ronswrap

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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VET DES NATIONS: WE'RE THERE!  The U.S. attended the Vet des Nations at Farleigh Castle last week with Mike Brown, Doug Dubach, Sean Hamblin and Keith Johnson. They ended up third. Led by Gordon Crockard, Team Northern Ireland scored a…
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In 2020, KTM’s in-house motocross and Supercross racing program was limited to the 450 class, while Troy Lee handled the 250 team. That all changed when Troy Lee took over the GasGas team for 2021. That meant KTM brought its 250 racing…
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This year’s 250 motocross shootout will come down to a comparison between the new Honda CRF250R and last year’s champion, the Yamaha YZ250F. The other bikes in the contest are unchanged. The Husqvarna, KTM, GasGas, Kawasaki and Suzuki are…
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Honda took a bunch of journalists up to Oregon last week to ride the 2022 CRF250R. You can watch the video we shot with Carson Brown here, and read what he had to say here. We don't publish a full test, however, until we have a chance to…
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This week we got a chance to ride the 2022 Kawasaki KX450 for the first time. I know you know the 2022 model is unchanged, but it’s still a very big deal to us.The KX450 has never been the fastest, the lightest, the most sophisticated or…
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This week started with Honda’s big reveal of the 2022 CRF250R. We’ve seen this bike coming for over a year, and it is what we expected: a 250 with all the same chassis updates that the 450 got last year. There were a few surprises along the…
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With this week's release of new Hondas and last week's announcement of the 2022 Yamaha line, the overall picture for 2022 has come into better focus. It's a year of mostly unchanged models with the notable exception of the Yamaha…
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This week we got to ride the 2022 Husqvarna TE150i. This is our first experience with this bike, although we did test the 2019 Husky TE150, which was before the coming of Transfer Port Injection. You won’t find anything exactly like the…
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Last month we did a very unusual comparison between two 500 Hondas. One represented bikes of a bygone era and another was from a time that hasn’t yet come--and probably never will. Nic Gubert of NLAB Studios built them both. First, he…
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The 2022 models aren’t exactly flooding into the Dirt Bike shop like a title wave; it’s more like a leaky faucet. This week we got to ride the 2022 Husqvarna TE300i  and the 2022 KTM 450SX-F for the first time. Neither bike is different…
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We didn’t get a chance to test too many Beta motorcycles in 2021. The factory was hit hard and early by the Covid 19 epidemic and there were no units for testing. Each year, though, Beta releases half-year models called the Race Editions,…
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After years of struggle and sacrifice, Skyler Howes is now a factory rider. He was hired by the Rockstar Husqvarna Rally team after two consecutive top-10 finishes in the Dakar Rally as a privateer. His first FIM international event was the…
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 The first 2022 test bike is here, surviving factory shut-downs and pandemics to arrive more or less on schedule. The 2022 KTM 250SX-F is in dealers and we already have had one on the track.  It has very few changes beyond the graphics and…
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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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