KTM 450 SX-F

The 450 SX-F is the biggest single-cylinder motocrosser in KTM's India range, and the company calls it the most powerful engine in its class. The number backing that claim is 63PS at 9,500rpm from a 449.9cc four-stroke single, with 74Nm of torque arriving at the same 9,500rpm — a wide, flat delivery rather than a narrow spike, which on a motocross track means the power is usable coming out of corners and not just on long straights. For 2025 KTM retuned the suspension settings and tilted the engine two degrees further back in the frame to centralise mass, with the engine itself weighing just 26.8kg — detail that matters more to a racer chasing lap times than it does to anyone reading a brochure. Like its smaller 250 SX-F sibling, the 450 comes with launch control and a quickshifter as standard equipment, along with selectable engine maps and switchable traction control. Suspension duties go to a WP XACT AER 48mm fork with 310mm of travel up front and a WP XACT monoshock with 300mm of travel at the rear, both built to be adjusted by hand trackside. Brakes are 260mm front and 220mm rear discs, and the bike rolls on Dunlop Geomax MX34 tyres. Kerb weight comes in around 107kg, fuel capacity is 7.2 litres, and the seat sits at 958mm — all entirely normal figures for a full-size motocross machine and entirely abnormal for anything meant to be ridden on tar. That last point needs saying without hedging: the published listings describe the 450 SX-F as track-only and not road legal, built purely for competition use, and it carries no lights or road instrumentation of any kind. At Rs 10,25,100 ex-showroom it is priced as a serious piece of racing equipment, not a motorcycle anyone will ride to work. It is still sold through KTM's normal dealer network and online booking flow, which keeps it within reach of any KTM showroom rather than restricting it to a handful of specialist outlets. This is the bike a rider moves up to once a 250cc four-stroke has stopped being enough — open-class amateur motocross, national-level competition, or simply riders who want the biggest, most powerful machine KTM's off-road range offers in India. It sits at the top of the SX-F motocross ladder, above the 250 SX-F and well above the smaller two-stroke 85 SX that most of these riders started on. Anyone buying one should already have a relationship with a motocross-focused dealer or mechanic, because this is a bike that needs regular, serious maintenance to keep performing at the level it's built for. Within the broader Indian motocross scene, the 450 SX-F is the bike most often seen on the grid in open and senior amateur classes, and dealers who stock it typically also support the racing calendar around it — regional and national motocross events where parts, tyres and quick turnaround servicing matter during a race weekend. Buyers moving up from the 250 SX-F should expect a noticeably heavier hit of torque low down, which changes how the bike needs to be ridden out of slow corners, and most riders spend real time with a trainer or experienced racer dialling in the selectable maps before they commit to competition settings.