Let's see/review those 2019 kx450s

Moto520
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Moto520 8/6/2019 8:55am
8/6/2019 8:55am
FortyHat wrote:
We should know relatively soon based on last year. How many hours on that bike before she gave way? I have the same setup and thought...
We should know relatively soon based on last year. How many hours on that bike before she gave way? I have the same setup and thought I was safe. 30 hrs on mine.
22 hours of hard use. I was on a track with bigger jumps before it broke. I just ordered a new one and will have this one welded as a backup. We all knew about this issue but i'm just glad it didn't break and cause me to crash on a jump. Good thing that we all communicated this issue!!!!
2
OLDMOTO
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OLDMOTO 8/7/2019 9:58am
8/7/2019 9:58am
Has anyone tried adjusting the rear wheel all the way to the rear of the swing arm? It adds about 1 inch to the wheelbase. I wonder what effect it has on cornering and straight line stability. I noticed all of the Kawasaki factory teams have done it on the National and MXGP bikes. It seems to be common on all of the other brands of factory bikes as well.
DB97
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DB97 8/7/2019 10:14am
8/7/2019 10:14am
OLDMOTO wrote:
Has anyone tried adjusting the rear wheel all the way to the rear of the swing arm? It adds about 1 inch to the wheelbase. I...
Has anyone tried adjusting the rear wheel all the way to the rear of the swing arm? It adds about 1 inch to the wheelbase. I wonder what effect it has on cornering and straight line stability. I noticed all of the Kawasaki factory teams have done it on the National and MXGP bikes. It seems to be common on all of the other brands of factory bikes as well.
Yeah I've been running it back. Don't bother unless you have a sealed chain, race chain will be out of adjustment in 3 rides otherwise. I've normally just cut the chain as far forward as possible until this time but I think I like the better turning of it forward. My pro circuit axle blocks only work with the chain at the back as well.

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OLDMOTO
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OLDMOTO 8/7/2019 10:23am
8/7/2019 10:23am
OLDMOTO wrote:
Has anyone tried adjusting the rear wheel all the way to the rear of the swing arm? It adds about 1 inch to the wheelbase. I...
Has anyone tried adjusting the rear wheel all the way to the rear of the swing arm? It adds about 1 inch to the wheelbase. I wonder what effect it has on cornering and straight line stability. I noticed all of the Kawasaki factory teams have done it on the National and MXGP bikes. It seems to be common on all of the other brands of factory bikes as well.
DB97 wrote:
Yeah I've been running it back. Don't bother unless you have a sealed chain, race chain will be out of adjustment in 3 rides otherwise. I've...
Yeah I've been running it back. Don't bother unless you have a sealed chain, race chain will be out of adjustment in 3 rides otherwise. I've normally just cut the chain as far forward as possible until this time but I think I like the better turning of it forward. My pro circuit axle blocks only work with the chain at the back as well.
Thanks for the reply. So if I understand correctly your bike corners better with the wheel in the forward position.
DB97
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DB97 8/7/2019 10:25am
8/7/2019 10:25am
OLDMOTO wrote:
Has anyone tried adjusting the rear wheel all the way to the rear of the swing arm? It adds about 1 inch to the wheelbase. I...
Has anyone tried adjusting the rear wheel all the way to the rear of the swing arm? It adds about 1 inch to the wheelbase. I wonder what effect it has on cornering and straight line stability. I noticed all of the Kawasaki factory teams have done it on the National and MXGP bikes. It seems to be common on all of the other brands of factory bikes as well.
DB97 wrote:
Yeah I've been running it back. Don't bother unless you have a sealed chain, race chain will be out of adjustment in 3 rides otherwise. I've...
Yeah I've been running it back. Don't bother unless you have a sealed chain, race chain will be out of adjustment in 3 rides otherwise. I've normally just cut the chain as far forward as possible until this time but I think I like the better turning of it forward. My pro circuit axle blocks only work with the chain at the back as well.
OLDMOTO wrote:
Thanks for the reply. So if I understand correctly your bike corners better with the wheel in the forward position.
To me it does. Kawi already has a long wheelbase but I may just be used to it forward since I've always ran it that way.
MX683
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MX683 8/7/2019 10:27am
8/7/2019 10:27am
OLDMOTO wrote:
Has anyone tried adjusting the rear wheel all the way to the rear of the swing arm? It adds about 1 inch to the wheelbase. I...
Has anyone tried adjusting the rear wheel all the way to the rear of the swing arm? It adds about 1 inch to the wheelbase. I wonder what effect it has on cornering and straight line stability. I noticed all of the Kawasaki factory teams have done it on the National and MXGP bikes. It seems to be common on all of the other brands of factory bikes as well.
I tried it and thought it cornered better. The front end didn't "lift" as easily. Although, later I was looking for better rear wheel traction and ended up taking the extra link back out to shorten back to where it was. Overall I was happier with the shorter wheelbase. I didn't notice any stability difference either way.
pancake
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pancake 8/7/2019 10:32am
8/7/2019 10:32am
Nystrom7 wrote:
Does anyone know how to get ahold of a spring perch bushing? The bushing on the springseat. I have searched for one in over 2 months...
Does anyone know how to get ahold of a spring perch bushing? The bushing on the springseat.

