2007 450 MX Shootout Photo Gallery

We set out to discover what another 365 days of Darwinian Theory has done to the latest crop of 450 motocross bikes. Check out who won our 2007 450 MX Shootout.

MotoUSA 2007 450 MX Shootout

Sound testing the four fiddies.

Ian Martin

We’ve never seen anyone quite so happy to eat roost as young Ian Martin.

Wouldn’t you be smiling if Hollywood movie-makers were paying you to ride dirt bikes and surf?

Mike didn’t have the best Arenacross season this year in the BooKoo series. We’d like to tease him and call him BooHoo but we’re not really fast enough, not that it’s ever stopped us before.

Yes, it’s 'The' Chuck Sun.Only one of our test riders was even born at the time he won his 500cc National title but Chuck remains a professional. Factory guys just don’t seem to ever lose it, do they?

Our testers had plenty of things to write about in between track sessions.

We don’t skimp on the refreshments for our hard-working crew – all you can eat ham and cheese sandwiches. You’re welcome, guys.

This year featured one of our most well-rounded testing crews ever. From left to right: Ian Martin, JC Hilderbrand, Robert Horban, Chuck Sun (seated), Mike Horban and Alvin Zalamea.

Some testers were still chasing their decisions as the final laps of testing wound down.

Glen Helen separated the men from the boys in our pack of machines. The brutal, blown-out circuit brought out strengths and weaknesses we didn’t find before at Competitive Edge.

We took the helmet cams off long enough to get some serious testing done, but you’ll see in the videos that we picked up some good stuff.

Having the factories out to support our test and make sure everything was as good as possible was a big asset.

When it was all said and done our finishing order was all shaken up from last year. That’s the beauty of our sport’s current state of affairs – any bike can, and does, win.

After mastering their tricks in the pits, JC pointed Mike and Chuck to the biggest jump on the track to make sure they had enough air time to pull it off.

Suzuki stunned us with its super-quiet exhaust but only Kawasaki was over the AMA limit of 99 dB. It’s good to see these manufacturers striving to meet and exceed the regulations because they’re only going to get stricter.

Honda again rules the weight scales but the biggest surprise was how the Kawi swelled from 2006.

Suzuki was able to give Kawasaki a run in the torque curves. It’s one of the comparisons that is easily felt on the track.

If you have to be a man’s-man in the numbers game Kawasaki will make your chest thump the loudest.

Radio Shack has it all including sound meters... That's right folks, if you're looking for the latest in technological gadgetry, look no further than your local, teen-infested mall. (We better get a crate of free batteries now Radio Shack.)

Chuck Sun (right) is one hell of a storyteller. He also happens to be pretty quick on a dirt bike considering everyone wore black to his last birthday.