No one on the planet has tested as many motorcycles as the MXA wrecking crew. Motocross Action is a motorcycle magazine — plain and simple. All of us aren’ t a fan journal or aimed at the teenybopper crowd. We are about machinery and how to get them to better. We have ridden every bulk manufactured, and some that shouldn’ t have already been made. Nothing engenders as much attention and controversy as the “ MXA Bike of the Year ” awards. We have been handing them out for 37 years ( MXA has really been testing bikes for 44 years, but in the ’ 70s we weren’ t smart sufficient to comprehensively rank them).

– 1986 Honda CR125 –

The MXA test crew understands that when a customer plunks down nine grand for the new bike, he doesn’ big t want to hear that he bought the incorrect machine. We sympathize, but our own job is to report the facts because accurately and consistently as possible. This isn’ t uncommon for us to obtain angry emails from owners of the brand that didn’ t excel. The complainers have a litany associated with reasons for why we didn’ capital t choose their brand as the greatest. Here are the most commons whines.

– 1993 Honda CR250 –

The “ Yamaha Action” complaint: When Yamaha began winning back-to-back shootouts 15 years ago, the particular red, green, yellow and orange fans claimed that we showed favoritism to YZs. We found it amusing, because we got the same letters when Honda won the 250 Shootout for five straights years (1983-1987) — except back then they called us “ Honda Action. ” Plus, if you transported our critic’ s logic up to today, we should have been called “ Kawasaki Action” when they won seven shootouts in 10 years. So , since we are called “ KTM Action” it appers as though the circle of life keeps going to the businesses that make the best productr. We can assure you that we don’ t have favorite companies—we reward excellence in machinery.

– 1994 Kawasaki KX250 –

Advertising trumps sincerity: One of the old saws pawned off by morons is that the manufacturer that advertises the most wins the shootouts. Hogwash! Need evidence? The Suzuki RM250 won the particular 250 Bike of the Year prize in 2004-2006 and the 2011 250F four-stroke award. Suzuki doesn’ capital t run enough advertising with MXA to buy the test riders lunch. Additionally , KTM won the 2004 125 shootout, had a nod at 250 two-stroke shootouts for a few years and took the 2010, 2011, 2015, 2016and 2017 450 shootouts, and KTM is definitely not MXA ‘ s largest advertiser. Advertising dollars can’ t make a poor bike good… at least not with MXA .

– 1998 Yamaha YZ400F –

Different mags; different winners: It’ s not uncommon for various other magazines to choose different shootout winners. More power to them (and their problematic methodology). But , history almost always shows that the MXA wrecking crew is right. Require examples? Every magazine raved concerning the 2002 Honda CRF450 — except MXA . We thought it had a serious dealing with flaw and a mellow engine. Who was right? Honda’ s engineers invested the next three years working on the handling and beefing up the bottom finish. When they got it right, they got the top spot. Then, in 2009-2012, the other mags raved about the weirdly configured Honda CRF450. We didn’ t. We said it was “ a mess. ” Who was right? It was followed by Honda’ s disasterous foray into their mellow engine phase from 2013-2016 — where they under your own accord gave up 4 to 5 horsepower to their competitors (and somehow nevertheless managed to do well in other magazine shootouts — other than MXA that is). Let’ s not even mention the 2001 Cannondale MX400 which one magazine named the “ Bike of the Yr. ”

– 2000 Yamaha YZ125 –

Anti-Euro faction: In the last 32 years, just a handful of European bikes have made the particular MXA Best Bike list (all KTMs). To our critics’ way of thinking, MXA never provided European bikes a fair chance. To the way of thinking, European bikes came upward short in their approach to handling for the better part of the last 30 years. When they got it right, they got credit score.

– 2001 Yamaha YZ250F –

The winning margin: There are over 100 bikes listed in MXA’ s best bikes list between 125 two-strokes, two hundred fifity two-strokes, 250 four-strokes and 400 four-strokes. Yamaha has won probably the most crowns. Yamaha’ s last huge wins as a of late have been in the particular 250cc two-stroke and four-stroke courses. Kawasaki is second on the perfect list with 22 Best Bicycle wins. Kawasaki racked up nearly half of those over the last nine yrs with the KX250F and KX450F. Honda is third on the all-time checklist with 17 Best Bike honours. Four of their 17 came with the 2003-2004 and 2007-2008 CRF450. But , the majority of Honda wins came during the hey-day of the CR250 from 1983 to 1987 when they won five straight years. Suzuki has 11 wins (with five 125 two-stroke wins, five 250 two-stroke benefits and one RM-Z250 win in 2011). KTM has scored bonus points with their 450SXF four-stroke over the last almost eight years — winning 5 periods. KTM also took one a hundred and twenty-five class award back in 2004 plus a couple of 250 two-strokes wins. But KTM has never won the two hundred fifity four-stroke class category until 2017. In the 19 years since the 400 four-strokes came on the market Yamaha provides won the class 7 times (but some of those wins were simply because they built the first modern four-stroke motocross bikes and had a several season lead over the other brands), Ford four times, Kawasaki four instances and KTM four times.

