2016 450 MOTOCROSS SHOOTOUT
P172
SHOOTOUT
W
e've always been a big fan of
the Kawasaki KX450F over
the past 10 years. It was the
king of the class until Yamaha finally
worked out the bugs and polished
its reversed-cylinder YZ in 2014.
In hopes of regaining the crown,
Kawasaki completely redesigned
its KX450F for 2016 but couldn't
quite catch the YZ and actually got
passed by the also-redesigned
KTM in our comparison. This is
hard to believe, even for us, be-
cause the KX is such an improved
machine. But so is the KTM.
The Kawasaki is slimmer, lighter
and easier to ride. The new en-
gine, with updated mapping, is still
very powerful and the overall pack-
age doesn't have that monstrous
feel as before.
The engine may not have a ton
of peak horsepower but it has all
the power you'll ever need, really.
The bottom-to-mid delivery is
strong with more torque and less
explosion compared to previous
years, which in reality is a good
thing. All this does is give the rider
more control. While the top-end
might sign off sooner than KTM,
Husky and Yamaha's, the Kawasa-
ki can still get the job done. But for
some, they miss that top-end over-
rev. None of us, however, missed
the KX's ear-splitting exhaust note.
Kawasaki says it's quieter, we say
it's not.
