Australasian Dirt Bike — January 2018

52 | JANUARY 2018 http://www.adbmag.com.au

2018 MX SHOOTOUT I 450CC BATTLE

It’s a long story, so here’s the short

version. Honda Australia was

unable to import a 2018 CRF450R

in time for the shootout. Some

CRF450Rs appeared in Australia

by November, but by the time one

was available to test, the shootout

wouldn’t have been until late that

month, which was just after the

deadline for this issue.

Why couldn’t we wait? Timing.

As a monthly magazine, ADB goes

to print at roughly the same time

every month, which means our

deadlines are pretty consistent.

Because this great Aussie title is

printed in Australia there is

roughly 1-2 weeks between printer

deadline and on-sale date. We

wanted the most important

shootout of the year in the most

important issue of the year, this

260-page Christmas book you’re

reading now! Which means we had

to have the shootout feature

written, subbed, designed and at

the printers by 20 November, for an

on-sale date of 4 December. Some

subscribers will actually get this

issue a week before that. So, we

could not wait until the Honda

arrived if we wanted it in this

issue. Why does the shootout need

to run in this issue?

Waiting until the following issue

to run this shootout would have

meant the feature would not be out

until the first week of January,

when people are on holidays. We

want as many people as possible

reading this feature, to help with

their decision on what to buy next.

We also wanted to make sure our

readers got to see most of the bikes

they can buy, tested against each

other before making their decision

on what to run in 2018. This

decision on what to race each year

is typically made well before the

new year, so you can get your ride

setup how you like in time for the

first round of racing. If the feature

came out in January, this would

leave very little time to do that.

We went to great lengths to get a

Honda CRF450R here, we even

contact Honda Japan, but the

planets did not align. So tune in,

in one months’ time, to see if the

CRF450R beats the winner!

What happened to the Honda?

HONDA

CRF450R

(^2017) Thanks
Big thanks to the legends at
Canberra Motorcycle Centre for
lending us a 2017 Honda CRF450R
for our photoshoot. They’re one of
the biggest dealers in Oz so make
sure you get down and check them
out at 30 Ipswich St, Fyshwick or
phone (02) 6280 4491