VOL. 55 ISSUE 38 SEPTEMBER 25, 2018 P81
bikes are left exactly as you'd
find them on the showroom
floor. The only adjustments ac-
cepted are those the average
buyer can make, like tire pres-
sure and suspension settings.
Our testing team is handpicked
for the same reason, with skill-
sets ranging from novice to pro.
When the dust had settled, we
were tasked with choosing a win-
ner. Not exactly an easy choice
in the current crop of 450 moto-
crossers, with each having the
ability of reaching the checkered
flag first. After hours of bickering
It's 2019 450 Shootout time.
Finally.
This year's shootout is a
battlefield. An all-out war, if you
will. In it, we pitted the big-bore
contenders of each manufacturer
head to head, letting them scrap
it out amongst themselves at vari-
ous racetracks scattered across
Southern California. Every last
detail of each bike was put under
scrutiny. No excuses for any, zero.
We put emphasis on a fair
fight, plain and simple. Bikes
themselves are left bone-stock.
From knobbies up, our test
amongst ourselves, we deemed
a victor—a corner-carving, roost-
spitting and well-deserving victor.
It should be noted that several
of these bikes had at least one
first-place vote from our many
test riders. (In case you are
wondering—all of them did except
the Husqvarna and Suzuki.) In
fact, our results reminded us a
bit of the results from the 250MX
Nationals this year: all over the
place. But, in the end, we com-
bined everyone's feedback to
come up with an overall ranking
and thus a shootout winner.
