Words: Jock McLauchlan / Photos: Geoff Osborne
For 2018 Kawasaki’s KX450F is
almost the same machine that hit
the tracks last year but the new
model comes with subtle updates
to the suspension valving and
power characteristics.
I
seem to be going on about this a lot at
the moment, but the ‘18 450F still has no
electric start, so the KX is still kick-start only,
and is now the only Japanese model to be
running an air fork. What is new for 2018
is an accessory hand-held fuel mapping
device that can hold seven different options,
along with the previous model’s three mode
plugs. The holeshot assist button remains,
which works in first and second gears only and is
designed to enhance acceleration while reducing
wheel slippage. The chassis is highly adjustable
for rider fit with four-position handle bars across
a 35mm range, and the footpegs can go up
and forward 5mm or down and back 5mm.
As part of the test appraisal for the KX450F,
Kawasaki NZ kindly allowed me to ride the new bike
in the Tarawera T100. I hadn’t ridden the T100 since
1991 (I think... it’s lost in the mists of time), and never
at the new location. I had also never even started the
KX until I warmed the machine up on the start line...
so, it was in at the deep end, racing at its very best.
T100 TESTED
My memory of the old track was that it was either
very fast or quite tight, and not so rough other
than the usual choppy stuff and tree roots. With
that in mind I had softened the rear shock two
clicks and a quarter turn on compression, went two
clicks quicker on rebound and moved the bars to