Kawasaki Dirt Bikes - History And TodayIn 1963 the Kawasaki dirt bikes legend was born with the introduction of the B8M Motocrosser. This was a purpose built race machine that went on to blitz most of the major motocross tournaments in Japan at the time. 
The B8M Motocrosser was the start of the Kawasaki dirt bikes legacy, the long running KX motocross series evolved from these early race bikes. The KDX series was another success story for Kawasaki, these bikes were more suited to cross country and enduro racing. The KDX series bikes are on borrowed time with tough new emission laws spelling the end of road registered two strokes.With two strokes being legislated out of existence, bike manufacturers are now pouring all of their R+D dollars into four strokes. This has led to the birth of the KX250F and KX450F. '09 Kawasaki Dirt BikesKX250F/450FThe big news for the open class motocrosser in the Kawasaki dirt bikes range this year is the introduction of fuel injection. The other major manufacturers are all a year behind Suzuki in fitting EFI to their Open class motocrossers (with the exception of Yamaha who aren't expected to introduce fuel injection on the YZF until 2010) but the KX450 has a redesigned cylinder head with revised exhaust and inlet ports and a new piston along with the fuel injection. These changes have made the engine smaller and also lighter. The frame has also been reworked for '09 with the main spars being smaller, making the frame narrower but slightly thicker down beside the riders ankles for improved control and feel over the bike. The subframe has also been redesigned, it's narrower and stronger than before. The swingarm now has a different profile and mounts higher in the frame and there's new bodywork fitted as well.
The 250 hasn't had a whole lot of updates for '09, the engine has had some tuning changes and the carburettor and ignition settings have been revised to improve bottom end power. The rear suspension has had some work done, a new spring is now fitted and the internal valves have been revised to improve the suspension's action. The transmission also now has new, thicker gears to improve strength and reliability. To help reduce weight the 250 has titanium footpegs and mounting brackets and an assortment of aluminium components instead of steel around the bike to shave off a few grams. An aluminium skid plate and Renthal bars are fitted as standard and both the 450 and 250 have black anodised rims.
KX85 There's not a whole lot that's new on the KX85 for '09, the junior racer is still available in two configurations, the standard size and also the larger wheeled bike for bigger riders. The 85 has a perimeter frame and 36mm inverted forks up front with a fully adjustable rebound and dampening Uni-trak shock at the rear. The bikes have a six speed transmission.
KX65 The KX65 is the smallest of the '09 Kawasaki dirt bikes and is the entry level bike for beginner racers. The 65 also has a high tensile steel frame and disc brakes front and rear with a Uni-Trak rear shock that's dampening adjustable. The engine is water cooled with digital ignition and is mated to a six speed transmission.
The majority of updates for the Kawasaki dirt bikes for '09 seems to be mainly on the four strokes with the 2 stroke junior bikes receiving basically cosmetic updates. Click here to check out the entire Kawasaki dirt bikes lineup at the corporate website Click here to have a look at the '08 Kawasaki motocross range Click here to have a look at the 07 Kawasaki lineup Click here to go back to our Home Page Please note that to protect our younger visitors to Motocross 101, SafeSearch is turned on in these search results.
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