Kawasaki KLX450R

It's been a long time since Kawasakis were a common sight on the trails and enduro tracks of this country. They've been doing a mountain of winning on motocross tracks around the world, but sadly have had nothing approaching an enduro bike since the two-stroke KDX200 left town.

Kawasaki's return comes at a time when the choice of 450 four-strokes is wider than ever. You'd imagine that there are more choices available in the 450F class now than in any other capacity. It stands to reason then that for any bike to gain attention in the crowd, it must, in some way, set itself apart.  Does the KLX450R do that? Now the excitement of its release has died down, we did some serious soul searching and a lot of hard kilometres to find the Kwaka's X-factor.

LOOK AT ME
I owned a KDX200 about 15 years ago, but apart from our KLX250/300 test recently, I hadn't ridden a Kwaka since. It was a nice feeling to take delivery of the KLX and I wasn't disappointed with the look of the machine either. It's not drop dead gorgeous, but it's not bad for a Japanese machine.

The bike we picked up had the ADR headlight, which is a bit Gumby (Kawasaki suplies a much cooler unit with each new bike), and a large numberplate mount that would be the first item heading for the bin. It doesn't look as mean as the KX450F and I'll put that down to the juncture between the seat and the tank. It looks as silly as it is unpractical.

The header pipe sticks out a long way too, which is asking for trouble, but it also blocks access to the oil filter, which means you have to remove the exhaust to change the filter. The LCD speedo is a big, chunky unit which is, again, reminisant of that found on the Suzuki DR-Z400. It turns off with the engine too, which means if you want to check anything you have to fire the engine up to be able to read the display.

Air filter access is good – via a Dzus clip on the right side panel – but adjusting the static sag is frustratingly difficult since there's a bee's dick of space in which to slip any tool between the shock canister and the frame. It's more time consuming than it should be, and we gave up.

The ergonomics of the KLX are far from ideal for a rider around the six-foot mark. It feels like a DR-Z400, with narrow, low bars that make it a bit claustrophobic in the cockpit. The seat/tank juncture is at such a steep angle that moving forward is difficult and uncomfortable. However, the seat itself is excellent, and the overall finish on the bike is very clean, but a new set of bars and risers would be a must.

AND THEY'RE OFF…
The stock pipe is a cannon that breathes through a straw. It is, however, very quiet, and we should all be thankful for that. In fact it's the softest engine note we've heard from a 450 yet, and while you might expect that would kill off any fun right then and there, the engine remains responsive.
The bike started easily straight up, with some help from a choke controlled by a button Kawasaki doesn't want you to find. It's nestled behind a fuel line and frame strut if you're looking – silly, but not a huge drama.

Pulling away from the line the KLX gave an immediate impression that held true to the end of the test – this is a strong and very smooth engine, and it's the single most outstanding feature of the bike. The gears shift easily, albeit with a slight clunk reminiscent of a KTM and the ratios seem to be pretty much spot-on for a trail-muppet like me.

For seriously snotty stuff I'd look to gear it down a little, but an aftermarket pipe might negate that need by providing a little more low-down poke.

The handling is an odd one. The suspension is good, but the front end isn't great. The suspension soaked up everything we threw at it easily – no bucking at the rear or sharp jolts at the front. Still, it has an unnerving tendency to tuck in, and the tighter and looser the corner the worse it got. We ran into motocross champ Craig Anderson while we were fuelling the bike one morning and he suggested that in his experience the Michelin S12 front tyre might do just that, but we've ridden with M12s before and haven't had that problem.

I think it's a combination of geometry and tyre. The rubber lets go because the steering is so quick – like with the older CRF250s. It doesn't help that you can't get completely forward on the seat and so the front-end is slightly unweighted through the turns due to the releatively neutral ride position. However, on open tracks there's no problem. The bike feels stable and fast, as though it was designed to win the Baja but not the ISDE. It's no surprise then that the KLX won the 2007 24 Hour Reliability Trial held in South Australia; it's the bike you'd want to be on for long hours in the saddle.

The second test day was a biggie. It was stinking hot and we took on a real horrible piece of track, the ‘Bush Funnel of Doom'. Even its name can't convey the utter misery of this bastard track. Within 10 minutes the speedo cable had been wrenched out of its home on the fork guard and had to be taped to the fork so it didn't get ripped off completely. It's only riveted to the plastic guard so its fate was sealed from birth.

The Nissin brakes really showed their worth going down the funnel, while the engine got us out of a world of off-camber, uphill pain, with much less fuss than the two-stroke trench digger we also had with us. I hate that place and I'm never going back...

There seems to be an entire supermarket hanging off the handlebars. There's stuff everywhere, which makes the Kawie feel front-heavy. You notice how chunky it is when you climb from this bike to a modern European like the Gas Gas 515 we also had with us. Where the KLX needed a bit of work to get it to turn, and definitely felt front-heavy, the Gasser turned sharper, with less effort and more stability.

There are qualities you can praise though, like the engine and suspension. We set the clickers to the midway point before the ride and didn't adjust them all day. The ride was easy on the arse and had no nasty spikes that would bother a trail rider. And the engine's a pearler. It doesn't have the attitude of a Gas Gas or TM 450, but it does lug well at low speeds and it has a nice turn of mid-range power.

I wouldn't buy this bike if most of what I ride is tight single trail. But I would consider this bike if Cape York was on the agenda and I wanted a comfortable, cruisy, medium-size trailie that wouldn't let me down.

The verdict? If you're looking for a comfortable, big-bore trailbike for open trail blasting then the KLX is just the ticket. If the CRF is too much but the DR-Z is not enough, the KLX is for you. If you want too race, then be prepared to spend some cash on set-up.

TRY IT IF YOU LIKE THE:
• Yamaha WR450F
• Suzuki DR-Z400E
• Gas Gas Pampera 450

OR YOU'RE LISTENING TO:
• Coldplay
• Nickelback