No love for the new Honda.....

Albertyn chose Suzuki?! I'm shocked..

MXA said its vastly improved over the '12?

http://motocrossactionmag.com/Main/News/SEE-THE-VIDEO-HERE-CLOSEUP-LOOK-AT-THE-2013-MXA-45-9460.aspx

Hanaa80 wrote: Albertyn chose Suzuki?! I'm shocked..

Both Albee and Blose chose the same top 6. I wonder if that was after talking to each other or if it is a coincidence

The Honda 450 is a dog when it is stock. It has had no balls since '08.

I always say test the bikes yourself, any one of them is more than capable for 80% of the riders out there...those other 20% will always add aftermarket parts anyway....

honda forks look super soft in that video. and with tame power will be a great beginner/ enduro/ trail bike. honda know who buys the most bikes, and its not the pros

That's the first negative thing i've heard about the new Honda...

If motor is all it is then it is probably worth noting Albee is an ex world champ and also a big dude, so is Blose... But then again him choosing the Zuki first wasn't a shock either... not that I don't think it is a great bike, the 12 is amazing...

Interesting about the 350... Seems the stories of them finding some horsies are true!!!

So, the new CRF is no good?

Oh, Ok.

Sure...

TOYE180 wrote: The Honda 450 is a dog when it is stock. It has had no balls since '08.

You must have some serious skills that a modern 450 is a "dog" for you. I don't disagree that the 2008 is still the best 450 Honda engine ever but any modern 450 has plenty of power to get the job done

I thought the KXF's forks looked about the same as the Honda, Kinda divey, no?

Sometimes I wonder how valid (measuring what is meant to be measured) test rides in magazines are. Obviously they are way more valid having riders with limited experience on different bike brands doing the shootouts. I was thinking the other day how a shootout would look if magazines followed real research procedures. Besides all identification numbers the bikes, they would have to be made unidentifiable to the test rider. Which would probably include all black plastics, black seat cover, and unidentifiable controls. The riders would also have to be blind folded until they are sitting on the bike so they would not recognize backwards engines, dual exhaust, etc (and maybe even need ear plugs with the quieter dual exhaust now on Hondas). This would reduce bias towards particular brands of bikes, that may or may not be influenced by your favorite rider (amateur testers), or expectations and previous beliefs based on word of mouth. It would also make for a really lame magazine cover!

A practical approach for magazines could use would be to have 5-10 riders rate the specific qualities of the bikes' engines, suspension, handling, and ergonomics using a Likert rating scale, then rank the bikes in their favorite order, and finally measure the consistency of agreeableness between the test riders. Having three different groups of beginner, intermediate, and pro level riders would probably also be good. Companies that sponsor magazines probably wouldn't be too thrilled though if their bikes consistently came in last place.

I can believe the Suzuki is the best. They handle so good, it doesn't need a fire breathing engine. Send the suspension out to FC, throw a pipe on, and it's a awesome bike. I haven't even ridden a new one but my 2008 RMZ450 was my favorite bike ever. Factory Connection did such a great job, I felt like I could put that bike wherever I wanted. Then I got the "new" 2009 CRF that was sopposed to be so great and I hated it. Handling is everything for me probably why I prefer the Zook

lucero10x wrote: I thought the KXF's forks looked about the same as the Honda, Kinda divey, no?

It looked that way to me as well.... The whole air fork thingy has me a little nervous

I currently have a 2011 crf450 and got to ride the 2013 rmz450 the other day. The rmz is awesome, power is really smooth and the bike did excatly what I wanted to. I wanted to try the new CRF out before I got a new bike but seeing that some guys were talking about pressure going up late in motos had me hesitant. If you look at all the top guys no one is running the kyb and all have showa suspension. Its sucks but I think honda needs to ditch KYB to get back on top bike wise.

suzuki seems to be sweeping up this year

http://www.racerxonline.com/2012/10/18/racer-x-tested-2013-450-shootout-phil-lawrence

The kawi forks have an inner chamber that is filled with air. On the Honda forks the outer chamber is filled with air.

Racerx930 wrote: The kawi forks have an inner chamber that is filled with air. On the Honda forks the outer chamber is filled with air.

but does anyone care?

Regardless any review, the factory hondas have the best engine and yosh can turn around a race spec engine .... if youre serious about racing

I'm a hardcore Kawi fan, but the new 2013 Honda's look pretty sick!

Here me out guys....


Look, it's no secret Honda's have always had linear powerbands and go for usability over sheer horse power.....

These guys are national level pros or were at one point..they are that small percentage of riders who actually can take advantage of more power.

