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Bike Tests

HUSQVARNA FE350S: DUAL-SPORT VIDEO SERIES

Husky’s dual-sport bikes seem to be on almost every off-road rider’s “gunna buy some day” list. They occupy an esteemed place in the hierarchy of U.S. dual-sport bikes. The FE350S has been unchanged since 2020. This is one of the few bikes…
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2023 KTM 250XC 2-STROKE: RACE TEST

By Nic Garvin You don’t often get a phone call from your boss asking if you want to test a new-model motorcycle at a race, let alone at a GNCC. At the moment, you almost stutter, asking yourself, “Wait, what?” I live on the West Coast, and…
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2023 BETA 350RR: FULL TEST

The Beta 350RR is a bike that’s easy to overlook and hard to understand. It gets lost in a myriad of models that seem almost identical. First of all, it looks like any one of Beta’s four dual-sport bikes. It’s not the same. It also looks…
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2023 YAMAHA YZ450F: WEIGHT CORRECTION

When we got our 2023 Yamaha YZ450F test bike, the first thing we did was weigh it on our scale. This isn’t anything unusual; we weigh every test bike we get. We’ve been doing that from the very start. In order to do this accurately, we…
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2023 OFF-ROAD BIKE BUYER’S GUIDE

Off-road dirt bikes specialize in having no specialty. They aren't motocross bikes and they aren't dual-sport bikes, even though they are commonly used in both roles. The U.S. government has a much more specific definition for anything they…
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2023 BETA 350RR-S: DUAL-SPORT VIDEO SERIES

The Beta 350RR-S is one of four identical-looking Beta dual-sport bikes that often have riders overwhelmed. The 350 has the same chassis and most of the same motor as the others–it differs only in bore and stroke. As we have often pointed…
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2023 KTM 450XCF-W: FULL TEST

If you take a quick look at the 2023 KTM 450XCF-W, you might think it isn’t anything new or special. You would be wrong. The 450XCF-W is a new bike for 2023 and marks a big change in philosophy for KTM. The reason it looks so familiar is…
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2023 YAMAHA YZ450F

Yamaha probably could have coasted along with the Yamaha YZ450F for a couple more years. It was a new bike in 2018, and it has been wildly successful since then, especially since Dylan Ferrandis and Eli Tomac got on board. But, the 2023…
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2023 SWM RE500: FULL TEST

You can be forgiven if you don’t quite know about the SWM RE500. It’s a brand-new model—sort of. We’ve seen it before in a number of different roles. The most recent incarnation of the bike was called the RS500, and it was a fully certified…
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2023 HUSQVARNA TX300: FULL TEST

The Husqvarna TX300 represents the next big era in off-road motorcycles. It’s a completely new motorcycle that will be the platform for all the significant two-stroke off-road bikes going forward. That’s not hyperbole; just a fact that…
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2023 KTM 300XC-W: FULL TEST

Back in 2019 KTM hit the big reset button on the two-stroke world with the introduction of the 300 TPI machines. They had already shaved down the engine size and owned the small-engine, big-power zone. And, their 250 and 300 benefited from…
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2023 450 MX SHOOTOUT VIDEO

This is a special year for motocross. We’ve assembled the top motocross bikes in the world for Dirt Bike Magazine’s 2023 450 MX shootout. Altogether we have seven bikes: the GasGas MC450F, Honda CRF450R, Husqvarna FC450, Kawasaki…
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2023 KAWASAKI KX250: FULL TEST

Ask anyone. True progress doesn’t arrive with storm clouds and lightning bolts. It comes incrementally and quietly in the wee hours of the morning and late at night. And, it often arrives without fanfare. The 2023 Kawasaki KX250 is a…
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2023 HONDA CRF450RX: OFF-ROAD VIDEO SERIES

The 2023 Honda CRF450RX is Honda’s version of the closed-course cross-country racer, meaning it’s purpose-built for western-style off-road racing like WORCS and NGPC. All of the manufacturers offer something in this category and for the…
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2023 KAWASAKI KX450: FULL TEST

In 2019 Kawasaki officially dropped the “F” and introduced an all-new KX450 to the market, receiving praise from most of the motocross community. In the following three years, minor changes were made to the overall platform, but Kawasaki…
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BETA DUAL-SPORT PROJECT: BEHIND THE BUILD

By Tom Webb For the last two years I’ve wanted to buy myself a dual-sport machine. Why, you ask, would an editor of a dirt bike publication who gets free bikes to test for a year want to buy something that sells for around $12,000? In my…
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HONDA CRF450X: OFF-ROAD VIDEO SERIES

The Honda CRF450X is a real trail bike and one of very few full-size motorcycles that’s still eligible for a California Green sticker. Yamaha, KTM, Husqvarna, GasGas and Beta don’t have any that pass the test any more. What’s going on in…
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2023 HUSQVARNA FC450 ROCKSTAR EDITION REVEALED

Husqvarna has announced its FC450 Rockstar Edition for 2023. This is an annual tradition that takes place a month prior to the beginning of the Supercross season. Some years, the bike is completely new and different from the standard model.…
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