Bike Tests

The Honda CR250R has got to be one of the most popular early-to-mid-2000s two-stroke machines to rebuild in history. One reason is that Honda sold a ton, and the other reason is the bikes all seem to be aging very well. We found what looked…
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The Honda XR600R is still so common, it's hard to believe it's been out of production for 19 years.
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The XCF-W is back! After three years of trail riders being limited to either a fully adorned street-legal dual-sport machine, or a lightly modified fully ballistic motocrosser, KTM has brought back a dedicated dirt bike designed for the…
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The 2020 Honda CRF450RX is not a trail bike, it’s not a play bike and it’s barely even an off-road bike. This is an off-road race bike, pure and simple.  If you want something for cruising the trails and fireroads, Honda has the 2020…
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The Husqvarna FE350S is one of only two dual-sport bikes in the 2020 Husky line. There's a 350 and a 501. The 450 and 250 are gone, but as it runs out, the 350 has both of those bikes covered. If there was one dual-sport bike that could do…
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Riding the last Twin-cylinder bike to ever enter the Paris-Dakar Rally
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When Roger tested all the 500cc two-strokes and the one four-stroke of 1995, here's what he had to say
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The 2020 Husqvarna FE501 Dual-Sport has a new frame, new bodywork and a new motor. It's still one of the most-desired dual-sport bikes in the world.
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A 24-year-old bike turns into a two-stroke project for the real world
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The Husqvarna FC450 Rockstar Edition is traditionally a preview of the coming year's model, so even though this bike is called a 2020½ version, it provides a glimpse of the 2021 FC450 that will be released in the spring. The most important…
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We make a Honda Dual-Sport CRF450L with greater off-road capabilities with IMS
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Last year the Honda CRF250RX came out in direct response to KTM’s on-going takeover in the American off-road market. The old Honda plan would have been to keep on making bikes like the CRF250X--meaning quiet, clean, responsible and boring.…
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The Yamaha YZ250 is a proven commodity in the two-stroke world and hasn’t seen very many changes to its powerplant since the early to mid 2000s. This is not because the Yamaha engineers are lazy; it’s just because the YZ250 is that good.…
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The KTM 150XC-W is the latest two-stroke in the Austrian manufacturer’s line to be equipped with the TPI fuel-delivery system. The previous year’s 150XC-W carbureted version was a favorite among the DB staff, so could KTM possibly make it…
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The Honda CB500X should be called something else now. To give it the same name as the budget street bike from 2013 is just plain confusing.
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A few years ago SSR introduced a play bike that we might call a “midsize”— a machine halfway between a true play bike and a full-size bike that was impressive for both its value and performance.
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The 2020 Honda CRF250R, Husqvarna FC250, Kawasaki KX250, KTM 250SX-F, Suzuki RM-Z250 and Yamaha YZ250F are all together for the title fight of the 250 class. For the video, scroll down. For the full written test of the 2020 250 MX shootout,…
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The Honda, Kawasaki, KTM and Husqvarna 250 MX bikes all had nearly invisible updates for 2020 that changed everything. Going in, they all knew that Yamaha’s new YZ250F would be tough to beat. They knew that the YZ would probably return…
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The 2020 Honda CRF450R, Husqvarna FC450, Kawasaki KX450, KTM 450SX, Suzuki RM-Z450 and Yamaha YZ450F are out in the real world and after months of riding them, racing them and living with them it's finally time to pit them against one…
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Yamaha got back into the game in a big way last year. The YZ250F had been eclipsed by faster, lighter electric-start bikes, and despite a solid run of pro motocross success, it had been saddled with the stinging title of “Good Novice Bike.”…
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