Smaller, stronger, lighter, better! The 2016 Kawasaki KX450F is here!
Kawasaki’s motocross bikes are renowned as being the closest things privateers can buy to full-blown works racebikes, and the all-new 2016 premier-class KX450F is the best so far. When the previous-generation model was launched in 2012, its revolutionary launch-control system, plug-and-play digital fuel injection and programmable ECU, allied to a very strong engine and a chassis honed in top-level motocross competition globally, gave it a head start on the track. The new 2016 model takes huge strides forward from that landmark machine, being smaller, slimmer, lighter, more powerful and even better equipped to get skilled privateers and importer-supported racers onto the podium at any level of racing.
There’s an old adage that while adding power makes you faster on the straights, adding lightness makes you faster everywhere. You’ll thus be pleased to hear that Kawasaki has given the new KX450F more of both – power and lightness. The new engine uses a revised version of the Bridged-Box-Bottom piston as used in the factory bikes, and the intake ports and valves, cam-timing and cylinder offset are all new. An innovative new high-flow airbox with rear intake channels, a new header pipe with a resonator chamber for crisp throttle response over a wider power band, and a new mass-centralised lightweight muffler all help keep the new Kawasaki ahead of the pack.
The new KX had to be small and compact, and the cylinder, now moved forward by 8,5mm and offset by 3 degrees, is capped by a new cylinder head that is just 100 mm tall. Double valve-springs keep the valves from tripping over their own feet, while the finely-balanced crankshaft minimises vibration and maximises traction. As with the outgoing model, there are plug-and-play digital fuel injection couplers and the engine-control-unit can be fine-tuned to suit varying track and weather conditions. The aggressive bottom-end power of the previous model has been smoothed out to deliver even more grunt, across a wider rev-range, making the 2016 model easier to ride at high speed. It also dishes up even more power than before at the top of the rev range.
Kawasaki put the KX450F on a strict diet for 2016, and it now tips the scales at just 108,6 kg. The cogs in the transmission were pared of 260 grams, with other lightweight components helping reduce the engine mass by a whopping two kilograms, and the new frame, with 6 mm narrower spars, is 1,4 kg lighter than that of the old model, making the KX450F the lightest motorcycle in its class.
The 2016 KX450F is an aggressive-looking machine, with new diminutive bodywork, slimmer radiator shrouds, and a flatter fuel tank and seat allowing greater rider agility in battle. Add in the Showa SFF-Air TAC suspension with revised valving and new low-friction seals for improved front-end grip for 2016, and the new swing-arm and improved rear Showa shock-absorber developed for a softer ride and improved traction, and it’s clear that the bike is very much a winner. And because customers, unlike professional top-level MX racers, come in all shapes and sizes, the Kawasaki offers four handlebar position settings and two-position footrests to comfortably accommodate everybody.
The 2016 Kawasaki KX450F retails for R 91 995.
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