The way we enthusiasts look at motorcycles is: Give it to me now! Manufacturers have a different approach that is mostly about the market-what the market is ready for and particularly if a bike is cost-effective. If true enthusiasts ran the business side of things, we’d have every new trick feature on our motorcycles as [...]
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You can easily do just about any kind of riding on only one bike. But you’ll likely suffer once out of the bike’s element. For instance, taking a track bike on the trail or a trailbike on a track. And though the appearance of the Woodsblaster KTM may shout out, “Trail!” don’t let looks fool [...]
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By definition, a pioneer breaks new ground and leads the way. KTM fits that description, not by playing with crazy innovation that borders on the weird science stuff, but by modernizing and refining its engineering concepts; the company has never been scared of tapping into a fringe market or breaking rules in the process. This [...]
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Taking your kid out on the trail isn’t as easy as it seems. His riding ability may be there, but sometimes the proper equipment isn’t. Since KTM is so strong in the off-road market yet doesn’t really offer a smaller EXC, we went ahead and created one, to see what a fully equipped mini off-roader [...]
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Unless you are gifted with excessive natural talent, understand this: “It’s not what you did last week or last month that helps you win. It’s what you were doing last year and the five years before that makes the difference.” This most-insightful and strikingly true racing knowledge came to me from good friend and multitime [...]
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You read about the WR’s stellar performance in the DR 24-Hour (May ’07), and since it’s been inducted into our Long Haul fleet (July ’07), the blue bike keeps on giving. One 24-Hour wasn’t enough, so we gave it another…and another! Just the following week we brought the bike to our sister publication’s (ATV Rider) [...]
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Preston Campbell is the son of multi-time Baja Champion Johnny Campbell. And a Mini Rider contributor. And with that comes the luck of having some really good video cameras pointed at you and having some really good editors put a cool soundtrack to it and cutting it up like a Hollywood feature. So here’s Preston [...]
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I’ve often told people I’m cursed with having, in my head, a GPS-like sense of direction and location. I call it JPS (Jimmy’s Positioning System). It’s great in that I’ve never, ever been lost in my entire life and have no idea of what that must feel like. But it’s a curse in that I [...]
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Is your bike better than your truck? This question is going to light some fires, especially here in the office where we partnered up with our sister magazine, and I use the term politely, Off-Road Magazine to dissect the ins and outs of a serious off-road race truck compared to a solid off-road bike. Helping [...]
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It’s a mystery to some and well understood by others. Inside that valve cover, above the cylinder head, spinning at half the speed of your crank is the cam (or cams). It’s a shaft, usually riding on bearings, with a few funny-shaped bumps on it called lobes. These lobes, through a number of methods, control [...]
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We all know Harbor Freight Tools. They are those cheap, or inexpensive if they say it, tools that most of us have used or relied on at one time or another. Sure there are plenty of tool snobs who would never admit touching one or heaven forbid, using one, but for most of us, you [...]
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KTM has not ever come close to giving up on the two-stroke from the bike offering perspective. They have embraced offering a full line of the pre-mix burning bikes and continue to do so in 2012. And they are not re-hashed 2005 bikes, they are all new and for the second year in a row, [...]
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2012 Yamaha PW50 2012 YZ250F HIGHLIGHTS ENGINE: Most reliable engine in the class Improved engine performance through reduced reciprocating mass and friction Increased top end power from 8,000 to 12,000rpm Reduced vibration felt at rider touchpoints(handlebars, seat, footpegs) CHASSIS AND HANDLING: New frame with unique 3-box bilateral beam frame consisting of 20 aluminum pieces Chassis [...]
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Kawasaki invented the Jet Ski and was also building snow sleds, as well as dirt bikes in the early days. Kawasaki invited Dirt Rider down to their headquarters in Irvine, CA to show off something they have been working on for a long time. It is their Heritage Hall and it is a physical representation [...]
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The Monster Energy Cup was the first
The start is everything when you
Two wins and a second earns him
The most dominant performance by a motorcycle
