The clutch has larger-diameter plates, with revised material and Belleville washer replaces the clutch springs. The piston has a new dry-film-lubricant coating on the skirt, which is intended to reduced friction and boost performance. There’s been no ground breaking changes for the 2021 Kawasaki KX450 (the Japanese competition is still catching up) but there has been some updates to improve an already quite impressive package. I vividly remember him saying: “This is a bike we expect to be very successful”.Ĭrack the throttle to MY20 and there were no major changes while the factory brought the KX250 up to speed, but for 2021 we have seen Kawasaki rectify a few key details despite the debilitating presence of the coronavirus. Rob Walker of KA gave us a run down on the bike and you could see the excitement on his face. The riding conditions were atrocious but, right away, I could tell the KX was a bike that Kawasaki was very proud of. Unfortunately the heavens opened up days before the launch and the track was wet through to the Earth’s mantle far below.

When the 2019 KX450 was released I got the opportunity to ride it for the first time at The Island in NSW. They have just returned to the technology and believe that many other manufacturers will begin to follow them. The cylinder-head revamp had some no-hopers suggesting that Kawasaki was just following the European companies, but the truth KHI was using the technology in the World Superbike Championship well before the Euros got hold of it.

The hydraulic clutch was a first for a Japanese motocrosser and, right from the get go, the KX450 launch-controlled itself to the front of the pack, both in our 450 Motocross Shootout and overseas ones, plus it started winning on the track in what is arguably the most competitive series in the world, the AMA Supercross Championship, with star rider Eli Tomac. Somebody high up in Kobe, said: “If the engineers don’t start lifting their game on our f-ing KX450 and KX250 they’ll get sent to Fukushima.” So the boffins didn’t just drop the F from the name but gave us electric start, a hydraulically-operated clutch, Showa A-kit-style suspension and a new engine with DLC-coated finger followers. Kawasaki dropped the F-word back in 2019 and everybody went “big deal, so what? Everyone knows it’s a Four-stroke, right?” But this radical move wasn’t just a way to save space on the Bold New Graphics, Kawasaki Heavy Industries was deadly serious about getting ahead in the 450cc motocross game. 02 November 2020 / Text Size (-) (+) / PrintĪDB Technical Editor Mat Boyd tells us about all that’s new on the 2021 Kawasaki KX450 before heading out onto the test track for some laps.

Kx 450