2022 KTM 450SXF TESTED - Motocross Action Magazine

[Music] so [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] what's up guys motocross action is here and this is our 2022 ktm 450 sxf test video we're excited to shake this thing down and share with you guys all the information we know about this bike so this bike it placed second in mxa's 450 shootout last year it has some minor changes for the new model year and it has that beautiful orange frame so we're excited to get out there shake this thing down and share with you guys all we know about it the 2022 ktm 450 sxf is basically the same model as it was last year in 2021 the two major changes and really only updates that this bike has is one side is cosmetic the other side is internal in the engine and it's the oil air separator on the cam got some updates so basically like the oil breather hose kind of the overflow where sometimes you would see a little bit of oil seeping out of the side of the ktm 450 engines i've it's happened to me for years and years on on bikes that i've ridden and raced and bikes that the mxa wrecking crew has had it's never been a performance issue it's never been a reliability issue but it has been a little bit messy and not really fun to look at in the shadow engine to see a little bit of oil seeping out so we talked to the ktm guys this wasn't included in the original press release about the 2022 models but we had to drill them and figure out hey what did you guys change and this was the only other update they had so we do expect a little bit less oil to come out but uh that only time will tell on that this piece actually came from the enduro model so those bikes are going slower they're getting hot they're going for long hours at a time so they brought over that oil air separator cam just a little internal part over to their 450 sxf model to reduce that the other changes to this bike cosmetics so it's got the orange frame and we always know after the last two times at the production model has had orange frames that the next year we can expect big changes so we're expecting big changes in 2023 for the ktm 450 and all of the ktm four choke model ranges with that being said i'm pretty stoked to see the orange frame on this model so yes this bike is basically the same as the 21 but it does have that orange frame that you find on factory editions it's pretty sweet it's got the blue seat cover it's got some updated graphics which i'm a fan of comes with the optional ventilated air box cover we stick that thing on right away it's extra air going to the air box it's making a little more snappy coming out of corners and something that is a no-brainer for us the 2022 ktm 450 sxf retails for 10 299 dollars so it's quite a bit up there on the on the price sheet we do love this model it's we've had a lot of fun on this bike and there's a lot of reasons why so when it comes to the handling of the ktm 450 sxf we always brag about when you think about turning it turns when you think about jumping over a braking bump it goes the ktm 450 today the bike was brand new and fresh for us it did have one hour on it so maybe not brand new but still super fresh the bike was a little bit rigid it takes some time to break in and this is something that we've learned over our years of testing ktms some models especially japanese models they don't take as long to break in or feel pretty good right away or at least a little bit earlier the ktm models with the steel frame it takes a little more time to break in the air forks the exact wp air forks they're a little bit a little bit stiffer right initially so today we put about two hours on this bike it's still a little bit stiff but we do know that after riding last year's model it takes about five six seven hours and it just keeps getting better from there where it keeps getting more and more comfortable to ride so [Music] [Applause] [Music] today we had myself riding the bike at the beginning of the day when the track was nice and smooth it is fresh but once the track got a little bit rougher the stiff feeling did start to stick out a little bit more and that's something that we know after hours and hours that this bike continues to break in and get better so around the hour five six seven mark as i mentioned that's when you're gonna see more comfort coming out of the ktm 450. why do we like this bike so much well one huge reason is it weighs so little 223 pounds makes this bike one of the lightest in the class it makes it nimble and easy to ride on the track as i mentioned when you think about turning it turns another couple reasons why the bike is slim from front to back which makes it easier to grip on to not so wide your knees aren't pointing out when you're coming into corners they're tucked in makes it great for riding in attack position it's got the brembo brakes which makes it super easy to stop coming into corners they're by far the best brakes we have out of all the motocross models that we test another cool thing about the brembo brakes we we always talk about how great they are but something you guys might not know is that steel braided brake lines actually comes stock on ktm models so that's something that that increases braking power and kind of gets rid of that spongy feel that you can sometimes have when you have rubber brake hoses on other models another reason we like the ktm 450 is super linear power you don't have to wait for the power to hit super hard down below or hit super hard in the