2009

James Stewart’s 2009 AMA Supercross-winning YZ450F is a piece of history, chock-full of personal touches that only James Stewart would like
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Chad Reed got a last-minute deal to ride the 2009 AMA Nationals for Team Suzuki. It was thrown together, but a match made in heaven
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A Kompendium of Knowledge about the last 13 years of KTM 450SXF Know-how
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These are the best 125 two-stokes from the glory days of 1980 to present day. Does your smoker take the crown?
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Two for one, but a dollar factor
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2009-2012 CRF250 primer
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Be the brass master general
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WHAT IS IT? The best way to modify your four-stroke’s powerband is with different intake and exhaust camshafts. Hot Cams offers two different KX450F camshaft pairs—Stage 1 and Stage 2. They fit 2009–2014 Kawasaki KX450Fs. WHAT’S IT COST?…
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WHAT IS IT? There is nothing worse for the racer of an older model than to have the factory come out with a completely new look for the latest production bike. It was bad enough that you were racing an old bike, but now the new model makes…
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1. Shock. This is the best production shock on the market. We don?t touch it. The spring rate is spec?ed for a 175-pound Intermediate, which makes it good for virtually everyone (save featherweights). Spring rate: 5.5…
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Historically, choosing shootout winners is easy for the MXA wrecking crew. We race the bikes every weekend for six months, switch back and forth (sometimes between motos), try every possible gearing and suspension combination,…
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NUMBER ONE: 2009 KAWASAKI KX450F Unlike the other fuel-injected bikes, which stumble at 8000 rpm, the 2009 Kawasaki KX450F keeps pulling to 9400 rpm. The ?09 KX450F has the second most horsepower in the class and decent…
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1. Forks. The stock 2009 KTM forks were acceptable (good spring rate and adequate damping), but we switched to Showa works forks (can you blame us?) and had Pro Circuit valve them to our specs. www.procircuit.com 2. Shock. On the stock WP…
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1. Triple clamps. Kawasaki switched to a 23.5mm offset (down from 24.5mm) for 2009. It wasn?t enough. We switched to 22mm offset triple clamps to sharpen the steering from center-out. www.procircuit.com 2. Gearing. The stock 48-tooth…
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1. Forks. If you?re faster than a Novice or weigh more than 150 pounds, then you will need to install stiffer fork springs. The stock 0.44 kg/mm springs are too soft. MXA switched to 0.46 kg/mm springs. Once the change has been made, your…
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1. Forks. We didn?t like the 2008 Showa forks, and, surprise, we didn?t like the 2009 forks either. We dropped the oil height by 10cc to greatly reduce the midstroke harshness. This was a must-do. 2. Jetting. Bigger might be better, but…
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WHAT IS IT? It's a complete replacement rear brake caliper for the modern CRF that does away with Honda's small caliper and brake pads. WHAT'S IT COST? $299.00. CONTACT? www.braking.com . WHAT STANDS OUT? Here's a list of things that stand…
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1. Gearing. Swapping the stock 50-tooth rear sprocket for a 51 was the cheapest fix made to the 2009 KX450F. Gearing the bike down lessened the gap between third and fourth, moved third gear closer to second, and most importantly, moved…
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1. Fork springs . The stock 0.46 Kayaba fork springs are too soft. We switched to 0.48 or 0.49 kg/mm springs. 2. Fork valving. With stiffer fork springs installed, the midstroke valving was too light. We sent the forks to Pro Circuit to be…
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1. Forks. The forks have issues. They have had spring-rate problems forever, and for 2009 they suffere from the same woes. Our best advice is to go stiffer on the fork springs. We changed the stock 0.47s to 0.49s. Once you have the correct…
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1. Shock spring. Yamaha reverted to a steel shock spring in order to reduce the price tag on the 2009 Yamaha YZ250F. This was a good move for the consumer's pocketbook, but it added 1-1/2 pounds to the bike. If you have a 2006 through 2008…
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1. Fork oil height. KTM did lower the oil height for 2009 over 2008, just not enough. We drained 15cc of oil to reduce the midstroke harshness. 2. Shock. For riders above 165 pounds, the stock 6.9 kg/mm spring works well. Lighter riders…
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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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WHAT IS IT? An easy-to-install, drop-in, single overhead Honda camshaft for the Honda CRF450. WHAT'S IT COST? $499.95. CONTACT? www.yoshimura-rd.com or (800) 634-9166. WHAT STANDS OUT? Here is a list of things that stand out with…
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If you own a 2006 to 2010 Yamaha YZ250, consider yourself lucky. You have one of the best motocross bikes ever made. It weighs less than a comparable four-stroke, costs less to repair and produces more horsepower per cc. And most…
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Imagine Team Honda selling its works bikes to the public. Okay, you are right, that isn?t going to happen. Guess what? KTM is more than willing to sell its high-end, big-buck, hot-rodded, factory Grand Prix bikes to Joe Racer. For the last…
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WHAT IS IT? Hinson's high-temp steel clutch springs keep the 2009 and 2010 Honda CRF450's four-spring clutch from slipping. WHAT'S IT COST? $49.95 (four clutch springs), $199.95 (springs, fiber and steel plates), $189.99 (CNC-machined…
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Sometimes moments pass so fast that you don't have time to muse on them. The 2009 season was like that for Ryan Dungey. He not only won the 250 West Supercross Championship, but the AMA 250 National Championship and the 450 class at the…
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WHAT IS IT? Dirt Tricks? automatic KTM cam chain tensioner uses oil pressure, combined with a mechanical ratchet system, to maintain constant pressure on the timing chain (and avoids the possibility of the cam tensioner collapsing during…
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MXA PRODUCT TEST: APPLIED SST CRF450 TRIPLE CLAMPS WHAT IS IT? A 24mm offset triple clamp for the 2009-2010 CRF450. WHAT'S IT COST? $395.95 (top and bottom clamps); $49.95 (aluminum steering stem); $39.95…
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