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1979 Kawasaki KDX 400 Motorcycle Dirt Road Test - 6-Page Vintage Article
Original, Vintage Magazine ArticlePage Size: Approx. 8\" x 11\" (21 cm x 28 cm) each pageCondition: Good
This is Kawasaki’s latest additionto their off-road competitionstable. It is the first big-boredirt machine Kawasaki has producedsince they discontinued their KX400motocrosser back in 1976. It is alsotheir first attempt at marketing anopen class enduro machine. It\'s adaring move for Kawasaki, especiallyconsidering that certain of their pastdirt offerings have been less than in-spiring and this particular market hasnever been known for its stability orsize. The fact that the Europeans(most notably Husqvarna) have al-ways held the upper hand in thiscategory was undoubtedly an addedconcern; only Yamaha, with theirIT400, has been willing to rise tochallenge the Europeans. Goingagainst these long odds, Kawasakicouldn\'t afford any mistakes; theyhad to deliver exactly what the Amer-ican public craved. To accomplishthis, they elected to bend their tradi-tional values: Instead of designingand producing this bike entirely intheir own homeland as they’ve al-ways done, they allowed us Ameri-cans to literally write our own ticketYou might say that the KDX is thefirst Americanized Japanese enduroto hit our shores because, in fact,the bike was actually designed herein the states by a small band of em-ployees of Kawasaki Motors Corpora-tion, the California-based U.S. dis-tributor. Although the engine, carb,electrics, speedo, control levers, ca-bles, suspension, wheel assembliesand muffler originate in Japan, theKDX utilizes many genuine USA-made parts—such as the singledowntube frame, aluminum swing-arm, pipe, seat, K & N air filter, Dia-mond chain and the complete arse-nal of plastics. Assembling the partsat their Lincoln, Nebraska facility hasaided them in keeping the ultimateprice tag well below that of Europeanmachinery. The KDX will be exclusiveto the United States, since there willonly be about 2300 units producedthis year, none of which will be soldoutside U.S boundaries.This is supposed to be the bike ofyour dreams, for the designers struc-tured it with only one function inmind: to compete head-to-headagainst the Huskys. Well, if aestheticbeauty and infinite detailing are aprelude to success, then the KDX ap-pears to be a winner, for it is impres-sively outfitted with a full barrage ofform-fitting enduro artillery. The gen-erous 3.3 gallon tank allows the 400L3JDIRTISTESTKawasaki KD9C4CDIDAMERICA’S R&D TEAMMEET THE HUSKY CHALLENGE?to wander over 90 miles from its pitcrew. The deep pile seat—over fiveinches thick at the seat/tankjunction—provides sit-down Cadillac-type comfort The Krizman sparkarrester/muffler emits a pleasingbark without the bite A full-widthplastic skid plate will ensure the en-gine case\'s virginity and the KDX isblessed with a nicely engineeredspeedo mounting, shrouded by acompact and strong plastic headlightmodule that is held securely withquick release rubber tie straps. All itsclothing is nearly flawlessThe designer’s original plans ap-parently spared little expense, butwhen they reached Japan for finalapproval, Kawasaki “white collars”naturally toned down a few areas formarketing and cost reasons. Conse-quently you won’t find a liberal useof lightweight magnesium; only thebrake backing plates and clutch cov-er bear “Magnesium\" lettering. How-ever, Kawasaki has hollowed outsome items for lightness—like thefront and rear brake cams, swingarm-pivot bolt, brake-pedal bolt, front-axleand steering-head bold. And consid-ering its heavy fuel payload, a wetweight of 271 pounds places theKDX in the ballpark with Maicos andHuskys. You won\'t find trick foldinggearshift and brake pedals or trulyquick-change wheel assemblieseither, although the wheels supplied(off their KX250 and modified for en-duro usage) should prove easy preyfor the experienced enduro prepara-tion man.Though the bike is technically “upto date,\" what you will find is basi-cally a desert/motocrosser adaptedfor enduro work The Kayaba 38mmair-assisted forks are KX250 moto-cross legs which have had their trav-el shrunk from 11 inches to 10.2,softer springs installed and blackpaint sprayed on the sliders They of-fer more compliant action in the firstfew inches of travel—a necessity forenduro work. The 4130 chrome-molyframe is nearly identical to the moto-crosser\'s, however the upper rearshock mounts have been alteredslightly to accept shorter 161/2-inchKayaba gas reservoir shocks (theMX\'er has 16%-inchers). They aren\'tcanted as severely and consequentlyrear wheel travel (9.1 inches) is nota-bly less than the 11 inches of moto-cross travel. If you feel they’ve short-ed you in this department, forget it—the seat height is already too highand more suspension would onlyforce riders into a dizzy spell.Like its Americanized cousin, theKLX four-stroke single, the KDX util-izes a beautiful new extruded I-beam-type aluminum swingarm that’s a halfinch longer than the MX box-sectionarm It is slightly heavier, but Kawa-saki claims it’s much stronger Wefind it disappointing that the arm pi-vots in Duralon plastic fiber bushingsrather than in needle bearings likethe MXer\'s. Brakes, backing platesand wheel assemblies are from themotocross parts binKawasaki admits that the majorityof pre-production testing took placeon Baja’s expansive wilderness andits effects are blantantly evident theKDX has the booming dimensions ofa classic desert sled At 58 5 inches,the wheelbase is over two incheslonger than Husky\'s 390 WR. Theseat height is a stupendous 37.5inches, to make it the tallest endurobike we’ve tested yet Putting itbluntly The KDX is a huge machine,plain intimidating to anyone otherthan a six-foot lumberjack But thoseare the qualifications necessary tothunder across the desert at break-neck speed and the KDX can defi-nitely scorch the open turf. Aided bya very relaxed sit-down riding posi-tion, a super plush seat, rubber-mounted handlebars, gobs of sus-pension travel and no extrusions toirritate the rider’s feet or legs, theKDX is immensely comfortable overlong distances.The 400 displays a credible amountof stability when blasting down sand-washes or charging through giantdesert whoops, especially when con-sidering that the rear suspension isonly about 75 percent of what itcould be with better shocks. Theshocks have way too much compres-sion damping and the spring ratecould likely support a ten-wheel ce-ment mixer. These suspenders can’teffectively soak up pesky squared-offbumps or those hidden potholes...16251
