Source: MotorcyclistOnline.com
The hills are alive with the sound of brap. The two-stroke 2024 Husqvarna TE 300 Pro adding a little blue smoke to blue skies. (Philip Platzer/Husqvarna/)Haven’t we seen this article before? Absolutely. As part of Motorcyclist’s mission to cover the world of motorcycling, it’s just one of the countless market categories we monitor and report on each year. Not like we can just relax and call it a day in 2024 after our 2023 roundup of Best and Most Expensive Dirt Bike.It might seem odd talking about dirt bikes in terms of “expensive.” Most lead short, nasty, brutish lives and end up parked against a wall and forgotten. Or as parts bikes. By their very nature, they’re not fancy or “expensive.” When ridden as designed, they’re meant to be launched into harm’s way or oblivion on a regular basis.“Bang per buck” isn’t a metaphor with off-road motorcycles. It’s a measurable, causal relationship. With this abuse in mind, we’re focusing on the buck part. Some familiar machines remain on this list, but a few new ones make their debut. Plus a famous one at the end. Enjoy and comment if you disagree. Especially if you disagree.The days of pipe burns are over thanks to the electric Stark Varg dirt bike. (Stark Future/)At 260 pounds, the electric Stark Varg is light enough to fly. And with 80 hp, launching it is no problem. (Stark Future/)2024 Stark Varg | $12,900The Stark Varg is fast becoming a frequent presence here. But the numbers are what the numbers are. At $12,900, it’s up there in terms of price. But the relatively low average MSRP of most MX offerings means no one flinched when price came up at our Fox Valley MX trail ride review. Fellow riders were expecting a price north of $15K and seemed pleasantly surprised when told the actual MSRP. Maybe it’s the opposite of “sticker shock”?Whatever the marketing terms or jargon, it’s a reasonable price for cutting-edge technology and power. Motorcyclist is clearly enamored with Stark Future’s work. Range, running time, and charging capabilities are getting within spitting distance of ICE offerings. The power, torque, and usability of the Varg has already surpassed anything possible with four- or two-strokes. With the Alpha package, 60 hp becomes 80 hp, with the freedom to choose any horsepower figure you like.KYB/Technical Touch fork and monoshock soak up almost anything you can hit, and the lack of a linkage rear suspension means stumps and rocks are no problem. A 6.5kWh battery in a magnesium case takes 151 minutes to go from zero to full charge at 120V, 82 minutes at 220V. In practical terms, just plug it in for 30 minutes while you catch your breath and eat lunch, and you’ll be set for the day. While the EV debate is ongoing in other motorcycle categories, the Stark Varg is already halfway through the closing arguments.MXGP champ (and GasGas sales associate) Jorge Prado shows you exactly what you get with the new GasGas MC 450F Prado Edition. (GasGas/)Assuming you had your finger on a “Buy” button on March 26, you could be the proud owner of one of 300 limited-edition GasGas MC 450F Prado Edition dirt bikes. (GasGas/)GasGas MC 450F Prado Edition | $13,867 (€13,050)Hot on the heels of Jorge Prado’s 2023 MXGP championship, GasGas just released the limited-edition MC 450F Prado Edition. How limited is it? It was released on March 26, so chances are it’s sold out. Assuming you could still beg, borrow, or steal one, you’d get an almost-factory ride with all of the GasGas Racing Department’s finest technology. Team of race technicians and Jorge Prado–like riding ability sold separately.It comes with factory wheels, factory Selle Dalla Valle seat plus a host of rider aids like launch control, quickshifting, traction control, and two power maps to help guide the liquid-cooled single-cylinder 449.9cc engine. Befitting a tribute bike, it comes with exact factory racing graphics complete with No. 61 decals and a No. 1 plate signed by Jorge Prado himself.No word on whether it has a few more ponies than the claimed 53.0 hp of the MC 450F, but let’s guess it’s got extra sauce. After all, it’s a true MX machine, not an enduro bike. Skeptics