Dirt Bike tests

2008 Suzuki RM-Z450 – Dirt Rider Magazine

The 2008 RM-Z450 proudly stood in the corner of a community center conference room. From a few yards in front of it, as Suzuki’s press representatives, Japanese engineers and PR gurus encircled me with greetings and salutations, I could almost

2008 Honda CRF450X – Dirt Rider Magazine

Since 2005 Honda has been satisfied with making very few changes to the 450X. Last year, the 250X got some updates and this year is the 450X’s turn. The big news is, of course, the addition of the steering damper

2009 Yamaha YZ450F First Ride – Dirt Rider Magazine

Yamaha wins the race to the showroom, but how’s the 2009 YZ450 at the track?Small changes highlight the 2009 Yamaha if you compare it to the upcoming Kawasaki KX450F and what we expect to be an all-new Honda CRF450R, but

2009 Honda CRF450R – Dirt Rider Magazine

If you could build the perfect motocross bike, what would it be? Well, since Honda essentially started from a clean slate when designing and testing the 2009 CRF450R, perfection is what its engineers were striving for.Honda sought to build “the

2009 Yamaha YZ250F, First Test – Dirt Rider Magazine

By comparison, the modifications and updates done to the 2009 Yamaha YZ250F may seem mild. Other brands are releasing much more made-over versions of their Lites-class weapons, and 450s are quite revolutionary this year. So why would you go to

2009 KTM 450 SX-F, First Test – Dirt Rider Magazine

Second in line for first new bike of 2009 is the KTM 450 SX-F. Once a fiercely hard-edged motocrosser, the new and improved KTM is showing a more refined compliance that should gain it some new track-addicted fans in 2009.Right

2009 Kawasaki KX250F, First Test – Dirt Rider Magazine

New bodywork and nitride-coated inner fork tubes are the first details of the 2009 Kawasaki KX250F to pique a gearhead’s curiosity, but the beauty is deeper than the green and black skin. For any beauty, a long-legged skeleton is a

2008 KTM 250 SX-F – Austrian Bike With More Than A Motor – Dirt Rider Magazine

2008 Suzuki RM-Z250 – RM-Z250′s Smooth And Torquey Motor – Dirt Rider Magazine

Last year, the all-new Suzuki RM-Z250 walked away as our clear-cut shootout winner (April ’07). Its first-year performance delivered a blow to the other contenders in the class with its aluminum-framed jump into the scene. Suzuki revved up the development

2008 Kawasaki KX450F – Dirt Rider Magazine

Life for manufacturers used to be easier when it came to selling motocross four-strokes. At one time both Yamaha and Honda dominated the market. But now every color has a 450F and they’re all great. It was rumored that Kawasaki

2008 Kawasaki KX250F – Dirt Rider Magazine

If you were to look to racing results, especially in outdoor motocross, to guide you in your dirt bike buying decisions, there would be a pretty heavy bias toward going green. Maybe even more so if you’re looking at a

2008 Yamaha YZ450F – Dirt Rider Magazine

You’d be hard-pressed to see the changes Yamaha made to the 2008 YZ450F. Aside from the obviously shorter muffler it’d take setting a ’07 and ’08 side by side to give up the visual clues that are strikingly inconspicuous. However,

CRF VS. CRF VS. CRF – Dirt Rider Magazine

Top-of-the-line motocross bikes get pretty significant improvements each year, and every few years they undergo a total redo. Honda’s first CRF450 was introduced in 2002 to stellar reviews and many “bike of the year” awards, solidifying the validity of the

2008 Kawasaki KLX450 – Dirt Rider Magazine

If you remember from the first update (September ’07) we had some issues with the charging and battery components on our “new” KLX. So we never got the battery issue sorted out. One of the problems was we’d stuck a

2007 Christini CRF250X AWD #2 – Dirt Rider Magazine

2007 Christini CRF250X AWD #2We’ve been busy with our Christini Long Haul bike-getting more familiar with its unique front-wheel-drive system as well as modding the Honda engine to maximize the drive’s advantage. Anyone familiar with Honda’s 250X knows a bit