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To avoid any confusion, it should be noted that while Jeremy McGrath rode for Team Chaparral, his bike was from Team Yamaha. Whatever Kevin Windham, John Dowd and Doug Henry had, Jeremy got.
Unlike most factory riders, Grant Langston does not buy into the “works forks” syndrome. Grant felt they were too stiff—not too firm in motion, but too stiff for the YZ450F chassis. Grant ran the stock 48mm forks becaise they fed more flex into the front end to help the YZ450F turn.
The MXA wrecking crew wanted to know what kind of bike a hammerhead like RC really rides. What better way to find out than by riding his race bike?
Did the YZ400 have anything to fear from the 2000 KTM 520SX? You bet. This bike had an incredible powerband
Justin Barcia’s Geico 2012 Honda CRF250 ripped, the brakes were sensitive and the suspension was set up for a 144-pound man-child.
Many 450cc Supercross-spec bikes have super-stiff forks, loads of bottom-end power, a massive front brake and a lowered subframe. Surprisingly, Anderson’s FC450 wasn’t your standard Supercross machine
When Mitch asked if we were interested in testing Pro Circuit’s 2013 Kawasaki KX250F he let us choose which rider’s bike—we chose Adam Cianciarulo
MXA races the Suzuki RM-Z450 that took Ken Roczen to the AMA National Championship — can lightning strike again in 2023
You read that engine size right! In 2001 KTM experimented with a lighter bike and smaller engine to go up against the big bikes on a tighter track
After an aborted attempt to jump from Team Suzuki to Team Honda in the middle of the 1997 season, Mike finally got his wish for the 1998 season
The 2005 “CR125 Noisemaker” isn’t comparable to a modern 38.5-horsepower 125 , but it’s great for teaching riders how to carry momentum through corners
It didn’t take more than a lap to appreciate Ryan Sipes’ bike. It doesn’t hit hard; instead, it comes on early and runs strong from the bottom to the top (and everywhere in between). This is the kind of engine you can ride forever and not get tired.
Grant Langston’s 2007 Yamaha YZ450F was the easiest to ride AMA National bike we have ever tried
We loved Weston’s engine. There were no hiccups, dips or dead spots. And although powerful, it was easy to ride
Short of making it happen at gunpoint, the easiest way to get your hands on a works bike is to be Daytona winner or an MXA test rider
Nick asked us to ride his CRF450. Long before his San Francisco triumph, Nick wanted us to take his CRF450 out for a test ride. Why? Because he believes it’s good.
“Once the 2005 season started , we knew that our odds of spending a day with James Stewart’s Kawasaki SR250 works bike were nil — unless something weird happened”
It started life as the brain child of the Vertemati brothers, but the Vertemati/VOR breakup was probably a good thing for buyers—because the 503MX did improve under VOR
MXA had asked Honda about testing Ricky Carmichael’s 2004 CRF450, but after RC announced that he was switching to Suzuki for 2005, we crossed it off our list. Surprise! It was about to be crated up sent to the Honda Museum in Japan when Honda told us “Yes!”
80 percent of Ryan Villopoto’s 2007 bike was made, modified or reconfigured in the Pro Circuit race shop. Not even the frame was left alone
MXA’S Daryl Ecklund didn’t just ride Febvre’s Grand Prix YZ450FM, he got to ride it all by himself on the Maggiora track in Italy
This is a fact! Team Suzuki’s 2003 RM250 is the best race bike we’ve ever ridden‚ without a doubt. How can we make such a bold statement? It was true!
The RM250 had every two-stroke trait–good, bad and ugly
How Chad Reed got to America in the first place—and the moves he made to insure that he became a moto icon
And, while we were there to ride John Dowd’s MXDN YZ250, we decided to ride Doug Henry’s YZ400 team bike also
We wanted to test Michael Byrne’s 2003 CR125 because it, along with the rest of the Factory Connection CR125s, is the only fast CR125 on the track
The three-speed tranny was not just for Supercross, Yamaha said they also ran the three-speed outdoors, but with a smaller rear sprocket.
Everything you need to know about the class of 1999 in under ten minutes — what exactly is a potpourri of mediocrity?
This was the Porsche Turbo Carrera of the 125 class back in 1992—it revved higher, harder and longer than the stock CR125 and had better bottom to boot
What dId Langston’s AMA 125 National bike have in common with his works bike from Europe? Not much, just the pipe, silencer and transmission.