– 2005 Honda CRF450 –

There have been lots of chances for your favorite brand to help make the list. So , love us or even hate us, we aren’ t telling you what to buy… we are simply giving you the tools to make an informed decision.

125/150 TWO-STROKES

– 1981 Suzuzki RM125 –

• • 1980 Yamaha YZ125
  • 1981   Suzuki RM125
  • 1982   Suzuki RM125
  • 1983   Honda CR125
  • 1984   Kawasaki KX125
  • 1985   Kawasaki KX125
  • 1986   Honda CR125
  • 1987   Honda CR125
  • 1988   Kawasaki KX125
  • 1989   Honda CR125
  • 1990   Kawasaki KX125
  • 1991   Kawasaki KX125
  • 1992   Suzuki RM125
  • 1993   Kawasaki KX125
  • 1994   Suzuki RM125
  • 1995   Suzuki RM125
  • 1996   Yamaha YZ125
  • 1997   Yamaha YZ125
  • 1998   Yamaha YZ125
  • 1999   Yamaha YZ125
  • 2000   Yamaha YZ125
  • 2001   Yamaha YZ125
  • 2002   Yamaha YZ125
  • 2003   Yamaha YZ125
  • 2004   KTM 125SX
  • 2005   Yamaha YZ125
  • 2006   Yamaha YZ125
  • 2007   Yamaha YZ125
  • 2008   Yamaha YZ125
  • 2009   Yamaha YZ125
  • 2010   Yamaha YZ125
  • last year Yamaha YZ125
  • this year Yamaha YZ125
  • 2013 Yamaha YZ125
  • 2014 Yamaha YZ125
  • 2015 Yamaha YZ125
  • 2016 Yamaha YZ125
  • 2017 KTM 125SX

– 1982 MXA 125 Shootout –

250 TWO-STROKES

– 2013 KTM 250SX –

• • 1980   Yamaha YZ250
  • 1981   Suzuki RM250
  • 1982   Suzuki RM250
  • 1983   Honda CR250
  • 1984   Honda CR250
  • 1985   Honda CR250
  • 1986   Honda CR250
  • 1987   Honda CR250
  • 1988   Yamaha YZ250
  • 1989   Honda CR250
  • 1990   Kawasaki KX250
  • 1991   Yamaha YZ250
  • 1992   Yamaha YZ250
  • 1993   Honda CR250
  • 1994   Kawasaki KX250
  • 1995   Yamaha YZ250
  • 1996   Suzuki RM250
  • 1997   Kawasaki KX250
  • 1998   Kawasaki KX250
  • 1999   Kawasaki KX250
  • 2000   Yamaha YZ250
  • 2001   Yamaha YZ250
  • 2002   Yamaha YZ250
  • 2003   Yamaha YZ250
  • 2004   Suzuki RM250
  • 2005   Suzuki RM250
  • 2006   Suzuki RM250
  • 2007   Yamaha YZ250
  • 2008   Yamaha YZ250
  • 2009   Yamaha YZ250
  • 2010   Yamaha YZ250
  • 2011 KTM 250SX
  • 2012 KTM 250SX
  • 2013 KTM 250SX
  • 2014 KTM 250SX
  • 2015 Yamaha YZ250
  • 2016 Yamaha YZ250
  • 2017 KTM 250SX

– 2003 Yamaha YZ250 –

250 FOUR-STROKES

– 2008 Kawasaki KX250F –

• 2001   Yamaha YZ250F
• 2002   Yamaha YZ250F
• 2003   Yamaha YZ250F
• 2004   Yamaha YZ250F
• 2005   Yamaha YZ250F
• 2006   Kawasaki KX250F
• 2007   Kawasaki KX250F
• 2008   Kawasaki KX250F
• 2009   Honda CRF250
• 2010   Kawasaki KX250F
• 2011   Suzuki RM-Z250
• this year Kawasaki KX250F
• 2013 Kawasaki KX250F
• 2014 Kawasaki KX250F
• 2015 Yamaha YZ250F
• 2016 Yamaha YZ250F
• 2017 KTM 250SXF

– 2011 Suzuki RM-Z250 –

450 FOUR-STROKES

– 2010 KTM 450SXF –

• 1998   Yamaha YZ400F
• 1999   Yamaha YZ400F
• 2000   Yamaha YZ400F
• 2001   Yamaha YZ426F
• 2002   Yamaha YZ426F
• 2003   Yamaha YZ450F
• 2004   Honda CRF450
• 2005   Honda CRF450
• 2006   Yamaha YZ450F
• 2007   Honda CRF450
• 2008   Honda CRF450
• 2009   Kawasaki KX450F
• 2010   KTM 450SXF
• 2011   KTM 450SXF
• 2012 Kawasaki KX450F
• 2013 Kawasaki KX450F
• 2014 Kawasaki KX450F
• 2015 KTM 450SXF
• 2016 KTM 450SXF
• 2017 KTM 450SXF

– 2016 KTM 450SXF –