Bike Tests

Some bikes defy being categorized. The 2021 KTM 450XC-F isn’t one of them. It’s actually  a very specialized motorcycle. The confusing part is that it fits perfectly in so many categories. For one, it’s KTM’s most adept desert bike, one…
Read More...

For those of you who remember reading about the Husqvarna 701 Enduro in the May 2020 issue of Dirt Bike magazine, there were big plans to turn that bike into a legitimate adventure/exploration bike . Over the last few months, parts were…
Read More...

Over the last decade, we have seen a surge in riders taking interest in the sport of trials. It has never been a huge market in the United States, but it continues to gain popularity among riders looking to cross-train and hone their skills…
Read More...

Honda’s big milestones seem to arrive at irregular intervals in the 450 class, but there were four years that changed everything: 2002, 2009, 2013 and 2017. Now, the 2021 model is another bike to remember. It has a new chassis, a mostly new…
Read More...

If ever there was proof that pro-racing results don’t matter in the real world, the Yamaha YZ450F is it. It continues to be one of the best-selling motocross bikes in America. It continues to be wildly successful in the hands of local…
Read More...

The Kawasaki KX450 received what we call a “ground-up rebuild” for the 2019 model year. They addressed almost every issue we had with the machine in previous years, and it has won the last two Dirt Bike magazine 450cc motocross shootouts.…
Read More...

Let’s get the faint irony out of the way. The new KTM 125XC is not new. It’s actually the oldest bike in KTM’s line-up. Back in 1968, John Penton sold a 125 two-stroke off-road bike called the Six-Day in the U.S. It was manufactured by KTM…
Read More...

The machine, a 2017 Husqvarna FE450 dual-sport, was dangling close to the Craigslist kick-off deadline, mainly because its owner—Tom Webb’s friend, the infamous “Realtor” Brian Palmer—had never kept a machine longer than two years. In fact,…
Read More...

Read More...

Read More...

The world of electric-powered motorcycles has exploded the last two years, with two of the original electric motorcycle companies basically shutting down and a host of other companies, such as Cobra, KTM and Husqvarna, entering the mix.…
Read More...

It is a fact that the 300cc two-stroke off-road machine is the most popular displacement for enduro, hard enduro and riders looking for a versatile trail machine. Beta came out of the blocks with an all-new 300RR machine for 2020. The…
Read More...

They say that winning a championship is much easier than defending one. That's clearly been the case with Zach Bell and the Wiseco World Two-Stroke Championship. His 2018 title has proven very difficult to duplicate. After a DNF last year,…
Read More...

When it comes to taking gigantic, twin-cylinder motorcycles off-road, the KTM 790 Adventure R has been king since it was introduced a little over one year ago. It’s almost as if KTM looked at the rules of the game and decided how best to…
Read More...

Read More...

Fuel-injected two-strokes are here to stay. Now, there are three manufacturers offering transfer-port-injection two-strokes in the U.S., and there are more to come. Here’s the fun part: not all of them are owned by KTM’s parent company. TM…
Read More...

Sherco has made a big push world wide in recent years and that's being felt here in the U.S. We got a chance to see what all the buzz was about with the arrival of the 2020 250SEF Factory off-road four-stroke. One year ago most…
Read More...

The Yamaha WR250F is an easy bike to ride but a difficult bike to understand. You could call it a high-end race bike aimed at beginners or a play bike designed by racers. It’s clearly a machine designed to adhere to the letter of the law,…
Read More...

Sometimes you just know it. Sometimes you can look at the pictures, check the direction and temperature of the wind, and predict when a bike is going to be a big hit. The Yamaha Tenere 700 is like that. This is a bike that we’ve been…
Read More...

The 250 two-stroke is alive and well in 2020. Austria, Japan and Italy all offer current bikes for the MX purist. Some are more modern than others, but all have suspension and brakes that we could have only dreamed of 20 years ago when the…
Read More...