Ron Lawson

2 weeks ago | dirtbikemagazine.com | Ron Lawson

Aaron Plessinger scored his second career 450 win in the Monster Energy Supercross series this weekend under pouring rain at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough MA. The open air stadium was a quagmire after days of rain, but that’s the condition that Plessinger says he likes best. He took the lead from Shane McElrath and rode a steady race, finishing with over 20 seconds of cushion. The weekend further benefitted Cooper Webb in the points race.

3 weeks ago | dirtbikemagazine.com | Ron Lawson

Ducati has revealed the production version of its new 450 motocross bike. The Ducati Desmo450 MX will reach North America in July, and carry a MSRP of $11,495. The official press release from Ducati follows: Sunnyvale, Calif., April 3, 2025—It’s a historic day for the Borgo Panigale manufacturer: Ducati presents the Desmo450 MX, marking the debut of its first motocross bike.

3 weeks ago | dirtbikemagazine.com | Ron Lawson

Adventure bikes are hard to define, but you know one when you see it. These are motorcycles designed to cover vast distances and don’t care if the road is paved or not. For 2025, this segment  was late to solidify because of unsold 2024 inventory, so deals are out there. Also, many of these manufacturers don’t always assign a specific model year to their offerings. The prices shown are subject to change and do not include destination, set-up, taxes or dealer mark-up.

3 weeks ago | dirtbikemagazine.com | Ron Lawson

Cooper Webb extended his points advantage in the 2025 Monster Energy Supercross standings with a signature victory at the Seattle Supercross this weekend. He took the holeshot, then lost positions to Ken Roczen and Chase Sexton early in the main event. Then, in classic Cooper Webb style, he stalked his opponents and finally re-took the lead with three laps to go. The victory gave him an 11-point lead with six rounds left.

3 weeks ago | dirtbikemagazine.com | Ron Lawson

This week I got together with Kit Palmer of Cycle News to cover Beta’s two new dual-sport models: the Alp 4.0 and Alp X. There aren’t many demo units to go around, so Cycle News had one version and Dirt Bike got the other. We got together in Anza Borrego for a quick ride and photo session. Beta had a model called the Alp years ago. In the past, it was a long-range trials-oriented bike like the KTM Freeride. For 2025, the Alp has been recast as a low-cost dual-sport/ADV bike.