It's worth mentioning that the Xs
are not fitted with handguards, nor
are they equipped with spark arres-
tors, and they are sold as closed-
course race bikes. For Californians,
this means they are considered "red-
sticker" bikes.
Both Xs retail for $100 more than
their motocross counterparts, but
that's a lot less than what you would
have to pay to perform these same
off-road mods to your KX motocross-
er, and you don't have the hassle.
Happy Trails
We recently got our first chance to
ride the new Xs. Kawasaki introduced
both bikes to the media at the Cahuilla
Creek MX track facility in Southern
California, staking out a challenging
five-mile off-road loop that included
choppy single track, whoops, rocks,
and the facility's vet motocross track.
The array of tight terrain and wide-
open straights (top speeds of over 50
mph!) provided a challenging environ-
ment where we could get a good first
feel of these new bikes.
Having already recently ridden
both the 2021 KX250 and KX450, it
was easy to feel the main difference
between the KXs and the Xs—suspen-
sion! The Xs' suspensions are notice-
ably softer and much better suited for
the trail and even for high-speed off-
road terrain than the KXs' stiffer moto-
cross suspension. On the wide variety
of terrain and trails on which we rode
(some of which were extremely tight),
the X's suspension hit the mark for us:
not too soft, not too stiff, but just right.
Kawasaki did an excellent job finding
that sweet spot—compliant yet not
mushy—with both bikes' suspensions.
We even found the X's softer suspen-
sion to perform exceptionally well on
2021 KAWASAKI KX250X & KX450X
R I D E R E V I E W
P114
Like the KX250X,
the KX450X
gets the same
technological
advancements
as its 2021
motocross
cousin.
