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Well,

The Grate Karnack, looked into his Crystal Piston, and
has received information from the other side.

And his prediction is:

1) YZ450
2) KX450
3) CRF450
4) RMZ450

I think you missed the KTM, which my understanding is should be a close contender for top spot....

Aren't the Suz and Kawa pretty much tied up for last anyway? Are they the same bike with different color plastic and graphics?

Yes, I for got the KTM,

And No, the Suzuki and Kaw are not the same bikes.

So, take a guess on how the mags, will rate the bikes.

The Grate Karnack, is non-bias, and is not even a man, and does not speak a lick of english for that matter.

So! step up, don't be afraid to make your predictions.

The 06's will be great, just like the 05's except for a few changes just like every year. The bike doesn't make you fast, you do. I'll be smoking 06's next year just like I smoked 05's this year But I will give a vote...
Honda, Kawi, Suz, Yam, then KTM.

You forgot to vote for the honda, in the poll. The poll is not about the rider, its how you think the mags will rate the bikes.

Thanks

MikeW

Though I'm sure the KXF is a great motocrosser,the 4 speed will hurt the Kawasaki. So many of these things are bought for off-road,and that really hurts the bikes flexibility.
Dirt Bike described it the best I've seen, with the 4 speed you just don't have the margin for error., and with a 5 speed there are frequently 2 gears that are okay for any situation.
YZF450 sales tanked when they went to a 4 speed.
I love my buddies RMZ450, but that 4 speed really holds it back. Doug

Thanks Again,

I would agree with your assesments of each bike.
I like the 5 speed, even though, I don't mind shifting less.

But according to Bubba, he is six seconds a lap faster on his 450. So die hard mx guys may favor the 4 speed.

From what my friend is saying about his 06 YZ 450F, he claims it will have the strongest motor and it is a 5 speed again. 06 is going to be a very interesting year.

I think the Yellow, Green and Blue bikes may have a slight truning advantage.

Mike W

Good point about the 4 speed. That's really the whole thing, the die hard mx'ers.
MOST guys who buy these things dont ride strictly motocross, then the balance of them, with rare exception , arent good enough to realize any advantage of having just 4 speeds. I wish I was !
Instead, they benefit from the 5 speed. Yamaha going back to the 5 speed says a whole lot.
Ah, the ignored KTM. Some say,and have written, that it's the best engine in motocross ! People talk about "weird handling","funny suspension", yet often in shoot-outs there's a KTM with the best lap times in one or more classes.
That also says a lot.
You know, I think almost always that if Joe Smith wins a race at Podunk MX park in the "B" class or whatever, that he would have won whether his bike was red,orange,blue green or yellow. There's just no junk out there anymore. Doug

I have to admit, I got a new bike and still can't beat my buddy, but my new bike sure makes it easier to ride.

I don't like to compare apples to oranges. So I must agree, all the 06 bikes will be good.

But comparing what the pros ride to what I will ride, are two different things. Bubba and Ricky might find a
4 speed the perfect setup, but I think for my skill level
5 is better.

I don't race, but I ride mostly at the track. So if Suzuki pays a better contingency, it won't matter to me. I just want a well suspended, good handeling bike with good power.

Just curious as to why so many people don't vote?

Ask the great and all seeing Karnac

The reason why, though I think it's interesting too, is that it just doesn't matter.
None of us non-pros can get even CLOSE out of any of these bikes compared to what they can do.
You've got pros who say how astonished these 450's are, what "monsters " they are.
Sure, they're factory bikes but they're not THAT much different, not the kind of difference that say there is between a street hot rod like a Mustang GT and a Formula One car. If the pros are that awe struck, where's that put us ? Doug

doug's right...i was reading an interview with mcgrath and he point blank said he can NOT ride a STOCK crf450r to its full potential. now i know he's not in his prime but last year in the SX series he was a top 10 finisher. if you look at what mods the factory bikes have that make the biggest difference over stock they are suspension, clutch, and lightweight components. if you've ever ridden a well tuned 05-06 crf450r you'll agree it has plenty of power.

ken

crfsonly wrote:doug's right...i was reading an interview with mcgrath and he point blank said he can NOT ride a STOCK crf450r to its full potential.

if you've ever ridden a well tuned 05-06 crf450r you'll agree it has plenty of power.

ken

I have to totally agree.

While I am leading the charge with the following phenomenon, here's what I see people doing: Upgrade, upgrade, upgrade, bling bling bling, and none of it makes them any faster than they would be on a bone stock bike. (go ahead, bring the flame thrower about it bogging and needing to be jetted, or whatnot, but you can learn to ride around that, I have not stalled it in the last 8+hrs of riding/racing/serious tight off the bike pushing/dragging/etc type riding)

The stock bike is capable of much much more than 99.9% of us will ever achieve or be capable of...but the upgrades make us feel better, or feel faster, heck, I don't know what it is...this is why I personally have tried (key word) to stay away from straight up performance mods (my pipe is becuase the stocker was destroyed in a crash, and price was similar for replacement)...and focus my money on protection, saftey, and reliability...although I'm as big a bling whore at heart as anyone - you should see me on bicycles - hint, my bicycle costs as much as my '05 450R...I wake up nights in cold sweats thinking about those colored oil caps in annodized red, and a matching rear wheel spacer blocks...and a new $1000 wheelset, yea, yea, and a hot cam, and a powerbomb header, and new triple clamps, and a hydraulic clutch, and, and, and, and, and...

....but in the end, I'll ONLY get faster if I go ride more. I see guys at the local races on 10yr old bone stock XR250's held together with ducktape throwin' a beatin' to guys on pimpy bling-o-matic 2005 pimped bikes...heck, I got 3rd this past weekend on the holeshot, and there was a vintage-who-knows-what bike in 2nd, twin rear shocks, metal tank, the whole thing (busted him on the first open spot though after that)...DAMN, if only i would have had a pair of had those annodized oil caps and wheel blocks!!!

KEN, hoook a brother up, I need SPEED!!! Visa standing by!!!

[/rant]

i'm right there with you man...i like the bling too...my r is red and my x is on it's way to black with traces of red. on the power front the only thing i would change in your comments is "moving" the power. the cam and exhaust often "moves" the power if you will or creates power in the different places of the powerband. in some cases a flywheel weight with a power mod makes for a more useable power band. for example, i added the quickshot to our 450R and it created more off idle punch and i liked it a lot...the smile on my face went from big to huge.

however, it is so true...the sad fact is that i'm my biggest performance problem. if only i could order a RC performance upgrade kit for the KEN model.

ken
ken