How Kawasaki Dirt Bikes Came To Be - Specs On The 2012 Range Today's lineup of Kawasaki Dirt Bikes are the result of the foresight, dedication and commitment of an incredible company.It was 1878 when Shozo Kawasaki established the company dedicated to ship building. To this day ship building is still its main trade. As with the other major bike manufacturers, Kawasaki never began as a company that produced motorcycles. And the Kawasaki dirt bike range is only the mole on the cows a@$e in comparison to everything else they produce. Under the umbrella of Kawasaki, these companies produce everything from large ships, trains, small engines, tractors, aerospace equipment, industrial robots, aircraft equipment, all-terrain vehicles and motorcycles... phew! It was the early 50's that saw Kawasaki Motor Co. producing motorcycles for the Japanese. But they realized they needed the knowledge of an established motorcycle company named Meguro Manufacturing to really expand and grow in the motorcycle market. So, Kawasaki took them over and soon rolled out a number of popular bikes.
They have been pushing the envelope ever since their beginning, which brings us to the full range of Kawasaki dirt bikes as we know them today... * Have YOUR say on Kawasaki dirt bikes at the bottom of this page. Some 2012 Kawasaki Dirt BikesKawasaki had a highly successful 2011 race season with Broc Tickle winning the AMA West lites and Villopoto cleaning up in both the AMA motocross and supercross series. The green team certainly know how to produce race winning bikes (and secure the best riders in the world!) that have become well known for their powerful motors, but they also still tend to be heavier than their rivals. For 2012 the variety of Kawasaki dirt bikes available to the public hasn't increased, rather it seems to have diminished over the last few years. This is most likely to do with the current financial climate worldwide and the lack of sales of certain models. The Crown Jewel of the fleet - KX450f - has received a number of updates and improvements this year although the powerplant remains mostly the same. The easy start system has been improved upon, the clutch casing is new and designed to 'wear gracefully' with age, the brake and exhaust systems have been changed, the frame is 4mm slimmer around the tank area to provide a much more compact feel, the fuel tank itself is smaller and the plastics have been upgraded, the handlebars and footpegs can be adjusted to suit the rider and it now comes with launch control, for race starts, which is easily activated using the switch mounted on the handlebars.
SPECS: Model: KX450F - 2012 Engine Type: Liquid-cooled, DOHC four-stroke single with four valve cylinder head Displacement: 449 cc Bore Stroke: 96.0 x 62.1 mm Compression Ratio: 12.5:1 Fuel System: Fuel Injection 43mm Keihin Throttle body Ignition: Digital DC-CDI Starting System: Kick Transmission: 5-Speed Rake/Trail: 26.9 degrees / 4.4 in. Front Suspension / wheel travel: 48mm inverted, Kayaba AOS with DLC coated sliders, 22-position compression and 20-position rebound damping adjustment / 12.4 in. Rear suspension / wheel travel: UNI-TRAK linkage system and Kayaba shock with 50mm piston, 22-position low-speed and stepless high-speed compression damping, 22-position rebound dampening and fully adjustable spring preload / 12.4 in. Front Tire Size: 80/100-21 Rear Tire Size: 120/80-19 Front Brakes: Single 250mm petal disc with dual piston caliper Rear Brakes: Single 240mm petal disc with single-piston caliper Wheelbase: 58.3 in. Ground clearance: 13.0 in Overall length : 85.8 in. Overall width: 32.3 in. Overall height: 50.2 in. Fuel Tank Capacity: 1.64 gal. Seat Height: 37.6 in. Curb Weight: 249.1 lbs. Color Choices: Lime Green The younger brother - KX 250f - doesn't seem to have received as much attention as the 450 but here are some of the modifications... New fuel injectors noticeably increase the rev-range allowing it to rev higher (one can only assume this will also mean more maintenance over the long run), solid gear shifters improve on the 2011 model gear changing problems, and both the front forks and rear suspension have been tweaked in an effort to improve handling. The chassis and ergonomics of the bike haven't changed and the graphics are only slightly different - but it still looks pretty ace!
