P112
CN
III CROSS-RUTTED
BY JEAN TURNER
O
ur 450cc shootout is
now in the books, and as
always, it was a massive
undertaking. (Be sure to check
out that super awesome video,
too. Created by yours truly!) The
intro to every shootout includes
some obligatory platitudes:
these are all great bikes, clos-
est shootout ever, our winner
might not be the best bike for
you, know your own strengths…
Cliché as these might be after
years of shootouts, they're all
true. On top of those, there is
also a degree of context that
should come with decipher-
ing shootout results. There are
aspects that might help a bike
win a shootout, for instance, but
these same features will mean
little to nothing once you own
the bike. But before we get into
that, some quick notes on the
platitudes.
They are all great bikes. If
they weren't, we wouldn't be
testing them in this very pres-
tigious category. They are all
incredibly close, which is exactly
why we, and nearly every other
motocross publication, conduct
shootouts at all. There are hardly
any other classes of motorcycles
that call for a test of this nature.
Sure, we might throw some simi-
lar bikes into a makeshift catego-
ry and compare them for fun, but
those "comparisons" are not the
same as a class shootout. The
bikes in the 2021 450cc moto-
cross class, for instance, are so
close in performance that the
only way to sort out their differ-
ences is to hop from one bike to
the next in the same day on the
same track. The strengths and
weaknesses are so subtle, and
so subjective, that it prompts us
to enlist a half-dozen testers and
tally up the results before these
nuanced differences even begin
to emerge. If it takes all that for
us to find a winner in this group,
then you can believe us when
we say there are no losers here.
So why do we do it? Why even
Live With It
Which bike is the best all-
around performer? Which
bike is best for you to live
with? We can only answer
one of those questions.