#KawasakiKX450F

By now we trust you’ve read the novel of a 450 shootout penned by Scott Rousseau, Editor-in-Chief of our sister site, Dirtbikes.com, comparing the Honda CRF450R, Husqvarna FC450, Kawasaki KX450F, KTM 450 SX-F, Suzuki RM-Z450, and Yamaha YZ450F. It’s definitely a lengthy read, but Rousseau packs it full of information suitable for the MX veteran and noob alike. And in case reading isn’t your thing, the accompanying video provided in the link above is both informative and entertaining (though you’ll still have to read the test to see our winner).

Kawasaki has taken the wraps off of its 2015 KX450F and KX250F motocross machines, and if 2014 is any indication, the key improvements to both models should keep them competitive in the cut-throat world of motocross competition at the professional and amateur levels.

Kind of like those confusing Academy Award Best Picture nominations, in which year-old movies are often lumped in with newer releases because of some weird cutoff date, the 2013 KX450F was our best dirt bike pick for 2012 because of its early availability in Kawasaki dealerships last year. Surprise, or not, it also happens to be our top pick for 2013.

Kawasaki’s motocross lineup is fairly fresh, so we expected only mild updates for the 2014 KX models. But the Team Green engineers were quite busy in the off-season, cramming in several revisions to the popular KX250F and some milder tweaks to the venerable 450F.