Looking for advice. My 2020 KX450 has 60 + hrs. I have full suspension resprung and revalve by Enzo racing. For me, it’s perfect. I have PC Ti full exhaust. Otherwise it’s stock for performance.
I realize the 21 clutch was upgrade although no complaints with mine otherwise I think the newer KX models are the same. I realize 2024 is new bike but who knows if it will be better, same or worst give factories change not always for the better and I love the current chassis.
I’ve wanted to get Xtrig clamps and send motor to TD to port/polish/remap to smooth out power and add delivery of power.
My question is should I get a 23 and just swamp my suspension & exhaust or upgrade my current with Xtrig clamps and send motor to TD to port/polish/remap to smooth out power and add delivery of power.
I don’t know how well chassis holds up over time.
Thanks for advise.
Ride it. The new bike is a ways off and you have a great bike enjoy it.
Only 60 hours??? I would keep it and ride it for another year unless you can get a great deal on a 2022. i have a 2019 KX450 with 160 hours. Throw in the Rekluse Torque Drive clutch in ($325) when you need a new clutch and you will have a clutch that is better than the new/ belleville clutch.
Leave the engine stock. Buy tires and oil instead. Ecu if you don't like the power delivery.
Agree with @Moto520 60 engine hrs on a 450 is nothing these days. According to @Kris Keefer Aluminum frames get better with age (he was talking about Honda, but suspect true across the board).
If I was in your shoes I would keep it, invest some more into mods but if you see a ridiculous deal on a new 2022 or 23 grab a fresh one and transfer parts.
Keep on keeping on, will give you time for the 24 KX to get sorted.
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Thanks for your input! Much appreciated!!
Thanks for the input, much appreciated!
Had a 2021. Great generation of Kawi. 60 hours is nearly brand new. You'd essentially only be erasing 60 hours off your bike and going back to square one on suspension. Throw a top end in that thing if you're concerned, refresh suspension fluid and ride the fricken' wheels off that thing!
Lol, steering that way. Thanks for input.
I have a 19 kx450(same generation) with over 250 hours. I’ve only had to do one top end,one valve adjustment and change wear parts(clutches, chain guides, grips, exc.). Your bike still has a lot of life left. I’d keep it. I’m gonna wait till the 24 kx450 comes out and my bike will have over 300 hours by then(hopefully).
That’s absolutely incredible, it seems the overwhelming advice is as you describe. I’ve heard different approaches cycle every few years and opposite. I think the Kawi having a solid chassis unchanged for several years has helped. Thanks for the advice, much appreciated.
I would keep the current bike and definitely look into a clamp. I tested a few clamps and went with the Luxon 21.5 mm offset
Thanks for the advice, can you describe what you liked about the 21.5 Luxon? I was thinking the adjustable XTRIG offset offering best versatility.
The kawi 450 is very stable and the 21.5 offset helps in turns and changing the direction of the bike without hindering too much stability. I preferred the flex characteristics of the Luxon clamp giving a very planted, precise feel over the other clamps I tested.
I would sell, I’m not terribly hard on a bike and after putting 160 on my kawi and seeing it become just clapped out due to the build quality, I would never buy a kawi with 80-90+ hours.
I would only sell due to the resale value tanking once it gets that high in hours. But if you enjoy it, and the resale doesn’t matter to you keep it. They’re great bikes. I could just be picky about the build quality, but if I where to get a kawi again I would sell before I hit 60-70 hours.
wouldn’t be a bad idea to get a new 23 and wait for them to figure the new generation out and maybe get a 25 or 26 if you want to stay green.
What exactly was clapped out on the kawi that wouldn’t be on other bikes? Everyone says this but as I mentioned my bike has 250 hours and isn’t clapped out. I’m not hard on bikes and I’m fairly slow.
I understand your viewpoint, thanks much appreciated. As hours increase on wearable parts the life span continues to decrease.
Mostly just stupid stuff like fasteners wearing out and losing their plating/coating.
I had a shift shaft get wore out so much that a brand new seal would not seal it and I needed an entire new shift shaft to fix an oil leak (wasn't bent).
And at that 160 hour mark it just felt flimsy riding it, I guess the frame feeling when they are new to about 80 hours or so comes at a cost when you get that high in hours.
And I'm sure there are guys who are faster than me who had more problems of that nature. Not saying its a bad bike, but compared to all the other Japanese brands the build quality isn't as good.
Hey Guys,
Really just looking to diagnose issue & try to prevent from happening. As I’ve got a brand new 23 I’ve never rode & now a brand new crate motor most likely!
I have a kx450. 65 hours. Took it in to PC for a standard top end rebuild & bikes torched. The list of parts adds up to the cost of a crate motor (without the transmission in that cost). it needs a piston, cylinder, crankshaft assembly, most likely valves & cut new valve seats if you’re doing all that, & possibly transmission bearings?)
Last season I rode 2022 250s & blew a clutch up in 1 of them which also was cheaper to just buy a crate motor to fix & sell the remaining viable parts. (Not relevant but still probably shouldn’t happen).
I just got back on this 450 last fall. Had about 20 hours on it then. I do ride quite a bit. I recently raced my first NGPC & podiumed the 30A class & 6th OA in 30 (for speed reference). I typically ride moto & do okay (sometimes good) in the 25 & 30 classes.
I run regular maxima oil. Change it every 1-2 rides. Also, change my air filter every single ride, no questions asked. Looking to possibly switch to pro plus synthetic, however slightly concerned with the clutches due to my past experience with kawis (08-13 models did not like the synthetic & smoked clutches with synthetic). I’m hopeful that this new clutch set up will be better with synthetic.
Pit Row
Also talked to precision concepts & they said they do pistons every 20-25 hours & cranks every 40.
Currently looking up how to rebuild cranks on YouTube so I can do them myself
There are a few things that sack out moreso on the KX's than other bikes. Easy things......example...footpeg holder is made of aluminum. The pin slowly wears out the hole and the pegs sack out. Such an easy fix but this is one of those little things.
There’s a motomike guy on Instagram I heard he has sone good videos on how to work on bikes bro
Dumb question but are you doing 900cc or 950cc of oil when you change? The manual is vague on this and I know some do 1 full qt which is 950 vs 0.9L which is 900cc.
I go by the owners manual. 800cc for regular. & 900cc when doing filter.
What do you see as vague about this?
Maxima ProPlus is good stuff. If you smoke clutches with this oil, it won't be the fault of the oil.
Alright thank you for the info. This was probably 12-14 years ago it happened so yeah probably outdated.
I’m going to upgrade to that. I use their non-synthetic oil now & I don’t have any clutch issues currently.
If you have the money and it’s not too much of a pinch, you could always look for a newer one. There’s nothing like showing up at a dealership and buying a new bike.
But, as one poster mentioned, Kawasaki has used the same basic frame since ‘19.
It's vague because. 9L is 900cc and 1 quarts is 950cc. I put 950cc's in mine.
Did PC give you an explanation on why your engine has so much wear? Did you suck any dirt?
My 22 has 34 hours, I was going to wait till 60 to do a piston, might do it sooner now.
A '23 is going to take a pretty big resale hit when the '24 comes out. Your '20 might too but it is old enough the value probably won't drop much in real $. Since you like the bike just ride it another year and then buy the '24 or buy a '23 for a super low price when the '24 comes out.
Interesting info Scotty, another Texan here! Lol, thanks for the info, I’ve been considering investing in some clamps to help turn a lil better,
big discounts on 22/23’s
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