Specifications
Claimed dry weight: 229 lb
Actual weight (ready to ride, no gas): 233 lb
Seat height: 37.7 in.
Seat-to-peg distance: 17.0 in.
What's Hot
The whole bike, KTM started from scratch.
It's smooth and ridable and super-fast all in one.
KTM finally has a precise handling and steering feel.
No-tools air-filter access.
What's Not
No good grab spots to get it on the stand.
Are those really side numberplates?
The four-speed gearbox is MX-use only.
Mike Alessi Interview
When we first got our KTM 450 SX-F, we wondered who would be the best guy for the cover shoot. It didn't take but a split second for Tony, Mike's dad, to say, "If you've got the new 450, we'll ride it!"
DR: Mike, this is your first ride on the bike.What do you think?
Mike Alessi: It's awesome. It's got a lot of power, and it's just right with smooth, controllable power that is easy to ride. It's not too much to handle. I really notice that because I haven't ridden a 450 since 2005.
DR: So you have some plans to race this next year?
MA: Yeah, I'm going to ride the Lites indoors next year, but this is the next step. I've always been a better big-bike rider. I like bikes with more power. The more power a bike has, the better I ride it. So next year I'll ride the Nationals in the 450 class.
DR: How has this year been going?
MA: Pretty good. I struggled a bit in supercross, but I've been consistent. Consistency is good, but it hasn't been good enough to beat [Ryan] Villopoto. He's pinned and it is intense.
DR: Didn't you always beat him in your amateur days?
MA: Yeah, it's kind of weird. We all came up together-Jason Lawrence, Josh Grant, Sean Collier and Villopoto-and he is just beating all of us lately. But we have a plan and a schedule, and we are sticking to it.
DR: How mental is motocross?
MA: It is definitely mental, but physicality is a big part of it, too. You have to have that. You have to bring the physical level up, so you can race to win and race to the top. All of the top guys have that though.
DR: Word on the street is you have pretty toenails?
MA: We don't like to talk about that. [Tony is signaling the slice neck like a lawyer at a press conference.] It was a bet with my girlfriend Danielle. I had to get my toenails painted, and I could only take off the color after I went one/one at a National. I got to take one off when I won a moto, but I'm still waiting to get the other side off. I won't make that bet again!
DR: So you are trying to keep it fun...
MA: Yeah, but it is serious. With all the riding, eating right, doing the right thing to make it all work out. I live, eat, sleep and breathe motocross.
DR: What do you do just for fun?
MA: I like to just go to movies with my girlfriend, go to dinner, go to the mall.
DR: Do you remember being like them [a bunch of kids who were riding at Racetown 395 had come up to get autographs from Mike]?
MA: I was like that, looking up to Jeremy McGrath.
DR: What should we expect in the 450 class from Mike Alessi?
MA: I'm going to be racing against the big guys, Bubba [Stewart], [Davi] Millsaps, [Ricky] Carmichael. With those guys it is going to be tough, and I'll learn more in every single race.
DR: Good luck, and you know, the guys who end up on the cover generally have good luck.
MA: Really? [Alessi retook the point lead in the Motocross Lites class of the AMA Outdoor National Series four days after our cover shoot.]