2019 Kawasaki KX450 Clutch Mod

Do you have a 2019 Kawasaki KX450? If so, we are here to give you a little inside knowledge. The new 2019 KX450 is one great machine, but the doesn't mean it is perfect right? On our test bike we have experienced with some clutch drag and clutch lever movement when riding. Under heavy load (or acceleration on deeper tilled tracks) the clutch on the 2019 can drag and or the clutch lever can move. This is not something we liked, so we went to work with Kawasaki to remedy this problem. 

If you are reading this and you haven't felt any of these sensations while riding then DO NOT WORRY ABOUT IT. If you do notice a drag or lever movement, simply take the judder springs and narrow fiber plate out of your clutch and replace it with a standard fiber plate (as shown). That's it! Once this mod has been installed, the lever was much more consistent and the drag we felt out of corners was gone. Not only was the drag gone, but we also noticed that rear wheel traction was increased a little as well. It's a cheap fix and relatively easy to do. Enjoy your green machine!  

WP Cone Valve Fork And Trax Shock For The 2018.5 Husqvarna FC450 Rockstar Edition

I have been riding the 2018.5 Husqvarna FC 450 Rockstar Edition A LOT. Over the course of only a few months I have over 50 hours on the test unit I have. I am in love with how well it works on the track, how easy it is to ride and how light it feels through corners. Yes, that’s right even with the WP 48mm AER fork it is still pretty damn good. However, I can’t leave well enough alone and must tinker with things to see if I could get the white edissssshhhh even better than where it’s at currently. I called the guys at WP to see about getting a set of their Cone Valve Fork’s and Trax Shock to see if this sucker can improve even more. The Cone Valve fork and Trax shock is basically WP’s A-kit option for us average dudes out there. Yes, it is expensive, but if you are in the market for close-to-factory level suspension, it is considerably less money than the Showa A-kit sets that are for sale. The Cone Valve fork and Trax sock can be purchased at any authorized WP dealer. Your dealer then can get you your own valving set up, but for this test WP valved my stuff for me directly. WP even offers the Cone Valve and Trax suspension for the Honda, Kawasaki, Husqvarna, KTM, and Suzuki models. So is it worth the money? I rode the stock suspension and Cone Valve/Trax set ups at several different tracks and here is what I came away with:

Fork: 

We are dealing with two totally different types of fork’s here, so the feel on the track is going to be completely different. The stock AER fork is the best air fork on the market, but still doesn't have that predictability over the course of a full day of racing/riding. I will find a good setting with the AER fork and it changes slightly throughout the day. The first thing I noticed when I when out on the track with the Cone Valve fork was that the Husqvarna turned slightly slower on initial lean (into corners). You can actually feel the extra weight right away in the front end, but it wasn't a bad feeling, I was just surprised I could feel it this much when entering corners. I started out with a fork height of 3mm up in the fork, but went with a 5mm height setting after I felt the slower front end lean feel. Along with the extra weight feeling however I gained more front end traction through every corner (especially flat corners). The Cone Valve fork leaves you with a more front end tire contact patch sensation and you can lean over more in ruts without getting the high front end, vague feeling like I did with the AER fork. With the AER fork I get some pushing in the front end through the middle to end of the corner, which made me roll off the throttle to try and compensate. With the Cone Valve fork I can lean in the corner and the fork stayed planted, which let my front end settle and bite. The CV fork also felt less active on braking bumps. I am able to jump in and out of bigger bumps without having the fork rebound too quick. If I wanted to pound through the bumps, the fork had a better damping control feeling through the middle to end part of the stroke. The most notable change was to my wrists when over jumping or flat landing with the Cone Valve fork. The AER fork holds up well, but I feel like it stops at the end of its stroke leaving me with a spike feeling that jolts up through my hands. With the Cone Valve fork, it’s a smoother action feel and I have less harshness at the end of the stroke than I do with the AER fork. You are getting more comfort and performance with the spring CV fork than you are with the AER. The only downside I can see from going to the CV fork is the weight (which didn't bother me after a few laps) and spending the money to switch over to spring. It’s costly! The guys over at WP have great settings that can get shared with authorized dealers if need be to get you comfortable in a hurry. It only took me got me two settings to get to where I was happy with my fork setting. 

