Who takes the risk on Kawasaki?

soggy
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10/29/2026 6:19am
Adam43 wrote:
Things are never usually as good, or bad, as they seem. The apparently broken pipeline from PC to the Factory Team is a recurring issue for them.If...

Things are never usually as good, or bad, as they seem. 

The apparently broken pipeline from PC to the Factory Team is a recurring issue for them.

If I were them I would be making plans to get Hammaker and Kitchen there in short order.

the fascination with getting Kitchen on a 450 makes no sense to me.

he's spent years in the 250 class and hasn't really sniffed a title (SMX doesn't count sorry Feld).  Kawi needs a killer, Kitchen and Hammaker aren't.

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3strokemx
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10/29/2026 6:22am Edited Date/Time 10/29/2026 6:23am

Chance Hymas, Federstoyv

3
Not hillbilly
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10/29/2026 7:11am
Adam43 wrote:
Things are never usually as good, or bad, as they seem. The apparently broken pipeline from PC to the Factory Team is a recurring issue for them.If...

Things are never usually as good, or bad, as they seem. 

The apparently broken pipeline from PC to the Factory Team is a recurring issue for them.

If I were them I would be making plans to get Hammaker and Kitchen there in short order.

soggy wrote:
the fascination with getting Kitchen on a 450 makes no sense to me.he's spent years in the 250 class and hasn't really sniffed a title (SMX...

the fascination with getting Kitchen on a 450 makes no sense to me.

he's spent years in the 250 class and hasn't really sniffed a title (SMX doesn't count sorry Feld).  Kawi needs a killer, Kitchen and Hammaker aren't.

The idea is that maybe the change will suit them better. Certainly getting them away from all the rest of the “hair’s on fire” youngsters would be helpful.

10/29/2026 8:02am

There’s nothing wrong with the green bike.  A championship caliber rider that doesn’t make excuses could win on it.  You’re delusional if you think otherwise.

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The Shop

3strokemx
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10/29/2026 8:16am

There’s nothing wrong with the green bike.  A championship caliber rider that doesn’t make excuses could win on it.  You’re delusional if you think otherwise.

Tomac's gone buddy, you have to let it go.

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3
10/29/2026 8:20am

There’s nothing wrong with the green bike.  A championship caliber rider that doesn’t make excuses could win on it.  You’re delusional if you think otherwise.

3strokemx wrote:

Tomac's gone buddy, you have to let it go.

Any of the four brothers currently at the top of everyone's list would win on it, if lured away from their current contracts by enough cash.

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motokiwi
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10/29/2026 8:23am

I wonder how much Dazzy could charge to sort the bike out for them? 500k? 

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3strokemx
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10/29/2026 8:25am

There’s nothing wrong with the green bike.  A championship caliber rider that doesn’t make excuses could win on it.  You’re delusional if you think otherwise.

3strokemx wrote:

Tomac's gone buddy, you have to let it go.

Any of the four brothers currently at the top of everyone's list would win on it, if lured away from their current contracts by enough cash.

Jett 100% (unless it shut off mid jump)
Hunter 50% (if he pays Jett again to let him win)
Jason 0% :bike would get stolen or/and he wouldn't show up to the start
Randy 0%: Would keep talking about jetting and confuse the team

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vdrsnk04
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10/29/2026 8:30am

There’s nothing wrong with the green bike.  A championship caliber rider that doesn’t make excuses could win on it.  You’re delusional if you think otherwise.

How come Gajser couldn’t win on the Yamaha this year then? 

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1
10/29/2026 8:32am
Adam43 wrote:
Things are never usually as good, or bad, as they seem. The apparently broken pipeline from PC to the Factory Team is a recurring issue for them.If...

Things are never usually as good, or bad, as they seem. 

The apparently broken pipeline from PC to the Factory Team is a recurring issue for them.

If I were them I would be making plans to get Hammaker and Kitchen there in short order.

soggy wrote:
the fascination with getting Kitchen on a 450 makes no sense to me.he's spent years in the 250 class and hasn't really sniffed a title (SMX...

the fascination with getting Kitchen on a 450 makes no sense to me.

he's spent years in the 250 class and hasn't really sniffed a title (SMX doesn't count sorry Feld).  Kawi needs a killer, Kitchen and Hammaker aren't.