middle or hit super hard on top this thing is just smooth coming out of the corners it rolls on and it keeps going so ktm 250 and 350 models you really have to wring it out to get into the meat of the power it has a lot of power and a lot of torque coming out of the corners but it doesn't hit super hard which makes you wheely and lose traction or anything like that it just tracks coming out of the corners and that's something that we really like about it diving into the mapping and talking more about the power on the ktm 450 map one is the standard stock map that's something that we like as an average map go to map if we're going to be racing for a long time if we're racing at rem and the track's going to be slick or if we're going to be racing somewhere where track conditions are changing a lot we want something predictable and just smooth and easy to ride with map one is our go-to map two is a little bit more exciting but it does take a little more energy to hold on to this bike also has traction control and that's something that we like when the tracks getting slick when we're looking for traction obviously it just detunes the power a little bit it monitors the rpms so if you're coming out of the corner and the arm and the rear wheel starts to spin rpms go up and as the rpms spike the ecu is smart it detunes the power a little bit helps you gain traction so that's something that's pretty cool another thing that we messed with today is launch control that this ktm 450 has so you can see in the video i didn't have a hole shot device like the factory addition this bike is the stock production model so no hole shot device obviously that's not ideal for starts in the dirt but the traction control is pretty nice so that also limits the rpm for a set amount of time then after the start it gets back into the regular ecu modes and you're back going good again down the straightaway so launch control is something that's pretty nice on this bike and is coming out on a lot of the japanese models as well diving into the gearing the stock ratio on the ktm 450 is a 1349 tooth sprocket that's something that we liked a lot today this bike felt great coming out of corners and obviously uh something that we run all the time but we do like to go up a tooth on the rear sprocket sometimes and that helps us run third gear through the corners so today third gear yes we were able to keep third gear through the corners it is more of a mellow kind of easy to ride riding the gear higher allows the suspension to move more freely the bike isn't as bound up by running high up in the rpm so when you're rolling on the throttle running the gear higher the suspension's moving more plush and it makes it a little bit easier to ride in third gear through the corner something that isn't really pulling as hard out of the corners and makes it a little bit uh easier to hold on to so darrell and i were going back and forth on the bike today i liked the 1349 he liked it too but he did say that if he wanted to ride third gear more he would go up a tooth on the rear bringing it to a 1350 ratio for the gearing and that would help keep third gear in the corners [Music] [Music] so although the ktm 450 hasn't changed very much for 2022 it did get some really big updates to the suspension in 2021 this is something that we rant and rave about and all of our gas gas husky and ktm videos from last year and this year i got gotta touch on it again because it's awesome okay the wp exact air forks yes they're three pounds lighter than a traditional coil spring fork so that makes the bike lighter which is nice as well and it also these these new forks have additional air and oil bypass notches which allows the spring to work a lot more plush these things are night and day better than what wp came out with in 2020 and 2019 so wp has continued to stick with the air forks continue to innovate with it and they do get a bad rap people hate air forks there's a few reasons why the kyb and showa air force from back in the day were no good at all and even the older versions of the wp forks they weren't very good either but wp has continued to press forward with it and if you make sure to check your air pressure if you don't check your air pressure it's going to be bad if you let your air coa go way too high or way too low it's not going to feel good on the track but if you check your air pressure in your forks before you go riding set it to what the settings recommend or to what you found works best for you you're going to like these forks so they're super plush and i always get people asking me should i buy a used 19 or 20 model or should i spend the extra money to get a 21 or 22 that has the updated exact air forks i'm always recommending get the new one because it's a huge upgrade our standard setting for ktm husky gas gas models is to run the sag at 105 millimeters and also on the forks with the ktm 450 we like to run it for pros right about the stock setting which is 10.7 bar that's 154 psi so that's what we like for pros we actually drop it down to 150 psi for intermediates we go all the way down to 145 psi for fast novice riders and then all the way down to 140 for vet riders and slower novices so the air fork setting that's something that you need to figure out for your weight and your speed so basically the air forks we like to strap a zip tie to the fork leg you can't really trust the rubber grommets that they have that go on there they kind of slide up and down too easily