THE 2008 KAWASAKI’S

November 06, 2007

Over the last couple of years Kawasaki have upped their program, no question. Chris Pourcel won the MX2 World crown in 2006, Pro Circuit Kawasaki have totally dominated in America this year and then of course there’s James Stewart. For 2008 things look in even better shape for the green machine. James Stewart enters the year as favourite in the Motocross class in the US now that his nemesis Carmichael has gone. Ryan Villopoto, well, you’d have to be out of your nut to not bet on him and then here in Europe there’s Seb Pourcel and Kevin Strijbos as serious contenders for the MX1 World championship and it’s looking good in MX2 with the Molson team too.

That’s a serious race program and the stock 2008 four bangers are there to back it up. For one they look more ‘Factory’ with the black rims and seat cover and the colour co-coordinated sidepanels and front plate. Then there’s the magnesium coloured clamps and hubs that add to the pro bike effect. First impressions are everything, or so they say but there’s no point looking sexy and then not being able to back it up where it matters. Consider the track as the bedroom in this case!

On the 250F the gear shifter has been highered by three degrees as the 07 bike didn’t have the best shifting and missed gears were a little more common. The crankcases have improved rigidity making them more reliable and supplies more torque to the rear wheel. The new 94db tail pipe is a little longer and heavier but it’s a compromise for actually being able to ride the bike without some old duffer complaining about noise in a house five miles away. New engine mounts set in wider positions help make turning better in low speed corners and increase traction. The new suspension settings have altered the front/rear balance and when coupled with the engine mounts make the 08 KXF 250 corner more positively but not necessarily better overall.

The 450F is now really maturing. A new crank has cut down on engine vibration and given the bottom end much more oomph. It’s also helped in delivering a much smoother power right to the top along with the now smoother intake ports. After switching from four to five gears for 07 Kawasaki have now worked the five speed gearbox and a revised cam and drum and lighter springs making shifting smoother. As with the KXF250 the inner fork tubes are Kashima coated making the forks on both models noticeably smoother.

As for the two-strokes well, the graphics have changed and that’s about it. They don’t need to change the two strokes anyway. We at MOTO love em and they aren’t going away just yet that’s for sure, as long as they don’t change the sound we’ll be happy. Anyway, enough of all the technical talk what you really want to know is how do they ride? We thought we’d get someone who races all these bikes on a regular basis. So in his own words here is the man with the perfect CV for testing all the adult range of bikes, Mr Dave ‘Mad-dog’ Willet to tell you more. He should know, he races both classes at the DEP 2 stroke championship as well as the riding the 450F and the 250F over the last couple of years in the Maxxis championship.

Willet’s words on…

The KX125

It’s pretty sharp actually. It has quite a hit of power for a stock 125 but then just after mid range it kind of signs off pretty quick. For me at 12 and half stone the front forks are too soft, it seemed a little out of balance and too high up at the back end. Other than that it really is a good all round bike, maybe a little fluffy right off the snap but easy enough to fix with a different pilot jet. It turns well and as you start to get used it to it gives you a lot of confidence, I felt good straight away. It feels quite a short bike and because of the imbalance it does throw you up onto the front forks and make you feel like you are right over the front attacking everything. When you come into a turn you’re right there ready to attack and not sat back like you are in an armchair. It pulls third gear really well because of the strong bottom and mid. If you were going to race a KX125 you’d be looking at tinkering with the top end definitely.

The KX250

This is a good bike. Bottom and mid-range on it is awesome. It’s so smooth and strong and you can also predict what it’s going to do. When you hit the throttle on it at mid range there are no surprises, it doesn’t hit in and make you get all out of shape, or make the back end come round or get away from your hands, it’s just a strong, smooth, useable power. The gearing is really good and works sweet with the motor. The suspension is similar to the 125, a little soft and low at the front. The 250 is definitely the better of the two strokes, it’s a really good bike that you wouldn’t have to do too much with to be able to be competitive on. It gives you loads of confidence, on the off cambers when the ruts started coming in I could just keep coming in harder and harder and keep pushing it. Ryan Voase was quicker than me on a lot of tight technical sections in the DEP series this year and I can see why now. It seems like they’ve just slowly kept improving it and progressing with it and ridden right you could be competing with the 450’s on it. You could rock up and go racing on that thing, it’s that good.

The KXF250 That impressed me straight away. Obviously riding a CRF all year long I can notice the difference right away. The motor was strong, really strong. It pulls so well right through and then continues to rev on. I could see anyone not wanting to do much with it to begin with, I think it would only be worth looking into tuning it as you got used to it and started to go quicker. I think it would make a club rider be pretty confident. I know those Pro Circuit race bikes are something special but they’ve got a good starting point to build from that’s for sure. Again I didn’t like the suspension on the front. Why do they always make the front end so soft? It’s soft for me but I think it would also be soft for an average club rider. The test pilots must be bantamweight! The balance is wrong across the board, the rear end doesn’t seem to move at all and the front seems to move a lot. But as for the power you couldn’t wish for anything more, it certainly makes up for the suspension. The suspension isn’t that bad. I mean it’s plush and all that but it’s set up wrong. I think stiffer fork springs in the all the bikes would help because the rebound and valving is actually quite smooth and positive. The gearbox feels a little bit notchy compared to my Honda. It’s not a major problem, in fact it probably isn’t a problem, just something I noticed. That and the second gear probably being too short is about the only negatives I can really say. Even with the suspension out of synch it handles well and pulls from most corners in third gear. It’s hell of a motor.