Shock:

The Trax shock gave the rear of the Rockstar 450 machine a firmer feeling than the standard shock, but it wasn’t so firm that it beat you up around the track. Unlike the CV fork, you will lose a little comfort on small bump absorption, but gain performance on bigger bumps on the track. Where the stock shock will blow through at the end of the stroke (high speed compression) the Trax shock holds up better and you are able to get more aggressive around the track. I can hit the faces of jumps harder and the Husqvarna will not give you an empty, low feeling sensation that the stock shock sometimes gave me. In order to combat that feeling with the stock shock I would have to crank up the high speed compression so much that I lost the comfort coming out of corners (and rear wheel traction). The Trax shock provides you with more high-speed damping and you still get a decent amount of acceleration comfort. I also noticed a little more connectivity to the the rear wheel (when hard on the gas) on flat corners with the Trax shock. The Trax shock is firmer so there is less wallow in the rear end when accelerating, so the rear of the FC450 tracks straighter and doesn't upset the chassis. “Balanced” is a great word to describe both ends of the Husqvarna Rockstar Edition now (with the cone valve fork and Trax shock). I have the Trax system turned “off” for my setting as I felt like it had more of a dead feeling (which is a feeling that I like). A “dead feeling” is where the bike can be pushed hard into braking bumps or square edge chop and will not move or react as quickly. With the Trax “on” the rear wheel followed the ground slightly better out of choppy ruts/corners, but reacted too quickly when coming into large braking bumps when entering corners. I would think the Trax system would benefit an off-road rider that needs his rear end to move and follow the ground more at higher speeds (think west coast off-road). I ran the sag a little higher at 103mm (rather than the standard 105mm) and this seemed to be the happy spot where the Husqvarna felt less rear end low. The Trax shock is very finicky to adjustments so make sure you only do very small 1 click increments as you will be able to feel each change you make.

If I were a Husqvarna Rockstar Edition owner (which I might be in the near future) and I was looking for that next level performance, this WP set up would be a great choice. I have always felt more of an upside going from stock to WP A-Kit level suspension on a Husqvarna/KTM than I have with a KYB or Showa A-Kit level on a Yamaha or Honda. While it is expensive to obtain these bump sticks it is slightly cheaper than other “Kit” level suspension. Remember when WP wasn’t the best set of suspension you could get on a bike? All of that is long gone now as WP has come a long way with their suspension and now one of the leaders in suspension performance and comfort. I know Matthes is sick of hearing about this bike, but I can’t wait to keep riding the crap out of this thing. The WP CV fork and Trax shock is huge reason why my Husqvarna FC450 Rockstar Edition test bike works so damn good!

2018 Kawasaki KX450F Race Tech Suspension

The 2018 Kawasaki KX450F has a lot of potential to be a great machine, but the Showa SFF-Air TAC fork holds this machine back some. In stock trim the fork can be somewhat difficult to set up and get a comfortable setting. When you soften it up to get comfort, it bottoms and rides too low in the stroke. When you stiffen it up to add hold up, it becomes harsh on square edge and small acceleration chop. If I had a Kawasaki, I would put a spring conversion in it immediately, but I understand that everyone is not like me and will go to a spring fork or a spring conversion kit. I wanted to see if we could make this seem of suspension better on the KX450F, so I handed the fork and shock off to Race Tech, to see if they could get my non air fork having ass somewhat happy and comfortable on the SFF-Air TAC. 

First off let me give you a brief explanation of the SFF-Air TAC fork. SFF means Separate Function Fork because each fork leg performs a separate function. The left leg contains the damping cartridge and the right fork leg contains the pneumatic air spring. TAC means Triple Air Chamber. The right fork leg houses three pneumatic air chambers to tune the air spring side of the fork. The advantages that Kawasaki and Showa seen when developing this fork was the adjustability, weight, and minimal effect on total pressure, if the fork leg and seal are damaged. The air spring allows riders of different sizes to be able to set up their bikes at the track without any disassembly or costly fork springs. Additionally, air pressure can be altered quickly when track conditions change with mud, hard pack, rocks and loamy soil. The Showa SFF-Air TAC fork weighs just over two pounds less than Showa’s current spring fork that currently comes on the Honda’s. All sounds good on paper right? Well, when this fork was introduced it quickly became apparent that it wasn't as good on the track as Showa made it sound. 

