VOL. 55 ISSUE 25 JUNE 26, 2018 P105
Derek may desire more of a punch-in-
the-face approach to power, but we both
agreed the power is really good out of
the box. We swapped Kawasaki's EFI-
tuning couplers, and surprisingly, both
agreed we'd run the aggressive version.
I leave this bike in third gear through a lot
of corners and the aggressive plug helps
cover up some of my clutch (and talent)
shortcomings by ramping up rpm faster.
Derek simply wants more acceleration.
The white EFI-tuning coupler does both.
I tried the mellow coupler (black) and it
forced me to shift down much more often
to get the rpm momentum needed to flow.
Stock or aggressive tuner seems to be
best here.
The next thing we noticed was how
smooth the suspension feel is. The fork
has a crazy amount of high-grade parts
and parts specs in it. From dimply coat-
ings to the inner-surface of the outer
tubes meant to hold oil to race-spec sus-
pension fluids and component sizing, it
seems Kawasaki's A-Kit claims are more
than just marketing speak. The 2019
Kawasaki KX450 has one of the most
comfortable stock fork setups we've ever
ridden. It's so comfortable that it has the
perception of being very soft. Both Derek
and I are around 180 pounds, so we're a
little over the average setup size.
The most impressive aspect of the
2019 KX450 Showa A-Kit fork is that
there is zero stiction, zero harshness,
If you're wondering
about the KX's
flickability, here is
your answer.
Out with air, in with
springs. The new Showa
49mm forks feature A-Kit
technology, which means
they get special treatment
and you won't have to
immediately send them
out to be tuned.