I'm from the PNW and a Kitchen fan, but you're right.

Maybe next year will be it, hopefully. 

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10/29/2026 9:21am

There’s nothing wrong with the green bike.  A championship caliber rider that doesn’t make excuses could win on it.  You’re delusional if you think otherwise.

3strokemx wrote:

Tomac's gone buddy, you have to let it go.

Any of the four brothers currently at the top of everyone's list would win on it, if lured away from their current contracts by enough cash.

Danke / gracias / thanks.  Your user name checks out.  👍🏼

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kxking
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10/29/2026 9:27am

There’s nothing wrong with the green bike.  A championship caliber rider that doesn’t make excuses could win on it.  You’re delusional if you think otherwise.

3strokemx wrote:

Tomac's gone buddy, you have to let it go.

Any of the four brothers currently at the top of everyone's list would win on it, if lured away from their current contracts by enough cash.

Chase was able to win twice on it, so I see no reason another top rider couldn't do the same.

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soggy
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10/29/2026 9:57am
Adam43 wrote:
Things are never usually as good, or bad, as they seem. The apparently broken pipeline from PC to the Factory Team is a recurring issue for them.If...

Things are never usually as good, or bad, as they seem. 

The apparently broken pipeline from PC to the Factory Team is a recurring issue for them.

If I were them I would be making plans to get Hammaker and Kitchen there in short order.

soggy wrote:
the fascination with getting Kitchen on a 450 makes no sense to me.he's spent years in the 250 class and hasn't really sniffed a title (SMX...

the fascination with getting Kitchen on a 450 makes no sense to me.

he's spent years in the 250 class and hasn't really sniffed a title (SMX doesn't count sorry Feld).  Kawi needs a killer, Kitchen and Hammaker aren't.

The idea is that maybe the change will suit them better. Certainly getting them away from all the rest of the “hair’s on fire” youngsters would...

The idea is that maybe the change will suit them better. Certainly getting them away from all the rest of the “hair’s on fire” youngsters would be helpful.

To a way more competitive class? I don’t think so. 

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USA
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10/29/2026 10:00am

Coenens havent even won a championship in the AMA feeder series and now they can apparently jump on a kawi and win championships here

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Chris_Buehler
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10/29/2026 10:27am
Who will be the next championship caliber rider to go to Kawasaki?Obviously Kitchen is a likely transfer.My wife and I were talking, I think there is...

Who will be the next championship caliber rider to go to Kawasaki?


Obviously Kitchen is a likely transfer.


My wife and I were talking, I think there is potential Kawi flashes some serious money and  Cole Davies makes the jump. I just don’t see Davies and Deegan working on the same team long term. 

Others like Beaumer and Shimoda are likely bids too

Star isnt letting Davies go. His style is made for a 450, Jett 2.0. 

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Wo Phat
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10/29/2026 1:27pm

Any top caliber champion type rider that wants to win won't touch Kawi with a barge pole unless they get their shit straightened out. 

Wo Phat wrote:
what shit?.......you don't know anything about their "shit". My guess is Malcom will have some nice finishes as well as Garrett. Febvre did just fine on...

what shit?.......you don't know anything about their "shit". My guess is Malcom will have some nice finishes as well as Garrett. Febvre did just fine on Kawasaki:

2020 MXGP       4th
2021 MXGP      2nd
2022 MXGP     14th (missed 10 GPs due to injury)
2023 MXGP      2nd
2024 MXGP       5th (missed  4 GPs due to injury)
2025 MXGP       1st
2026 MXGP      2nd

get the right rider (mainly a guy who can win and doesn't QUIT and the bike is good). i believe the team can be more flexible with trying new things, but that is an issue with all teams to an extent. 

 

Smuffers wrote:

The Kawi that Febvre rides and the Kawis they have here in the states are very different bikes. It is not a comparison that works. 

US bikes typically get a lot of the stuff the euros were running in the prior year (sometimes earlier). the comparison works over the length of time i showed you.....the bikes are similar enough

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Wo Phat
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10/29/2026 1:28pm
Who will be the next championship caliber rider to go to Kawasaki?Obviously Kitchen is a likely transfer.My wife and I were talking, I think there is...