I have searched for one in over 2 months and no one seems to have it. The bushing and the springseat cant be ordered from showa or Kawasaki.
Have you tried Technical Touch? They might be able to sell you something like that.
davidgrip
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davidgrip 8/7/2019 10:47am
8/7/2019 10:47am Edited Date/Time 8/7/2019 10:48am
Just a thought on the muffler/subframe. The stock muffler is heavier and does not seem to be an issue. If you look at the photos of the stock muffler, the mounting bracket is significantly wider than the aftermarket, as well as rubber mounted. This moves the muffler away from the rear wheel. The aftermarket mufflers are lighter, which should be less stress on the subframe. On the same impact the stock heavier muffler should fail first. Could it be that the aftermarket mounting is coming in contact with the rear tire on impact? The FMF bracket seems to modify the position of the exhaust. Again just looking at the pictures posted.

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Nystrom7
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Nystrom7 8/7/2019 10:47am
8/7/2019 10:47am
Nystrom7 wrote:
Does anyone know how to get ahold of a spring perch bushing? The bushing on the springseat. I have searched for one in over 2 months...
Does anyone know how to get ahold of a spring perch bushing? The bushing on the springseat.

I have searched for one in over 2 months and no one seems to have it. The bushing and the springseat cant be ordered from showa or Kawasaki.
pancake wrote:
Have you tried Technical Touch? They might be able to sell you something like that.
No but arent they KYB only? Thanks for the tip i will ask them.
Moto520
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Moto520 8/7/2019 11:36am
8/7/2019 11:36am
davidgrip wrote:
Just a thought on the muffler/subframe. The stock muffler is heavier and does not seem to be an issue. If you look at the photos of...
Just a thought on the muffler/subframe. The stock muffler is heavier and does not seem to be an issue. If you look at the photos of the stock muffler, the mounting bracket is significantly wider than the aftermarket, as well as rubber mounted. This moves the muffler away from the rear wheel. The aftermarket mufflers are lighter, which should be less stress on the subframe. On the same impact the stock heavier muffler should fail first. Could it be that the aftermarket mounting is coming in contact with the rear tire on impact? The FMF bracket seems to modify the position of the exhaust. Again just looking at the pictures posted.

I was surprised when i saw it broken. I do believe that it would never be a problem unless you are hitting bigger jumps. Mine was fine and failed after riding a mild supercross type track. I also weigh about 200# so the combo just caused it to finally fail at 20 hours. I'm ok with this. I knew this was a weak point and did nothing about it. I ordered a new subframe and will do nothing about that too
3
pancake
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pancake 8/7/2019 11:58am
8/7/2019 11:58am
Nystrom7 wrote:
Does anyone know how to get ahold of a spring perch bushing? The bushing on the springseat. I have searched for one in over 2 months...
Does anyone know how to get ahold of a spring perch bushing? The bushing on the springseat.

