ronswrap

Model year 2022 is here and showrooms are finally beginning to fill up.  We already have first looks from KTM, Husqvarna, Sherco, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Beta.  Honda has also released its 450s. So far, we have a mixed bag of some prices that…
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This week I got to ride my 2020 KTM 500EXC for the first time in about six months. This was the bike that won our 2020 dual-sport shootout. I purchased the bike directly from KTM after the test and then promptly didn’t ride it. That’s a…
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Last week we took delivery of a new Honda CRF300L Rally and I also got to ride the CRF300L dual-sport. As a 250, the Rally was a  one of those bikes that was too sexy for its own good. It looked like it was ready to go straight to Dakar…
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The highlight of this week was getting together with Cody Webb for several projects we have in the works. He came to So Cal from his home in Colorado for the Last Dog Standing, which is the third Extreme Enduro of the year and a part of…
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If you remember the name Benelli, you've just dated yourself. Benelli was an Italian company that started before World War One, and was still making motorcycles in Pesaro the '90s. In the U.S., Benelli was once sold under the Montgomery…
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The 2022 model year has officially started. Husqvarna has shown its motocross bikes and cross country racers. Honda has shown its 450s. KTM and GasGas will soon follow with their own initial product releases. So far, there’s nothing…
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Donny Emler Jr (aka "Little D") at FMF has been working there pretty much his whole life and has seen some of the coolest bikes in the world pass through the shop. His latest personal bike is a very well appointed Husky FE501S dual-sport.…
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We spent much of this week testing various configurations of the 2021 Yamaha WR450F. The WR is a true-blue off-road bike, as recognized by the EPA. This year it got updated to the same platform as the current YZ450F, at least mechanically,…
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This week we got to swing a leg over the 2021 Husqvarna FE501S dual-sport bike. This bike is like a crossbreed of two other bikes we tested recently; the Husqvarna FE501 dirt-only model and the KTM 500EXC dual-sport. If you think there’s no…
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In the October, 1996 issue of Dirt Bike, Roger DeCoster talked about the future in a story called "Motocross Bike: 2000 A.D. It's kinda fun to look back at what he saw coming. What will motocross bikes look like in the year 2000? If…
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We got a chance to ride the 2021 Husqvarna FE501 this week. This is the dirt-only model, not the -S, which is street-legal. This bike is still blessed by the EPA in terms of emissions and noise. In the overall Husqvarna model line, here’s…
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We now have a 2021 Honda CRF450RL dual-sport test bike, just in time for some good trail-riding weather here in Southern California. The Honda CRF450L was the biggest news in the dual-sport world two years ago when it was first introduced.…
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The 2021 Honda CRF450RX Works Edition has arrived and we have some time on it. This begs obvious comparison to the KTM Factory Edition, but the concept is quite different. In the case of the KTM, the FE is sometimes a preview of the next…
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The Honda CRF450RX bike arrived a little late after the reception to the motocross version was less than what Honda hoped. Honda's testing department came up with new mapping for both bikes, and now we have the updated CRF450RX off-road…
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Back in the late '90s, motocross looked and sounded very different.  Then, in late 1996, Yamaha made an announcement that changed everything. That was when the news came out that Yamaha would be using its one-time exemption to the…
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We have a few different dual-sport projects at various stages of completion right now, but  this 2017 KTM 350EXC by Jay Clark is absolutely wicked.  Jay is a  rep for Dunlop, PivotWorks and about a half dozen other companies, and he builds…
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We delayed our 2021 250 MX Shootout in order to get a full house. The GasGas MC250 and the Suzuki RM-Z250 had late arrivals. Some would say that the Suzuki and GasGas don't deserve to be in the comparison because they have little chance of…
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We’ve been hearing about KTM’s smartphone-based tuning app since the first of the 2021 models hit, but we haven't actually had the opportunity to try it for ourselves until now. The 2021 ½ 450SX Factory Edition is out and its most…
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Last weekend, the Dakar rally wrapped up with two Americans in the top 10. Monster Energy Honda factory rider Ricky Brabec was second overall and privateer Skyler Howes was fifth. Now that they are back in the U.S. , I got a chance to…
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This week we’ve been playing with the Husqvarna 701 Long Range. The line between adventure bike and dual-sport bike is getting very blurry. The Long Range seems to fall on the adventure side of the line, yet most of the machine is identical…
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