Place your bets on 2018 450 shootout

They're all so good these days.

-KTM
-Husky
-Yamaha
-Honda
-Susszuki. (for Tyler)
-Kawasaki

I'm a 17 KX owner but realize that warmed over models are well, warmed over. E-start will top the charts in my opinion. I don't mind kicking. But most do. So it seems. With that being said, I wouldn't trade my bike for any of the above. Just my pick and opinion.

Its not so much kicking the bike over is a hassle as it is so much of a benefit when you crash or stall pushing the button can get the bike started before you even get your leg back over the bike. I think it was Zach Osbourne I remember seeing him start the bike before he was even fully on it riding away with one foot on the peg and the other leg going over the seat and already 30 yards down the track.

They should do stock, and a slight mod shootout. Also, an equal cost, say total of 10k, of each bike comparo too.

loftyair wrote:

They should do stock, and a slight mod shootout. Also, an equal cost, say total of 10k, of each bike comparo too.

Agreed. Threw some Ohlins forks on my bike to replace the stock TAC's. This ranks as one of the best bikes I have ever rode. My friends 17 YZF and my son's 17 Crf450 are a veeery close second. As bama205 said above, they are all very good. Have to agree. I guess pick a color. I dunno.

Here is my view, every single magazine will unfortunately focus on one thing...weight...(rightly or wrongly) so contest over KTM and Husky will tie for the win......the real bet is who will come 3rd. I am picking the KXF last and everyone else would be too close to call.

We shall see if I am right lol

Ktm
Husky
Yamaha
Honda
Kawasaki
Suzuki

KXF, first Outdoors

Honda
KTM/Hushy
Suzuki
Yamaha
Kawasaki

KTM
Husky
Yami
Zook
Honda
Kawi

It will be about what bikes has the least flaws, not which bike is the "best".

The only possible flaw on the KTM, is the AER/AIR fork.

Order will be:
KTM/Husky
Yamaha
Suzuki
Honda
Kawasaki

KTM/HUsky: Air fork, but not performing badly
Yamaha: Heavy, nervous, not as good cockpit as winners
Suzuki: Heavy, No electric start. Poor fork performance
Kawasaki: Outdated, no electric start
Honda: Heavy, unbalanced chassi, poor fork performance

Trust me on the above.

So basically once the 2018 yam comes out no more blaming the bike anymore for riders performance. On top of that coop will be coming into his sophomore season and hes already a top 5 guy his rookie season. With kenny coming back, marv taking that next step, and the diesel retired this is possibly going to be the most interesting racing ahead of us in a long time. Hell baggett even kinda looked like he was gonna do something b4 his thumb.

KTM
Husky
Yamaha
Honda
Suzuki
Kawasaki

Whichever one is lightest, has a steel frame, hydraulic clutch, and electric start...

Husky
KTM
Honda
Suzuki
Kawasaki
Yamaha

wideroad wrote:

KTM
Husky
Yamaha
Honda
Suzuki
Kawasaki

This

aees wrote:

It will be about what bikes has the least flaws, not which bike is the "best".

The only possible flaw on the KTM, is the AER/AIR fork.

Order will be:
KTM/Husky
Yamaha
Suzuki
Honda
Kawasaki

KTM/HUsky: Air fork, but not performing badly
Yamaha: Heavy, nervous, not as good cockpit as winners
Suzuki: Heavy, No electric start. Poor fork performance
Kawasaki: Outdated, no electric start
Honda: Heavy, unbalanced chassi, poor fork performance

Trust me on the above.

oh you have ridden them all...nice...lucky you

aees wrote:

It will be about what bikes has the least flaws, not which bike is the "best".

The only possible flaw on the KTM, is the AER/AIR fork.

Order will be:
KTM/Husky
Yamaha
Suzuki
Honda
Kawasaki

KTM/HUsky: Air fork, but not performing badly
Yamaha: Heavy, nervous, not as good cockpit as winners
Suzuki: Heavy, No electric start. Poor fork performance
Kawasaki: Outdated, no electric start
Honda: Heavy, unbalanced chassi, poor fork performance

Trust me on the above.

