[On_All_4s]

Hi y'all,

I am the proud owner of a KFS450B (that's the black KFX450r) and I have gone out and properly thrashed it today. Flies GREAT, lands well, a most excellent woods bike out of the box. Manuvers like a trials bike (almost) FI works really well at low speeds. Reverse is well thought out and after a few days of familiarization the operation should be as easy to use as an iPod. The seat is super, narrow but supportive on the tank and cushy on the tushy out back.The brakes are great, back brakes maybe too good and the frame provides great feel/feedback. Here's the downside - I already cracked the PLASTIC POS swingarm guard on a medium size rock. And, the rear light came out of its mounting at the bottom of the first big jump. Took the sparky out - BAD IDEA ! Doesn't seem to run as well when off an on the gas/brake. Sounds kinda funky too. So, it goes back in tomorrow. Next, the tires or rims or both SUCK, easy fix - just hoped for better. Frame and the tank's side panels need StompGrip or something of the sort. Pipes, ECU and different footpegs are on the top of my list. If I had nerfs & a kill switch I'd race tomorrow afternoon - maybe next weekend. I'm going to a track to compare lap times to my other ATV as soon as I can. Now on the agenda: dial in the shocks in the morning and then go to the river and sling some sand. I will post again after I get back Sunday night.

Glad to be here too !

Ride On,

Andy

 

[topdollr]

thanks for the review. I have heard that the seat was hard like the 04 YFZ. You stated it's soft, what other quads do you have to compare to it? Still waiting for mine to arrive at the dealership.

 

[raredirt]

Well I got mine off of the trailer for a little bit of fun today. I did some old country gravel road riding and some nice sandy trail riding.
I found it to be quite responsive even with the throttle stop at half throttle. I thought the seat was extremely narrow and nice and firm I felt like I could spend hours on it straight with no problems. The shocks are definitely set firm from the factory and will need a little tweaking. I didn't get much air as I was just shooting down the trails but enough to feel some firm feedback. It was easy to maneuver and cornered extremely well. The stance is nice and the feedback from the quad was good. The header pipe does run hotter than what I am use to, I always new it was there even through my pants. I don't ever ride with shorts on but I know some people do and this is one bike I would not risk with shorts if I was them.

I did have a couple of LTR450s that wanted me to heads up race them but, only having it 3 days and still breaking it in I turned em down even though I wanted to back the screw out and go at it. Will save that for another day. I know everybody has an opinion on the break in process and period, I am shooting for middle of the road 4 to 5 hours half throttle then I will open it up.

I hope to get it out this week to Appalachia Bay and do some trail riding and get a better feel for it, I will post more when I do.

I am by now way an expert in quads, I have been riding ATVs or MX bikes (non-competitively) for the last 23 years. I currently own 3 toys one of course is my new KFX :shocker: also a 06 Z400 that I bought for my girlfriend and my tried trusty and true 1985 Honda 350X ATC.

I think the KFX is going to be another solid quad and will run with the other 450's currently out there. I am looking forward to seeing how it responds at Waynoka, OK (first weekend in May if not sooner) when I get it out on the sand. The lime Green is just plain pretty. I must admit the reverse is quite nice as well. I am looking forward to lining it up with some different quads and seeing what it will do. Plus a chance to air it out a little and see how it flys.

 

[speeddemon619]

i cant wait to get my hands on one of these, they seem to be at the top of the class and have many promising characteristics

 

[On_All_4s]

Ride Report Part Deux

I put the sparky back in and it's much better now on cranking.
Still takes 3 - 4 whirls before firing sometimes. Tires still suck
but some better after much manipulation of air pressures.
The ride is mo better now after a little shock tweaking too.

There was a post about the seat from topdollr: couldn't say as
to YFZ comparison however in relation to my Banshee - not as
soft but not as large either. I will add; the gripper seat is really
nice as a factory piece too. Needs same on lower tank panels,
which by the way are PERFECTLY shaped for me. All the way up
to the front fenders - nice little knee notches !

I haven't held it to the stops yet (not for long) but the bike is
starting to loosen up some. Seat, shocks, motor etc. is all much
much better on day two.

I normally ride/race a tweaked Banshee long travel f/r, stroked
PT National motor and I can tell you this Kawi does NOT have the
power that bike does. But, it does have WAY MORE usable torque.
In a day or two, I'll go to a track I'm very familiar with and run
some laps to compare times. The other point I must make here
is that without different bars/steering stem/stabilizer I don't think
it is really a fair comparison either. HELLO, is there a maufacturer
listening here ? Longer steering stem (anti vibe type) and a damper
would be soooo sweet for this ride ! ! !

