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Triumph fared pretty badly in the Mxa 450 shootout. As did Beta. And Ducati isn't present at all...which seems odd seeing as how it made it into the DB comparison. You know none of those brands are happy about being rated below the Rmz. And not even being included makes me thinks perhaps mxas duc broke or was also rated below the yellow bike. The Kawasaki also got bashed pretty badly on reliability. Finally some sanity with all the Austrians tying for the same position. Certainly different than every past shootout I remember. By that I mean that it seems like they're telling us stuff during the shootout that we normally would hear in a long term wrap up. I wonder what changed, is Jody out or?
I’m shocked!
I believe MXA has a pretty unique testing approach to other shootouts. They state much longer term, more diverse riders, tracks they are very familiar with is what they claim. That being said over the long term it is uncanny how many of their reliability type claims during their tests come true on the scooters it seems.
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MXA has always been cut and paste journalism, from day one regurgitated nonsense.
I have a hard time with the Kawasaki thing, that cracked clutch cover was obviously damage from impact. Honda 250s have a poorly designed shifter with a sharp corner that will almost always punch a hole in the magnesium stator cover during a left side impact, same type of scenario. And the clutch cover gasket? come on now..... Seems like a few things were lack of maintenance, like periodic fastener checks. Ive owned every brand except suzuki and theyve all had a bolt come loose at some point. Have been on the kx 450 since 2019 and havent seen anything they mentioned first hand, the 2019 had over 150 hours when i sold it.
MXA tests the bikes over weeks or even months at tracks they are familiar with. I have participated in shootouts for 2 different publications in the past, and I can tell you that it is really hard to come up with a truly educated opinion about a bike when you are putting maybe 15-30 minutes of time in it in a day you are testing 5 or more other bikes. I would tend to think that MXA’s method would easily uncover more information than anyone else’s. I’ve never tested with MXA, but I’ve observed their methods while being pitted near them at the races.
MXA clearly stated that Ducati said they could have a bike for a short period but were not allowed to race it. MXA races their bikes so they said ‘no thanks.’ Seemed like an odd requirement from Ducati. Very odd!
Unless they were worried about reliability…
Or maybe they are just a stodgy motorcycle division of a huge legally-cautious megacorp, and all their other racebike media tests on the street side have always been private track days in controlled conditions, and they just aren't used to us hicks in the dirtbike game who expect to have the damn thing get raced, beat up, and filthy in our product reviews.
This. I take opinions into account from other media outlets. But MXA shootouts are long term race tests and facts.
Every bike I've owned in the past aligned with what they said in the shootouts.
MXA is the only one I really trust.
It makes sense to me, Kawi has always had the cheapest fit and finish. I've owned every brand of bike and this is what I've observed as well. It was always a pet-peeve of mine.
I spent the last few years on Kawi’s and didn’t have any major issues, was super impressed with the overall reliability. Had to replace a couple gaskets and seals, but the bikes held up great.
Water pump seal went out on both bikes under 10 hours, wasn’t too impressed with that. And the steering stem bearing go out pretty quick.
But one of the bikes went 150hrs of hard riding on OEM top and bottom end, clutches lasted a while, no stripped bolts or fasteners, no bolts that came loose often.
I’m on a Yamaha now and I do feel the overall fit and finish is a bit better. Most noticeable is the lack of vibration. Keefer has been talking about it a lot lately and I couldn’t agree more.
That was the most honest bike test I’ve ever seen, they didn’t just gloss over the flaws they found. Normally you have to analyze the test article hints, and try to figure out what they really mean, and I hate that. Finally, someone who says what they mean and doesn’t sugarcoat it.
I’ve been subscribing to MXA for decades, and I’m going to keep subscribing.
This.
I've been reading them for almost 50 years now and they have the most thorough and logical methodology for testing in the business and have taken plenty of slings and arrows from the manufacturers for their brutal honesty.
I'd rather have plenty of input from a lot of different sources at many different tracks done with the same process every time than the opinions of a few guys who rode several different bikes at the same track one afternoon. Heck, the suspension might not even be broken in before they finish their "test".
People may have different opinions or disagree with them on specific topics, but they have never been shown to be dishonest, incompetent or on the take.
