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2011 KTM 450 SX-F Shootout Photo Gallery

Last year’s shootout winner moved away from its long-time PDS platform and incorporated linkage in the WP suspension package.

Browse through photos of the 2011 KTM 450 SX-F. This is the reigning champion of the 450 Motocross Shootout. Read the full 2011 KTM 450 SX-F Comparison review.

KTM employs the only carbureted engine in the test, and as the motocross world has gotten a few years of EFI under its belt, there’s a realization that those carburetors aren’t all that bad.

All testers made note of the engine’s capacity for usable torque. The 450 SX-F has power from bottom to top, and it lays it on thick and smooth.

Handling on the new 450 SX-F isn't what is used to be. The rear end kicks around and the rider lacks feedback.

The 450 gets upgraded to the Excel A60 rims this year and it still has the no-tool airbox access, multi-adjustable brake pedal, resonance chamber, quarter-turn gas cap (not to mention two gallons of fuel), hydraulic clutch, billet hubs, easy-access shock preload collar, tool-less fork adjusters and quality hand grips.

All the bikes come with premium handlebars, but the KTM’s was knocked for its particular bend which affected ergonomics and handling.

KTM had a lot of weight on its shoulders coming in, but ultimately the new linkage suspension isn't able to support the pressure.

For as much as it was supposed to help the handling, the rear shock and linkage received complaints that it refused to settle down.

The big SX-F has the smoothest curve of any machine as it transfers from the bottom to the meat of its powerband.

Our two fastest riders were able to make it bog when landing hard off jumps, something that just isn’t experienced anymore on EFI bikes.

It also landed in the top-three during the roll-on acceleration test.

The dyno revealed that the Austrian is toward the top in peak numbers, falling shy of the leader (Suzuki) by roughly a single horsepower and one-half of a lb-ft of torque.

Individual testers ranked the KTM first in certain areas, but once the scores were tallied it was the only bike that didn’t claim an overall category.