The 2018 450 Shootout is LIVE!

drt410 wrote:

Basically they said if you go up a tooth in the rear on the yamaha and change the bars its just as good as any other...

Basically they said if you go up a tooth in the rear on the yamaha and change the bars its just as good as any other bike.

Crush wrote:

Oooof, that's gonna be a hard hit for the Zook.

Crush wrote:

Oooof, that's gonna be a hard hit for the Zook.

kiwifan wrote:

yeah pretty gutting considering ....

Crush wrote:

Oooof, that's gonna be a hard hit for the Zook.

kiwifan wrote:

yeah pretty gutting considering ....

tempura wrote:

That shock needs more testing time on the production format bike. Who's gunna be the Guinea pig this year?... I've seen Fukaya on his works bike...

That shock needs more testing time on the production format bike. Who's gunna be the Guinea pig this year?...
I've seen Fukaya on his works bike, with Showa pounding the laps at a local track, but that's not quite the same as the production equipment.

Mm471 wrote:

Is there a noticeable difference between the electric start bikes starting time between the brands?

#434 wrote:

Do you think it's just the shock? It's the heaviest bike, the engine is a decade old and there is nothing really innovative to it.

#434 wrote:

Do you think it's just the shock? It's the heaviest bike, the engine is a decade old and there is nothing really innovative to it.

tempura wrote:

It weighs only slightly more than the CRF, which won the shootout. There's probably more than enough power in that decade old motor for the majority...

It weighs only slightly more than the CRF, which won the shootout. There's probably more than enough power in that decade old motor for the majority of people in this thread.
If I was buying a new 450, it wouldn't be the zook.

Motofinne wrote:

Husqvarna Scores: 1 - 4 - 1 - 1 - 2 - 6 - 4 = 19 KTM Scores: 3 - 3 - 3 - 2...

Husqvarna Scores: 1 - 4 - 1 - 1 - 2 - 6 - 4 = 19

KTM Scores: 3 - 3 - 3 - 2 - 1 - 3 - 1 = 16

Interesing spread on the two "same" bikes. I guess even the smallest changes on a bike makes a difference.

Great job as always ML!

Lynch wrote:

Have you tried both bikes? If so what do you think is the main difference? I like the KTM way better for some reason, just works...

Have you tried both bikes? If so what do you think is the main difference?

I like the KTM way better for some reason, just works with me better than the white twin. And this opinion is after 30-ish hours on the FC 250, 15 hours on the SXF 250, 35 hours on the FC 350 and 20 hours on the SXF 350. I have only ridden the FC 450 a handful of times (maybe an hour total bike time) however I am coming up on 140 hours on my 2017 KTM 450.

Lynch wrote:

Have you tried both bikes? If so what do you think is the main difference? I like the KTM way better for some reason, just works...

Have you tried both bikes? If so what do you think is the main difference?

I like the KTM way better for some reason, just works with me better than the white twin. And this opinion is after 30-ish hours on the FC 250, 15 hours on the SXF 250, 35 hours on the FC 350 and 20 hours on the SXF 350. I have only ridden the FC 450 a handful of times (maybe an hour total bike time) however I am coming up on 140 hours on my 2017 KTM 450.

Crush wrote:

That's a lot of fucking riding! Good for you!

#434 wrote:

Do you think it's just the shock? It's the heaviest bike, the engine is a decade old and there is nothing really innovative to it.

tempura wrote:

It weighs only slightly more than the CRF, which won the shootout. There's probably more than enough power in that decade old motor for the majority...

It weighs only slightly more than the CRF, which won the shootout. There's probably more than enough power in that decade old motor for the majority of people in this thread.
If I was buying a new 450, it wouldn't be the zook.

Crush wrote:

Did it drop weight from the last model? And you're absolutely right about enough power, but part of the marketing thing with these is winning the...

Did it drop weight from the last model?

And you're absolutely right about enough power, but part of the marketing thing with these is winning the shootout helps sales–In theory!

I know the steel vs ali thing is part of it, but surely some of that weight difference is in the motor. I was REALLY surprised Big Yellow didn't put more in to the engine.

If it came down too it, I doubt anyone thought the chassis was an issue before. Fork maybe. But drop some weight and increase the boost and lots of people would have liked it plenty. Just seems like a lazy update after 10 years of pretty much no R&D.

hellion wrote:

ML, great work on the shootout! Very comprehensive, detailed, and reader friendly. I liked what you did with the weight segment. Front/rear bias isn't something I'd...

ML, great work on the shootout! Very comprehensive, detailed, and reader friendly. I liked what you did with the weight segment. Front/rear bias isn't something I'd considered before. A small suggestion on that would be using percentage rather than actual pounds. As when some bikes are 15 pounds lighter than others it gets hard to compare.

Also, you might consider throwing out one high and one low score for each bike tested to eliminate outliers. As in the case of the Husqvarna, it got three first place votes, and generally good scores otherwise. Then Brian Davis gives it a 6th, which effectively knocked it out of contention. Honestly, how can that happen? And he didn't rank the KTM 5th ( I think he had it third! ) so something was either up with the bike at that point, or he has a bias.

All things considered though, very nice.

DoctorJD wrote:

Lol at the comments of Vital's Facebook. Some people are losing their shit over the Honda's success in the shootout. I swear, brand loyalty is a...

Lol at the comments of Vital's Facebook. Some people are losing their shit over the Honda's success in the shootout. I swear, brand loyalty is a form of mental illness.