2006 Kawasaki KX450F
It's Finally Here
We ride KawasaKI's
brand-new KX4S0F,
the biKe 8ubba's
been waiting for
(Above) Kawasaki already considers the
'06 KX450F "second generation." The "firstgeneration" KX450F never made it to
production, but it did provide the primary
test bed for the one we have now.
The Kayaba shock features
all the usual bells ond
whistles. The swingarm has
unpointed, tapered spors.
etter late than never, we suppose, but
Kawasaki's first big-bore four-stroke
motocrosser is finally upon us. It was supposed to have made its debut last year, but
Kawasaki admitted that the bike wasn't
quite ready for production as originally planned. So,
Kawi held it back a year rather than risk making a lessthan-stellar first impression. After all, you know what
they say about first impressions.
So here it is in all its glory, the bike that James
Stewart, Michael Byrne and Kawasaki fans all over
have been patiently waiting for. And we'll tell you right
now, it really was worth the wait.
B
48 OCTOBER 12, 2005 • CYCLE NEWS
Unlike the KX250F,
which is fitted with
Showa components,
the 450 is fi"ed with
Kayaba units. The
fork hos seporate
chambers for air and
oil, and it has lowfriction seals. Wave
brake rotors are
stondard equipment.
