[MitchTheDitch]

Has anyone rode a KFX450r? To be specific, a race ready one? I never see them anywhere, is it just cause they're rubbish? haha

Cheers guys and girls

 

[mineralgrey01gt]

I've ridden mildly modded ones, not impressive by any means

 

[Ericltr450]

Garbage. Motor pulls week and its awkward and uncomfortable

 

[Jaydoggg]

I rode one. Wasn't impressed at all. It felt torqy which I like, but aside from that... nothing.

 

[08LTRSMOKINU]

my buddy has one with the big 3 on it, the suspension is junk and it doesnt move very well IMO even with only those mods. my ltr with just a cherry bomb lid off and dasa ate his up and hes got the big 3 and a tune.

 

[nkillian9]

I worked on one here while back and asked the owner (friend) if i could take it to the track once while i was waiting on parts for my ltr, motorwise it was basically stock, had a pipe fuel intake, and the dirtbike cams, i thought it ran pretty decent, myself. It had walsh pep suspension, i hated the handli.g it wouldnt stick where i wanted it to constantly push up and over any sandy berm.

 

[PapaOX]

Not to mention a aluminum frame. A racer here bought one new and raced it couple of days later and tacoed the frame on a g-out. POS bike like the can-am motors.

 

[shiftx450]

I've seen two blow up, one top end the other trans, and they were pretty much brand new.

The other caught fire and was brand new.

 

[quadracer706]

I wonder how this bike managed to win the modified 450 shootout in dirtwheels magazine a few years back if you guys are saying they're that bad? I have never rode any 450 other than my zuk so I can't say. I know a kid that was going to buy the 08 ltr I had for sale ended up buying a kawi.

 

[nkillian9]

Ive wondered the same thing, dirtwheels is so yamaha bias i would think yamaha would have won.

 

[yellowthunder]

lol you just reminded me i need to get the new dirtwheels mag for this month lol

 

[LTRTX450]

Has anyone rode a KFX450r? To be specific, a race ready one? I never see them anywhere, is it just cause they're rubbish? haha

Cheers guys and girls

I have one and wouldn't trade it for anything. I think it's funny you would ask this on a Suzuki forum and expect to get a honest answer. I have never seen a motor blow or tranny explode or seen a frame taco. I have friends that have KFX's and LTR's and both perform really well.

 

[shiftx450]

I don't believe anything dishonest has been stated.

 

[LTRTX450]

I don't believe anything dishonest has been stated.

I haven't had any of these issues and have had mine over 2 years. I have rode both quads and I like the handling better on the KFX, but that's my choice. I know for a fact the LTR has issues also, but what bike doesn't.

 

[kawie450r]

I have had my kfx since new in 08. I ride mx and it gets ridden pretty hard. Only issue i have ever had is a dead battery. Kfx has tranny issues? I believe the ltr has the worst and most common tranny problems. Dont get me wrong i like the ltr alot and think its a great quad. But it does have issues just like anything else. Handling all comes down to setup. You cant ride someone elses quad and expect it to handle amazing. Its setup for them not for you. Some people dont spend time dialing in the suspension and it rides like crap. Not really the quads fault. The frames are not junk by any means. I have cased jumps, bottomed out hard, and rolled a few times. My frame isnt bent or cracked anywhere. So saying the frames taco is crap. It may have happend once but it certanily is not common. The most common weak points on the kawi are the wiring harness sometimes rubs against the frame and will blow a fuse but all it takes is moving the harness a bit. The bottom steering stem joint is a bad design and does not last very long. Walsh makes a soultion for this. And if you over tighten the the skid plate or airbox bolts the inserts in the subframe will spin. And yes the stock shocks suck but alot of poeple replace shocks anyway. And if on a budget a simple revalve/rebuild will suffice. If you mantain it like you should it will be a great quad as mine has been to me.

Just wanted to give the OP my thoughts on the kawi seems how i have had one for the last 5 years.

 

[Jaydoggg]

like most things, it just comes down to the riders preference. I don't have anything bad to say about the KFX. Just feel more comfortable on the LTR. The one I rode was punchy and I like it but in stock suspension form, the LTR seemed to have better suspension. After you go aftermarket on the suspension, it all evens out.

Motor wise, it felt the same as the LTR mod for mod.

 

[1bbarney]

+1 kawie, I've had my kawie for a while and haven't had any issues other than a clutch burning out. It amazes me how biased people can be about different brands.. The kawie motor is not garbage, it's the same as the other 450's. I've ridden them all and raced against them all and with similar mods it comes down to the rider. All the 450's are good bikes and it just comes down to personal setup and preference.

 

[mitch15]

+ 1 on what kawie and barney said
i had my kawie for 3 years i never had any big problems with it until this year and they werent even that big i blew a headgasket water got into the cylinder and messed up the nikasel but i was suposed to rebuild it last winter so that was probly my fault and the water pumps seals went out agian thats ones a mystery not sure why they keep going
bcs solves the wiring harness issues by getting rid of the weak points
and the ones you guys have seen blow up what compression piston were they running they probly didnt build the bottom end to handle it
and the tranny ive only seen twice the kid was still going forward and switched it into reverse and it broke the gear off
my frame has hit the ground tons of times from casing jumps and is still fine didn't bend or break

 

[mineralgrey01gt]

They don't feel as peppy to me. I had a 250r with no port work, stock bore with a pipe, reeds, 38mm carb and open filter outrun one that had a pipe and filter for sure. I wasn't expecting that outcome or it atleast to be neck and neck. Yes we switched quads with the same outcome. That's why I said what I did about them being not impressive. I got on my stock ltr and it felt like more power than the kfx

 

[LTRTX450]

They don't feel as peppy to me. I had a 250r with no port work, stock bore with a pipe, reeds, 38mm carb and open filter outrun one that had a pipe and filter for sure. I wasn't expecting that outcome or it atleast to be neck and neck. Yes we switched quads with the same outcome. That's why I said what I did about them being not impressive. I got on my stock ltr and it felt like more power than the kfx

I admit the stock gearing on the KFX sucks, but once that is changed to a 15t front it opens up a bit more and when you change the intake that's where you feel the difference. I have ridden all the quad manufacturers that are out there and again I am happy with the performance that I get from my KFX.