HAVE YOU SEE THE NEW MXA? THE MARCH 2025 ISSUE IS OUT NOW!

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HAVE YOU SEEN THE NEW MXA? A MOTOCROSS MAGAZINE FOR GUYS WHO LOVE BIKES BY GUYS WHO LOVE RACING THEM

The March 2025 issue of MXA is jam-packed full of stuff you need to know—especially if you’re sitting at home looking out at the frozen tundra and wishing you could get a taste of motocross to warm you up. MXA is all about motocross and Supercross. But mostly we are about testing bikes and products.

Believe it or not it took 18 years to get this 2006 Suzuki RM125 two-stroke completely restored. That may seem like a long time, but life is full of surprises and so are vintage motocross bikes..

Because the RM125 was passed around, backburned and lost in the search for parts, it ended up with a potpourri of parts from virtually every aftermarket company in the industry.

 The 2025 Honda CRF450 Works Edition is an upgraded version of the basic 2025 CRF450. It is better than the stocker, but why wouldn’t it be — it has $2900 worth of upgrades done to it.

  Roger DeCoster’s 1973 Suzuki RN faced a few issues on itS way to the 1973 FIM 500 World Championship. Two things happened to it before the first Grand Prix of 1973; First, the FIM raised the minimum weight limit so much that Suzuki was forced to pour molten lead into the frame tubes to make the bike heavy enough to be legal. Second, the day before the race, Suzuki did a fuel run and found out that the works gas tank did hold enough fuel to make it through a 40 minute moto. Roger drove from Holland to Lucien Tilkens house in Belgium and waited while Lucien welded a hump onto Roger’s tank so that Roger’s bike could finish the two long motos.

There are three “Factory Edition” rolling down the assembly line in Mattighofen; the 2025-1/2 KTM 450SXF Factory Edition, Husqvarna FC450 Factory Edition  (formerly the Rockstar Edition) and the GasGas MC450F Factory Edition. MXA gives you a first look at all three of the Austrian specials in this issue.

There is always hope that the Japanese brands will make a 350cc four-stroke to compete against the GasGas, Husky and KTM 350s. But until then, the three Austrian built 350s are in competition against each other.

MXA’s advice to all first-time MC350F riders is, “Don’t shift.” Peak horsepower is way, way, way up on top, so shifting early is the same as giving up horsepower. Wait for the rev limiter to kick in, and then wait another beat before shifting. Unlike a lot of fast bikes, the GasGas MC350F powerband is incredibly manageable, broad, and fun, fun, fun to race.

When Honda released the 2004 CRF250 four-stroke, it forecast the death of the venerable Honda CR125 two-stroke. Surprisingly, even with the CR125 on the chopping block, Honda built an all-new 125 engine—with an electronically controlled power valve, new combustion chamber and new cylinder porting. Sadly, the chassis and suspension were great, but the engine was a flop?

How much power did the 2004 CR125 make? How much power doesn’t it make on the dyno would be a better question. The 2004 CR125 makes 30.6 peak horsepower at 11,000 rpm. For comparison purposes, the 2004 KTM 125SX makes 34.5 horsepower at 10,500 rpmBut, that doesn’t even tell half the story. But, If you go back to 10,500 rpm, where the KTM is making 34.5 horsepower, the CR125 is only making 27 horsepower. That’s close to eight horsepower less.

Dennis Stapleton had to cut back on his globe-trotting to get ready for the World Vet Championship. He took MXA’s 2025 Honda CRF450 and sent the engine to XPR, the suspension to AHM and  left the cosmetics to Acerbis and DeCal Works. He made the top four in the Over-40 Pro class and was 11th in the Over-30 Pro class.

Chad Braun at XPR created an engine that could handle Glen Helen’s infamous long start straight. The stock 2025 Honda CRF 450 engine is rider-friendly and responsive, but 55 horsepower was not gonna cut it on a 70 mph sprint to the first turn—no matter how steeply banked it is. “I needed AMA 450 National power, something closer to 63 horses.”

Josh Fout (946) and Trevor Nelson flew to Indiana to race the final GNCC event of the year on the brand-new 2025 Yamaha YZ250FX. It makes you loved trees just by blitzing through them.

You might be surprised to learn that titanium is expensive, but not because it is a rare metal. It isn’t rare. In fact, titanium is the fourth-most abundant metal in the Earth’s crust behind aluminum, iron and magnesium. It costs so much because the process of separating titanium from the raw material requires meeting titanium’s 3034.4 degree Fahrenheit melting point.

Jody Weisel may have tested more motocross bikes, including works bikes, than anyone on the planet during his 51 years as a test rider, but in this month’s “Jody’s Box” he reminisces about the beater bikes he started his career on.

USWE makes a lot of hydration systems for all kinds of sports, but the USWE Zulo 2-lite waist pack is the best one for motocross and off-road racers to use because it keeps the water close to your body. Plus, with 35 ounces of water inside it weighs only 2.6 pounds. MXA also runs Nitromousse in our off-road cross-countrybikes.

Every month in MXA REP Suspension’s Mark Johnson explains in great detail the innermost workings of your bike’s suspension. Mark is a fountain of knowledge and is able to make it easily understandable in his monthly “Suspension Simplified” column.

MXA sent Josh Mosiman, Dennis Stapleton, Josh Fout and Trevor Nelson to the KTM factory in Austrian last year to race an Austrian 450 National and ride some prototype KTM’s. But mostly they went to see Manfred Edlinger, KTM’s head of the motocross R&D, who has been in the KTM R&D department since starting at KTM back in 2002. “Mandy” knows everything about motorcycle dynamics. Read what he has to say in this interview.

MXA is proud to have Twisted Development’s Jamie Ellis telling everything there is to know about the complicated world of mapping fuel injected motocross bikes. He holds court every month in his “Twisted Logic” column.

There are two regular features in MXA that highlight the complexity of  our sport by breaking it down into easily understandable tidbits. “Ten Things” is about  the inner workings of making a motocross bike go fast. Meanwhile, on the page next to it, “Big Movers” offers companies a chance to tell the buying public what their Best Selling,  Best Value and Most Unique products . In the March 2025 Issue we get the full skinny from Scalvini pipe’s Pete Vetrano..

MXA doesn’t just test motorcycles, we also test the aftermarket parts that are manufactured to make bikes better.  This month we tested Moto Hose’s redesigned Kawasaki KX450  Y-hose radiator kit for better flow and cooling while working with the stock radiators. On the right hand page is the T-Rex Moto-X KTM 65SX top triple clamp for 50cc, 65cc and 85cc motocross bikes. It offers more rigidity and adjustments than the stock triple clamp. 

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If you subscribe to MXA you can get the mag on your iPhone, iPad, Kindle or Android by going to the Apple Store, Amazon or Google Play or in a digital version. Even better you can subscribe to Motocross Action and get the awesome print edition delivered to your house by a uniformed employee of the U.S. Government.

Did we mention you get a  $25 E-gift card for anything you want from Rocky Mountain ATV/MC? They will email you a $25 credit to order anything you want (be sure to include your email address and check your emails to receive your $25). In short, subscribing to MXA for one full year, iis incredibly cheap. You can call (800) 767-0345 or Click Here.

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