2009 KTM 450 SXF - First Test

Opinions:

KTM is making improvements every year to keep this 450 competitive against Japanese machines.

The first improvement over the '08 model that I noticed was the suspension. When I was riding around and checking things out I immediately noticed how plush the bike was. It was smooth and supple. I was impressed. That was not a characteristic of last years machine. But when I picked the pace up from 70% to 100%. The suspension couldn't keep up. Especially at speed on big jumps and bumps.

The forks and shock were overall a bit soft and on decel the forks would blow through and rebound back making the front end really nervous. The shock was surprisingly stable in big rollers and didn't give that negative rebounding feedback that Japanese bikes sometimes give. But when accelerating out of a corner, the rear squatted down and rode at the bottom of the stroke, which was harsh on acceleration bumps.

The KTM shined on flat sweeping turns or sharper turns with no ruts or berms. The front end stayed planted and the rear tracked right behind it. The only issue I had was in rutted corners. The front end wanted to climb out of the rut in an over steer.

The most impressive thing on the bike for me is the motor. This thing rips!! The delivery is smooth and responsive. Then it transitions strong up into the mid and keeps delivering ponies to the ground all the way up to the never-ending top end. I could ride this bike a gear lower or a gear higher or even two gears higher, and the machine still pulled me around. I think with some suspension mods focused at keeping the bike's handling up to speed with the awesome engine, this bike could be a more aggressive machine and really put a hurt on the other bikes in the class.

Ryan Orr/ 5'10/ 170lbs/ Professional WORCS and MX racer

I would have to say that the 2009 KTM 450 SXF is definitely an improvement compared to last year's bike. Not that the '08 was bad, it's just that last year, with such a strong motor, the stock suspension couldn't keep up with it. Well, KTM got word of that, because they tuned the suspension big time and even though the '08 had a bitchen motor, they stepped up the '09 in that department too.

The suspension on the new KTM is very plush. A little too soft for my top speed, but when I back it down some, it works quite well. It soaked up small chop and never really acted unpredictable; a huge improvement from '08 where it was very unpredictable and didn't seem to work quite right riding fast or slow.

One negative about the new suspension would be the sensitivity of the compression and rebound adjustment. One click on the adjusters makes a huge difference and makes it a bit tough to find that perfect setting. It seemed that one click was too much; it would either make it too soft or too harsh. I just couldn't find that happy medium. Now if the adjustment was maybe half or even a quarter of a click, it could definitely be dialed in. Even with this, it's still the best stock KTM suspension I have felt and it's good to see it complement their motor.

The KTM again has an awesome motor, but now with better power delivery. They smoothed out the power compared to last year and the bike seems to have a little more bottom end. None of this took away from the mid to top end boost, though, because it still revs like no other 450.

Now, I don't usually like to rev out 4-strokes, but it is nice to have some extra rev when I don't feel like squeezing in that extra shift from time to time. The KTM is an easy bike to ride: not easy as in slow, but easy as in I don't have to always be in the right gear. The bike rips out of turns in second gear with plenty of traction and keeps pulling hard or it can pull third through the same turn, just as easy, with plenty of drive.

It all depends on how you want to ride it. Ride it smooth or hard, either way, it always put traction to the ground.

Now I have to say it even though it's said every time the KTM is brought up: How can you go wrong with electric start? It is so nice to just push a button and not have to kick your motorcycle like a caveman. When will the other mxers follow suit?

I feel the '09 KTM 450 is closer than ever to putting it to the Japanese 450s. I was definitely impressed. With a great motor and suspension to match I can't wait to ride it back to back with the big four.

Chris Barrett/ 6'1"/ 180lbs/ Pro

The 2009 KTM 450SXF was a very smooth riding bike. The powerband was extremely smooth and the throttle response is incredible. The suspension needed a little fine tuning and adjusting to fit my riding style and my weight, but when we got the suspension tuned for me the bike ran insane through all of the braking bumps at high and low speeds.

The angle of the forks on this bike are in the perfect spot for railing some ruts. The bike likes to get into the rut and flow with the rut. I never had a problem with the front end wanting to hop out. The best thing about it is its brakes. The front brake on this bike has incredible stopping power. But it's not to the point to where it wants to throw you over the bars. The rear brake also has incredible stopping power. Being new to 450s and having just bought a 2008 Honda CRF450R, I really enjoyed riding this KTM.

Jake Scarbrough 6'1"/ 180 lb./ Novice