Most stock bikes today, 125s included are too fast for 90% of riders IMO.

heavy guys need the big bikes but for everyone else..a 125 or 250f is more than enough

Hank_Thrill wrote: Sometimes I wonder how valid (measuring what is meant to be measured) test rides in magazines are. Obviously they are way more valid having riders with limited experience on different bike brands doing the shootouts. I was thinking the other day how a shootout would look if magazines followed real research procedures. Besides all identification numbers the bikes, they would have to be made unidentifiable to the test rider. Which would probably include all black plastics, black seat cover, and unidentifiable controls. The riders would also have to be blind folded until they are sitting on the bike so they would not recognize backwards engines, dual exhaust, etc (and maybe even need ear plugs with the quieter dual exhaust now on Hondas). This would reduce bias towards particular brands of bikes, that may or may not be influenced by your favorite rider (amateur testers), or expectations and previous beliefs based on word of mouth. It would also make for a really lame magazine cover!

A practical approach for magazines could use would be to have 5-10 riders rate the specific qualities of the bikes' engines, suspension, handling, and ergonomics using a Likert rating scale, then rank the bikes in their favorite order, and finally measure the consistency of agreeableness between the test riders. Having three different groups of beginner, intermediate, and pro level riders would probably also be good. Companies that sponsor magazines probably wouldn't be too thrilled though if their bikes consistently came in last place.

Stop making sense ... How will magazines and web sites get paid for their bias reviews..

I like Albee and he might be right - maybe the Suz is the best bike for him - BUT - he is still a Suzuki guy and Suz still hires him for PR events. Hero yes - slight conflict of interest? Maybe

I wonder how fair a Shootout would be if someone had all of these Ex Pros testing - Guess what bike each rider would pick????

Jeff Ward - ?
Jeremy McGrath ?
Jeff Emig ?
Roger Decoster ?
Ricky Carmichael ?

Dang... they picked the YZ ahead of it.

smrscott wrote: I like Albee and he might be right - maybe the Suz is the best bike for him - BUT - he is still a Suzuki guy and Suz still hires him for PR events. Hero yes - slight conflict of interest? Maybe

I wonder how fair a Shootout would be if someone had all of these Ex Pros testing - Guess what bike each rider would pick????

Jeff Ward - ?
Jeremy McGrath ?
Jeff Emig ?
Roger Decoster ?
Ricky Carmichael ?

not sure what vids you watched but 3 different guys rode all the bikes. here's what you missed. Suzuki and KTM stood out.

Was at a track a couple weeks ago, guy unloaded brand new Honda for first ride, rode it for about 20 minutes and cam back in and said it was a dog and the front suspension fealt low like his holeshot device was stuck on. Funny to now here Factory Phil say the same thing. Think I will keep my old bike another year.

I love mine

smrscott wrote: I like Albee and he might be right - maybe the Suz is the best bike for him - BUT - he is still a Suzuki guy and Suz still hires him for PR events. Hero yes - slight conflict of interest? Maybe

I wonder how fair a Shootout would be if someone had all of these Ex Pros testing - Guess what bike each rider would pick????

Jeff Ward - ?
Jeremy McGrath ?
Jeff Emig ?
Roger Decoster ?
Ricky Carmichael ?

orangecrush wrote: not sure what vids you watched but 3 different guys rode all the bikes. here's what you missed. Suzuki and KTM stood out.

I was a funny WHAT IF a Magazine or Web Site did a shootout using these Ex Pros. It had nothing to do with the video. Just the fact that all have some sort of tie with a manufacture

smrscott wrote: I like Albee and he might be right - maybe the Suz is the best bike for him - BUT - he is still a Suzuki guy and Suz still hires him for PR events. Hero yes - slight conflict of interest? Maybe

I wonder how fair a Shootout would be if someone had all of these Ex Pros testing - Guess what bike each rider would pick????

Jeff Ward - ?
Jeremy McGrath ?
Jeff Emig ?
Roger Decoster ?
Ricky Carmichael ?

orangecrush wrote: not sure what vids you watched but 3 different guys rode all the bikes. here's what you missed. Suzuki and KTM stood out.

What do you ride, Crush?

I have not bought my new bike yet seeing I have a few months of no riding do to the winter here, but I have been doing a quite a bit of research on these bikes. For me it is between the Suzuki and the Ktm due to all the reading I have done on them. I previously owned a 12 350 which was my first Ktm and I really liked the way the bike was built and handled. I was just a to big for it (6'2 205lbs) and had to work really hard to keep up with the 450s.