2016 450 MOTOCROSS SHOOTOUT
P170
SHOOTOUT
Of all of the air-fork-equipped
bikes, the Honda's is probably
the best in both performance and
ease of adjusting. They have fewer
chambers (one in each) to mess
with compared to the Showa's,
and have plenty of damping
adjustability. On the track, they do
a good job soaking up the bumps
but, like most air forks, they lack
feel in the corners and don't
provide as good wheel-to-surface
feedback as the other spring-fork-
mounted bikes, especially the
YZ's SSS forks. Overall, though,
the Honda has one of the best
suspensions of the six bikes and
is one of the best handling bikes,
too. It'll twitch now and then at
speed, but we still consider it to
be a very stable bike overall.
On the scale, the Honda isn't
the lightest bike in the class any-
more but on the track, it still feels
darn light because it is so well
balanced. It's easy to throw into
the turns and make it do what you
want in the air. The Honda also
has excellent ergos and very good
brakes.
We ranked the Honda above
the Husky and Suzuki because of
its light weight, agility and effective
motor. Even though the Honda
took a small step in the right
direction it dropped back a spot
in our rankings, unable to stay
ahead of the all-new KTM or catch
the already outstanding Yamaha
and all-new Kawasaki. An overall
stronger motor might've put it on
the podium.
