Why did Ken Roczen switch from KTM to Suzuki to Honda?
by Luke Nikel: March 10, 2020
by Luke Nikel: March 10, 2020
In 2017 Ken Roczen made the decision to switch from his fully paid contract with factory KTM, so he could ride as a privateer with his father on an RMZ450 with only his sponsors behind him helping him alone the way. The reason he switched was because he couldn’t get comfortable on his SX-F450. His mechanic did everything from handlebar changes, to suspension dial changes and even full motor component replacements but ken just didn’t feel comfortable on the bike. So, he left his trainer and the company to ride with his father. but his mechanic had so much faith in him that he decided to leave with ken and join his private race team. It was a lot to take in for Factory KTM because they just lost their best rider along with their best mechanic. They had no choice but to finish paying him out the contract they signed and letting them both go their own ways.
Another reason Roczen left factory KTM was because he grew up on Suzuki’s, so he knew how they handled and how they were made so he felt a lot more comfortable on a Suzuki. After he went back to a Suzuki, he won the next motocross championship and his results were a lot better then when he was with factory KTM. He was noticed by a lot of other companies and was offered several contracts by companies such as Husky and Kawasaki but turned them all done because he was set on Suzuki. KTM asked him to come back and offered him a lot more money then he was getting paid when he was first with them because they really saw potential in him, but he wasn’t up for it.
But racing as a privateer doesn’t make you much money and no money means you can’t afford racing anymore. But Roczen’s unreal performance caught the eye of the HRC (Honda racing team) manger. He invited Kenny to an interview and let him test out their CRF450R’s with every mapping system and suspension dilations to see if he could get comfortable on their bikes. He was happy with the machine, so he made a deal with HRC. The deal was that if they paid him $4.5m he would ride with them for 4 years doing supercross and motocross. 4 months later Roczen officially signed with the HRC race team. He has continued to dominate in supercross and motocross 450 class and keeps on doing so. But Roczen’s crash in 2017 which ended his season, made HRC question whether he would be able to keep to the contract since he had to race every season for 4 years. When he signed with them he was already injured but they thought it was just a one and done injury since he hasn’t been injured a lot in the past. They almost ended the contract but Roczen told them “if I can’t get into race condition by 2018, you don’t need to pay me out my contract. But if I can you keep me in till the contract is over”. So HRC decided to make the deal cause they weren’t expecting him to come back. Within 6 months Kenny was back on the bike training for the 2018 motocross season. He still is with Honda till this day and HRC is planning to renew his contract after the 4 years
Another reason Roczen left factory KTM was because he grew up on Suzuki’s, so he knew how they handled and how they were made so he felt a lot more comfortable on a Suzuki. After he went back to a Suzuki, he won the next motocross championship and his results were a lot better then when he was with factory KTM. He was noticed by a lot of other companies and was offered several contracts by companies such as Husky and Kawasaki but turned them all done because he was set on Suzuki. KTM asked him to come back and offered him a lot more money then he was getting paid when he was first with them because they really saw potential in him, but he wasn’t up for it.
But racing as a privateer doesn’t make you much money and no money means you can’t afford racing anymore. But Roczen’s unreal performance caught the eye of the HRC (Honda racing team) manger. He invited Kenny to an interview and let him test out their CRF450R’s with every mapping system and suspension dilations to see if he could get comfortable on their bikes. He was happy with the machine, so he made a deal with HRC. The deal was that if they paid him $4.5m he would ride with them for 4 years doing supercross and motocross. 4 months later Roczen officially signed with the HRC race team. He has continued to dominate in supercross and motocross 450 class and keeps on doing so. But Roczen’s crash in 2017 which ended his season, made HRC question whether he would be able to keep to the contract since he had to race every season for 4 years. When he signed with them he was already injured but they thought it was just a one and done injury since he hasn’t been injured a lot in the past. They almost ended the contract but Roczen told them “if I can’t get into race condition by 2018, you don’t need to pay me out my contract. But if I can you keep me in till the contract is over”. So HRC decided to make the deal cause they weren’t expecting him to come back. Within 6 months Kenny was back on the bike training for the 2018 motocross season. He still is with Honda till this day and HRC is planning to renew his contract after the 4 years