Who will be the next championship caliber rider to go to Kawasaki?


Obviously Kitchen is a likely transfer.


My wife and I were talking, I think there is potential Kawi flashes some serious money and  Cole Davies makes the jump. I just don’t see Davies and Deegan working on the same team long term. 

Others like Beaumer and Shimoda are likely bids too

Star isnt letting Davies go. His style is made for a 450, Jett 2.0. 

Davies is fast, but he's not Jett fast.....just yet

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1
10/29/2026 1:34pm

There’s nothing wrong with the green bike.  A championship caliber rider that doesn’t make excuses could win on it.  You’re delusional if you think otherwise.

vdrsnk04 wrote:

How come Gajser couldn’t win on the Yamaha this year then? 

Don't know about Gajser, but Febvre did ok on the same bike last year. 

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1
10/29/2026 1:35pm

Why would Kawi need to obtain a high buck rider as long as their sales are strong? It's a business decision.

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Radical
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10/29/2026 1:37pm
Smuffers wrote:

The Kawi that Febvre rides and the Kawis they have here in the states are very different bikes. It is not a comparison that works. 

Radical wrote:

I've read here on Vital that Febvre's riding a stock frame, so the bikes are very similar.

vdrsnk04 wrote:
That’s like saying the Yamaha TimGajser couldn’t get a win on or be competitive on this year except a couple races is the same as the...

That’s like saying the Yamaha TimGajser couldn’t get a win on or be competitive on this year except a couple races is the same as the Star Yamaha, it just isn’t which is why Tim has been testing Star equipment. A team makes a bike perform better or worse for a rider. 

I agree with you.  The team makes a difference.  I'm just not convinced that the Kx450 is a bad bike. 

The same bike, using the same frame, which is mostly what can be changed in MXGP but not AMA, with a different rider and team, did extremely well.  Almost all of the rest of the components can be changed, so theoretically, Sexton could've run the same bike as Febvre.

It seems unfair to mark the Kx as a bad bike, then have amateurs who like the green brand stop buying KXs.

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mavrick121
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10/29/2026 1:37pm

"The Kawi is fine" ppl are just burying their head in the sand. Remember 2022 when JA21 won 7 SX races and had a career best season? Won 2 MX races too. And then the next year the results fell off a cliff and never recovered? They introduced a new model in '23 and since then the team has been a massive dumpster fire. Maybe this new gen Kawi will be better, but it will be several years until they are able to attract the talent that is capable of more than MAYBE 1 win a year. Kawi is in a slump. Like Yamaha in the late 00's early 10's. But corporate Kawi thus far seems uninterested or unwilling to make the changes that Yamaha did to regain relevance. 

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vdrsnk04
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10/29/2026 6:08pm
Radical wrote:

I've read here on Vital that Febvre's riding a stock frame, so the bikes are very similar.

vdrsnk04 wrote:
That’s like saying the Yamaha TimGajser couldn’t get a win on or be competitive on this year except a couple races is the same as the...

That’s like saying the Yamaha TimGajser couldn’t get a win on or be competitive on this year except a couple races is the same as the Star Yamaha, it just isn’t which is why Tim has been testing Star equipment. A team makes a bike perform better or worse for a rider. 

Radical wrote:
I agree with you.  The team makes a difference.  I'm just not convinced that the Kx450 is a bad bike. The same bike, using the same frame...

I agree with you.  The team makes a difference.  I'm just not convinced that the Kx450 is a bad bike. 

The same bike, using the same frame, which is mostly what can be changed in MXGP but not AMA, with a different rider and team, did extremely well.  Almost all of the rest of the components can be changed, so theoretically, Sexton could've run the same bike as Febvre.

It seems unfair to mark the Kx as a bad bike, then have amateurs who like the green brand stop buying KXs.

Sorry I may have been confusing with what I mentioned. I’m not talking about any advantage or disadvantage the MXGP has on what parts they can use. I simply describing the team setting up a bike to be competitive for a top 3 rider in the world, it takes way more than a 5-10 guy. 

A better example of what I was trying to describe could be like the factory Yamaha versus when Star took it over it magically went from a bike nobody was winning on to one of the best bikes out there. 

Another example is ride two identical bikes with completely different tires and it will feel different, quite a bit different in certain conditions. 

