VOL. 50 ISSUE 49 DECEMBER 9, 2013 P63
COUNTDOWN
F
or the first time in three years,
the Kawasaki KX450F didn't
land on the top step of our year-
ly 450-class motocross shootout.
Over the years, we've had plenty of
reasons to like the KX450F and rate
it as the top dog of the big dogs. It
has, over the years, awed us with
its powerful, yet manageable mo-
tor, excellent suspension, solid han-
dling and extreme adjustability. And
it still does. It's just that one other
bike awes us a little more now.
The Kawasaki sees few changes
for 2015, but it did get Showa's
latest-generation SFF-AIR TAC
air fork, a new bridge-box piston
and oversize front-brake rotor. All
good stuff, but it wasn't enough
to hold back—well, you must know
by now—the Yamaha YZ450F from
passing it up.
We still like the Kawasaki
KX450F very much. We feel it
does everything extremely well but
doesn't really do any one thing par-
2
ND
PLACE
KAWASAKI KX450F
