Kawasaki makes up for this in the
tight, first-gear, feet-om sections,
because the KDX is so light and
shon, and the motor is very hard £0
stall. Plus, the clutch is very strong
,
and progressive, thus helping om
nicely in these situations. The short
wheelbase gives the KDX superquick turning abilities.
In one respect, the KDX can be
compared to a cat - they both hate
water. When mountain riding, we
came across many deep water crossings, and you have to be real careful
about it with the Kawasaki. It has
a strong tendancy to blubber or
drown out if the water crossing is
about engine-case deep. But the KDX
always fired back up; sometimes it
took a countless amount of kicking,
but it always restarted.
Our KDX has spent much of its
existence in the high desert of
Southern California, contesting
enduros, where it performs adequately. The deep sand robs much
of the Kawasaki's horsepower, and
desert enduros usually feature miles
of rolling whoop-de-doos. Even
though the KDX has extremely good
suspension in most areas, long, highspeed whoops can be a serious
workout on the Kawasaki. The KDX
sometimes gets a little squirrely and
starts swapping if you don't concentrate for each and every whoop. The
short wheelbase is a major contributor to this instability, bm the KDX
isn't really designed for high-speedtype riding. It loves the tight, nas£y
stuff.
Our KDX has been very reliable .
despite little, but basic maintainance. The most common problem
we've had with our Kawasaki is the
br~ttle.. plastic chain guide. Ours
broke off several times, twice during
enduros. Luckily, both times the bike
managed to finish the events without
the chain derailing. We eventually
installed a Malcolm Smith Products
