VOL. 51 ISSUE 28 JULY 15, 2014 P83
STORY BY
PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIT PALMER
S
ince Kawasaki focused
most of its attention on
its latest and biggest 450
motocrosser, it was only fitting
that we did the same when we
got our first chance to spin a few
laps on the 2015 KX450F. Ka-
wasaki met with the media for a
one-day introduction and the big
news here is the KX's fork. The
first-generation KYB Pneumatic
Spring Fork (PSF) single-cham-
ber air fork, which made its de-
but in 2011, has been replaced
by Showa's latest SFF-AIR Triple
Air Chamber (TAC) fork, and this
fork is t-r-i-c-k! It's nearly identi-
cal to the SFF air forks that Ryan
Villopoto and Jake Weimer are
running on their works bikes, the
only real difference being a few
mods to make them physically
stronger. After all, they do ride a
bit harder than us.
One of the main differences
between the previous Kayaba
PSF air fork and the Showa TAC
air fork is having two additional
chambers for which air is stored.
Each of these three chambers (in-
ner, outer and sub) has a specific
job to do and each one is adjust-
able, making the fork more tun-
able overall than ever before. The
three air chambers are stored in
the right leg and the twin damper
cartridge in the left leg, and the
way it's designed, with the right-
Kawasaki basically
stuck full-on works
forks on its latest
KX450F.
IDAY
TIRIIPIPEIR
WE GET OUR
FIRST TASTE
OF THE 2015
KAWASAKI
KX450F AND ITS
NEW SHOWA
SFF-AIR TAC
FORK
