Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127129
-, ri en ce sign ificant h ors epow er loss "w h en th e m ot or is h ot. The KDX still vibrat es too much for our liking , but th e inner core of th e ex ha us t, 'u sed to hel p red uce exh aust n oise, is built stronger an d doesn ' t break off a nd -ra ttle around like it did last year, H aridling an d sus pe ns io n acti on is typical KDX - fir st rate. The KDX is still tw itch y a nd quick handling , making it th e p erfect choice for tight, low-speed enduros, th e kind most often fo u n d in th e eastern h alf of th e U.S. It maneuvers extre me ly accura te and effo rt lessly a t slo wer speeds; th e tighter an d more gnarly th e trail, th e better the KDX works. A lo t of this has to do wi th its low sea t hea t, short w heel base, and torquey a nd nearl y unstallable motor. ' O n fas ter trail s, th e KDX isn 't quite as pl ea sant. T he fas ter th e KDX is ridden th e less sta b le it becomes, but it ca n ge t th e job do ne when n eeded , T he ' KDX is just n ot designed to be ridden w ide ope n on fas t, whoo ped o ut trai ls as much as it is designed to be ca rved th rough the tight, gnarly stuf f. Ge nerally, th e KDX soaks up th e bumps ex trem ely well for a full -on end uro' bike. The KDX 's m a in rival s in its class ar en't stoc k end uro bikes from J apan (because th ere aren't any) bu t mostl y en d u ro-ized l25 cc MX ers, which hav e sta te of 't he art, h igh-tech sus pe n sio n systems (p lus m ore hi gh revving horsepower ), th us are significa ntly better th an th e KDX 's su spe nsi o n . Kawasaki 's en g ineers h av e basicall y stayed in tune, so far, when it co mes to th e KDX 's suspens io n package, but th e KDX sti ll uses th e older s tr u tv'roc ker a r m -des igned Uni-T rak rear su spen sion co m pa red m to Kawasak i v o tocrossers which h ave long since go ne to the superior lin kage (no stru t) Uni -Trak system, And th e KDX's fork is beh ind th e tim es co m pared to the cartridge forks used on the MX ers . But on th e othe r side of th e coi n , strayi ng away from th ese ' h igh- tech p art s a nd designs keeps th e KDX's p rice tag do wn . Braking act io n on th e KDX is adeq uate. The fro nt d isc is stro ng bu t h as a spongy feel on the lever , while th e rear drum j ust gets th e job done. The rear drum brak e is powerful enough but th e brake shoes wear o u t rather quick ly and los e so me o f th eir effec tivene ss after riding through wat er crossings. The huge silencer keeps the KDX very quiet and has a U.S. Forestryapproved spark arrester, but it's heavy and robs tiorsepow er. The KDX is the only two-stroke production enduro bike w ith an air, cooled engine. Air-cool ing has its benefits over water-cooling in endu ros. Last year's KDX had problems with the plastic chain gLiide breaking off; it 's now protected by an aluminum guard . 26