They also clearly stated that, "...our shootout is a culmination of a years worth of riding, racing, and testing....", which they wouldn't have had any 2026's for a year now at the time of their shootout release video. MXA didn't appear to do any racing in this shootout, so they could have taken the bike for this video and left it out of whatever other long-term test video they may or may not do down the road. Ducati may have just wanted more control over how the bike is exposed to the public for marketing purposes and felt that handing a bike over for a year in SoCal takes that away.
As tough as they may have appeared to be on the Triumph, they did them a solid by not saying it's a safety issue, which it clearly is. They skirted it by saying that it can be painful, but it's flat out a safety issue. Had they called it a safety issue, it would have had the legal team freezing production, which heads would have rolled for that. Also, you obviously don't have to be a pro to upshift under heavy load. Anyone that does that will likely encounter problems. They did them another solid by not pointing that out. Triumph has a real problem on their hands now.
Once upon a time a smaller publication was attempting to do a 1000cc superbike shootout, the plan was to take them to a track other than the usual California tracks and ride 100% stock bikes without factory mechanics watching and making changes. You'll never guess one of the manufacturers that said no.
Yamaha was also going to supply a bike and pulled out when they heard the terms.
All valid and good points. Does the Triumph 250 also have this issue?
Pit Row
The only real world, objective shootout possible is off the showroom floor, 4 test riders of varying skill, and at public tracks on an open practice day for of a couple months, or the equivalent of 10-20 track hours. I want them riding the same tracks in the same conditions as we do. I want them dealing with the same production issues we, the consumer have with the same resources, a tool box and your buddies. No direct manufacturer advertising dollar income.
I’ve hit a false neutral twice on my 250. Both times I gave a pretty half assed attempt mid air at upshifting with the quick shifter engaged. I believe that was my problem. It’s never done it when that feature is off.
Speaking of testing methodology, MXA says all "Wrecking crew" must wear the same exact size gear size -- 32 pant, L Jersey, 10 boot, 10 glove (TEN THINGS ABOUT BEING AN MXA TEST RIDER - Motocross Action Magazine)
That's pretty fortunate for me, as I am exactly all those sizes, but maybe their reviews don't offer good perspectives for folks of other body sizes/shapes.
Grab some old Dirt Bike Magazines when Rick Sieman (Super Hunky) was editor. Or some of his Modern Cycle tests. No punches got pulled in those tests. The manufacturers used to regularly boycott his mags when he told the truth.🤣. Jodycross Action never suffered the same fate.
Is it the clutch or the transmission? While I agree 100% that this issue should not happening, a new aftermarket Henson or Recluse clutch could fix the problem. Unless it’s the actual shift fork. In that case it’s a big issue. I think we’ve all hit a false neutral before and there’s nothing more scary than that in any situation. Especially a quick shift under a message load before a jump.
You know, on an e-bike you wouldn't have to worry about that 😉
You must be new the sport. Suzuki refused to give MXA bikes for a few years due to negative bike reviews. This was when Jody was at MXA.
Yeah, I've only been riding since 1968 and racing since 1971. I've got both first issues of Dirt Bike (autographed by Rick Sieman) and MXA.😎
I guess calling a Kawasaki Big Horn a "Pighorn" and a Honda a "foo foo bike" is frowned upon by the manufacturers.😂
Refusing to submit an out of date bike for testing vs. pulling all the advertising dollars for several years is somewhat different. At least in the world of Roland Hinz.
One issue I have to give Swap a little credit - is his "big boy" shoot-out.
I am a Vet 6' 210lbs x-football player - and I appreciate that he includes us. Wish more would follow suit.
Not everyone is RC micro-sized...
No I reckon you wouldn't. Ebikers need to worry if their tampon has a faulty pull string or not.😀😉
Didn't somebody do a shootout like this a few years ago? Not the practice day part, but buying bikes with a variety of riders? There was one bike they couldn't get if I remember correctly.
Agree, a test like the old Consumer Reports testing method is ideal, but does a moto magazine make enough money to buy the machines? The MXA test would cost $100k or so, that’s a lot of money for one article in one issue.
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