might dismiss these limited editions as just more marketing noise. But if you made competition motorcycles and won your very first championship, you’d probably want it memorialized with an MSRP too.Designed for low-speed abuse and improbable passage through the inhospitable, the 2025 KTM 300 XC-W Hardenduro will fight any terrain, anytime. (Philip Platzer/KTM /)Props to the KTM marketing department and their photog. That looks really hard. (Philip Platzer/KTM/)2025 KTM 300 XC-W Hardenduro Edition | $13,049This wouldn’t be much of a list without a smoker. Although the 300 XC traces its origins to 1984, the KTM 300 XC-W owes more to its 2008 300 EXC ancestor, being the first two-stroke enduro ever offered with electric start. Our story starts in 2017 with a completely redesigned engine and suspension.The regular KTM 300 XC uses a dirt-track-friendly linkage-type rear suspension, which sticks out a few inches ahead and below the swingarm. In enduro environs, these tend to hit whatever rock or stump you’re traversing. So the 300 XC-W Hardenduro mounts the rear WP Xplor PDS (Progressive Damping System) shock directly to the swingarm. While this means less ability to tune and finesse suspension travel, the expectation is that 300 XC-W owners will be launching their bikes into all sorts of immovable objects, bellypan and swingarm-first. Problem solved.Beyond the XC-W, the 2025 KTM 300 XC-W Hardenduro (called the Erzbergrodeo edition from 2020–2023) comes with a few extras. Like CNC-milled triple clamps, an orange powdercoated frame, and a fancy Selle Dalla Valle seat with pull straps and plenty of guard and protection bits. Basically, any orange anodized bit is part of the Hardenduro package. Like its plain XC-W cousin, the 2024 variant dispensed with classic transfer ports, going with throttle body injectors. And being a KTM, it’s light, with a respectable dry weight of 233.9 pounds. Make sure your insurance is up to date and enjoy.For all the wonderful things Big Red does, plentiful and dynamic product photography is not among them. Here’s a stock shot of the 2024 Honda CRF450RWE. (Honda/)2024 Honda CRF450RWE | $12,499People use the acronym IYKYK a lot these days. That’s the Honda CRF450RWE in a nutshell. Available since 2019, it’s the premier dirt offering from Big Red. For the uninitiated, you have to dig a little, but once you find the competition-oriented CRF450R on the Honda Powersports site, you’ll find the 2024 Honda CRF450RWE tucked away in the Trim options section for $2,800 more. What sort of “trim options” do you get? Quite a bit more than just trim.The CRF450RWE Works Edition comes with a Yoshimura exhaust, Throttle Jockey seat cover, Hinson clutch basket and cover, D.I.D DirtStar LT-X rims, Kashima and titanium oxide-coated fork, and a red cylinder head cover. That last bit hints at the hand-ported cylinder head, which is the real story here. Or is it?Our colleagues at Dirt Rider didn’t mind the extra $2,800, but it wasn’t because of the aforementioned mill. They praised the A-Kit Showa 49mm coil-spring front suspension package with titanium oxide-coated lower fork legs from Kashima. While the 12.2 inches of travel was nice, the wide adjustability was much loved. Coupled with friendly, tractable torque that’s top of class, the 450CRFRWE both delivered and sent it in equal measure.We’re not saying a stock 2024 Husqvarna TE 300 Pro is a proper hill-climbing rig. But just look at that. (Philip Platzer/Husqvarna/)Enjoy the picture. That’s about as clean as a Husqvarna TE 300 Pro is ever going to get. (Philip Platzer/Husqvarna/)Husqvarna TE 300 Pro | $13,249Some readers think Motorcyclist has become a shill for electric motorcycles. This is only half right. We’re also shills for ultra-trick two-strokes. This is America, we can have it both ways. Adding more bluish haze to all this fun is the Husqvarna TE 300 Pro, which is very similar to the KTM 300 XC-W Hardenduro. While they feature the same throttle body intake-fed 293cc two-stroke single-cylinder mills, there are a few differences between the two.The big difference is that the TE 300 Pro sticks with a linkage rear suspension, trusting