MotoUSA just returned from full day of testing at Southern California’s Racetown 395, the site of our yearly 450cc motocross bike shootout. This year’s contestants include the reigning class champion and updated Kawasaki KX450F (learn more about it in our 2010 Kawasaki KX450F First Ride). Also present was Honda’s tweaked CRF450R that we just tested two weeks ago at Racetown during our 2010 Honda CRF450R First Ride review. The final Japanese entry is the new generation Yamaha YZ450F which we rode in Maryland’s Budds Creek during our 2010 Yamaha YZ450F First Ride. Also joining the party, for the first time in MotoUSA history, is Austrian motorcycle manufacturer, KTM with its 450 SX-F machine. Contributing Editor, Chilly White put some laps on it last month and you can read his thoughts in the 2010 KTM 450 SX-F First Ride review.
 
Noticeably absent from this comparison was the 2010 Suzuki RM-Z450 which has yet to be released here in the States. In fact, rumor is Suzuki might not even be brining it stateside at all due to its current financial situation. Let’s hope not, because Suzuki makes one heck of a great MX bike and it would be a shame to keep people from experiencing the kind of performance that Chad Reed used to win this year’s AMA Motocross championship.
 
The final bike that eluded us was Italian motorcycle manufacturer, Aprilia and its exclusive MXV 4.5 MX machine. So far we’ve heard some interesting things about this V-Twin powered machine, but have yet to swing a leg over it. Aprilia, are you out there? Can we get an MXV to test, please?
 
For now, you can salivate over this photograph taken by Adam Campbell Photography while we decipher our test riders scribble and continue testing these machines in the dyno room and on the dirt to find out which one is truly the best around the racetrack.

Editors Note: Read the entire review in the 2010 450 Motocross Shootout.