I have searched for one in over 2 months and no one seems to have it. The bushing and the springseat cant be ordered from showa or Kawasaki.
pancake wrote:
Have you tried Technical Touch? They might be able to sell you something like that.
Nystrom7 wrote:
No but arent they KYB only? Thanks for the tip i will ask them.
Yea, you're right.. I forgot about that. It might be worth a call. Otherwise, maybe Race Tech or Factory Connection or someone who specializes in suspension can help you out. I had purchased a set of forks off here a while back and they were valved for supercross so they were missing the spring on the rebound valves cause the shim stacks were crazy.. and I had to find a local suspension guy who just happened to have a bunch of spare parts to get what I needed.
1
FortyHat
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FortyHat 8/7/2019 12:58pm
8/7/2019 12:58pm
Nystrom7 wrote:
Does anyone know how to get ahold of a spring perch bushing? The bushing on the springseat. I have searched for one in over 2 months...
Does anyone know how to get ahold of a spring perch bushing? The bushing on the springseat.

I have searched for one in over 2 months and no one seems to have it. The bushing and the springseat cant be ordered from showa or Kawasaki.
pancake wrote:
Have you tried Technical Touch? They might be able to sell you something like that.
Nystrom7 wrote:
No but arent they KYB only? Thanks for the tip i will ask them.
If it can be found, I'd bet that Mike at exxtrememx.com could get his hands on it or know where you could.
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Nystrom7
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Nystrom7 8/7/2019 1:28pm
8/7/2019 1:28pm
Thanks guys👍

I Saw that the bushing is sold separetly on Honda crf 450 19.
I Got a friend who is a Honda mechanic so he will give me the measurements so i can compare, hopefully its the same. If not ill try Mike, problem is that i live in Sweden 😅
davidgrip
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davidgrip 8/7/2019 2:51pm
8/7/2019 2:51pm
DB97 wrote:
This is mine, I noticed my tire hits slightly as well. Hopefully they have a quick fix I really don't want to lose 3-4 weeks shipping...
This is mine, I noticed my tire hits slightly as well. Hopefully they have a quick fix I really don't want to lose 3-4 weeks shipping it to California...

This is one of the pictures/posts. Bigger hits/ greater tire distortion. Just a thought.

FortyHat
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FortyHat 8/7/2019 4:18pm
8/7/2019 4:18pm Edited Date/Time 8/7/2019 4:20pm
davidgrip wrote:
This is one of the pictures/posts. Bigger hits/ greater tire distortion. Just a thought.

Hmm / uh oh:



The FMF bracket does bump it out slightly, and it makes me wonder if shimming it a little more with a washer or spacer would help more. Within reason of course.

Edit to add: I also run Starcross 5 tires which have a softer carcass, and I wonder if the additional tire flex/distortion can contribute to the rubbing. Because looking at it from directly behind the bike, it's hard to imagine it rubbing.
SLAPAHO
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SLAPAHO 8/7/2019 5:33pm
8/7/2019 5:33pm Edited Date/Time 8/7/2019 5:43pm
here's what i did to mine... it got moved outward enough to where the fmf bolt was too short.. the pic has the oem bolt in, i have since bought one in between those 2 lengths and it works perfect..
this is all stuff (rubber washers and metal stainless washers to cap them off) available at any reg. hardware store.

by the looks of your pics, it may be that the exhaust is just too close letting the tire hit it.. makes sense that the bracket would snap in the center.. hmmm



Lynch
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Lynch 8/7/2019 9:38pm
8/7/2019 9:38pm
Any piston problems? Buddy of mine lost compression on his last night, it will be torn down today to see what happened. 40-50 ish hours

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Moto520
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Moto520 8/8/2019 8:37am
8/8/2019 8:37am
Here's the new one. The welds do look a little clumpy but i don't think it is terrible by the mount. i'm just going to run it as is and send it.