in a skid-plate extension to protect it from harm. Each rear suspension has its loyal following and most seem to prefer the feel and adjustability of the linkage. On that subject, the Husky gets 0.8-inch-less ground clearance (13.9 inches versus 14.7 inches) than the KTM, but stands about 0.4 inch shorter in terms of seat height (37.5 inches versus 37.9 inches). The Husky clocks in at 239 pounds dry (claimed) while the KTM hits the scales at 234 pounds. Both get Brembo brakes front and rear, replacing Braktec components.Cosmetically, it gets a black frame, gray bodywork, and special graphics. And of course it wears Factory Racing wheels with Excel rims, a Galfer floating front brake disc, Galfer solid rear brake disc, front axle puller, and Supersprox Stealth rear sprocket. Front and rear brake disc guards protect the stopping bits and a front fender strap helps riders get a grip on stuck bikes. All in all, you get the bits you’d expect at this price point. And if you convince a friend to pick up a KTM XC-W Hardenduro to match your new TE 300 Pro, you can fight among yourselves to pick a winner.Tiptoe through the boulders. The 2024 Sherco 500 SEF Factory channels Alpine heritage through treacherous terrain. (Sherco/)The 2024 Sherco 500 SEF Factory impatiently sits through its close-up. (Sherco/)Sherco 500 SEF Factory | $12,799In 1998, Frenchman Marc Teissier decided to build the perfect trials bike. The name Sherco combines the names of the famous Spanish marque Bultaco and, simply enough, a mountain sherpa. Sherco quickly added enduro and supermoto models in 2003, built in its Nimes, France, facility. Sherco’s mission has grown to include 27 models in all, from 50cc beginner bikes to 500cc hard enduro machines to its famous 125–300cc trials machines.The biggest-displacement dirt bike to make this list, the Sherco 500 SEF Factory isn’t for beginners. True displacement is 478cc. But our dirt cousins at Dirt Rider speculated that the platform would be appropriate for building a Dakar racer. The 500 SEF Factory and 450 SEF Factory are identical, save for the 500′s larger bore (98mm versus 95mm). But being true enduro machines, horsepower and torque figures are only half the story. Power means nothing if you can’t hook the tires up. Many enduro bikes are de-tuned and geared lower than their track brethren to properly navigate slower, near-impassable terrain.Brembo brakes (with Galfer front disc) grace the front and rear, while KYB 48mm fork with 11.8 inches of travel are mated to a single KYB unit in back offering 13.0 inches of travel. There’s also fuel injection, an Akrapovič can, and of course new graphics to go along with a new front fender and clutch cover. But the headline here is a highly specialized big-displacement MX bike with a chassis that delivers super-precise handling for expert riders.Two-strokes and a single cylinder were enough to change motocross orthodoxy forever. Oh, and some famous guy apparently owned this 1970 Husqvarna 400 Cross. (Bonhams/)By all accounts, Steve McQueen was an accomplished rider. But in more professional hands, the 1970 Husqvarna 400 Cross won two 500cc world championships and countless races. (Bonhams/)1970 Husqvarna 400 Cross | $230,500 (Owned by actor Steve McQueen)Many economists agree: Motorcycles owned by actor and motorcycle racer Steve McQueen are almost always worth more than motorcycles not owned by him. It also helps if it was featured on the cover of the August 23, 1971, issue of Sports Illustrated magazine. Anyway, this particular example (frame serial No. MH-1341, engine No. 401124) fetched $230,500 at Bonhams Barber Museum Sale on October 6, 2018. While another 1971 Husqvarna 400 Cross (frame serial No. MI-3845, engine No. MI-3845) brought $186,500 in 2022, the 1970 example was the bike he rode in Bruce Brown’s famous documentary On Any Sunday. So clearly, it’s more valuable because, you know. Provenance.Amusingly enough, it was purchased for $1,500 in 2008 by Rob Phillips, a Husqvarna collector who (like the seller) had no idea about its previous owner. The moral of the story is that buying old dirt bikes is always a good idea.
