2007 TM MX450F Photo Gallery

The TM Racing MX 450 F is indeed a highly refined product from the shores of Italy. We met up with a benevolent TM dealer for a quick ride at Round 8 of the WORCS series. Check out our 2007 TM Racing MX 450 F Race Test

2007 TM Racing MX 450 F

Just because TM is known for building screaming-fast 2-stroke kart engines doesn't mean it hasn't figured out the 4-stroke movement.

The components alone will get any respectable gearhead worked into a sweat and closer inspection reveals the finer details and beautiful welds that are only appreciated by a moto connoisseur.

The TM puts out plenty of horsepower and torque, and in much the same way as other 450 motocrossers on the market.

We didn't get enough time to really tell how rigid or soft the frame is, but we were able to discern that it feels exceptionally thin and light.

With excellent handling, a user-friendly, powerful motor and well-spaced rider layout, the TM is a bike we immediately got comfortable with and wanted to push harder.

The motor and tranny are nestled in a beautiful, black powder-coated chromoly oval-section chassis. The 2008 model will be an aluminum twin-spar design.

Considering that we were so unfamiliar with the machine, it's a good thing that the MX 450 is equipped with a 270mm semi-floating front brake rotor and twin-pot Brembo caliper.

The shock can be either an Ohlins piece or the Sachs component. Our test machine was graced with the Ohlins rear.

Just glancing around the MX 450 reveals enough to get your saliva glands into high gear.

Watson Performance Suspension has recently become a TM dealership, and they let us borrow one for a day.

TM Racing offers bikes that have much smaller mufflers if you're into the 2-stroke thing. The lineup also includes supermoto and enduro machines as well.

The hot-start works well, but the bike fires just fine without it anyway.

As you can see, the down-draft 41mm Keihin carb is much less obtrusive than a conventional FCR unit.

There's a lot of expensive hardwear in this photo. Stuff you won't find on a stock bike from the Big Five.

We didn't have or witness any problems with the bike during our weekend in Olympia. Considering the build quality and use of high-dollar components, we expect a lot out of the MX 450 F, and it delivers.

Though most of the Olympia WORCS course was wooded terrain, the short amount of time on the motocross track was enough to make us want a lot more time with the MX 450 F.

Even with the less expensive Marzocchi unit, the full MSRP is nearly a grand less than what it would cost to buy a Japanese 450 MXer ($6999) and install the same 50mm kit ($2750).