so we put a zip tie on there we set the forks at the stock pressure we go out and do a couple laps at our normal speed if the zip tie is about three inches from the bottom it's too stiff if the zip tie is an inch and a half from the bottom that's your sweet spot that's where we like to stick our air pressure and that's how we gauge our air pressure for each rider from there we can tailor the forks with the compression clicker on top and the rebound adjuster on bottom both of which are adjustable by hand you don't have to get down on your hands and knees with a flat head screwdriver you can just reach your hand down there twist the knobs in or out to go stiffer or softer so there are a lot of things that we love about the ktm 450 this is the strongest and most durable clutch in the class with brembo hydraulic actuation and the belleville spring washer which helps make the clutch super durable so this bike is awesome and we've done a pretty good job of explaining all the things we like about it so far but because we've ridden it so much we do know there's quite a few things that you need to keep your eyes on and that's what we want to give you guys a heads up on in this video a couple things always check the spokes next to the rim lock these are the two indicator spokes if these are loose odds are there's a few more loose on your wheels especially when the bike's brand new you got to keep an eye on the spokes and always check those also sprocket bolts these are huge very important no matter what bike you're riding always check your sprocket bolts and and your spokes as well those are two safety items you need to keep an eye on it but especially with ktm husky gas gas models the sprocket bolts do come loose so keep an eye on those engine mounts keep an eye on those as well those do come loose from time to time also the spring that holds up the rear brake lever that also tends to pop out when you're pressing against the bike with your feet ktm the way that they mount the spring the the arm is sticking out so it's easy for your foot to push it off of the hole we like to turn that one around to make it a little bit easier a little more durable there two more areas to keep an eye on the shift lever it's my favorite shift lever on the market it's super easy to take on and off it's a lot easier than some of the other models but there are some pros and cons to it because it's so easy to get to the eight millimeter bolt does come loose from time to time so keep an eye on the shift lever also the starter wires that go plug into a plug right behind the the front number plate those two also come loose sometimes so keep an eye on those if your bike doesn't want to start sometimes you can jiggle around those wires plug them back in a little bit that'll help you go as well also the flashing light behind the front bar pad lets you know when launch control is engaged that wire can pop out sometimes too so launch control will still work you just won't know it because the light isn't flashing so these are just a few things to keep an eye on we mentioned a few more things in our fc 350 2022 video that was recently posted these are things that we want you guys to keep an eye on if you're buying a ktm 450 or if you're thinking about buying a ktm 450 these are some things that you need to know another important note the ktm 450 comes with dunlop's mx33 tires front and rear we love these tires we think they're best for all around riding the front tire yes it isn't quite as durable as maybe the 53 or some of the other models but it is more durable than the mx3s tire that is out there as well so we love the dunlop mx33s and we're glad that ktm is putting them stock on these bikes so that when you pick up your bike you go out to the track you have good rubber on there you're getting good traction ktm 458 comes with 58 horsepower as we said it's linear smooth easy to ride 10 299 is what it retails for it weighs 223 pounds so overall this bike is a lot of fun to ride mxa we put a lot of time on it as it hasn't changed much since last year but we're going to continue to put time on it and we're excited to see how it ranks up against the other 450 models in our 450 shootout that we're always kind of working on we're always testing these models we're always learning about these bikes and we're comparing them often testing different parts on them so uh this bike even though it hasn't changed much for 2022 it's still going to be ridden a ton this year and we're excited to put more hours on it so thanks for checking in with the mxa wrecking crew and for learning about the 2022 ktm 450 if you like what we got going on on our youtube channel make sure to click the subscribe button as we got lots of videos coming here as we're just getting started in the 2022 model season this is our first 450 that we've ridden it was a lot of fun we got a lot more videos coming also motocrossactionmag.com we got lots of news reviews race results product tests bike tests and more on there so if you need more information about dirt bikes odds are we have it on our website so thanks for tuning in see you guys next time

Channel: motocross action magazine

Views: 61,105

Keywords: race, wild, nuts, crazy, jump, trick, stunt, gap, amazing, incredible, moto, motocross, dirt, dirtbike, dirt bike, outdoors, athlete, sport, motorcycle, fitness, health, cali, socal, california, course, track, offroad

Id: rjtVT6v_0mo

Length: 16min 0sec (960 seconds)

Published: Mon Jul 26 2021