What’s the big news from Yamaha for 2006? An all-new YZ450F, limited edition 50th Anniversary graphics, S³ suspension and Yamaha’s continuing commitment to two-stroke development.The YZ450F received a complete overhaul this year with emphasis on improving its weight-feel and maneuverability.
At long last, the KX450F, along with an all-new KX250F, are in the green line up for next year. Kawasaki’s KX250 received a handful of valuable refinements, but sadly, its smaller KX sibling is missing—the KX125. It’s down to the
Could you just re-release the most dominant motocross bike of last year and have it stay ahead of the competition? By Honda’s decision to continue to improve the CRF450R, the answer is no. But how can you make such a
In the not-so-distant past, vented gear was something you had only after an altercation with a pair of scissors. Today, riding gear with holes purposely woven in the fabric is popping up from just about every clothing company. Personally, I
Over The Past Several Months I Have Put A Serious Beating On My Rm250, And With That, I Have Had To Give It Some Serious Tlc.The biggest headache I could no longer live with was the stock suspension as it
Life isn’t easy for our CRF-X. The Honda hasn’t been parked much.Right after the 24-Hour we put it on a steady diet of trail rides. It hasn’t let us down once, and the more I ride it, the more it
The problem with gear today is that almost all of it looks great. The hard part is determining what works and what doesn’t. That’s why I’m here: to beat the crap out of pretty gear and tell you what’s up.Speaking
We didn’t expect to see so many changes on the 2006 RM250, but one look into the press kit showed it was more than just bold new graphics. Suzuki gave nearly everything a little tweaking, and not surprisingly, it was
The invitation-only Soboba trail ride is the best-of-the-best, not-to-be-missed chance to ride the finest trails in Southern California. I don’t allow anything to risk the fun fix I get from Soboba. It isn’t the weekend for a first ride on
Make no mistake about it, Yamaha isn’t one of those companies that develops an off-road bike, gives it a lukewarm update the second year and then forgets about it to concentrate on the motocross side of the house. The tuning-fork
Considering the overhaul Yamaha gave the WR models last year, it’s not surprising to see only modest refinements to the off-road duo for 2006. While the ’06 machines aren’t radically different, a few key upgrades are sure to make them
Kawasaki supplied the 2005 KX250 with an extreme makeover, so 2006 is more like a return trip to the experts for maintenance. Kawasaki tuned up the makeover with a brighter look that includes blue accents. But the change-up is more
We’re not giving up on 125cc two-strokes and neither is Yamaha. For sure the 250cc four-stroke may have abolished the 125cc two-stroke at the highest levels of competition— not aided one bit by an AMA fuel rule—but for growing riders
Yamaha has really done it this time. They took a winning formula—electric starting on entry-level machines—and shrunk it, in the process hopping on the biggest unit sales segment, which to this point has been dominated by just one machine, the
When Jesse Ziegler and Joe Mckimmy returned back to the office after the KXF intro, they were babbling fools. No they hadn’t been out drinking after a lavish moto intro with Kawasaki at the secluded Castillo Ranch; they were punch-drunk