SPECS: Model: KX250F - 2012 Engine: Liquid-cooled, four-stroke single with DOHC and four-valve cylinder head Displacement: 249cc Bore x stroke : 77.0 x 53.6mm Fuel injection: DFI with 43mm Keihin throttle body and dual injectors Compression ratio: 13.5:1 Ignition: Digital DC-CDI Transmission: Five-speed Final drive: Chain Frame: Aluminum perimeter Rake / trail: 28.2 degrees / 4.7 in. Front suspension / wheel travel: 47mm inverted Showa SFF telescopic fork with 60-way spring preload adjustability, 22 position compression and 20 position rebound damping adjustability/ 12.4 in. Rear suspension / wheel travel: Uni-Trak linkage system and Showa shock with 13 position low-speed and stepless (2-turn) high-speed compression damping, 17 position rebound damping and fully adjustable spring preload / 12.2 in. Front tire: 80/100-21 Rear tire: 100/90-19 Front brake: Single semi-floating 250mm petal disc with dual piston caliper Rear brake: Single 240mm petal disc with single-piston caliper Overall length: 85.4 in. Overall width: 32.3 in. Overall height: 50.0 in. Wheelbase: 58.1 in. Ground Clearance: 13.0 in. Seat height: 37.2 in. Curb weight: 233.8 lbs. Fuel capacity: 1.9 gal. Color Choices: Lime Green KIDS KAWASAKI DIRT BIKES
SPECS: Model: KLX140L - 2012 Engine: Four-stroke, SOHC, two-valve single Displacement: 144cc Bore x stroke: 58.0 x 54.4mm Cooling System: Air cooled Carburetion: Keihin PB20 Compression ratio: 9.5:1 Ignition: CDI Transmission: Five-speed with wet multi-disc manual clutch Final drive: Chain Frame: High-Tensile steel, box-section perimeter Rake / trail: 27 degrees / 3.3 in. Front suspension / wheel travel: 33mm telescopic fork / 7.1 in. Rear suspension / wheel travel: UNI-TRAK linkage system and single shock with 5-way preload adjustability / 7.1 in. Front tire: 70/100-17 Rear tire: 90/100-14 Front brake / rear brake: Single 220mm petal disc with a dual-piston caliper / Single 186mm petal disc with single-piston caliper Overall length: 71.7 in. Overall width: 31.1 in. Overall height: 41.3 in. Ground clearance: 9.3 in. Seat height: 30.7 in. Curb weight: 205.0 lbs. Fuel capacity: 1.5 gal. Wheelbase: 49.6 in. Color: Lime Green Warranty: 6 months base warranty Packing more punch than Jackie Chan on Redbull - the KX 85 is still a lethal two-stroke for the serious mini racer. The Japanese companies aren't currently spending money on upgrades to these models but they're still awesome little bikes!
SPECS: Model: KX85 - 2012 Engine: Two-stroke single with KIPS Displacement: 84cc Bore x stroke: 48.5 x 45.8mm Cooling: Liquid Carburetion: Keihin PWK28 Induction: Crankcase reed valve Compression ratio: 10.0:1 (low speed) – 9.2:1 (high speed) Ignition: Digital CDI Transmission: Six-speed Final drive: Chain Frame: High-tensile steel perimeter design with subframe member Rake / trail: 27 degrees / 3.5 in. Front suspension / wheel travel: 36mm inverted telescopic cartridge fork with 18 position compression damping adjustment/ 10.8 in. Rear suspension / wheel travel: UNI-TRAK single-shock system with 4 position compression and 20 position damping adjustment plus adjustable spring preload / 10.8 in. Front tire: 70/100 x 17 Rear tire: 90/100 x 14 Front brake / rear brake: Hydraulic disc / Disc Overall length: 71.7 in. Overall width: 28.9 in. Overall height: 41.5 in. Ground clearance: 13.4 in. Seat height: 33.1 in. Curb weight: 152.1 lbs. Fuel capacity: 1.5 gal. Wheelbase: 49.4 in. Color: Lime Green If you are interested in the full range of Kawasaki dirt bikes then check out the
Kawasaki Motorcycle Website.
What Do You Think About Kawasaki Dirt Bikes?
Have you ever owned a Kwacka? Maybe a vintage Kawasaki? Tell us what you think of the four stroke range. Do you wish Kawasaki still made two strokes? Do you know of any design faults or problems with particular models? Maybe you have a mechanical tip to share...
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Around 1963 a 125cc two stroke dirt bike called the ‘B8M’ was born. This quickly became a massive success! From then on good ol' Kawasaki continued to produce and develop a winning range of on-road and off-road motorcycles. 
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