Team Green get Injected
By TMX Archives on 16th Oct 08
KAWASAKI has come-up trumps this year, with all the development and marketing might leaning to the four-bangers in its stable rather than the old two-smokers even though the latter are still available. However, like most manufacturers nowadays, the two-strokes are no longer being developed to any significant degree!So onto the Kawasaki four-strokes for 2009!Firstly, we have a completely new pair of bikes, not only in performance, but in looks as well. The KX450F comes with a new fuel-injected engine, a lighter chassis and completely new bodywork which is much slimmer than its predecessor, looks a lot sharper, and gives it that factory look the designers were aiming to achieve.The KX250F also receives some major changes including a new head, piston and crankcases, slimmer chassis (like its big brother), completely new bodywork and a new low-friction coated fork to give optimum performance and an overall much plusher feel to the front end.
KX450F
I'LL start with the 450F because this is the bike everyone is talking about, even though it probably won't sell half as well as its little brother. Not that there is anything wrong with it, its just that 250Fs seem to out-sell 450Fs every year! This is probably because most riders' cahunas aren't big enough for a 450 because the big bikes seem to get stronger and stronger every year – this 2009 Kawasaki 450F is definitely not for the faint hearted.
Checking out the bike, before I took it out on the track, the new look is a major improvement. I always thought they appeared a bit on the bulky side, but for 2009 the slimmer look is much better. New shaped rad scoops, side panels and mudguards make it look real trick. A new, lighter, skid plate which comes in black plastic looks mega and blends in with the black fork protectors and frame guards.
Sitting on the bike, straight away I could tell a difference with the harder seat foam. This is a major step forward because Kawasaki have always had a soggy feel to the seat which is awful when you're riding because you feel like you are sat in the bike instead of on top of it!
The engineers at Kawasaki assure us that the new fuel injection not only enhances performance but makes the 450F easy to start, hot or cold, so I was eager to find out. It didn't disappoint from cold first kick which is always a good sign.
So off onto the track I went. First impressions were good. I thought a couple of steady laps would be just the ticket, just to get used to the bike and the track – which was great too, well prepared and with some mega jumps!
Once I felt comfy, I cracked on with putting some quick laps in. The first thing I noticed which wasn't so good was the rear brake pedal. It was way too high for my liking. I felt I was catching it when I was accelerating giving me the feeling like the bike was running out of power. So, it was straight back to the pits to adjust it. Once adjusted to my liking, the problem was solved, gone went the feeling of a lack of power. In fact quite the opposite, this bad boy is quick.
The fuel-injection system worked perfectly. It gives the 2009 450F an overall lovely, smooth, yet mildly aggressive feel to it – if that makes sense. What I'm trying to say is whereas before the addition of the fuel-injection system the KX450F came with a real hard-hitting smack to it. Now it doesn't. Don't get me wrong here, it still has serious horse-power but its far easier to use.
I found that on my first two or three laps, I was using second gear too much, which was making the bike hook-up too quick, making me feel uncomfortable. Instead, I started to use third where I had been using second and the bike became a pleasure to ride. This bike has pure grunt. I could hang onto third for what seemed ages then slip it up into fourth and feel the bike pull and pull. I'll be honest, by the time I was getting into fifth gear, I was running out of track.
I managed a couple of practice starts too. Like always, I went for second gear, which was fine, but the start straight was very long, so I thought I'd try third gear. OK I had to feather the clutch a little, but it pulled third fine which showed me how much grunt this new 450F has.
When the engine was red hot, I stopped the bike to see how it started from hot. We have all been there. You know, leading the race with two laps to go you hit a back-marker, stall the engine. The back-marker trickles off unaware he has just cost you a race win and you're stuck trying to start your bike. And the more you try, the more it won't start and the more your goggles steam up!
Well the new KX450F actually starts hot. I was impressed! No problem, first kick and I was gone – result!
The overall handling was impressive too. The front end was fine. The 450F comes with Kayaba AOS forks (air-oil-separate). They handled the track superbly. A lot of the corners were hard-pack with loose soil on top, which can be a bit awkward, but I found the cornering perfect and it seemed to turn effortlessly.
Initially the back end worked OK but felt a little soft on compression for me. I went back to the pits and re-adjusted the race sag and put a couple of clicks on compression which made it feel a lot better. The front forks come with a nitride coating in black which looks ‘factory' and gives the front end a very plush feel, they also match the black factory looking rims as well.
The brakes come with fancy new wavey style discs and the controls are all fitted to a pair of standard Renthal bars not ‘fat bars' like most of Kawasakis competitors. The brakes had a good strong feel to them.
KX250F
THE next bike I rode was obviously the 250.
Now, you would think: "OK, this can't be as impressive as the 450, because it's not fuel-injected. It's just a boring old carb model.”
But I was wrong, this bike has undergone some serious modifications.
Before I rode it, I cast an eye over it and straight away I could see, like its bigger sibling, it comes with new plastics and slimmer frame. One thing that is different on the 250F is the black side panels and number board instead of white on the 450F. I thought that was a nice touch and looks spot-on with the black accessories – i.e. fork and frame guards and the black skid plate.
