2009 Kawasaki KX450F Preview

Introduction

2009 Kawasaki KX450F

The latest approach towards a bike that must rule the track first concerned the engine, afterwards the chassis, and finally the bodywork. A bike that in a way or another is related to the Ninja name couldn’t be another thing, but an absolute blast. So what is that Kawasaki did in order to achieve that? Well, it fuel-injected the engine, bringing it up to date and in line with the competition.

Now the 449cc liquid-cooled, four-stroke single with DOHC and four valves doesn’t need to be adjusted for track and climate conditions as it is versatility itself. Even more, the electronic fuel injection system brings with it an ECU and 43mm throttle body. These features, together with the fuel pump being positioned into the tank let us know how Kawasaki aimed at an advanced feeding system for the engine, as that is the entire key for performance.

In order to keep the overall package light, the engine is kickstarted, but don’t imagine you’ll brake your leg or anything like that if your engine stops when falling. The ECU powers up at the initial movement at the kickstarter so you’ll hear bangs after a single kick.

And those bangs will be as smooth as you’ll ever get as the new larger AC generator rotor that makes sure to increase the rotational inertia of the engine. Also, the redesigned crankshaft will bring contribution so the new engine reduces vibrations to a minimum.

The cylinder head is 5 mm shorter and features revised intake and exhaust ports. This makes it rev higher, be more compact and lighter. It also gives an increased compression ratio of 12.5:1, which required a one-piece titanium exhaust for even greater low and mid-range throttle response.

2009 Kawasaki KX450F

Now that Kawasaki engineers knew they’ve got it right with the engine, there was just a matter of properly exploiting all of that power and torque. This could only be done by designing a new aluminum frame and add proper suspensions to it in order to go better through corners and remain stable at high speeds. So Kawasaki shrunk the cross-section of the main spars, slimmed the head pipe and the down tube ended up through another process. Also, the subframe was reshaped and it ended up being stronger and narrower, exactly how it is needed.

The new aluminum swingarm travels 3 mm more as it positioned higher on the frame. There is also a new cross bracket, but what makes the entire rear unit so good is the fine tuning which became possible by mounting the arm of the Uni-Trak rear suspension linkage underneath the swingarm.

Also aiming at stability and sharper handling is the Kayaba Air-Oil-Separate fork implementing new Diamond-Like Carbon coating on the outer surface of the inner fork tubes. These offer a 15 percent reduction in stiction when the fork is exposed to lateral forces that hamper slide action. Nice through the corners, the bike will inspire confidence like it never did before.

A 50mm new piston at the rear is definitely better than the 46mm one that was present on the bike before and completes the overall safety feel as it offers better damping and bottoming performance, as well as response.

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