VOL. 55 ISSUE 25 JUNE 26, 2018 P101
FIRED UP!
WE'RE FIRED UP BY THE ALL-NEW KX450—
ELECTRIC STARTING, COIL-SPRING A-KIT
FORKS, HYDRAULIC CLUTCH, NEW ENGINE…
LET'S RIDE THIS THING!
T
he 2019 Kawasaki KX450
first ride is one of the most
exciting motocross bike tests
of the year. After learning about all
the changes Kawasaki made to the
KX450 for 2019 (see our 2019 Ka-
wasaki KX450 First Look), we were
fired up to ride the new Team Green
machine. A new KX450 is long
overdue and an all-new bike should
satisfy our need for a more viable
green option in the 450 class.
We were not disappointed.
Did you notice the "F" is gone
off of KX450? Apparently there's
no need to tell consumers this is a
four-stroke. Which tells us there's
no chance of a 450 two-stroke
coming out.
Anyway, after a great two-track
day at Pala Raceway in San Diego
County, California, we came away
impressed and optimistic about the
new KX450's chances of standing
up to the class leaders in this year's
shootout.
Sure, the Kawasaki KX450 has
been a competent race machine for
over a decade. It has been a pow-
erhouse and a sweet-handling ma-
chine with almost inherent stability
and a traditional race-bike chassis
feel that keeps fans wanting to ride
it. In an endearing way, it's been
a more classic kind of ride in the
motocross class with big power and
less drastic year-over-year changes
to geometry or feel. If you have a
2007 KX450F, the 2015 didn't feel
that much different and you'd be at
home on 2017 and 2018, as well.
And save for the precise setup
requirements of the air fork and its
limitations on consistent comfort
for most home-tuners over the past
couple years, this was still true.
BY JESSE ZIEGLER
PHOTOGRAPHY BY DREW RUIZ AND MAX MANDELL