Once Race Tech did their work, I installed the suspension back on the bike and was off testing. I went to more than a few types of tracks to really dissect if this Race Tech stuff was better than the stock suspension. I went as far as getting another stock 2018 Kawasaki KX450F to ride back to back with the Race Tech suspended set. The first thing I noticed was that the fork didn't have that sticky feel to it on the top of the fork’s stroke. When accelerating out of corners with the stock suspension the fork always seemed to be hard and deflect, but with the Race Tech fork it moved more freely in the stroke and gave me increased front end feel. Mid stroke comfort was still hard to find however and that proved to be my toughest challenge over the course of this test. I played with the inner and balance air pressures a lot before I came up with a setting that I was good with. I did notice with the Race Tech fork that the movement of the fork over square edge and braking bumps was plusher than the standard fork. Basically in Layman's terms; you feel less of the track up front. Bottoming resistance was still great and when I did decide to soften the fork up a little (to get some added compliance in hard pack conditions) it didn't blow through. With the Race Tech valving I felt like each adjustment I made (in air pressure) didn't negatively affect another area (of the fork’s action) too much. To me the biggest difference between the Race Tech fork and the stock fork is “entrance of corners”. I could come into corners harder without the fork diving or getting to low in the stroke and it kept better front tire contact to the ground than the stock fork. Does this mean I feel like this Race Tech SFF-Air TAC fork is better than a spring fork now? No, it doesn’t, but at least now I can get more consistency with the front end of this Kawasaki. Spring forks still add another level of comfort  and consistency through rough conditions that this Showa air fork can’t (even with the Race Tech Gold Valves). The question I will now get asked is…. Is this fork now good enough that I could live with it on my bike? My answer to you is “yes”! Unless you’re riding very rough, dry hard pack conditions (or long off-road races) the Race Tech fork is worth the price of admission. 

Going into this test I wasn't thinking that there would be that much difference in feeling on the track between the stock shock and the Race Tech shock, but I was wrong. I experienced with shock sag settings and always came back to 106 mm as that is what made the Kawasaki feel the most balanced. The most noticeable improvement that I felt was rear wheel traction (especially on acceleration). Coming out of choppy corners (with the Race Tech shock) the rear end of the Kawasaki felt more planted, stuck to the ground better and gave me more forward bite. De-cel comfort (or braking bumps) feel was also improved as the rear wheel stayed on the ground better and gave me more of a planted feel. With the stock shock the Kawasaki rear end stayed straight, but sometimes would have a noticeable kick when hitting the first big braking bump coming into a corner (which sometimes would un-settle the chassis). The Race Tech shock soaked up the first few de-cel bumps before it would want to react and when it did react, it was more of a dead feel on de-cel. The only complaint I had was that it was maybe a little too soft on g-outs or sharp transitions (high-speed compression). I stiffened the high speed up a little and that helped some, but I think I would want to try and go a touch stiffer internally with the valving. 

At the end of this test I was happy to figure out that there is some hope for riders that want to keep their Showa SFF-Air TAC fork and maybe don’t want to necessarily go to a spring conversion kit. Like I said in the 2018 450 MX Shootout, “I feel like the green machine has the best overall frame feel and just needed some suspension help”. Race Tech did a great job with providing some added comfort to the 2018 Kawasaki KX450F. Below is my best suspension setting with the Race Tech valved suspension. If you have any questions about this test please feel free to email me at kris@keeferinctesting.com and I can try to help as much as I can. 

Fork: 

Inner: 155 psi.

Outer: 16 psi

Balance: 170-172 psi

Fork Height: 5mm

Compression: 8 out

Rebound: 10 out

Shock: 

Sag: 106 mm

Low Speed Compression: 8 out

High Speed Compression: 2 out

Rebound: 11 out

Enzo Racing Spring Perch And Sub-Tank System For 2018 YZ450F KYB SSS Fork Product Review

The 2018 Yamaha YZ450F is the best suspended motocross bike that is available, but that doesn't mean I’m going to leave it alone. When I got the call from Enzo Racing’s Ross Maeda to see if I wanted to test a couple fork parts, I was more than happy to see if we can make the KYB SSS fork even dreamier. 