The KXF450 I’ve got to admit I thought this wouldn’t be a stitch on the CRF450 but it’s much closer to it than I thought. The Honda 450 has always been quite a revvy motor, quite smooth and then it always accelerates through. Their 07 bike had a bit more of a punch in it in the mid range. The Kawasaki just feels like it hits like the Honda but then it just kind of signs off and fades away. It kind of makes you feel like you’re just not quite right and your fighting with it to get the power out of it. Like the gearing is not quite right, or your not in the right gear. It feels like the power is there but it’s in the wrong place or it’s being held back. I think you’d need to try a couple of different sprockets and have a play around with different combinations to make it work. It will pull third gear but sometimes it feels a little bit lazy and then you have to clutch it. You just don’t feel like it’s the finished product. I’m not saying the CRF450 is or the KXF250 either but they are nearer to it. The suspension, well, it’s the same as the rest. I don’t know, I just didn’t feel as comfortable on it as I did the others in the range. If I was going to race it I’d have to think about what I was going to change on it. It turns well and goes exactly where you want when you’re in your comfort zone but if you want to push beyond that I don’t think the bike would come with you. When you want to go fast it doesn’t feel as comfortable as the 250F.

Watch the Kawasaki launch HERE

Action images by Jonty Edmonds and MOTO test pilot is David Willet

SPECIFICATIONS 250T8F

SUSPENSION
Front: Type - 47 mm upside-down twin-chamber telescopic fork
Compression damping - 16-way
Rebound damping - 16-way Rear: Type - New Uni-Trak
Compression damping - 13-way (low-speed), 2-turns or more (high-speed)
Rebound damping - 17-way
Spring preload - Fully adjustable

BRAKES Front: Type - Single semi-floating 250 mm petal disc
Caliper - Dual-piston
Rear: Type - Single 240 mm petal disc
Caliper - Single-piston

DIMENSIONS
Overall length - 2,160 mm
Overall width - 820 mm
Overall height - 1,270 mm
Wheelbase - 1,469 mm
Ground clearance - 335 mm
Seat height - 955 mm
Dry weight - 92.5 kg
Fuel capacity - 7.2 litres

ENGINE
Type - Liquid-cooled, 4-stroke Single
Displacement - 249 cm3
Bore and Stroke - 77.0 x 53.6 mm
Compression ratio - 13.5:1
Valve system - DOHC, 4 valves
Fuel system - Carburettor: Keihin FCR37
Ignition - Digital AC-CDI
Starting - Primary kick
Lubrication - Forced lubrication, semi-dry sump

DRIVETRAIN
Transmission - 5-speed, return
Final drive - Chain
Primary reduction ratio - 3.350 (67/20)
Gear ratios: 1st - 2.142 (30/14)
2nd - 1.785 (25/14)
3rd - 1.444 (26/18)
4th - 1.200 (24/20)
5th - 1.045 (23/22)
Final reduction ratio - 3.692 (48/13)
Clutch - Wet multi-disc, manual

FRAME
Type - Perimeter, aluminium
Wheel travel: front - 315 mm
rear - 310 mm
Tyre: front - 80/100-21 51M
rear - 100/90-19 57M
Caster (rake) - 27.7o
Trail - 119 mm
Steering angle (left/right) - 42o / 42o

SPECIFICATIONS KX450D8F

ENGINE
Type - Liquid-cooled, 4-stroke Single
Displacement - 249 cm3
Bore and Stroke - 96.0 x 62.1 mm
Compression ratio - 12.0:1
Valve system - DOHC, 4 valves
Fuel system - Carburettor: Keihin FCR40
Ignition - Digital AC-CDI
Starting - Primary kick
Lubrication - Forced lubrication, semi-dry sump

DRIVETRAIN
Transmission - 5-speed, return
Final drive - Chain
Primary reduction ratio - 2.727 (60/22)
Gear ratios: 1st - 1.750 (28/16)
2nd - 1.412 (24/17)
3rd - 1.188 (19/16)
4th - 1.000 (19/19)
5th - 0.875 (21/24)
Final reduction ratio - 3.846 (50/13)
Clutch - Wet multi-disc, manual

FRAME
Type - Perimeter, aluminium
Wheel travel: front - 315 mm
rear - 315 mm
Tyre: front - 90/100-21 57M
rear - 120/80-19 63M
Caster (rake) - 27.1o
Trail - 117mm
Steering angle (left/right) - 42o / 42o

SUSPENSION
Front: Type - 48 mm upside-down AOS-type telescopic fork
Compression damping - 22-way
Rebound damping - 22-way Rear: Type - New Uni-Trak
Compression damping - 22-way (low-speed), 2-turns or more (high-speed)
Rebound damping - 22-way
Spring preload - Fully adjustable

BRAKES Front: Type - Single semi-floating 250 mm petal disc
Caliper - Dual-piston
Rear: Type - Single 240 mm petal disc
Caliper - Single-piston

DIMENSIONS
Overall length - 2,185mm
Overall width - 820 mm
Overall height - 1,280 mm
Wheelbase - 1,485 mm
Ground clearance - 345 mm
Seat height - 965 mm
Dry weight - 99.8 kg
Fuel capacity - 7.2 litres

Send this article to a friend

Page 1 of 1 pages