KX420 - anyone ever ride one of these?

No, but I remember them. They never got great reviews.

I was almost killed on one. Thanks I'll probably have nightmares tonight.

I did not race one but remember seeing a couple frames snap in half.

I rode my buddies 1981 420.



Not on a MX track mind you but, did some hard core trail riding with it.



I remember liking the way it handled, it was a very stable bike ( unlike the 1981 RM 250 I owned).



I was however a young, slim 155 lb. "B" skilled kid at that time.

As I recall,the power was similar to my (at that time) future father-in-law's Yamaha 465. Which was the fastest dang bike I had ever ridden, back then.



That right there is one fine looking example. If you want an "81" KX 420, do not pass this one up. Just gorgeous!

Evil, evil evil bike! Don't ride it at anything faster than a walking pace. The falling rate rear suspension was especially cool.

my brother had one when i was a kid.....i rode it at 14 yrs old and it was crazy fast but vibrated a ton ....it ended up gettin stolen

I heard a lot of things about frame breakage on all the 80' & 81' KX lineup.

yup bought a brand new one in 81. i remember mine havin an oval front number plate . and im pretty sure it had black backgrounds. 4 spd and you had to short shift it to use all the power. still got pissed when my neighbor at the same time bought a new white can am mx250 and just smoked my 420 in a drag race.

I owned an 86? KX500(liq cooled)...mean motor scooter, lemme tell ya.

I bet newmann has 10 of them LOL!

Bought the first one in NorthernCal, from Kawasaki San Mateo Ca.
Was AMA Novice at the time.
With that bike, and the previous year KX-125, made Vet Pro in 1981, and Open Intermediate on the 420.
420 had tractable power, enough to holeshot or top 3 every Open Novice and most Open Intermediate AMA District 36 races. In Vet Pro, guys like Dave Bostrom, Dick Mann, or Steve Machado often got me on the starts, but I'd hang within a few turns by the finish of most races.
Only drawback of the 420 was it's top heavy handling, it's long wheelbase with somewhat quick steering similar to Maico 490's of the day. It did weigh in around 260 lbs ready to race, so maybe 10 lbs more than the Honda 500's and Yamaha 490's of the year.
Beware though, at 145 lbs., I broke the original frame rear of the motormounts, got it welded up waiting for a factory spare, broke it above the motor at the shock mount, got the replacement frame, and broke it within 3 months again, welded it back and reinforced the shock mount and motor mount area, then broke the frame again at the bottom motor mounts. I watched the TransAm in 1981, saw Goat Breker break his frame at SearsPoint landing off the road jump, about a 70' dropoff jump, I raced that track the following week, broke my frame there leading a Open Novice class race, and finished 2nd with the rear fender laying on the rear tire.
Great motor, weak frame, top heavy, better in supercross style tracks than wide open fast sandy tracks like Riverfront or E Street Marysville.

Oh, forgot to add.
When the KX-420 first broke it's frame, I bought a Husky 390 as a replacement until I could get the frame fixed. That Husky was slow, very stable, very slow handling, and better as a desert sled than a motocross bike. Didn't get any trophies racing it, always slow to the first turn,
My Expert bud bought a Can Am 250, and I'd smoke him every drag race every time on the KX-420. The reason Dave, Dick, and Steve got me on starts was their bikes, HondaCR500's, BSA500MX, and YamahaYZ490/500's were heavily modified, lightweight parts, really worked motors, and always new tires....and superior rider's, of course, that doesn't need to be said.

that looks like a east coast wreckstorations pile of shit

I expected this thread to be about Kawasaki getting into the weed buisness.

Bought a used one as my 1st MX bike.
Never ridden something else before.

Was cool and a killer, i was lucky not getting hurt badly.

Bought one brand new. Took it out to the 'The Dunes' with Gil from Works Performance, to try and figure out the 'falling rate' rear suspension. Took it home, washed it in the driveway, took it down the street to dry out the motor, promptly rode it into the front of an LAPD cruiser at 60 mph in shorts, T-shirt, and Bell Star. Was out of work for 13 months. The good ol days.