able to point and shoot wherever I wanted the bike to go . I thought the 450 had a wider feel between the legs , which was interesting to learn that the 250 and 450 are both the same width . The power is mellow off the bottom and then has a great smooth hit of power up in the rpm range which is good to power out of the mud and charge out of a corner . One small problem I found across the both the 450 and 250 is the side-stand is poorly designed and sits quite low , so I was pushing it down with the heel of my foot - not ideal . Overall I had an absolute blast riding the 450 and it will be nice to spend some more time testing the different ignition couplings and making some changes .
THIRD OPINION - TOM BUXTON Since Kawasaki released its new Cross Country , I had been eager to swing a leg over the 450 and see what it could do . There ’ s a hydraulic clutch fitted on the bikes , which got a big tick from me . Within 100 metres of riding I could feel there was some serious horsepower . Initially I would almost have gone as far as saying too much power , but wondered if it felt like that because I ’ d just hopped off the 250 . I ’ ve ridden a few 450s and thought I knew what to expect but I ’ ve never ridden one that I felt I had to be so cautious on . The hardest part was keeping the front down and with the hit being quite abrupt , it was hard to be smooth and keep the front weighted in corners . After a lap of the XC track at MX Central I pulled in to make some adjustments . This was to soften the Showa forks two clicks on the compression and the to change the engine mapping . What a difference that made . It transformed it into a very manageable bike for me . The power delivery was a lot smoother , but there was still plenty of grunt . The adjustments to the forks made a big improvement on the braking bumps making it a pretty complete package . I ’ m now looking forward to “ letting the good times roll ” again when KR hopefully gets the bike again to test as it has left me with a very good first impression .
52 KIWI RIDER