Posts
123
Joined
5/14/2015
Location
Wausau, WI
US
Edited Date/Time
9/6/2020 8:38am
Looks like Kawasaki went back to a spring fork for their 2019 production kx450. I currently own a 2015 kx450 with the showa air forks (straight garbage IMO). There are a few different ways to get spring forks on my kx. I could send them in to showa and do a conversion, or just get a pair of spring forks from an older kx. I was leaning towards the ladder until today. I did some digging and the 2019 and 2015 forks while one is air and one is spring both happen to be 49mm in diameter. Also the new factory spring forks will come with A-kit internals. This could potentially be the answer I have been looking for in order to get my bike to start handling worth a shit. I just wanted to share this potential idea with you guys in case you were debating on how to get rid of those horrid air forks.
Also what else do you have to take into account when swapping forks? I cant imagine the axle would have changed, maybe you would have to play with the fork height a bit to. Other than that though what is there?
Maybe this is all just wishful thinking, but I sure hope its as simple as buying the oem forks and bolting em on.
A guy can dream right?
Also what else do you have to take into account when swapping forks? I cant imagine the axle would have changed, maybe you would have to play with the fork height a bit to. Other than that though what is there?
Maybe this is all just wishful thinking, but I sure hope its as simple as buying the oem forks and bolting em on.
A guy can dream right?
https://www.vitalmx.com/features/First-Look-2019-Kawasaki-KX450F,6001
Like others have mentioned, the 2019 450 has increased the axle diameter. So new hub is used, or perhaps only the bearings were changed but AFAIK no one has confirmed this yet.
2014-2018 KX250F forks are another option for you. They are spring forks, though they use a single fork spring in one leg and the damping is controlled is the other leg. They are a direct swap to your 450. No changes to triple clamps, wheel, or brakes necessary.
Could you elaborate on how this is different from a traditional spring fork?
The Shop
I think people get too caught up with playing around with pressures and forget there is a lot of compression and rebound adjustment available. I tend to stick with the same pressure settings regardless of the track, and dial the clickers as needed.
I didn't think the TACs were terrible after I did the glide kit and FC revalve, but there was a lot of harshness and lack of feel on hadpack. The KYB fork swap fixed all that. You can find them pretty cheap on eBay. Look for the 2010+ fork if you can fine one.
One thing to make sure if is the KYB fork is 5 mm longer than the Showa TAC, so make sure you slide the forks up in turn clamps to compensate.
"New 49mm SHOWA Coil Spring Fork with A-KIT Technology"
"New 49mm Showa Coil Spring Fork with Speed Sensitive Damping technology (SSD)"
"New 49mm Showa Coil Spring Fork with External Multi-Adjustable circuitry (EMA)"
Sounds fancy, I should work for the ad department...
Definitely wouldn’t mind having the new Showa spring forks, but I couldn’t pass on this deal.
The triple clamps are different. The difference is the 19 has a 3mm shorter steering stem.
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