikes, and I had quickly established…
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At the end of every model year, I never want to give up the one bike that I?m most attached to. It should be noted that the bike I choose to ride is not an endorsement of what MXA thinks is the best bike?it is just the bike that, given my…
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Q: FIRST AND FOREMOST, IS THE 2010 KTM 450SXF BETTER THAN THE 2009 KTM 450SXF? A: Yes. For decades KTM suffered from being too ?European.? The orange bikes were tall, long and heavy. The suspension was hampered by offbeat WP suspension…
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Q: FIRST AND FOREMOST, IS THE 2010 KX450F BETTER THAN THE 2009 KX450F? A: Yes. It should be noted, however, that not every aspect of the 2010 KX450F is improved over last year. If improvements to the 2010 were viewed as a batting average,…
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Q: FIRST AND FOREMOST, IS THE 2010 CRF450 BETTER THAN THE 2009 CRF450? A: Yes and no. The small number of changes that Honda made for 2010 culminate in a bike that is a little better in several areas and a little worse in others (although…
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Q: FIRST AND FOREMOST, IS THE 2010 YZ450F BETTER THAN THE 2009 YZ450F? A: Yes. Let's be honest, even if the 2010 YZ450F's performance was identical to that of the 2009, the 2010 YZ450F gets a lot of brownie points for kicking out the…
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2010 Kawasaki KX250F: The MXA wrecking crew has always loved the KX250F powerband, although we were not always enamored by the horsepower. For 2010, Kawasaki's engineers made the power match the powerband. Kudos Q: FIRST AND FOREMOST, IS…
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