Motorcycle makers are fantastic liars. The staff of Dirt Bike Magazine realized this from the very start and in the October, 1972 issue, they went on a mission seeking the answer for at least one basic question: How much do motorcycles really weigh? Rick Sieman and the boys visited every motorcycle dealership in Southern California with a certified scale and weighed 85 different dirt bikes. The methodology was to weigh them without gasoline, thereby removing the biggest variable so the figures could be compared. So who was the biggest liar? They were wildly inconsistent even between models of the same make. Clearly the weight figures came from the marketing departments of the time and there were certainly no scales invovled.

To this day, we still drain and weigh every test bike. The claimed weights are much more accurate now, although there’s still a degree of optimism. Here are the results from that 1972 story as well as other figures gleaned from tests in 1982, 1992, 2002 and 2012. By 2012, most manufacturers had started listing only “curb weight” which was described as all fluids present and a full tank of fuel. This was done mostly to obscure the fact that they had previously been lying. The figures were suddenly accurate if you subtracted the weight of a tank of gas. The industry standard for pump gas (at 68 degrees) is an even 6 pounds per U.S. gallon. For the figures at the very bottom, we did the math and came up with an “implied drained weight,” just to show how much more accurate they had become.

1972

AJS 250: claimed–222 lb., actual–230
AJS 410: claimed–229 lb., actual–234

BSA 500 Trail: claimed–298 lb., actual–320
BSA 500 MX: claimed–260 lb., actual–262
BSA 250 Trail: claimed–N/A lb., actual–300

Bultaco 125 Pursang: claimed–213 lb., actual–217
Bultaco 250 Pursang: claimed–220 lb., actual–223
Bultaco 350 Pursang: claimed–n/a lb., actual–227
Bultaco Matador: claimed–264 lb., actual–259
Bultaco Alpina: claimed–214 lb., actual–215
Bultaco Montadero: claimed–269 lb., actual–281

Carabela 125: claimed–183 lb., actual–208
Carabela 200: claimed–205 lb., actual–215

Cooper 250: claimed–225 lb., actual–225

CZ 175 Trail: claimed–N/A, actual– 268
CZ 125: claimed–209 lb., actual–240
CZ 250: claimed–227 lb., actual–236
CZ 400: claimed–234 lb., actual–238

DKW 125 Enduro (Telescopic): claimed–N/A., actual–237
DKW 125 Enduro (Leading Link): claimed–N/A., actual–239
DKW 125 MX (Telescopic): claimed–N/A., actual–225
DKW 125 MX (Leading Link): claimed–N/A., actual–230

Ducati 450 RT: claimed–N/A lb., actual–275

Greeves 380 Enduro: claimed–243 lb., actual–248
Greeves 380 MX: claimed–227 lb., actual–227
Greeves 250 Enduro: claimed–232 lb., actual–239
Greeves 250 Desert: claimed–N/A lb., actual–226
Greeves 250 MX: claimed–216 lb., actual–224
Greeves 380 QUB: claimed–N/A lb., actual–245

Harley-Davidson 100 Baja: claimed–212 lb., actual–221
Harley-Davidson 125 Rapido: claimed–211.5 lb., actual–221
Harley-Davidson 350 Sprint: claimed–298 lb., actual–317

Hodaka 100B: claimed–188 lb., actual–190
Hodaka Super Rat: claimed–173 lb., actual–180

Honda SL100: claimed–N/A lb., actual–213
Honda SL125: claimed–209 lb., actual–221
Honda XL250: claimed–278 lb., actual–289

Husqvarna 125: claimed–N/A, actual–211
Husqvarna 250: claimed–N/A., actual–239
Husqvarna 400: claimed–N/A., actual–242
Husqvarna 450: claimed–N/A., actual–249
Husqvarna 360 Enduro: claimed–N/A, actual–250

Kawasaki 100 G4: claimed–185 lb., actual–206
Kawasaki 100 G5: claimed–191 lb., actual–198
Kawasaki 125 F6: claimed–231 lb., actual–245
Kawasaki 175 F7: claimed–233 lb., actual–243
Kawasaki 250 F8: claimed–270 lb., actual–280
Kawasaki 250 MX: claimed–N/A., actual–251
Kawasaki 305 F9: claimed–265 lb., actual–289

Maico 250: claimed–220 lb., actual–224
Maico 400 (Radial): claimed–220 lb., actual–229
Maico 501: claimed–239 lb., actual–239

MCB 125 Enduro: claimed–N/A., actual–227

Montesa 250 Scorpion: claimed–238 lb., actual–260
Montesa 125 Cappra: claimed–198 lb., actual–220
Montesa 250 Cappra: claimed–225 lb., actual–240