Another quite big difference is in the suspension department. Where the 450F comes with Kayaba suspension the 250F comes with Showa. Now that's fine by me and that's what Kawasaki says works best with each bike, but what I can't quite understand is that they offer a factory kit that you can order through your dealer, which consists of a factory Akrapovic exhaust, factory triple clamps and get this: factory Kayaba forks – for both bikes. So if the factory riders are using Kayaba then why is Kawasaki saying that the 250F works best from standard with Showa – comprendez!
Anyway, on to the job in hand – how it felt on the track.
Just like before on the 450F, I did a couple of ‘steady eddie' laps and then started to get going a bit.
After riding the bigger bike, the 250F was a piece of cake to ride. OK, it's not fuel-injected, but it has an awesome power delivery. I'll be honest here, I've not been a big fan of the KXF range for a few years now especially the 250 but this bike is s**t-hot. I felt at home on it. Straight away, it felt light and nimble and so easy to throw around. I really enjoyed riding it. In fact, there was a triple jump that none of the other test riders had done so far during the test session, so I had the first attempt at it. First time I came short, which jarred me straight up the backside. Second time I over-jumped and OK, I couldn't stop for the corner and slid off much to everyone's amusement, but the third time, and every time after that, I sailed over it perfectly which showed how much confidence I had in this bike!
The new cylinder head is a major improvement because the engine now allows you to over rev it.
There were a lot of big hills on the test track and the pull on this little motor was great. It has a really responsive snap to it, but totally useable.
The suspension worked amazingly well on hard pack. There is nothing worse than feeling nervous especially with the front end, but the forks on the 250F are spot-on. Possibly, on a more whooped out sand track, they would probably be a little soft for me, but the hard pack terrain and small stutter bumps of this track were no problem for the 250F.
I found it cornered like it was on rails and the back end just hooked up and followed the front of the bike effortlessly.
Just like its big brother, the harder seat foam is a major improvement. It was in need of it, because last year it was just too soft. The new foam helps you move up and down the bike so much easier than previous models.
Like the 450F, it comes with Renthal bars, standard not ‘fat bars', but they are rubber mounted. Not too keen on that idea because they twist too much, even with just a little slip-off which, during a race, can really annoy you. Brakes, like the 450F, were no problem. Second gear starts every time and then straight into third, because of the torque, it pulls, no worries.
Starting the bike from cold was no problem, as you would expect, but I give it the ultimate test in my last session when I clipped a back-marker who wasn't jumping the triple and he came across me when I was in the air. Result, me on the floor upside-down. Luckily, I'm as hard as nails – we all are, us northerners! Or just daft!
Anyway it took about ten kicks to get it going so maybe we could see fuel-injection on this model in the near future.
SPECIFICATIONS
2009 model Kawasaki KX450F/ KX250F
ENGINE
Type: single-cylinder, liquid-cooled, four-valve DOHC four-stroke (Both)
Capacity: 449 cc/ 249 cc
Bore x Stroke: 96.0 x 62.1 mm/ 77.0 x 53.6 mm
Compression ratio: 12.5 : 1 (450F)/ 13.2 : 1 (250F)
Fuel system: Keihin fuel-injection system (450F)/ Keihin FCR-MX37 carburettor (250F)
Ignition: Digital DC-CDI (450F)/ Digital
AC-CDI (250F)
Starting: Primary kick
Lubrication: Forced lubrication, semi-dry sump
Transmission: 5-speed
Clutch: manual wet multi-disc
CHASSIS
Type: Perimeter frome, aluminium
SUSPENSION
Front (450F): 48 mm upside-down AOS-type
telescopic fork with 22-way
compression damping & 20-way rebound damping (450F)
Front (250F): 47 mm upside-down twin-
chamber telescopic fork with
16-way compression damping & 16-way rebound damping
Wheel travel: 315 mm (Both)
Rear (450F): New Uni-Trak 22-way (low-speed) compression damping (2-turns or more (high-speed)), 22-way rebound damping, with fully adjustable spring pre-load
Rear (250F): New Uni-Trak with 13-way (low-speed) compression damping ( 2-turns or more (high-speed)), 17-way rebound damping, with fully adjustable spring pre-load
Wheel travel: 315 mm (450F)/ 310 mm (250F)
TYRES
Front: 90/100-21 57M (450F)/
80/100-21 51M (250F)
Rear: 120/80-19 63M (450F)/
100/90-19 57M (250F)
BRAKES
Front: Single semi-floating 250 mm petal disc, dual-piston caliper (Both)
Rear: Single 240 mm petal disc,
single-piston caliper (Both)
DIMENSIONS
Length: 2,185 mm (450F)/ 2,170 mm (250F)
Width: 820 mm (Both)
Height: 1,280 mm (450F)/ 1,270 mm (250F)
Wheelbase: 1,480 mm (450F)/ 1,470 mm (250F)
Ground Clearance: 340 mm (Both)
Seat Height: 965 mm (450F)/ 955 mm (250F)
Fuel Capacity: 7 litres (450F)/ 8 litres
Curb Weight: 112.1 kg (450F)/ 104.3 kg (250F)