First Ride: 2008 KX Range

Kawasaki are on something of a roll. Maybe not in MotoGP, nor WSB or BSB for that matter, but remove the tarmac and lay down a little dirt and Team Green swing into 'leader of the pack' status.

The last of the Big Four to produce a 450cc four-stroke 'crosser, Kawasaki have clearly spent their time well, having this year won the World and AMA Supercross crowns with said KX450F, and are currently leading the British motocross championship too. They're not messing about.

That said, riding big capacity motocrossers has never been good for your health - especially if you're a newbie to the sport. But if you haven't been reading the dirt press these last five years, here's the news: 450 'crossers won't kill you. In fact jumping on this KX450F I couldn't help but be impressed with just how civil it was. This new 450 has just about the best of everything. Forks so plush they banish arm-pump to either the seriously quick or seriously nervous, handlebars in the best alloys that are a perfect shape and height for either standing or sitting. And a progression of power that is altogether controllable. That's not to say it won't come at you quick and hard. And it is seriously fast. But for me, a bit of a wobbler in the dirt, I couldn't help but like the 450. Sure it's a monster, but maybe it's because I'm 6'0" and 14 stone - it kind of works.

Any expert will tell you I should have been better off riding the KX250F. This wee four-stroke has been as successful, if not more so than the 450. Modest, accessible power combined with comparatively light weight should make this the ideal clubman's bike. Only on the day it felt that you had to rev the 250 to the moon - or 13,000rpm, whichever arrived first - to make real progress. And curiously the six-speed box felt short in the ratios. Our test was very short, but with first impressions, that's how it felt.

What was really cool for this launch was the presence of two-strokes. When was the last time you saw a new stroker outside of a Learner 50 or 125 catalogue?

The KX125 is positively brilliant. So light, about the same weight as a downhill mountain bike, with what is actually quite a torquey wee zinger of a motor. It's very beginner-friendly to buy, ride and maintain.

The KX250 is an interesting blend of new- and old-school. Kawasaki have done much to make it an easier ride, it's plush like the four-strokes, but ultimately a 250cc two-stroke 'crosser is only fractionally less fearsome than the nasty 500cc two-strokes of yore. An expert tool is what it is.

Riding the '08 Kawasakis showed that, as ever, motocross development is thriving. The incredible track that we rode was just way too advanced for this rider. Probably way too advanced for anyone outside of a British championship paddock. I can't help but think MX would be massively more attractive to people like you and I if there were more natural terrain circuits to ride.

KLX450R KAWASAKI'S NEW serious ENDURO BIKE


Here's a surprise - a new KLX. They don't come along that often. The office historians think KLX lineage goes something like this: 1980 - the first, an SOHC air-cooled single (17bhp, 115kg). Then a yawning chasm of non-development until 1997, when along came the second generation with a water-cooled, DOHC motor and a motocross chassis (29bhp, 116kg).

So 2008 marks, to our knowledge, only the third derivative. And now it's a full 450cc (40bhp, 115kg). Very similar to the KX450F in fact, only with lights, instruments and a sidestand. Oh, and an electric start.

But here's the thing, it's nothing like the 'crosser. The motor is quite detuned - about 10bhp less than the 'crosser - so by comparison it feels like a 350cc. The power is strong, though, but far more relaxed. And the suspension is suitably plush for tricky off-road work such as rocks and roots. It's seriously usable. So usable that the proper motocross testers at the launch started abusing the KLX over the motocross track. And they loved it.

Its natural born competitor is the Honda CRF450X, launched a couple of years ago. The KLX feels slimmer than the CRF, certainly lighter, and will probably be more of a weapon in the woods. Clearly the new KLX has far reaching capabilities, it's only a shame it isn't road legal - unlike KTMs and Husqvarnas.

It's taken 10 years to arrive, but like the KX450F it was clearly worth waiting for.

Kawasaki are on something of a roll. Maybe not in MotoGP, nor WSB or BSB for that matter, but remove the tarmac and lay down a little dirt and Team Green swing into 'leader of the pack' status.

The last of the Big Four to produce a 450cc four-stroke 'crosser, Kawasaki have clearly spent their time well, having this year won the World and AMA Supercross crowns with said KX450F, and are currently leading the British motocross championship too. They're not messing about.

That said, riding big capacity motocrossers has never been good for your health - especially if you're a newbie to the sport. But if you haven't been reading the dirt press these last five years, here's the news: 450 'crossers won't kill you. In fact jumping on this KX450F I couldn't help but be impressed with just how civil it was.

This new 450 has just about the best of everything. Forks so plush they banish arm-pump to either the seriously quick or seriously nervous, handlebars in the best alloys that are a perfect shape and height for either standing or sitting. And a progression of power that is altogether controllable.

That's not to say it won't come at you quick and hard. And it is seriously fast. But for me, a bit of a wobbler in the dirt, I couldn't help but like the 450. Sure it's a monster, but maybe it's because I'm 6'0" and 14 stone - it kind of works.

Any expert will tell you I should have been better off riding the KX250F. This wee four-stroke has been as successful, if not more so than the 450. Modest, accessible power combined with comparatively light weight should make this the ideal clubman's bike. Only on the day it felt that you had to rev the 250 to the moon - or 13,000rpm, whichever arrived first - to make real progress. And curiously the six-speed box felt short in the ratios. Our test was very short, but with first impressions, that's how it felt.

What was really cool for this launch was the presence of two-strokes. When was the last time you saw a new stroker outside of a Learner 50 or 125 catalogue?

The KX125 is positively brilliant. So light, about the same weight as a downhill mountain bike, with what is actually quite a torquey wee zinger of a motor. It's very beginner-friendly to buy, ride and maintain.

The KX250 is an interesting blend of new- and old-school. Kawasaki have done much to make it an easier ride, it's plush like the four-strokes, but ultimately a 250cc two-stroke 'crosser is only fractionally less fearsome than the nasty 500cc two-strokes of yore. An expert tool is what it is.

Riding the '08 Kawasakis showed that, as ever, motocross development is thriving. The incredible track that we rode was just way too advanced for this rider. Probably way too advanced for anyone outside of a British championship paddock. I can't help but think MX would be massively more attractive to people like you and I if there were more natural terrain circuits to ride.

Click here to read the Kawasaki KX review page 2 of 2

KLX450R KAWASAKI'S NEW SERIOUS ENDURO BIKE

Here's a surprise - a new KLX. They don't come along that often. The office historians think KLX lineage goes something like this: 1980 - the first, an SOHC air-cooled single (17bhp, 115kg). Then a yawning chasm of non-development until 1997, when along came the second generation with a water-cooled, DOHC motor and a motocross chassis (29bhp, 116kg).

So 2008 marks, to our knowledge, only the third derivative. And now it's a full 450cc (40bhp, 115kg). Very similar to the KX450F in fact, only with lights, instruments and a sidestand. Oh, and an electric start.

But here's the thing, it's nothing like the 'crosser. The motor is quite detuned - about 10bhp less than the 'crosser - so by comparison it feels like a 350cc. The power is strong, though, but far more relaxed. And the suspension is suitably plush for tricky off-road work such as rocks and roots. It's seriously usable. So usable that the proper motocross testers at the launch started abusing the KLX over the motocross track.  And they loved it.

Its natural born competitor is the Honda CRF450X, launched a couple of years ago. The KLX feels slimmer than the CRF, certainly lighter, and will probably be more of a weapon in the woods. Clearly the new KLX has far reaching capabilities, it's only a shame it isn't road legal - unlike KTMs and Husqvarnas.

It's taken 10 years to arrive, but like the KX450F it was clearly worth waiting for.