MZ 250 ISDT actual–328 lb., actual–295

Ossa 250 Pioneer: claimed–235 lb., actual–247
Ossa 250 Stiletto (TT): claimed–225 lb., actual–238
Ossa 250 Stiletto (MX): claimed–225 lb., actual–239

Penton 100: claimed–198 lb., actual–208
Penton 125: claimed–198 lb., actual–201
Penton 175: claimed–226 lb., actual–236

Puch 125 Enduro: claimed–N/A lb., actual–240
Puch 125 MX: claimed–N/A lb., actual–201
Puch 175 E: claimed–N/A lb., actual–247

Rickman 125 Enduro: claimed–188 lb., actual–201
Rickman 125 MX: claimed–180 lb., actual–193
Rickman 250 MX: claimed–203 lb., actual–228

Suzuki 125-5 speed: claimed–198 lb., actual–207
Suzuki 125-8 speed: claimed–209 lb., actual–209
Suzuki 185 Enduro: claimed–218 lb., actual–221
Suzuki 250 Enduro: claimed–245 lb., actual–253
Suzuki 250 Champion: claimed–220 lb., actual–226
Suzuki 400 Apache: claimed–277 lb., actual–277
Suzuki 400 Cyclone–230 lb., actual–236

Yamaha 100 MX: claimed–185 lb., actual–189
Yamaha 100 Enduro: claimed–187 lb., actual–193
Yamaha 360 Enduro: claimed–262 lb., actual–277
Yamaha 225 Enduro: claimed–221 lb., actual–233
Yamaha 360 MX: claimed–227 lb., actual–240
Yamaha 175 Enduro: claimed–214 lb., actual–220
Yamaha 250 MX: claimed–224 lb., actual–239
Yamaha 250 Enduro: claimed–258 lb., actual–273

Zundapp 125 Enduro: claimed–216 lb., actual–216

1982

Honda CR250R: claimed–219 lb. lb., actual– 228
Honda CR480R: claimed–226 lb. lb., actual–232
Kawasaki KX125: claimed–N/A. lb., actual–200
Kawasaki KX250: claimed–216 lb. lb., actual–220
Husqvarna 250CR actual–227

Suzuki RM125: claimed 192 lb.– actual–197
Suzuki RM250: claimed–212 lb., actual–217
Suzuki RM465: claimed– 224 lb., actual–234

Yamaha YZ250: claimed–227 lb., actual–235
Yamaha YZ490: claimed–233 lb., actual–238

1992

Honda CR125R: claimed–192 lb., actual–204
Honda CR250R: claimed–212 lb., actual–218
Honda CR500R: claimed–222 lb., actual–235
Kawasaki KX125: claimed–190 lb., actual–210
Kawasaki KX250: claimed–212 lb., actual–229
Kawasaki KX500: claimed–220 lb., actual–233
Suzuki RM125: claimed– 196 lb., actual– 210
Suzuki RM250: claimed–216 lb., actual–226
Yamaha YZ125: claimed–201 lb., actual–211
Yamaha YZ250: claimed–218 lb., actual–225
Yamaha YZ490: claimed–225 lb., actual–233

2002

Honda CR125: claimed–193 lb., actual–202
Honda CR250R: claimed–213 lb., actual–217
Honda CRF450R: claimed– 225 lb., actual– 233
Honda XR650R: claimed–286 lb., actual–287
Kawasaki KX250: claimed–214 lb., actual–228
KTM 250SX: claimed–215 lb., actual–228
KTM 125SX: claimed–207 lb., actual–210
Suzuki RM250: claimed–212 lb., actual–225
Suzuki RM125: claimed–192 lb., actual–207
Yamaha YZ125: claimed–192 lb., actual–209
Yamaha YZ250: claimed– 214 lb., actual–226
Yamaha YZ426F: claimed–231 lb., actual–247

2012

Honda CRF250R: claimed curb weight–229 lb., implied drained weight–220, actual–223
Honda CRF450R: claimed curb weight–238 lb., implied drained weight–229, actual–228
Honda CRF450X: claimed curb weight–269 lb., implied drained weight–258, actual–269
Husqvarna TC250: claimed–221 lb., actual–225
Kawasaki KX250F: claimed curb weight–234 lb., implied drained weight–223, actual–224
KTM 250SX-F: claimed curb weight–227 lb., implied drained weight–225, actual–231
KTM 250SX: claimed curb weight–212 lb., implied drained weight–200, actual–215
Suzuki RM-Z250: claimed curb weight–230 lb., implied drained weight–220, actual–224
Yamaha WR450F: claimed curb weight–273 lb., implied drained weight–260,actual–259