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/1303462
2021 KAWASAKI KX250X & KX450X R I D E R E V I E W P110 hasn't really offered serious out- of-the-crate off-road race-ready bikes for pros or for hard-core off-road racers. Well, they kinda- sorta did once with the KX450F- based KLX450R in 2007, but the KLX was so tamed down and had put on so much weight in transition that it couldn't be taken seriously as a racer. Instead, it was basically a very expensive trail bike. So, pros and hard-core Kawasaki off-roaders continued on with their program of building competitive off-road race bikes out of motocrossers. In the U.S., the KLX450R was discontinued in 2010. Eleven years later, Kawasaki is trying again with the KX250X and KX450X. And it doesn't take a genius to see that Kawasaki seems to have gotten it right this time because what Kawasaki did to these bikes is pretty much the exact same things the pros do to their KX-based race bikes. Now, Kawasaki has done much of the work for them and, better yet, for you, too! What's New? The new KX-Xs are indeed mo- tocrossers slightly tweaked for serious off-roading and racing. One of these tweaks, an impor- tant one at that, is an 18-inch rear wheel, which is an expensive modification if you want to do it yourself. Compared to 19-inch wheels, 18-inchers fit tires with larger sidewalls for a smoother ride over rocks and roots, plus better resistance to pinch flats. Off-roaders tend to like cushier suspensions, too, so both Xs got softer suspension settings front and rear. Very little, however, was changed to either of their powerplants. In other words, they weren't tamed down at all. The KX250X is modeled after the all-new KX250, which just came out (usually, an off-road version arrives a year later or so). This means the X model got the same updated features as the '21 KX250, such as electric starting, a new single coned- disc-spring hydraulic clutch, updated brakes, a new frame, and a new engine. The only thing that it didn't get that the motocrosser did is embedded graphics. (The X's are still the stick-on type.) The KX450X, which is nearly a mirror image of the 2021 KX450, also features electric starting and the coned-disc-spring hy- draulic clutch. Compared to their motocross cousins, both Xs are fitted with kickstands, more off-road- friendly Dunlop Geomax AT81 tires, skid plates, rear disc brake guards and one-tooth (51T) larger rear sprockets. However, engine mapping, fuel capac- ity, internal transmission gear ratios and its five speeds, and pretty much everything else in The KX250X features all the same updates as the all-new KX250 motocrosser, including a new engine with a finger- follower valve actuation, a hydraulic clutch, a new frame, and electric starting.