2012 Kawasaki KX450F Feature Kawasaki just wrapped up the 2011 Supercross title with Ryan Villopoto at the controls of a factory KX450F. For 2012, Kawasaki focused its KX450F efforts on centralizing mass, making usable power and offering increased setup options for suspension, engine and chassis.
First off, I have to give a shout out to the folks at Red Bud for having us because the track here is totally awesome. The first half of the track is kind of like Southern California’s Zaca Station. The dirt is loamy (and rocky) plus the layout is fairly high-speed—third, fourth-gear pinned type stuff. The back half of the circuit is more like Racetown 395 with the terrain here being soft sand with big jumps and high and low-speed corners. The track is situated right in the middle of a forest so obviously it’s a very majestic place to ride.
The 2012 can easily be altered to fit standard-size riders and tall or short riders via the 4-way adjustable bar mounts, the ability to lower the footpegs 5mm, and an optional lowering link (sold separate) that drops the rear 6mm. Then on the performance side, Kawasaki now has three different ignition/fuel maps pre-programmed into the ECU or what they call DFI or Digital Fuel Injection.
The new fuel tank, which now forms a straighter, smoother line with the seat, makes it even easier to move around on. Unfortunately, the KX still comes with overly hard grips that left blisters on our hands.
On a challenging RedBud track and in steamy conditions, our test riders still managed to put in a full two days worth of riding without collapsing, and we have to credit the new KX450F and all of its adjustability for that. When you can start off the day as comfortable as possible, on a bike totally dialed in to your liking, it simply makes your day at the track that much easier, not to mention fun.