1
50dippin
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50dippin 8/8/2019 3:48pm
8/8/2019 3:48pm
OLDMOTO wrote:
Has anyone tried adjusting the rear wheel all the way to the rear of the swing arm? It adds about 1 inch to the wheelbase. I...
Has anyone tried adjusting the rear wheel all the way to the rear of the swing arm? It adds about 1 inch to the wheelbase. I wonder what effect it has on cornering and straight line stability. I noticed all of the Kawasaki factory teams have done it on the National and MXGP bikes. It seems to be common on all of the other brands of factory bikes as well.
Be careful with the rear wheel further back, the sprocket bolts may hit the swingarm welds as the wheel turns.
FortyHat
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FortyHat 8/8/2019 4:43pm
8/8/2019 4:43pm
Moto520 wrote:
Here's the new one. The welds do look a little clumpy but i don't think it is terrible by the mount. i'm just going to run...
Here's the new one. The welds do look a little clumpy but i don't think it is terrible by the mount. i'm just going to run it as is and send it.





Is it just me or does that bracket look thicker than the original?
Moto520
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Moto520 8/8/2019 9:15pm
8/8/2019 9:15pm Edited Date/Time 8/8/2019 9:18pm
FortyHat wrote:
Is it just me or does that bracket look thicker than the original?
I”ll compare the old one to this tomorrow and report back. Finally i’m relevant
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Lynch
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Lynch 8/8/2019 9:28pm
8/8/2019 9:28pm
Lynch wrote:
Any piston problems? Buddy of mine lost compression on his last night, it will be torn down today to see what happened. 40-50 ish hours
Update on this, crank bearing is toast.
Nystrom7
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Nystrom7 8/9/2019 5:58am
8/9/2019 5:58am
Lynch wrote:
Any piston problems? Buddy of mine lost compression on his last night, it will be torn down today to see what happened. 40-50 ish hours
Lynch wrote:
Update on this, crank bearing is toast.
Must be something more of it lost compression?

Havent heard of any problems yet and only got 45 hours on mine but no problems with mine. Seems bulletproof like the rest of the kx450's i have owned 😄
1
lawson34
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lawson34 8/9/2019 8:10am
8/9/2019 8:10am Edited Date/Time 8/9/2019 8:16am
Nystrom7 wrote:
Must be something more of it lost compression? Havent heard of any problems yet and only got 45 hours on mine but no problems with mine...
Must be something more of it lost compression?

Havent heard of any problems yet and only got 45 hours on mine but no problems with mine. Seems bulletproof like the rest of the kx450's i have owned 😄
My first kawi but I like it lol
lawson34
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lawson34 8/9/2019 11:19am
8/9/2019 11:19am
Checked out a 2020 today
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lawson34
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lawson34 8/9/2019 8:13pm
8/9/2019 8:13pm Edited Date/Time 8/9/2019 8:14pm
So you guys that run synthetic oil and oem clutches aren't having any clutch slipping issues? I had a bad experience with synthetic oil destroying clutchs years ago... I bought some synthetic oil hopping for the best
50dippin
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50dippin 8/9/2019 8:26pm
8/9/2019 8:26pm
lawson34 wrote:
So you guys that run synthetic oil and oem clutches aren't having any clutch slipping issues? I had a bad experience with synthetic oil destroying clutchs...
So you guys that run synthetic oil and oem clutches aren't having any clutch slipping issues? I had a bad experience with synthetic oil destroying clutchs years ago... I bought some synthetic oil hopping for the best
I've ran amsoil full synthetic for years never had a problem.
2
jcp411
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jcp411 8/10/2019 5:18am
8/10/2019 5:18am
I use Mobil one motorcycle oil it’s made for wet clutch’s great stuff.
1

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