Australasian Dirt Bike – June 2019

THEKAWASAKIKX450F
hasreceivedpraiseoverthe
yearsforitsawesomepower.
The 2008 modelhadan
aggressivepowerhitbutwhen
thebikereceivedfuelinjection
in 2009,alongwitha slimmer
frameanda fewotherengine
modifications,thebikebecame
smootherandeasiertoride.
Theenginethatcameoutin the
2009 modelwasusedforyears
untilthelatestmodelwas
releasedlastyear,withonly
somesmallrevisionsalong
theway.
Theenginehada broad
powerbandandproduced
enoughgrunttokeepall
mortalshappy.Thesuspension
featuredqualityKYBunits,with
a closed-cartridgeforkonthe
frontthatstillreceivesplenty
ofpraise.
TheKYBmonoshockcame
withplentyofadjustmentin the
wayof22-positionreboundand
compressionadjustmentaswell
asa high-speedcompression
adjusterandspringpreloadfor
settingthesagheightonthe
rear-end.

I ownedandraceda 2011

modelKX450Fandwas

impressdwiththepowerandits

deliveryandalsohowwellthe

suspensionworked.But,I felt

likeI needtoupgradethefront

braketoa biggerdiscformore

stoppingpower.

Initsdaythebikecornered

wellbut,givenwhatwenow

know,I feelthebikewasharder

toturnthanthelatermodels.

Mechanically,I neverhadany

problemswithmybikeandI

racedit fortwoseasons.

TheKX-Fdoeshappento

havea problemwithseizingif

youover-tightenthecamshaft

capsorfit youroilfilter

backwards.

Thisis moreofa humanerror

ratherthana manufacturing

fault.If youhappentochange

youroilfilterthentakespecial

carewiththedirectionin which

youfit theoilfilter.

If youhappentoseizethe

camshaftsthentheonly

successfulfix is toreplacethe

cylinderhead,whichcanbe

rathercostly.

Whenyouarelookingtobuy

a KX450Fsecondhandmake

sureit startseasilyandidles

wellwithnorattles.These

enginesarerelativelystrong

buttheycandeterioratequickly

if runwithdirtyoilin them.

Makesuretheairfilterhas

beencleanedregularly.The

valvesarereasonablydurable

buttheystilldon’tlikechewing

ondust.

I haveseena fewissueswith

condensorsonthesebikes

failingaswell.Theconnector

plugseitherfill upwithwater

anddirtandstarttocorrodeor

thewirescansnapwherethey

enterthecondensor.If thisis

thecasethenthebikemay

startbutwillstruggletoidle,

won’trevandwillcoughand

splutter.

Alsoasthesebikesare

gettingtowardsthe10-year-old

oldmarkthingslikewheeland

framebearingscouldbeworn

outsobesuretochecknoneof

thesehaveexcessivewearor

areseized.Givethebikea good

rideandmakesureit selectsall

gearscorrectly.

TechnicalEditorMatBoyd

GOING GREEN

HOW TO RIDE / ADB GARAGE / WE RECOMMEND / TECH / KIDZ KORNER / USED RIDE

REAR GUARD

NEW

2008 $11,590

2009 $11,599

2010 $11,599

2011 $11,699

SECOND HAND

2008 $3700 - $4400

2009 $3900 - $4650

2010 $4100 - $4850

2011 $4250 - $4050

market

EQUIVALENT

Prices according to redbook.com.au

FRAME:

TheKX-Fusesanaluminiumframe

witha removablealloysubframe.

Theframeis lightbutstrong.

WEIGHT:

TheKX-Fcomesin ata claimed

wetweightof113kg.

ENGINE:

The engine is a liquid-cooled, double-

overhead camshaft unit with a four-

valveheadandshim-and-bucketvalve

clearanceadjustment. SUSPENSION:

Thefrontandrearsuspensionare

bothbyKYB,witha fullyadjustable

monoshockontherearanda fully

adjustablespring-cartridgefork.

2008 – 2011 KAWASAKI KX450F

BRAKES:

The brakes on the KX-F both

front and rear are hydraulic

with wave discs. The caliper

on the front is a twin-piston

fl oater but the one on the

rear is a single piston fl oater.

08-11

Yamaha YZ450F

$4000 - $5600

08 – 11

KTM 450SX-F

$4200 - $5850

08-11

Suzuki RM-Z 450

$3600 - $5500

08-11

Honda CRF450R

$3900 - $5400

132 |JUNE 2019 http://www.adbmag.com.au