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10/29/2026 6:10pm
motokiwi wrote:

I wonder how much Dazzy could charge to sort the bike out for them? 500k? 

I appreciate the laugh, but let’s get serious, 500k is way too low.

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yardsailor
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10/29/2026 6:23pm

Star isnt letting Davies go. His style is made for a 450, Jett 2.0. 

Davies on a 450 will make Dangerboy nervous. Davies will use Danger as a stepping stone. 
Davies persona, he is all business. 

He reminds me of Ivan Vasilyevich Drago and Ive wanted to make the correlation for some time. 

For those of you who know, you will know what I mean. 

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Adam43
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10/29/2026 7:55pm
Adam43 wrote:
Things are never usually as good, or bad, as they seem. The apparently broken pipeline from PC to the Factory Team is a recurring issue for them.If...

Things are never usually as good, or bad, as they seem. 

The apparently broken pipeline from PC to the Factory Team is a recurring issue for them.

If I were them I would be making plans to get Hammaker and Kitchen there in short order.

soggy wrote:
the fascination with getting Kitchen on a 450 makes no sense to me.he's spent years in the 250 class and hasn't really sniffed a title (SMX...

the fascination with getting Kitchen on a 450 makes no sense to me.

he's spent years in the 250 class and hasn't really sniffed a title (SMX doesn't count sorry Feld).  Kawi needs a killer, Kitchen and Hammaker aren't.

I don't disagree, but both are winners nonetheless, and these types can respond well when making a jump up (Sexton himself comes to mind). 

And if you can't make good use of your minor/major team system when the big one is in dire straits, what's the point of having it?

mxaniac
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Airway Heights, WA, USA
10/29/2026 8:10pm

There’s nothing wrong with the green bike.  A championship caliber rider that doesn’t make excuses could win on it.  You’re delusional if you think otherwise.

vdrsnk04 wrote:

How come Gajser couldn’t win on the Yamaha this year then? 

I think the airbox design makes it harder to meet the sound limits on the Yamaha.

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10/29/2026 8:12pm
mavrick121 wrote:
"The Kawi is fine" ppl are just burying their head in the sand. Remember 2022 when JA21 won 7 SX races and had a career best...

"The Kawi is fine" ppl are just burying their head in the sand. Remember 2022 when JA21 won 7 SX races and had a career best season? Won 2 MX races too. And then the next year the results fell off a cliff and never recovered? They introduced a new model in '23 and since then the team has been a massive dumpster fire. Maybe this new gen Kawi will be better, but it will be several years until they are able to attract the talent that is capable of more than MAYBE 1 win a year. Kawi is in a slump. Like Yamaha in the late 00's early 10's. But corporate Kawi thus far seems uninterested or unwilling to make the changes that Yamaha did to regain relevance. 

The 23 bike was the same as 2022.

 In RacerX 's supercross preview for 23, they brought up that Jason being on a familiar platform set him up well for the 2023 supercross season. 

So his results changed before they went to a new model in 24. 

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soggy
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10/30/2026 9:13am

There’s nothing wrong with the green bike.  A championship caliber rider that doesn’t make excuses could win on it.  You’re delusional if you think otherwise.

vdrsnk04 wrote:

How come Gajser couldn’t win on the Yamaha this year then? 

Don't know about Gajser, but Febvre did ok on the same bike last year. 

Febvre was on the new bike this year. 

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wrc777
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10/30/2026 11:15am

Febvre also left the team for next year and despite throwing out very large offers Kawi could not attract a top 5 (10?) rider.

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gt80rider
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10/30/2026 11:42am

Star isnt letting Davies go. His style is made for a 450, Jett 2.0. 

yardsailor wrote:
Davies on a 450 will make Dangerboy nervous. Davies will use Danger as a stepping stone. Davies persona, he is all business. He reminds me of Ivan Vasilyevich...

Davies on a 450 will make Dangerboy nervous. Davies will use Danger as a stepping stone. 
Davies persona, he is all business. 

He reminds me of Ivan Vasilyevich Drago and Ive wanted to make the correlation for some time. 

For those of you who know, you will know what I mean. 

There is no way cringe lord gonna allow Davies on "his" 450 team... he won't let anyone faster than him be on that team, including sexton... 

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