This is right along the lines of what I thing the magazines will go with. It will be different for everybody and we all know that if you are going to win on one, you could win on them all and if you will lose on one you will lose on them all.

Ill get one with a kickstarter.

KTM,
Honda,
Husqvarna,
Suzuki,
Yamaha,
Kawasaki

I think the Suzuki will still be a better handling package than the Yamaha. No electric start can make up for that.

MXA will place ktm 1-3 and husky 4-6. All other bikes have shit brakes, soft clutches, and need a tooth added to the rear sprocket. Not to mention how obnoxiously loud the intake is on the blue bike.

Everyone has the KX at the bottom, lol. Surprised how many think the YZ will do badly.

Yz
Ktm
Honda
Kaw
Zuk
Husqv

MXA's shootout is easy to pick, no matter what, KTM and Husky will be on the top. Just my 2 cents, but MXA has become irrelevant as far as shootouts go by constantly showing complete bias during years when several of the other shootouts don't match with what they say.

It seems as though they have become vindictive about judging a bike's quality based on weight. When in reality, any good/skilled rider doesn't see weight as a deciding factor.

aroark247 wrote:

MXA's shootout is easy to pick, no matter what, KTM and Husky will be on the top. Just my 2 cents, but MXA has become irrelevant as far as shootouts go by constantly showing complete bias during years when several of the other shootouts don't match with what they say.

It seems as though they have become vindictive about judging a bike's quality based on weight. When in reality, any good/skilled rider doesn't see weight as a deciding factor.

why would you pick the fat chick that whistles when she breathes over the slim sexy chick that gets hotter every year?

sorry ktm is still guna have it for an out of the box setup

ktm/husky
suzuki
honda
yamaha
kawi

Who cares, seriously?

Shootout as a concept is dead to me in this day and age. None of the bikes are shit. It doesn't matter what you buy, you will probably(not guaranteed) be relatively happy with your bike.

With that said. All the bikes are different, even the KTM compared to the Husqvarna. I would not trust what someone else thinks about these bikes and what they think is the best one. As an example: In 2017, I rode the Yamaha and it had some nice features but it was wide, heavy and cornered like titanic compared to my KTM. Yet it won the dirt rider shootout if i remember right?. So a bike that i would never buy after my experience on it was supposed to be the best one? Same goes for all the other shootouts. Just because brand X wins doesn't mean that it is the best bike for you.

The only way to know is to ride them all or at least most of them so that you know what suits you and your riding style.

I feel like these shootouts are aimed to certain groups of people: Fanboys, people that like to argue, people that live in 1980(no offence to you older guys).

MXA is still the most reliable in my opinion. They go in phases that reflect the development of bikes from what I can tell. I don't get to ride them all so I certainly can't vouch for their conclusions.

1998 Yamaha YZ400F
1999 Yamaha YZ400F
2000 Yamaha YZ400F
2001 Yamaha YZ426F
2002 Yamaha YZ426F
2003 Yamaha YZ450F
2004 Honda CRF450
2005 Honda CRF450
2006 Yamaha YZ450F
2007 Honda CRF450
2008 Honda CRF450
2009 Kawasaki KX450F
2010 KTM 450SXF
2011 KTM 450SXF
2012 Kawasaki KX450F
2013 Kawasaki KX450F
2014 Kawasaki KX450F
2015 KTM 450SXF
2016 KTM 450SXF

I like what Vital did with the shootouts the last two years. I especially like lap times of a range of skill level of riders. At the end of the day, that is the metric that matters most. Yes it's difficult to compare session to session, track to track, but you at least get an idea.

I will disagree with lap times matter most. You all suck, like, real bad, compared to the best. So, a second or even 2? Doesn't matter to most. I think the fun, safest bike is much better to own. Good luck!