SECOND OPINION
The first thing I noticed of on Liam’s bike, as
with any bike, was the riding position. Mainly
comparing it to my ‘19 KTM 250, the KX gives
a more upright riding position, with the
handlebars feeling higher and the seat feeling
lower. Because of this more upright position,
I was a little wary at first that I was going to
be missing my lines with my front wheel and
blowing through berms, as I am used to a
more forward-leaning riding position. I was
pleasantly surprised to find that I wasn’t.
After riding the bike I realised that despite the
different riding position, the bike remained
balanced, with the forks being particularly nice
on the tight track I was riding.
The bike felt quite stable, though not quite
as manoeuvrable as my KTM. To me it felt like
this was largely due to its oversized fuel tank
which the Calley’s had put on for XC racing. It
did push my legs out noticeably, which left less
room to move the bike around underneath
me on the tighter trails.
Onto the engine though and I was quite
impressed. I never got the chance to stretch
its legs completely, but out of corners the
bike pulled really well – even better than my
stock KTM. Hence the bike could achieve the
same acceleration with less clutch action
and slightly less revs. The motor is definitely
the Kawasaki’s best feature. It would have
been interesting to know how much of that
came stock and how much was due to the
improvements the Calley’s had made with
their tweaks.
JAKE WIGHTMAN
KIWI RIDER 45