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SHOOTOUT
2 0 1 7 4 5 0 M O T O C R O S S S H O O T O U T
>>YAMAHA YZ450F
Not wanting to mess with a good
thing, Yamaha left the 2017
YZ450F alone, which might not
be a bad thing, as it has won the
Cycle News 450 MX Shootout
for the past two years. But, in
2016 it didn't win by much. Of
note, Yamaha has stuck with the
Kayaba SSS spring fork through
the air fork rage and it has proven
a wise choice.
MEET THE CONTESTANTS
>>KTM 450 SX-F
Finishing second in last year's
shootout, the KTM 450 SX-F
sees some significant changes
for 2017, one of those being the
swap to WP AER 48 air forks.
They work much better than
the previous WP 4CS fork and
are 3.5 pounds lighter. Is this
enough to bump the KTM past
the reigning champ?
>>HONDA CRF450R
This (2017) is an exciting year
for Honda 450 lovers; the
CRF450R is all-new from the
ground up. It is faster, better
handling and, the big news, it
now has a spring fork. No more
air fork for the Honda. So, is
a total revamping enough to
return the Honda to the head
of the class?
Honda CRF450R
Kawasaki KX450F
Suzuki RM-Z450
Yamaha YZ450F
