Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

The clutch isn't one ofthe Kawasaki's better features, because it's still too grabby. Transmission, however. is exce llent. The Kayaba shock has mega adjustments, including a built-in heat compensator to help reduce fading in .long motos. , , a bi . T he re a re no ch an ges made to ility. th e external compression and rebound damping, and preload adjustment. The shock also has a n ew automatic heat compensator that helps reduce damper fade . As th e temperature of th e shock increases, the damp ing co m p e ns a to r expands, and a spring- loaded tapered needl e valv e pro gr essively increases damping to help maintain co nsta nt shoc k action. Wheel tra vel has been slightl y upped to 12.6 inches, from 12.4 inches. The aluminum-alloy swinga rm is the sam e as on th e 1984 KX. Up front , the KX has, for th e second year, a h ydraul ic front di sc brake along with a braided-sta inlesssteel line. The drill ed- ou t dis c is 8.7inches in diameter. The rear brake is a 5.1x I.I-in ch singl e-l eading-sh oe drum. The 21-inch front a nd 18-in ch rear aluminum-alloy rims a re mad e bv D.I. D. with 10-gauge straig h t-p u ll spokes. Tires are 90/90-21 -in ch M-37 (fro nt ) and 130/80-18-inch 1\I-38 (rear) four -ply Bridgestones, which a re co nsidered as so me o f th e best for hardpacked, dr y surfaces . Plastic is co m p letely reshaped for 1985 - , th e fenders ar e' longer a nd wider, the ra d ia to r sh ro uds have a new sty le, a nd the ga s tank ha s a different contour th a t holds 2. 1 ga llons. The complete package weighs 214 pounds dry. Kicksta rt in g the KX is easily accomplished; th e lever doesn't use your righ t foot as a sto p p in g pad between it and th e foot peg. and the Ka wa sa ki us uall y starts on the first kick whether hot or co ld. The KX has a quiet and pleasant tone to the ear. After ru nni ng the KX through the gears a couple of tim es, ou r first impression was favorab le; although it seem ed littl e o n th e pipey sid e, we li ked th e wa y it h it h a rd a t mid-range a nd kep t pu lling strong until topped out in fifth gear: Ours ca me jetted right on the money; there was no h es- . itarion or cough ing anywhere in th e powerba nd. Throttle response was crisp and clean . Once on the track . we found th e Kaw asaki likes to be pushed hard, sim ila r to the Suzuki R M250. When revved out, th e KX really hooks up and pulls aw ay fast in any gear but suffers a bit orr the bottom. 1£ the KX fall s o ff th e pipe at a ll , say exiting a hairpin turn, a couple quick fans o n th e clutch lever are required, even if th e ground is dry a nd slick. Luckily, th e cl u tch ha s a ver y light pull; one finger ca n get the job done eHort lessly. U n fort u n a tely. the clutch itself isn 't all th at strong, and, desp ite th e floating clutch gea r, becomes grabby a fter a few hours o f hard rid ing , but it isn 't as bad as la st year's KX. Because o f the poor cl u tch and lack o f low-end, th e KX is ver y ha rd to ge t o H th e sta rt ing line quickl y. Seco nd • gea r sta rts on dry grou nd require th e engin e to be revved o u t a nd th e clutch slip ped unti l fourth gear is reach ed . If th e clutch isn ' t slipped d rasticall y, th e m otor bogs or th e front en d ri ses q u ickly - espec ia lly if th e cl u tch lever is fann ed a bru p tly. The probl em is even worse wh en th ere is p lenty of tra ction. Ho lesh ot s o n th e KX a re tough to co me by. No co m p la in ts with th e transmis-' sion , though , because missed sh ifts are a lmost non-existent. The lever is eas y to find a nd use , a nd a ll it takes is just a n udge to catch the next gear. It shifts smoothly with, or without, ' usin g the cl utch, At low rpm, the Ka wa sa ki pro- duces a sligh t vibrati on th at 's a little a n n oyi ng a t first , but once o n th e tra ck, th e vibration is hardlynoticea ble, if a t all. Sus pe ns io n o n th e KX is fir st rat e, espec ia lly in th e rea r. The U n i-T ra k system th is yea r is to ugh to beat; the h ard er th e bik e is ridd en , th e better it works. It sh ines over the ro u gh stu ff but skitte rs a little too much over sma lle r bumps in stoc k con d itio n. And wh en th e rea r wh eel bo u nces o rr th e gro u nd with th e th rottle held wid e open , th e motor noticeably gains extra rpm making th e KX feel a littl e h yper a n d erra tic, m ore so th an th e H onda, Suzuki or Yamaha. We ge nera lly feel th e rear sus pe ns io n is sta ble a nd smoo th in m ost situations. At speed , we never worried a bo u t th e back end swapping out over the most gnarly bumps. It usua ll y maintains a stra ig h t lin e with th e rear tire digging in for traction. The front fork is good but not a s stable as the back. It twitch es every now and then at speed when p lowing through a nast y sectio n o f wh oops but wa s nothing to really worry a bo ut. Mo st o f th e time. we n ever th ought a bo ut th e fork. wh ich is ba sicall y a go od sign . Landing .fro m skyscra pe r jumps doesn 't faze th e Kaw asaki ; it ha s suc h long legs th at it lands smooth ly and rarelv bottoms with a rider arou nd 160 pounds. Nea r th e end of a 30-m in u te m ot o , th e sus pe ns ion a lmos t performs as well as it does a t th e begi nn ing , th anks to th e heat co mpensa tor built into the rear shock. Dam ping remains fa irly co ns is te n t and progressive th ro ughout a m oto . After a few good , hard rid es on the Kaw asaki , th e ba ck end start s to sag slight ly. , Sitting o n th e KX, it feels very ta ll a nd long co m p a red to o the r 250s but is narrow eno u gh to throw around quite easi ly. (Ta ll rid ers will feel very much at home on th e KX.) Despi te th at ta ll and lo ng feeling, the Kawa sa ki is a good turner , because it holds its line and doesn 't have the tendency 25

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