Gotta go guys ! Any gals here ? I'll give you my number ! lol

As soon as I find my camera I'll fling up some pictures too.

IMS Roll has nerfs & heel guards in stock for those looking for some,
pegs will be a week or two. Get in line BEHIND me !

LTGTR

Andy

 

[fatv]

the gripper seat is really nice as a factory piece too. Needs same on lower tank panels,
which by the way are PERFECTLY shaped for me. All the way up
to the front fenders[/b]

I will have FULL Black gripper seat covers next week

HELLO, is there a maufacturer
listening here ? Longer steering stem (anti vibe type) and a damper
would be soooo sweet for this ride ![/b]

I can make you a stem 4130 chromoly and anti vibe ...... + 1 or any length you want. PM me for details. i will be going +1 on mine and will have photos soon. I also have Precision steering stablizers on order. let me know if you would like to pre order one. Man i cannot wait to ride mine this weekend.

FUELATV

 

[nick4419]

i got mine wendsday and after 10 minutes of riding i noticed that kawi forgot to put a bearing in the shifter. it was leeking oil everywhere and i have nothing else really to say about it yet. i'm kinda disappionted that it's downed for warranty right now.

 

[DMS]

i got mine wendsday and after 10 minutes of riding i noticed that kawi forgot to put a bearing in the shifter. it was leeking oil everywhere and i have nothing else really to say about it yet. i'm kinda disappionted that it's downed for warranty right now.[/b]

Ain't that some chit. :blink: I would be one cranky dude.

 

[quad_runner]

I will have FULL Black gripper seat covers next week
I can make you a stem 4130 chromoly and anti vibe ...... + 1 or any length you want. PM me for details. i will be going +1 on mine and will have photos soon. I also have Precision steering stablizers on order. let me know if you would like to pre order one. Man i cannot wait to ride mine this weekend.

FUELATV[/b]

Steve makes quality stuff and has great customer service.

 

[raredirt]

Okay so back for another update after a couple of days at Waynoka, playing in the sand.

I spent many hours riding on the 450 over the last couple of days and all in all I am still happy with the choice I made. With a set of paddles on back she was ready to go.

So here are some more impressions of the 450.

I loved how easy it was to throw the quad around in the trails over the whoops and in the air. She flys real nice in the air not that I caught a lot. I found the front shocks handled the whoops well when I hit em a little early. She seemed to respond best in the higher RPM range and felt like she really wanted to be running all out. Even with the seat cover I continued to find myself (185 lbs) up on the tank so a little more grip there would be helpful. The vibration passed on through the bars is still in need of some dampening. I never thought the battery would make that much difference but it took some effort to get her to power wheelie even my Friend who is 237 lbs noted that his 700 Raptor wanted to climb more than the 450, that is not a bad thing if you ask me.

Out by the south gate on the dunes there is almost always some kinda free 4 all drag that takes place nothing official just line up anywhere from 8 to 20 quads, bikes, whatever and go for it. I want to point out I am not the most experienced and dragging, so I am sure a better rider would have had a little bit better results. What I noticed is that off the line I just didn't not have the take off speed that others did. I could run some of them down but it took a little bit. I am sure a pipe and a speed controller are going to help it out quite a bit.

We are going back over to Waynoka the first weekend in May I am hopeful that I will have a pipe by then along with a few other changes and will post a new report then.

 

[Shock2U]

I went on Break-in run today. The first thing I noticed was how lazy it was out the hole. I was taking off in 2nd gear. This thing lives for 3rd-4th gear in stock form. I'm 6’4 250lb rider riding in what I call Whataburger Class or over 40 C. One word “Smooth” power delivery through gears. I like the fact that’s it narrow through the seating area. I'll be tweaking the shocks next week and racing it in April.

 

[quad_runner]

It is funny that it is a little underpowered on the low end. I thought Kawasaki said it would have alot of low end torque. I assumed it would be the best out of the 450's.

 

[Shock2U]

Well, I was practicing 2nd gear starts. That may have contributed to it being lazy out of hole. It seem that it want more rpms in first 10 feet . Or maybe it's my big fat butt on it LOL !!!!!

 

[raredirt]

When trying to drag it I had much better performance starting out in second, it was a little slow out in second but the quicker I could get into 4th and 5th gears the better I finished. I think the low end is in need of some help looking forward to a pipe and a controller hoping this will help out the lower end a bit.