The Torture Test - Christini AWD KTM 450 XCW

If I was trying to sell an AWD bike I would have done half of what Christini did. I would have added it to a great stock package like the KTM 450. I wouldn't have confused the AWD issue with other parts that draw attention from the key feature: The front wheel doesn't get stuck. Instead we had auto-clutch, lowered footpegs and other mods. What Christini didn't have was a talented pro racer to dial the controls in. That would have helped a ton. As it was, this bike felt confused, steamy and heavy. I know to expect better from a Christini.
Karel Kramer: 6'1"/225 lb./ B rider

The Rekluse clutch saved this bike on this extreme test and it made the AWD easy to use, gas it and the bike pulls you where you need to go, especially helpful in the rocks and on the walls. Otherwise I could feel the weight, but not as much as I thought. The less aggressive ratio for the front wheel drive than what I'm use to make it easy to be too aggressive and not get the feedback the AWD bikes can give. This whole bike as a package just needs a polish.-Jimmy Lewis on extreme test.

As you probably already know, I rode this sucker on the Moto test. And let me tell you, when you go back to back with a non-Christini bike a few things stand out. One is the weight in the front end. It's a little unnerving when you expect to feel the lightness of a converted motocross bike underneath you. But it doesn't negatively affect the handling as much as you'd think. In fact, besides flick-ability in the air, the bike is clearly more planted almost everywhere on the track. The best part is in the sand! Christini bikes are point-and-shoot models in sandy turns. They're so cool because you can ignore sand berms and literally go where you want. The front end will pull you through. I didn't like the rekluse on this (nor do I prefer them on any motocross tracks, really). Maybe I need to use my clutch to sound fast, I don't know, but I'd rather have plain clutch action on the track. -Jesse Ziegler on Moto Test

Editor's Note
This year's Dirt Rider Torture Test was set it up like a screening for a reality TV show: Bring what you have and prepare for whatever happens. The idea was to show up at the Torture Test with the best all-around, one-bike-does-it-all off-road dirt bike, with no guidelines or requirements from our side. It was wide open, but everyone knew going in that it would be tough to make the cut to get into the final group of bikes you see in the magazine. Of course, they didn't all make it to the pages of Dirt Rider. Some missed out ever so slightly, some by a longer ways. This is a full test of one of the bikes that missed the final cut. The competition was tough but lurking in this field of bikes you can likely find an example of the perfect bike that fits your needs, or learn what other riders or people in the industry think is the best bike in the whole world. For the people and companies that built each of these bikes, it was the best bike they could deliver.-Jimmy Lewis, Editor Dirt Rider Magazine