We didn't go with a fork re-valve as we wanted to see if the parts provided made a noticeable change to the existing stock 2018 valving. I personally like this approach because if you're currently happy with your valving and just needed to fine tune this was a great test to see if the Enzo parts provided could make a difference. I am 170 pounds and a front end steering rider, but I felt the stock fork setting (once broken in) was a little soft on de-cel and jump faces/transitions. Ross installed a 5.1 fork spring (5.0 is stock) and sent me out on the track to see if I liked that change, which I did. It provided a little more hold up and I could ride over the front more while being more aggressive. It did give me slightly less front end traction on lean in (coming into corners), but the trade off for me was well worth it. I did however need a little more comfort on the top part of the fork’s stroke (acceleration, light bump absorption).

Next up, Ross installed the Enzo Technica fork spring perch. This perch flows more oil and is a machined aluminum piece that Ross at Enzo makes for several different models. Once the spring perch was installed, they sent me back out on the track and I immediately noticed a difference on lean angle traction. The front end traction that I lost with the 5.1 front fork spring I gained back and then some. With the spring perched installed I immediately felt more front end bite coming into corners, especially on flat corners. Where the front tire felt like it was riding more on top of the dirt now I could feel the knobs digging into the terrafirma more when I went to cut down into a rut. Another part of the fork’s action that was improved was on braking bumps. The stock Yamaha fork isn't harsh by any means, so I guess the best way to describe what I felt was more of a plush feel when hitting bumps (on or off throttle). Let me try and describe what I am feeling to you all while you are sitting there reading this: Let’s say the stock fork is a basketball that you drop 10 feet up in the air, to the ground. The Enzo fork with their spring perch installed is like dropping the same basketball to the ground, but now from only from 5 feet up in the air. This is the sensation that I get when riding that is most describable to you all. It cuts the KYB fork’s hit to each bump (or sensation to your arms) in half. I was so amazed that I had to go back to the stock spring perches just to be sure what I was feeling was in fact that much better. If you listen to my podcast, you know how I rate each test as it’s off of a numeral system. On my sheet the numeral system would look something like this: Stock fork = 3 baseline. Enzo Fork with spring perches installed = 3.5. A noticeable, positive change! 

For the last test Ross installed the Enzo Sub-Tank System that was so popular several years ago. However, this is not the same system that was around back then, this is more like a 2.0 version of the Sub-Tank System. The Enzo Racing Sub-Tank system is adjustable by bleed setting screws on the side. This adjustment is tunable using a small flat blade screwdriver. The standard setting is 4 complete turns out (counterclockwise) from maximum (all the way tight clockwise). This adjustment setting creates a restriction in the tanks which will control the air compression volume depending upon the speed that the fork is compressing. In simpler terms, the tighter the adjustment, the sooner the firmness of the fork will occur. If you are experiencing bottoming, you should turn the adjuster clockwise IN 1 turn at a time. If the action feels too stiff, turn the adjuster counterclockwise OUT 1 turn. I left it on the stock setting for this test, just to get a feel for what it does. What I can tell you is that the fork still has that plushness and front end bite it had with the Enzo Spring Perches, but I can feel more of a damping feeling near the end of the fork’s stroke now with the Sub-Tanks installed. This wasn't a huge improvement, but I could hit faces of jumps harder and flat land singles further. Basically this system works great if I was racing and getting aggressive while trying to make the pass on a rider. I like how putting these Enzo Sub-Tanks on did nothing to my newfound front wheel traction that the Enzo spring perches gave me. 

At the end of the day I got an even better (more comfortable) feeling front end and didn't have to re-valve my fork. I will be trying a full Enzo re-valve in the future, but I thought for keeping the stock Yamaha’s valving in and only adding a few pieces to the fork, it really helped the fork’s action and ride attitude of the bike around the track for the better. The spring perches and sub-tank system are available now. You can call Enzo at (714) 541-5218 for pricing or visit www.enzoracing.com 

For any questions about this test or any other burning questions please feel free to email me at kris@keeferinctestingcom.